Without hope in football, where would any of us be? The start of each new season is greeted by an abundance of hope, piercing through common sense and often everything we know about the game and reality of the situation to bring a sense of, what if?
The odds may align with probability and expectation, but hope is a mistress that cannot be ignored and without it supporters of many clubs may as well pack in and resign their team's fate now. While there is hope, there is always a chance.
For Leeds United supporters, finding reasons for hope may feel difficult right now at a club where the toxicity levels are reaching dangerous proportions. The unacceptable Patrick Bamford personal attacks, the rounding on the board which despite being diluted somewhat after Victor Orta's exit still continues, and the feeling of frustration and anger at the situation the club find themselves in are not ideal conditions for fostering hope.
Read more: Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher plot Leeds United's path to safety
But if in the need for something easy to cling on to and go with, the memory of just 12 months ago can serve as a timely straw to clutch onto tightly. A year ago with Jesse Marsch trying to keep the club in the Premier League Leeds were rated at 60 percent to be relegated, with Watford and Norwich City already down. In a three-horse race with Burnley and Everton, the leading predictions and stats website FiveThirtyEight ranked Leeds' chances of being relegated at 60 percent with two games remaining, with Burnley at just 31 percent and Everton nine percent.
Fast forward a year and it's Sam Allardyce in the hot seat Marsch vacated, but the situation remains the same. With Leicester looking down and out alongside Southampton, the Whites are in a three-way fight alongside Everton yet again, and Nottingham Forest.
This time Everton are rated at a 26 percent chance of going down, Forest at 24 percent, with Leeds almost identical to a year ago with a 64 percent ranking. A home draw with Brighton and a win at Brentford on the final day ensured Leeds stayed up last season and defied the expectations of many, including those data analysts and their pesky Supercomputer.
With two games to go away at West Ham and home to Tottenham Hotspur, the outcome will rest on a similar set of scorelines being achieved. It's a tough ask but history shows there's hope, and while there's hope, there's a chance!
