Leeds United saw their three-year stay in the Premier League come to an end this Sunday as they were beaten 4-1 by Tottenham Hotspur at Elland Road. Here's a look at 11 moments from this season that appeared to led to relegation.
Southampton surrender
It might not have felt pivotal at the time but in hindsight, throwing away a two-goal lead against Southampton in August was costly. The Whites were the better side in the south coast heat and a Rodrigo brace at the start of the second half had them flying towards a second win of the Premier League season.
Jesse Marsch failed to make changes early enough, though, and as the heat sapped Leeds’ energy, Southampton came back into the game. Goals from Joe Aribo and Kyle Walker-Peters saw the Saints snatch a 2-2 draw and take two points off the Whites.
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Leeds went on to beat Chelsea the following week but those points would have given them a bit more of a cushion as the relegation edged closer and closer at the back end of the season.
Summer window shortcomings
Leeds moved swiftly and decisively in the summer transfer window with several signings being made before the start of pre-season. But, despite most supporters seeing the glaring holes in the squad, they failed to sign a striker, a left-back or a centre-back.
Again, the benefit of hindsight makes it easier to write this, but the type of players signed can be questioned, too. The likes of Marc Roca, Rasmus Kristensen and Brenden Aaronson looked decent additions at the time but as the season progressed they have clearly struggled with the physicality and pace of the Premier League.
Misplaced faith
By mid-October, Leeds were sliding towards the relegation zone and a run of eight games without a win saw both Marsch and the board come under huge amounts of pressure. There was vitriol from the away end after a 2-0 defeat to Leicester City and the 3-2 home defeat to Fulham did little to appease supporters.
The time to part ways with Jesse Marsch was then. With the World Cup break around the corner United would have been able to reset through December and make the most of a fresh start under a new man in the New Year. As it was, Leeds managed to nick dramatic late victories over Liverpool and Bournemouth and that was enough to persuade the club to stick with Marsch until February.
Missed opportunity
The show of faith from the board meant Marsch was given the chance to make the necessary improvements over the World Cup break. He took the squad away to Spain and he came back with a slightly new system in the hope of shoring things up at the back.
What became immediately clear, though, was that Marsch had squandered the opportunity he had been given as Leeds failed to win their next six games before his eventual sacking came after a defeat at the City Ground against Nottingham Forest.
January failures
To their credit Leeds did spend money in the January transfer window. They backed Marsch with the signing of Max Wober, who has fared well in West Yorkshire, before breaking their transfer record to sign young forward Georginio Rutter from Hoffenheim.
The deal for Rutter brought plenty of excitement as clips of his exploits in the Bundesliga did the rounds and it was hoped that he would be the man to fire the Whites towards safety. It became immediately apparent that he wasn’t ready to play such a role, though, and his impact has been severely limited to say the very least.
Th youngster has started just one Premier League game since arriving at the club and despite Leeds needing goals, he remained an unused sub in eight of their last 12 outings. The Frenchman was a signing for the future, it seems, but it left United short of the options needed to secure that future.
Everton misery
Without a doubt, one of the lowest points in Leeds’ season came at Goodison Park, as a flat and lifeless performance ended in a 1-0 defeat. Illan Meslier made the mistake for the goal, finding himself in no man’s land as a Seamus Coleman effort from the touchline whistled past his inside post, but supporters were pointing the finger at the club’s decision makers as they left Merseyside.
At the time Leeds were without a permanent head coach following Marsch’s dismissal, with Michael Skubala being left in charge while the club dragged its feet on an appointment and the performance spoke of a team sleepwalking towards the Championship.
Adams' injury
While several signings have been criticised above, the addition of Tyler Adams was a smart one. The American was one of the club's brightest performers throughout the campaign, winning huge plaudits for his tenacious effort, bite and intensity in the middle of the park.
As such, it came as a huge blow when he was ruled out for the rest of the season in March through injury and his absence was felt immeasurably. It's hard to say whether the Whites would have stayed up had Adams been fit for the run in, but they certainly would have stood more of a chance as Roca and Weston McKennie struggled to make the desired impact without him.
Palace collapse
The moment that Leeds’ survival hopes began to spiral into the abyss. Leeds were flying on the back of three wins in Javi Gracia’s first six games and having taken the lead in the first half against Crystal Palace, they looked well on their way to survival.
An equaliser just before the break seemed to bring a shuddering halt to Leeds’ forward moment, though, and what followed can only be described as a second half capitulation. Roy Hodgson’s Palace ran riot at Elland Road, bagging four more goals and showing up Leeds’ backline in embarrassing fashion.
Bamford’s sitter
Leeds were well and truly on the slide by the time Leicester arrived at Elland Road in April, but it could have all been very different had Bamford kept his cool in the closing minutes. With the score at 1-1 leading into the final few minutes of the game, Bamford found himself in space at the back post as a corner was deflected into his path.
Instead of turning the ball into a gaping net, the striker somehow put the ball wide before turning around in despair. He knew how costly that moment could be against a direct relegation rival. His teammates knew. The fans knew. Gracia knew.
Ultimately, that summed up Leeds’ season, but the abuse he received after that and his penalty miss against Newcastle United was completely unacceptable.
Dean Court disaster
Just a few days after that Leicester draw, Leeds turned in a performance that suggested to most that relegation was just around the corner. The Whites were limp, lacklustre and toothless as they rolled over and allowed Bournemouth to score goal after goal.
The players looked stunned on the final whistle as they stood and faced the anger of the travelling support, but Gracia was visibly shell-shocked as he tried to explain himself to the press after the game. His uninspiring words, coupled with the performance, forced Leeds to roll the dice with both Gracia and Victor Orta being shown the door before the appointment of Sam Allardyce.
Hammered
Leeds were in last chance saloon territory as they made the trip to West Ham United on the penultimate weekend of the season. Win and they’d give themselves a chance of securing survival, lose and they’d need a final day miracle.
They started well in east London and took the lead through top scorer Rodrigo, but they could do little to prevent a collapse in all too familiar fashion. They were thumped 3-1 in the end by David Moyes’ side, who had nothing but pride to play for, and the writing appeared to be on the wall.
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