Leeds United are battling for an automatic promotion place from the Championship to the Premier League as they look to bounce back up the football pyramid.
The club suffered relegation from the top flight in the 2022/23 season after a messy managerial situation saw their three-year stay back at the highest level come to an end.
Daniel Farke knows a thing or two about promotion as he secured it twice with Norwich City during his time at Carrow Road. Now, he’s attempting to guide Leeds back to the big time, although there’s a good chance he might have to do it via the playoffs.
The Sporting News takes a look at Leeds’ history in the Premier League and when they last played in the competition.
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Leeds last played in the Premier League in the 2022/23 season. They finished 19th in the table and were relegated along with Southampton and Leicester City.
They had spent three consecutive seasons in the top flight after being promoted in 2020. Prior to that, they had not been a Premier League team since 2003/04.
Leeds United’s history in the Premier League has been filled with ups but more recently downs, as they’ve faced periods of adversity in the 21st century.
The club enjoyed success in the early years of the Premier League, although their last top-flight title was in 1991/92, the season before the modern league was introduced. They finished no lower than fifth between 1998 and 2002, during which time they also reached the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League.
However, the turn of the millennium brought financial difficulties, leading to relegation from England’s top flight in 2004. Despite efforts to regain top-flight status, including memorable campaigns in the Championship, Leeds faced a prolonged absence from the the highest level.
They then returned in style for the 2020/2021 season under Marcelo Bielsa, showcasing their trademark attacking style and earning them a commendable ninth-place finish in their first campaign back.
When fans returned to stadiums from the coronavirus pandemic, Bielsa’s spark seemed diminished and he was sacked late in the 2021/22 season.
In came Jesse Marsch, who initially steadied the ship, and they avoided relegation under the American. His football style was unsustainable, though, and a year on from taking the job from Bielsa, he was sacked.
Former Watford boss Javi Gracia was then given the keys to Elland Road and had Leeds in the relegation zone before the club was desperate for help to stay in the Premier League. In came ‘Big Sam’ Allardyce, who has a fairly decent record of keeping teams afloat, but there was too much to do in such a short time and Leeds were relegated in the 2022/23 season.
