Elland Road, Leeds United Matchday
Elland Road, Leeds United Matchday
Posted inLeeds United History

6 Leeds Bosses From The Dark Ages Most Of You Had Forgotten

That period after 2010 for the next eight years for me was the most depressing I think as a Leeds fan.

Yeah, you could say getting relegated from the Premier League and then the Championship was sickening, but once we’d accepted and regrouped, there was the expectation that we could go back up – we were still a draw for big players, we played good football and invariably, we won most weeks – and comfortably.

So, in those years, there was still a lot to be encouraged by. For me, once we got back into the Championship, after one or two seasons it gradually became depressing – wondering if we would ever make it back to the Premier League and for me, fearing that we would become established as a mid-table Championship side.

Afterall, we had turbulent times, multiple owners and even more managers. Apart from a brief glimmer of hope when Garry Monk came in and almost getting us to the play-offs, there was very little to be excited about – it’s the hope that kills you. That is until Marcelo Bielsa came along, and everything changed almost overnight. From mid-table mediocrity to title challengers in the space of six months.

Though prior to Bielsa and with the exception of Monk, there were some managers during this period (2010-2018), who I bet many of you had probably forgotten about – and I wouldn’t blame you to be fair. So, who makes my list?!

Darko Milanic

Come on, until you read that name, I bet most of you had forgotten about him. Our only Slovenian manager and such was his determination to manage us, he even bought out the remainder of his contract at previous club, Sturm Graz himself. Okay, you gotta give him some cred’ for that. But, my word, what a disaster. Lasting just one month (September 2014 – October 2014) and six games, he resigned just minutes after we lost 2-1 to Wolves. Mind boggles.

Dave Hockaday

Predecessor to Milanic, he himself lasted only 70 days and even at this point I was almost embarrassed saying I was a fan, like I’m sure most of you lot were. Owner Massimo Cellino had no idea what he was doing, being too cheap and making terrible decisions which filtered down. Hockaday was a good coach but not a Championship level manager and it showed.

Neil Redfearn

Was kind of backed into a corner here – I remember from his body language – at the time, he didn’t really come across as though he wanted the first team job, but felt he couldn’t refuse it. He became the third coach of the season, stepping up from the academy and didn’t do too bad considering the circumstances.

Steve Evans

Took over from Uwe Rosler in November 2015 who had only had the job since May of that year. Didn’t pull up any trees by any means, but brought a bit of much-needed stability to us that we hadn’t had for a while guiding us from just one point of relegation to a respectable 13th place.

Thomas Christiansen

Came in after Monk’s resignation in June 2017 and not long after Andrea Radrizzani completed a 50 per cent takeover of us. He didn’t do too bad, but he was a manager who probably wouldn’t take us beyond a mid-table finish with Radrizzani sacking him the following February with us in 10th place.

Paul Heckingbottom

An interesting appointment by Radrizzani to replace Christiansen and one which I was curious about. Heckingbottom was a young, ambitious coach and seemed to have a lot of potential – which he’s proved over the last few years. It took a while for him to bed in, but I thought finishing 13th wasn’t too bad. He was sacked in June and I didn’t have to wonder why for long. The San Francisco 49ers came in with a chunk of investment and it was clear that they were the driving force behind Bielsa’s appointment.

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