Most clubs and their supporters in England love to hate Leeds United, but Leeds’ own fans simply reply “they hate us ‘cos they ain’t us”. Simply put, the West Yorkshire giants are a major scalp in the Championship and their fans love it.
Former players at Leeds’ see the passion of the fans first hand and end up leaving with a similar love for the club, in most cases… especially if that player is held in high regard by the fans while in action.
One such former player, now turned Sky Sports presenter, is David Prutton… once affectionately referred to as Jesus by the Leeds faithful due to his long hair and stubble but now clean cut and smart.
According to Football League World, Prutton said the following in regards to his former sides status as favourites this season…
“I think the reason that we talk about them like that (top-two contenders) is because of the evidence of last season.
“Yes, you’ve got key players leaving in Pontus (Jansson) and Kemar (Roofe), but they’ve got Bamford going – maybe the introduction of (Eddie) Nketiah has given him a kick up the backside. Some players’ buttons are pushed in different ways.
“If he becomes the 20+ goal a season striker that Leeds are enamoured with, it’ll certainly keep the naysayers quiet, won’t it?”
For the former midfielder it is now down to Leeds to learn from their mistakes last season to ensure they reach their goals this time around… and see of those teams that will see The Whites as a scalp…
“We know how they (Leeds) can play and what they can achieve, but they’ve got to know every single team will be gunning for them, which makes it fascinating from our point of view,” the pundit continued.
“For them, it is whether they can handle the pressure. I think they can, but it is just as they showed over the course of last season, it is all well and good being consistent, but if your key men make the wrong decisions at the key times (your goalkeeper and defender in the most important game of the season), you can’t legislate for that.
“You’ve just got to learn from that and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
Leeds fans will be hoping this proves true as they look to bounce back to the top flight after sixteen years in the wilderness.
