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Commentator Adam Pope believes that a 17th place finish for Leeds United next season would not be classed as a failure.
Leeds managed to avoid relegation with aplomb, after Daniel Farke managed to turn around their season over the winter period, finishing 14th while being pegged as favourites for relegation for large chunks of the campaign.
While Leeds fans might be hoping to challenge in the top half of the table next season, much in the same way Sunderland did, there is a line of thinking that suggests avoiding relegation should remain the priority, with Farke himself warning of the greater risks abound in a second campaign.
Pope feels that it takes at least three years to become an established side at Premier League level.
Stressing that the probability of relegation in a second season is astronomical, Pope reiterated that avoiding relegation should be viewed as a success in itself, and hence, even a ‘17th-placed finish should not be marked as failure’.
Pope said on the BBC: “I think the percentage chance of being relegated in your second season in the Premier League remains so high that a 17th-placed finish should not be marked as failure this time around.
“I know West Ham went down with 39 points, but, the truth is, sides coming up struggle to reach 30 points, never mind 40.
| Manager | Time at Club |
|---|---|
| Daniel Farke | July 2023 – present |
| Sam Allardyce | May 2023 – June 2023 |
| Javi Gracia | February 2023 – May 2023 |
| Jesse Marsch | February 2022 – February 2023 |
| Marcelo Bielsa | June 2018 – February 2022 |
“It takes three tough years to become an established Premier League side.”
Pope’s argument holds water if the examples of Brighton, Bournemouth or Aston Villa are anything to go by, considering how long it takes to become an established top-division side.
There have been 13 instances of a side going down in the second season after coming up, giving Leeds, or Sunderland, a probability of around 1 in 8 to be relegated.
The most spectacular of those 13 instances might be the case of Ipswich Town, when they suffered relegation in the same season as they were taking on the likes of Ronaldo, Adriano and Alvaro Recoba of Inter Milan in the UEFA Cup in 2002.
Leeds chairman Paraag Marathe has indicated that the target is now to improve the playing eleven rather merely beef up the squad numbers, while stating that SCR will be more restrictive that PSR in the short term, and Sporting Lisbon centre-back Ousmane Diomande could be one such signing to improve the quality.
The Whites could also possibly dip into the free agent market to find potential bargains, especially if avoiding relegation is set as the primary goal, keeping cash free for starters and using free agents for squad depth.
Leeds fans could interest themselves by following their stars at the World Cup, while waiting to see how their club’s transfer strategy evolves over the summer.
