Pottery ware and tear

Even after teaching Oxford how to manage a football match on Friday, it was with some trepidation that I welcomed Stoke City to my television screen on Bank Holiday Monday. The sight of Michael Brown looking as though he wanted to slide tackle the cameraman each time the spotlight fell upon him reminded me of the robust games we’ve had against The Potters in the past. Could a wet Tuesday evening in Stoke translate successfully via a wet afternoon in Leeds?

Our early encounters with Stoke were not encouraging. Originally formed as Stoke Ramblers in 1863 (presumably wandering endlessly and aimlessly across the endless clay deposits of Staffordshire), they changed their name to the far more progressive ‘Stoke’ in 1878, and we first met them more than 40 years later, in 1920. We waited for seven matches until they achieved City status before beating them in the league – a Division Two game on Christmas Eve, 1927, which we won 5.1.

I suspect the fans streaming out of Elland Road that day were, as for those lucky enough to get tickets on Monday, dreaming of a bright and shiny future. We lost the return game in Stoke in May 28 by the same scoreline: 5.1. In fact, until Monday, we hadn’t beaten them home and away in the league since 1988/89. In Howard’s day; in Howard’s way.

When people mention Stoke, my mind is inevitably taken back to the old Victoria Ground on 23 February 1974 when Tony Waddington’s men ended our 29-match unbeaten run in the league, 3.2. It’s more than 50 years ago, but it still hurts, especially as we were in total control of that match.

I also have my own pre-Christmas memory – almost 60 years on from that first league win – on 21 December 1986. I was being driven home for Christmas by a friend (not Chris Rea, just for clarification) in a Reliant Robin three-wheeler, which was missing a door on the passenger side. I still shiver at the memory, not helped by our 7.2 defeat in Stoke.

That game was also in the second tier, as was Marcelo Bielsa’s introduction to the Leeds fans in an unforgettable 3.1 win on 5 August 2018. That was the beginning of our last great adventure, which was as exhilarating as it was disappointing when Jesse Marsch showed us that he had the tactical nous of a baked bean.

After achieving 90 points last season and 94 already in this one – after two summers of discontent and disruption – I still do not understand why some of the LUFC fans are so sceptical of Daniel Farke’s abilities. He has hit the target three times now (only Joël Piroe beat this on Monday) in achieving promotion to the Premier League. This season was especially impressive when, having lost key players to greed in the summer, we promptly lost our midfield to injury in the space of a couple of matches in the autumn.

He isn’t Bielsa, and we don’t know how he will manage in the top tier – even if he does (should) get proper financial backing this time. The football may not be as exciting as it was five years ago, but after watching the game on Monday, are we falling so far short?

Leeds fans are entitled to their opinions as all football fans are. It cannot always be beautiful, but I don’t expect us to be losing 5.2 at Brentford or 4.1 at Bournemouth next season either.

Yes, there will need to be investment in the squad, and, yes, we’ll be linked to every player from the football heartlands of Andorra to Zimbabwe over the summer. Isn’t that what we all wanted, though? To be part of the bigger picture again?

Next season we’re not going back to throwing clay in the Potteries. We can leave the Prestons and the Blackburns behind to welcome the mighty Ipswich Town to their little Lancashire fiefdoms…

When Leeds United aren’t in the Premier League, almost every sensible fan, club chairman and washed-up football pundit would have to admit that there’s a piece of the jigsaw missing. Now we have to solve the puzzle of how to establish ourselves again and stay there. Revenge over those cheats from Italy and Germany can wait for a bit longer.