Robbie Savage believes Leeds United manager Daniel Farke must “sweep away” their play-off hoodoo in the final against Southampton at Wembley Stadium on May 26.
Leeds reached the final with a 4-0 victory against Norwich City at Elland Road on Thursday (16 May), although they have never won promotion through the play-offs in five previous attempts.
Savage stated that he wants Leeds to return to the Premier League, but in The Daily Mirror’s print edition (17 May, page 63), he added a “big but” about the Whites’ play-off ambitions.
“Leeds have a terrible record in the play-offs, a 100 per cent record: Five attempts at winning promotion, five failures,” Savage stated.
He continued: “Farke will have 37 years of unkind history to sweep away at Wembley next weekend.”
What is the Leeds United play-off record?
Leeds United competed in the first promotion play-off competition in 1987, when the club was still in the Second Division, but that series of games set the tone for over 40 years of misery.
Previously, the final was a single game at Wembley Stadium, followed by a two-leg tie at each team’s home venue. After losing 1-0 to Charlton at Selhurst Park and winning 1-0 at Elland Road, the Whites fell 2-1 in the replay at St. Andrews in Birmingham, with the Addicks scoring twice in extra time.
The club’s remaining play-off heartbreak has occurred in recent years, following their initial demotion from the Premier League in 2004. Watford defeated the Whites 3-0 in the 2006 final, and two more tragedies would follow Leeds’ relegation to the third level.
Leeds were relegated to League One for the third year in a row after losing to Doncaster and Millwall in the 2008 and 2009 finals, respectively, while Marcelo Bielsa’s 2019 team were defeated by Derby County in a crazy semi-final nearly ten years after their ascent.
In summary, the signs aren’t good for Leeds going into the 2024 decider against Southampton on 26 May, but with promotion expect Farke at the helm, might this be the year that the Peacocks finally end their hoodoo?
