Leeds United in the 90s: From the Champions League to the Championship in Three Years
How Leeds United Went From the Champions League to the Championship in the Late 90s
Leeds were the last club to win the First Division before the Premier League’s inception - and they were spending on par with Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea a decade later.
However, things fell apart due to poor ownership and dangerous decision-making. The Sporting Blog tells the full story!
Michael Bridges - one of the key players in Leeds United’s Champions League success
Leeds United were once a consistent top-four side in the Premier League and played European football for five consecutive seasons, but the Whites would find themselves relegated to the Championship and in financial disarray only three years after they reached the semi-finals of the Champions League.
United racked up debt due to unrestricted transfer activity, and these spiralling money issues resulted in a player exodus and subsequent relegation.
And not only did it take Leeds 16 years to return to the Premier League, but they also fell into League One on the road to recovery.
It’s a period of history that fans don’t remember with fondness.
The Sporting Blog details the best period of Leeds’ recent history - followed by its worst.
Leeds United’s Rise Under Ridsdale
Peter Ridsdale’s name is mud to Leeds fans in the present day, but he was very popular upon his arrival in June 1997.
The Whites won the First Division title in 1991/92 and finished fifth in 1993/94 and 1994/95, but they struggled in the two seasons that followed.
They came 13th in 1995/96 (43 points) and 11th in 1996/97 (46 points) – so new direction was welcomed.
Enter Peter Risdale
Ridsdale was born in Leeds and studied at Leeds Modern School in Lawnswood.
Before becoming chairman, Ridsdale was a Leeds supporter who reportedly spent all night in a sleeping bag to get tickets for their FA Cup final defeat in 1965.
He was a legitimate local boy who considered it a dream and a privilege to own Leeds.
The first few years of his tenure were wildly successful, too. Leeds signed Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink for £2m in the summer of 1997.
He top-scored with 16 league goals in his debut season, while new arrival Alf-Inge Haaland was their third top scorer.
United finished fifth in 1997/98 and reached the quarter-final of the FA Cup under manager George Graham (1996 - 1998), but things would get even better.
Graham left to join Tottenham at the start of the 1998/99 campaign and was replaced by assistant David O’Leary (1998 - 2002).
Leeds still reached the second round of the UEFA Cup and finished fourth in the Premier League. Hasselbaink once again top-scored but would be sold to Atletico Madrid for £10m at the end of the campaign.
Leeds pushed hard for a Champions League place (1st-3rd) in 1999/00, signing Darren Huckerby, Michael Bridges, Michael Duberry, Jason Wilcox, Eirik Bakke and Danny Mills for more than £30m – spending more than Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Man United and Tottenham Hotspur.
The gamble paid off, with Bridges scoring 19 in 34 league games as Leeds finished third.
Duberry, Bakke and Huckerby were regulars as United reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup too, so Ridsdale sanctioned more money on players to ensure Leeds stayed in the top-three in 2000/01.
Rio Ferdinand, Olivier Dacourt, Mark Viduka and Dominic Matteo came in for £45m – outspending Chelsea, Liverpool, Man Utd and Tottenham for a second consecutive season – but the gamble didn’t pay off this time, despite an incredible European campaign.
Rio Ferdinand playing for Leeds United. A record signing at the time
Leeds reached the semi-final of the Champions League but finished fourth in the league.
This meant Leeds had only secured UEFA Cup football despite Ridsdale taking out loans against TV rights and sponsorship revenue from Champions League qualification.
So he went for broke in the summer of 2001 with £40m on Robbie Keane, Robbie Fowler and Seth Johnson.
Leeds outspent Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham, but didn’t go far in the UEFA Cup while finishing fourth in the league, so Ridsdale wouldn’t receive enough income to repay the loans.
He had to sanction controversial player sales the following summer and that was the beginning of the end for Leeds as a top Premier League club.
Financial Collapse
Leeds were enjoying success on the pitch under Ridsdale, but they weren’t making a lot of money from transfers.
They’d generated only £4.5m from player sales in 1997/98 and a paltry £200k in 1998/99. Hasselbaink’s sale in 1999/00 helped Leeds raise £20m, but that figure halved in 2000/01 (£10.6m) and again in 2001/02 (£4m).
Ridsdale spent £137m over five seasons and made less than £40m, so Leeds had to sell valuable assets as they were drowning in debt after missing out on Champions League football.
United raised £69m in 2002/03 from the sales of Keane, Fowler, Rio Ferdinand and Jonathan Woodgate.
This caused a public rift between Ridsdale and O’Leary, resulting in the latter being sacked before the new season began.
Terry Venables replaced him in July 2002, but losing so many key players in one season saw Leeds finish 15th in the league. Ridsdale stepped down in March 2003 and Venables was replaced by Peter Reid.
Leeds made £14m profit from transfers in 2003/04, selling Dacourt, Nigel Martyn and Harry Kewell, but the squad had been weakened so much that Reid couldn’t keep them up.
United were taken over by an insolvency specialist in 2004, but his decision to sell all valuable assets resulted in Leeds’ relegation on May 2 of that year.
The Aftermath For Leeds United
Leeds raised £24m in player sales after their relegation. This included Alan Smith, James Milner, Mark Viduka, Paul Robinson and Scott Carson. Because of this, there were fears they could struggle to even stay in the Championship.
They finished 14th in 2004/05 and recruited hard the following summer which paid off. Leeds made the playoffs but lost to Watford in the final.
Things would get worse the following campaign with Leeds entering administration, incurring a 10-point penalty, and finishing rock bottom of the Championship (24th with 36 points).
They would be stuck in League One for three seasons, failing twice in the playoffs before securing automatic promotion in 2009/10.
After 10 consecutive seasons in the Championship, they finally returned to the top-flight. Leeds finished ninth in their first season back but nearly went down in 2021/22 (17th on 38 points) after poor recruitment.
Raphinha and Kalvin Phillips were sold that summer and Leeds were relegated in 2022/23, finishing 19th on 31 points. Time will tell if they can return!
To this day, Ridsdale doesn’t take responsibility for Leeds’ finances spiralling. The local businessman claims he could have turned them around had he stayed in 2003, so he’s a figure of hatred among fans.
Did you follow Leeds United’s rise to fame? We’d love to hear about your fan experiences!
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