It’s official: Leeds United are returning to the Premier League next campaign after a short one-year stint back in the Championship this season, and we firmly believe they don’t just deserve but need to be there.
No one is exactly going to argue with us on that front, but we still think we’ve got a point regardless, so just humour us for a while…
Leeds did their best to give a top-flight account of themselves thanks to a 6-0 thrashing of Stoke City this Sunday, with Sheffield United’s narrow 2-1 defeat to Burnley at Turf Moor securing promotion for both the Clarets and the Whites.
However, what the game and the jubilant scenes outside Elland Road and across the city proved beyond the performances alone over the last nine months is that the English first division massively misses out when Leeds aren’t in it. Case and point:
🙌 OUR PREMIER LEAGUE FANS! pic.twitter.com/IgiLecp8Rj
— Leeds United (@LUFC) April 21, 2025
Not only does it go without saying that their footballing heritage and history when it comes to silverware are fitting of a club in the Premier League, but when you see scenes like this before a promotion has even been fully secured, you know it feels right.
Yes, lots of Leeds supporters got there early because, just like the players inside the stadium’s Bremner Suite, they had every faith they were going up.
It’s by no means been a perfect season from Daniel Farke’s side, but the German coach once again proved he is more than capable of navigating what is one of the most competitive leagues on the planet.
They showed their appreciation in spades outside the gates over in Beeston too, as fans cheered in tune as the 48-year-old pumped his fists following a defiant navigation through the crunch period, which saw them avoid the dreaded playoff scrap.
You don’t get many crowds as good as the south and Don Revie stand at their best these days:
Not only is the magic of a one-club town something truly special and incomparable when it comes to atmosphere and football fanaticism, but they’re knitted into the very fabric of local communities and help create whole generational memories.
In fact, the power of these specific footballing cultures and sport-obsessed locales is often overlooked, not only because of how influential they can be in literally dragging a team across the finish line, but in terms of the ‘greater good’ of the game, for lack of a better phrase.
We all know the significance of ‘the twelfth man’ and how the roar from the stands can quite literally suck goals in, but for places like Newcastle, Sunderland, Cardiff and so on, they can quite literally determine the mood of an entire population, meaning that they also bring that passion, intensity and level of stakes to the ground.
You already know that the likes of Manchester United and other rival clubs, even if the animosity may have waned of late, are absolutely licking their lips at the idea of having the old foes back in the Prem – and you get that in absolute spades with Leeds.
Just look at what it means:
We’re still a little ways off finding out whether The Peacocks will come strutting into the Premier League as champions, with plumage spread loud and proud, but it almost doesn’t matter that much.
Of course, Leeds fans will be hoping a title will serve as the cherry on top of the icing that has been this comeback season, but getting back where they belong and (if more people were honest with themselves) where plenty of opposition fans prefer them.
More importantly, a few nervy wobbles towards the latter part of the season aside, the level of displays we’ve seen from United suggests that they stand a better chance of staying up and avoiding the same yo-yo pattern of many other clubs.
The Prem without Leeds just isn’t the same, if you ask us, so here’s hoping they establish a stronger foothold this time around.
Let’s watch last weekened’s bedlam back, shall we?
Read more:
- Northern Superchargers fixtures confirmed for The Hundred 2025
- Leeds legend Liam Cooper puts £1,000 behind The Old Peacock bar for locals
- A release date for the Freddie Flintoff documentary has been confirmed
Featured Images — The Hoot Leeds/@focusleeds_ (via Instagram)
