Leeds United are back at the forefront of pundits’ minds with Daniel Farke’s men having an impressive campaign upon their return to the Premier League.
Ask any supporter outside Elland Road on a matchday how big a club Leeds is, and you will get the same answer every time; however, especially when they have been in the Championship, the Whites have bizarrely been left out of big club conversations by the wider footballing audience at times.
United’s primary objective this season is to stay in the Premier League, and whilst it may take a couple of seasons to consolidate Leeds as a Premier League outfit again, it will not be long until supporters begin to look upwards in the table as Leeds aim to get back into Europe.
Former Manchester United players Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt recently weighed in on the debate and gave their opinion as to where Leeds stand in terms of the English footballing pyramid.
Leeds ‘in that next level’ below Manchester United and Liverpool, according to Nicky Butt
When discussing the relegation battle on a recent episode of The Good, The Bad & The Football, Butt and Scholes began to debate whether Tottenham would be the biggest club to go down, which sparked further discussions about the wider landscape of where these clubs stand.
Scholes referenced clubs such as Newcastle, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest as potential candidates for the biggest club to be relegated from the Premier League, with Butt adding, “You throw Leeds into that as well.”
Butt also went on to share where he feels Leeds stack up when compared to some of the other biggest clubs in England.
“Take out the obvious top ones, I think they’re all in that next level, Spurs, Newcastle, Leeds, Villa, they’re that next branch below the Liverpool, Man United, City, Arsenal, Chelsea, I’d say that’s the next bracket.”
Butt continued: “If they go down (Spurs), they will be as big as any other club that has gone down.”
Whilst there is no definitive way of defining a big club, Leeds certainly belong in the conversation with the top clubs in England, and despite Butt’s Manchester United allegiance, thankfully, he was able to recognise this, even if Scholes overlooked Leeds.
Data suggests Leeds have a golden opportunity to establish themselves in the Premier League
To further enhance Leeds’ reputation as a club, the 49ers will be firmly aware of how imperative it is that United stay in the Premier League.
At this moment in time, Farke’s men look on course to achieve this goal, sitting six points clear of the drop zone with 11 Premier League games remaining.
However, even if this gap to the bottom three were to be reduced, data suggests that Leeds should be confident about their survival chances.
According to Opta’s rankings which were posted on The Athletic’s Instagram page, Leeds have the easiest fixtures of any Premier League club between now and the end of the season, meaning even if Leeds lose ground in the relegation battle should they lose to Manchester City, the data suggests there are plenty of reasons for Farke and Co. to remain positive regarding their survival prospects.
