Of Leeds United, Brexit Britain and Hope

The EU is more like a league system than a club,
Brexit more like relegation than resigning.

For a brief period in 2001, Leeds United was at the top of English football and flying high in Europe. Six years later, after a collapse which still sets a benchmark for failure in sport, they were playing in League One, football’s third tier. Now, after another thirteen years, they have returned to the Premier League.

As well as a reminder that triumph and disaster are both short-lived, Leeds’ experience can shed a light on the UK’s changing relationship with the EU.

Simply saying “we’re out” or telling Remainers “you lost, get over it”, ignores the EU’s structure which is more like a league system than a club; and just as Leeds’ free-fall ended one Saturday in August 2007, the UK’s current direction of travel, away from the EU, is by no means fixed.

From the Birkenhead to Liverpool

After two relegations, insolvency, and a pre-season points deduction, Leeds started its first season in League One in last place on minus fifteen points. Playing Tranmere Rovers at their Birkenhead ground in front of a crowd of eleven thousand, a return to the Premier League was a long way off, and further still after twenty minutes. Tranmere scored.