Hard Nipples

The Deliberate Strategy

Written by: Steven York
Artwork by: Arley Byrne
Artwork from Arley Byrne depicting the sale of Archie Gray to Tottenham, and in turn the death of all romance in football.

In terms of forging meaningful relationships between club and fans, repeatedly attempting to gaslight them isnโ€™t a recommended tactic. Leeds United arenโ€™t good at transfer windows. Theyโ€™re even worse at handling fan expectations during transfer windows.

The toxic trait that Leeds have failed to shake for numerous years is failing to secure key targets in the window, yet still wanting to get the credit for trying. This summer it was Gustavo Hamer and Roland Sallai, but the most extreme example was probably the clubโ€™s reverence in its attempt to sign Cody Gakpo in the summer of 2022. The narrative that fans should be excited or appreciative of the clubโ€™s ambition to try and sign players of this level falls horrifyingly flat when weโ€™re left kicking our heels and wondering how gaps in the squad are going to be filled.

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