Re: [LU] Damned United

[SeanScribe]

I remember it like it was yesterday. It was one of the moments when you know nothing will ever be the same, or as you hoped it would be. I was online, on sportinglife.com's main football page. There was a link to a story about Leeds, but it was supposed to be about something bland, probably an injury story or a transfer rumor, but the Woodgate/Bowyer story must have JUST broken, because when I clicked on the link, instead of the story I expected, there was the story about Woodgate, Bowyer and the Majestyk. I immediately felt the kharmic change. As a longtime Leeds supporter, there had been this surreal tone about the O'Leary years up to that point. We were playing beautiful, bold, attacking football, taking the League and Europe by storm, and even though we were already well into the longest, worst injury crisis I can ever remember a major club suffering, our traditional bad luck otherwise seemed to be holding off. We had the best crop of young talent coming through of perhaps any club in Europe, and even the newspapers were writing nice things about us. The future was bright, the future was white. Like I said, it was surreal. This sort of vibe wasn't anything I'd experienced before as Leeds supporter (since 1973). I had been wondering what sort of come-uppance the gods had in store for us. As soon as I clicked on that link, I knew. I saw the future flash before me. I knew O'Leary's babies would never win the league. That we would probably never win anything until I was middle-aged. (Although we gave the Champions League a terrific crack.) I'm not sure even I was pessimistic enough to foresee several years in the Championship (the full extent of Ridsdale's folly had yet to be revealed), but I knew the good times were coming to a shuddering halt.   Cheers!   Sean