It's Been 23 years since Leeds last played an FA Cup quarter-final, but hopefully this one will be better......
Leeds and the FA Cup haven't exactly always had the best relationship. Despite being at the top of the domestic game for nearly a decade in the 60's and 70's, we only have 1 solitary FA Cup trophy to our name. It's a competition that has seen some of our most painful defeats; from final replay heartbreak against Chelsea, to humiliation suffered at the hands of lower league opposition (I'll save our blushes and refrain from listing them all).
Dreadful FA Cup Records
However, our relationship with the Cup has really soured in the modern era. When Farke's team travels to London on Sunday to face West Ham in the quarter-finals it will be the first time in 23 years that Leeds have reached that stage of the competition. 23 years. It's a farcically poor record. In fact, if you want a sobering insight into just how much time has passed since our last quarter-final appearance, check out stat man and Leeds fan Jonny Cooper's tweet below:
Although it has been a ridiculously long time since we last graced this round of the FA Cup, those that can remember the last outing won't exactly be looking back fondly....
Losing to Warnock and Co....Twice
On the 9th of March 2003, Leeds travelled the short distance south to Brammall Lane, the home of First Division Sheffield United. The omens weren't great; the Blades had already knocked Leeds out of the League Cup on their home turf only a few months beforehand. To make matters worse Sheffield United were then managed by future Leeds failure, Neil Warnock, and contained players like Paddy Kenny, Michael Tonge, and Michael Brown - all of whom would eventually join Warnock at Elland Road and prove to be equally as shit.
Leeds Spiralling
It was hardly a vintage Leeds side; the previous season had seen Leeds miss out on the Champions League for a second successive campaign, and the dire financial repercussions were quickly taking their toll. Leeds were forced to sell key players leaving the team a shell of its previous self. The fact that Leeds struggled past Gillingham with the aid of a replay, before narrowly beating a Crystal Palace team who were a league below in the previous rounds, was indicative of how deeply the rot had set in.
Painful Memories
I have vague recollections of watching the tie against Sheffield United, but I've unfortunately had to seek out the highlights in order to jog my memory. The game itself looked like a dire affair, not helped by a pitch that wouldn't have looked out of place in the 70's. A miserable game was eventually decided by a Steve Kabba strike in the 78th minute when he lashed in a volley after Danny Mills had blocked Michael Tonge's initial effort.
Late in the game Mills almost received his marching orders for a 2nd bookable offence despite having not committed a first one. Thankfully the ref realised it was Mills' fellow follically challenged team mate, Seth Johnson, who he'd booked earlier in the match (a referee taking on-field accountability and reversing his mistake? those were the days).
Not that it mattered anyway, the full-time whistle blew soon after and Leeds had yet again been dumped out a cup by the same lower league opposition. As Terry Venables said in his post match interview, 'fairytales don't always come true'. No, Terry, they don't. And us Leeds fans know that better than most.
A Welcome Distraction
I'm looking forward to Sunday's game; it's a welcome distraction from the inevitable dread filled weeks ahead. Although, I'll readily retract that statement should a typical Leeds-esque embarrassment unfold.
