Watching Birmingham City vs Leeds United on Sunday was like stepping into a time machine.
The Whites didn’t look anything like a Marcelo Bielsa side as they uncharacteristically shipped four goals while also scoring five.
For a neutral it was great entertainment, for a Birmingham fan it was heartbreak, and for a Leeds supporter, it was absolute jubilation.
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Somewhat poetically, Leeds’ final game of 2019 seemingly mirrored the club’s journey through this decade, and it’s probably the most befitting way for the Whites to wave goodbye to the 2010s.
Just as they did in 2010, Leeds got off to a good start against the Blues, going 2-0 up. To start things off, this mirrors the promising start to the decade, winning League One and then finishing seventh in their first term back in the Championship.
Unfortunately, things came crashing down as Birmingham drew level, paralleling Leeds’ poor period with multiple bottom-half finishes throughout the mid-2010s.
Then in typical Leeds style, things got hectic. The Elland Road side and Birmingham exchanged goals during an unpredictable portion of the game, a spell of football which was almost the personification of Massimo Cellino’s ownership of the club.
He was found guilty of tax evasion in an incredibly topsy-turvy time for the club.
However, back on the field and it looked as if Leeds had found a saviour late on when Stuart Dallas made it 4-3. However, a late equaliser from Lukas Jutkiewicz drew things level.
A false dawn and then a crash back down to earth? Sounds a little bit like Garry Monk’s tenure followed by the Thomas Christensen and Paul Heckingbottom era.
Leeds finally came good in the dying seconds as Jack Harrison put United 5-4 up. The loanee saving United’s skin pretty much imitates the arrival of Marcelo Bielsa and Leeds finished the game 5-4 to the good, just as they end the decade nine points clear at the top of the Championship.
It certainly wasn’t on purpose, but football sometimes throws up these strange parallels and Leeds’ final game of the decade perfectly emulated the rollercoaster ride that the club has been on over the past ten years.
In other news, Phil Hay reckons one Leeds man may have been waving goodbye on Sunday.
