There was a nice little story that had been going on for a while at Leeds Unitedwhere a group of Americans helped a famous English Premier League club in its quest to revive past glories.
At some point, the story got a little murky. Now, with just two games left in the EPL season, the ending could be decidedly bittersweet.
Leeds’ relationship with the United States began with former head coach Jesse Marsch, who was hired last February and tasked with keeping Leeds in the elite of English football.
He achieved that goal, significantly avoiding relegation in 2022 (and all its dire financial consequences) thanks to a thrilling victory on the final day of last season, then celebrated in part by buying back US National Team stars Tyler Adams And Brenden AaronsonSince RB Leipzig And Red Bull Salzburgrespectively.
In January, after a solid performance at the World Cup, the midfielder Weston McKennie has joined them since Juveunder a loan agreement which has the possibility of becoming permanent.
It was a neat little setup and while Leeds were humming along, all seemed well. Several English newspapers were talking and talking positively about the American connection, Adams was becoming particularly noted, it all served as evidence of the continuing maturation of American football and fans based on this side of the Atlantic had a new, or at least a new, second, team to cheer for.
Marsch was fired in February after a poor run of form, capped by a seven-game winless streak. Another American – assistant coach Chris Armas – had been brought in a month earlier and was then asked to stay on and guide the team during an interim phase, before Javi Gracia was hired.
Then Armas was fired, Gracia was quickly fired as well, and performances went from shaky to downright hopeless, to the point where Leeds have now won just one of their last nine games and sit 18th in the league table. 20 teams.
In a final draw, veteran coach Sam Allardyce was brought in urgently to try to prevent the drop – with the bottom three in the table being demoted to the Second Division Championship each year.
The consequences of this decision were manifold. In 2004, Leeds were relegated despite having reached the Champions League semi-final a few years earlier. It took them 16 long years to recover.
As for the American players, Adams is out for the rest of the season with a hamstring injury that required surgery. Aaronson’s early-season promise has faded and he’s getting little game time. McKennie has had some good performances from time to time, but his future is uncertain. There’s, frankly, no chance Leeds will exercise McKennie’s option to buy if the team is no longer in the Premier League.
The situation looks bleak. Appointments that involve a visit to West Ham Sunday and a home game against Tottenham To close out the season, the task of survival is difficult, but not impossible.
Around them, Nottingham Forest And Everton They looked like relegation candidates for a while, but they did just enough to move above the bottom spots, with fighting spirit and a timely win here and there.
Southampton is already relegated, while LeicesterPremier League champions just seven years ago, now need a miracle comparable to that famous 5,000-1 triumph to get through.
If the worst happens – and we won’t say it’s unthinkable because it’s become very, very possible – to Leeds, what will happen to the American players? It’s a quiet period for the national team after the World Cup, but the overall health of the American team requires that its best players play for favorable clubs.
Adams will find some demand, and while American fans would love to see him playing in the Champions League somewhere, reality dictates that his defensive midfield abilities could be very valuable to a Premier League team trying to position themselves as a mid-tier survivalist.
Aaronson might be better served staying at Leeds, and a year in the Championship struggles might do him no harm. At his highest level, he is one of the United States’ most dynamic players, but he found life more difficult as the season progressed and is just the latest player to find the transition to soccer Exhausting English.
McKennie has no shortage of talent, but again, his best chance of staying at a truly elite club probably disappeared after his departure from Juventus. Like Adams, a stay in the Premier League with a mid-table team would make sense.
The promotion and relegation system is one of the elements that makes European football so attractive. Every game counts, with a stark financial difference in TV payouts given to teams moving down a division.
There are many factors at play and some harsh realities cannot be avoided. It is not, if we are honest, looking very rosy for Leeds.
Far from being an American dream, as a witty journalist discovered early in the season, it has turned into a very English nightmare.
Martin Rogers is a columnist for FOX Sports and author of the FOX Sports Insider newsletter. Follow him on Twitter @MRogersFOX And subscribe to the daily newsletter.
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