bwin Sportsblog - Football - Leeds on the way back?

They say that in order to bounce back then you first have to hit the bottom. Well surely Leeds United hit the bottom by being relegated to the third tier of English football. This is a team who were English Champions in 1992 and 90 minutes away from a Champions League final in 2001. But they lived the dream like so many teams and it blew up in their faces like a firework. But the performances in the FA Cup this season were outstanding and their players and Simon Grayson deserve massive credit. The chances that they created at Old Trafford when they won 1-0 were amazing and they could have scored four or maybe five goals. Then they trailed Spurs no fewer than three times over the two games and came back each time. But quality shone through in the end and David Bentley was outstanding last night. If there is a better finisher in England than Jermain Defoe then I am yet to see him. He will make a great option for Fabio Capello to have in the World Cup. Spurs travel to Bolton in the last 16 and with Arsenal, Man United and Liverpool out then a few clubs are going to be fancying their chances. But Leeds need to concentrate on promotion now and things have become slightly worrying in the league after their big lead has been eroded and the 3-0 loss at Swindon may have been a wake up call for them. It is hard to see Jermaine Beckford still being a Leeds player next season and they are probably resigned to losing him. But I wouldn't mind betting that a few clubs would have been looking very closely at the Leeds keeper as well Casper Ankergren. His performances against the big teams and the fact that he is only 31 years of age will have raised a few eyebrows. But Leeds are used to losing players, they lost an entire team when they were relegated from the Premier League. See you soon Carl