Leeds look likely to blossom for White Rose but Blades will wilt

The Blades had been in the top two of the Championship all season thanks, in the main, to a devastating start that brought 30 points from the opening 11 games. It meant their success was fully deserved.

Leeds, whose draw at home to champions Reading the previous Saturday had ironically been the result that had sparked the popping of champagne corks in the Steel City, still fancied their chances of making it a Yorkshire double via the play-offs.

History, of course, tells us that it was Watford and not Leeds who were destined to triumph in the 2006 final at the Millennium Stadium to book their place in the top flight.

As a result, the balance of power in White Rose football had shifted, as then manager Neil Warnock gleefully pointed out later that summer after raiding Elland Road to sign Rob Hulse, Matthew Kilgallon and Ian Bennett. Up the M1, there was just a resigned shrug of the shoulders to Warnock’s boast about the Blades being “the top club in Yorkshire”.

Sheffield United went on to spend just one season among the elite but Leeds supporters were in no position to crow 12 months later about the demise of Warnock’s men thanks to their own club’s catastrophic slide into both the third tier of English football and administration.

Also, the transfer kitty handed to Bryan Robson – £7m was spent on James Beattie, Gary Naysmith and Billy Sharp during the summer that saw Leeds’s future hanging in the balance – suggested the Blades were not going to give up their new-found bragging rights in the county without a fight.

Robson’s appointment did not, however, go to plan and by the following May it was Hull City who were on the up courtesy of ‘that’ goal by Dean Windass at Wembley.

Once Middlesbrough’s own stay among the elite had ended in 2009, that left just Hull flying the flag for the county in the Premier League.

Now, though, the mantle of Yorkshire’s top club is well and truly up for grabs after a season of contrasting emotions for the county’s sides.

At the Lane, 2010-11 has been nothing short of a nightmare with four managers being unable to halt the club’s slide.

Middlesbrough’s position in the Championship table may be slightly healthier than that being occupied by Micky Adams’s men. But, considering they started the season as the bookmakers’ favourites for promotion, Boro’s season can only be marked down as a hugely disappointing affair.

Doncaster and Barnsley have had solid campaigns with both occupying a position in lower mid-table, which may be more of a disappointment to the Rovers fans who, like this correspondent, thought Sean O’Driscoll’s side had an outside chance of making the play-offs following last summer’s transfer coup of signing Sharp from the Blades.

At the KC Stadium, the huge concerns fans had about Hull’s perilous financial state meant the season kicked off amid an air of pessimism that was only really dispelled in December when the Allam family took charge. Money was immediately provided for transfers and hopes are now high in the East Riding that Hull can force their way into the play-off reckoning.

Also in confident mood ahead of the final seven weeks are the Elland Road faithful, whose side have spent more than half the season occupying a place in the top six.

Exactly where all six of the region’s clubs will finish remains to be seen with the only certainty being that several twists and turns still lay ahead.

With that in mind, only a fool would try to predict how the run-in is going to pan out. So, here goes....

First, the bad news. I just can’t see a way out of trouble for Sheffield United – especially as, of their remaining nine games, almost half are against teams currently occupying a place in the top six.

Leeds United are the first up of that quartet tomorrow for a 1pm kick-off at the Lane that will see the home side missing suspended duo Lee Williamson and Darius Henderson. Manager Adams, also revealed yesterday that Johnny Ertl is out for the season with a knee injury, further weakening a squad that has under-achieved.

Middlesbrough are also one of the Blades’ remaining opponents and Tony Mowbray’s side should have enough to get the three wins required to get out of trouble.

It is a similar story for Barnsley who appear to be one of the few Championship sides with little to play for in the next few weeks but pride. Doncaster should also stay clear of trouble, though this will have more to do with the failings of the existing bottom three than any great effort on their own part.

At Hull, Nigel Pearson has done a fine job in steering the Tigers up the table after a slow start that saw goals and points hard to come by in the opening three months.

From the last 22 games, however, Hull have claimed 41 points to soar up to ninth in the table. My fear, though, is they have just that bit too much to do in the fight for a play-off place – especially with their remaining fixtures including games against Norwich City, Swansea City, Millwall and QPR.

Leeds also travel to Loftus Road but not until the final day of the season when it would be a major surprise if the Londoners were not already up and, therefore, not quite as daunting opposition as they will no doubt prove to be a couple of weeks earlier.

Another factor in United’s favour is that, the televised April 2 meeting with Nottingham Forest apart, their run-in does not appear too arduous and that is why I am backing Grayson’s side to finish the campaign with both a play-off place and the mantle of Yorkshire’s top team.