Copy linkFacebookXPinterestEmailShare this article 0Join the conversationFollow usAdd us as a preferred source on GoogleNewsletterSubscribe to our newsletterLeeds United will start the 2026/27 season on the up following last years successful return to the Premier League.The club failed to establish themselves back in the top flight following their previous promotion in 2020, as their return from a 16-year Premier League exile ended after just three seasons, but supporters will now be hoping that they are back among the big boys of English football for the long haul.During the 1990s and early 2000s, Leeds were often one of the Premier Leagues most exciting sides, their high-water mark being the run to the Champions League semi-finals in 2001, before the house of cards built by Peter Ridsdale came crashing down.Lucas Radebe on Leeds 2004 relegationJust three years on from their defeat to Valencia in the last-four of Europes biggest club competition, Leeds found themselves relegated following a turgid campaign which saw a squad, still packed with stars, fail to beat the drop.Leeds United legend Lucas Radebe was at the club throughout this rise and fall, with injuries meaning the South African was only able to feature 14 times in the 2003/04 campaign, a season which still weighs heavy on him. You may like Former captain Lucas Radebe reflects on Leeds United's rise and future Leeds United survived the drop last season, and now work is being done to cement the Whites as a Premier League outfit: Leeds 2026-27 season preview I joined Leeds United to babysit my compatriot Phil Masinga, but I ended up staying there for 10 years Lucas Radebes unlikely path to becoming an Elland Road legend That was very tough to take, especially as we had competed in the UEFA Cup during the 2002-03 season, Radebe tells FourFourTwo as he recalls the rapid nature of the clubs decline.The next year, we saw the decline in our players and standard of game, he continues. It was saddening because we were trying hard, but it felt like everything was against us.Get FourFourTwo NewsletterThe best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.The club's financial issues were beginning to hit home after chairman Peter Ridsdales admission that the club had lived the dream and bankrolled a series of spending sprees on the assumption that the club would be regular participants in the Champions League.We were being dragged down to the relegation zone and due to mismanagement were losing the quality that had pushed us up the Premier League, he continues.For Radebe, who joined the club from South African side Kaizer Chiefs in 1994 and established himself as one of the fans all-time favourites over the next decade, relegation really hit home when he looked to these supporters.When we got relegated, we saw on the supporters faces what it meant to them. That was tough, very sad, he recalls, before paying tribute to the unwavering loyalty of the Elland Road faithful.But the most important thing was that the fans never lost hope of a return.But for Leeds supporters it has been a rollercoaster ride, and it was a difficult time for the whole club until we finally made it back into the Premier League 16 years later, in 2020.TOPICSLeeds UnitedPremier LeagueJoe MewisSocial Links NavigationFor more than a decade, Joe Mewis has worked in football journalism as a reporter and editor. Mewis has had stints at Mirror Football and LeedsLive among others and worked at FourFourTwo throughout Euro 2024, reporting on the tournament. In addition to his journalist work, Mewis is also the author of four football history books that include times on Leeds United and the England national team. Now working as a digital marketing coordinator at Harrogate Town, too, Mewis counts some of his best career moments as being in the iconic Spygate press conference under Marcelo Bielsa and seeing his beloved Leeds lift the Championship trophy during lockdown.With contributions fromGrant Shub
