Inside the Billy Bremner Suite in the West Stand at Elland Road, the Leeds United players and staff gathered to watch Burnley against Sheffield United.
As full-time neared and the realisation dawned that Premier League football was about to be secured, club staff entered with bottles of champagne and banners which said the word ‘Promoted’.
When the whistle blew across the Pennines, the party fever that had already started when Leeds thrashed Stoke, went up a few gears. Daniel Farke had warned he would be like a ‘fire beast’ and the ‘first on the table’ if Leeds secured promotion, and the German duly obliged, dancing away.
Winger Largie Ramazani, still in his full kit and with sunglasses on, led the way as the players’ families joined and it spoke volumes of the team spirit within this squad that a player with just seven Championship starts this season got hold of the mic and began to interview his team-mates.
It spoke volumes, too, that a 16-year-old Harry Gray, just minutes after his debut, was pushed forward by the seniors to enjoy a moment with the Kop as both the fans and players sang along to Kaiser Chiefs’ I Predict A Riot after Leeds won 6-0.
As the sun set shortly after 8pm, the Leeds players walked across the Elland Road pitch to the East Stand and came out of the other side where a sea of yellow, white and blue awaited them.
Largie Ramazani was among the Leeds players in the thick of the celebrations after promotion was confirmed
Fans came to Elland Road in droves to celebrate the return to the Premier League next season
It has been a highly impressive campaign, not without wobbles – and now the planning begins
Thousands upon thousands of fans had gathered behind the stadium gates to celebrate, with police advising the players to split into two groups to engage with the masses awaiting them. One club employee joked that it was as far apart as they’ve been all season.
The skipper, Ethan Ampadu pretended to smoke from a pyrotechnic flare. Vice-captain Pascal Struijk changed into the iconic 2001-03 away kit with Strongbow as the sponsor and Lucas Radebe’s name on the back.
Every one of them knew what this meant and they partied long into the night, eventually finishing in the early hours at the SkyLounge bar at the Doubletree Hilton hotel near Leeds train station. The 13th-floor venue boasts spectacular panoramic views of the city and specialises in cocktails, with no fewer than 30 on the menu ranging from £12.50 to £16. More celebratory Champagne was available, too – with bottles of Louis Roderer Cristal on offer at £450 a pop – while Guinness is £7.50 a pint.
On the eve of this season, Ampadu told the hierarchy that he wanted the bonus pot for 2024-25 to be divided equally between all the players, rather than splitting it proportionately depending on who contributed more, as is normally the case.
Ampadu was one of those in tears when Leeds lost the Championship play-off final last year and knew they needed togetherness across the squad to go again.
On that night after losing at Wembley, Farke wanted to draw a line under it so they went ahead with the scheduled gathering back in Leeds and promised never to talk about it again.
‘The lads that were here last year – we all felt that hurt,’ said Ampadu. ‘After the game at Wembley we wanted to put it right straightaway.’
They have done that in style – with 89 goals in 44 games and two wins away from reaching 100 points. On many an occasion, opposition managers have walked into the press conference room simply stating they had no answer against the best side in the division.
Ethan Ampadu, pictured pretending to smoke a pyrotechnic flare, insisted there’s a hunger to win the title not just settle for promotion
Plenty in the Bremner Suite on Monday wanted a Sheffield United equaliser, which would have still seen Leeds go up but also put them two points clear of Burnley in the race for the title. In the immediate aftermath, Ampadu stressed that ambition loud and clear.
‘Within ourselves we’ve got another target so we can enjoy this now, but we’ve got another target we want to achieve. Everyone knows what the next part is, but right now, it’s fantastic.’
Go back to April 5 when, after drawing to a relegation-battling Luton, Leeds dropped out of the top two and were booed off by sections of their travelling support.
It was one win in six for Farke’s side but two weeks and four wins from four later, they have achieved their aim with two games to spare.
On that afternoon in Luton, Farke told journalists it was ‘definitely a point gained’ and he was still sure Leeds would be a Premier League club next season.
That messaging to the media has been the same one given to the players by a manager who now boasts three promotions to what he calls ‘The Promised Land.’
Daniel Farke stayed at the helm and the Leeds owners were rewarded for backing him
It’s further vindication too for 49ers Enterprises, who realised that their 90-point tally last season would have usually been enough and stuck with Farke, in a division where managers on average last less than a year.
‘When you are a bit longer in this business, you can feel what the players need sometimes,’ Farke said on Monday night.
‘When you work for such an emotional club, even after every draw, the world goes down. Everyone who works for the club is a supporter and there’s lots of panic. I was 100 per cent convinced we would get promoted. Normally I don’t like to speak like this in public but sometimes I need to show steel, I never lie’, the German insisted.
Leeds have the highest wage bill in the Championship and their quality is clear but Farke has always placed an emphasis on investing in players with plenty of character too, knowing just how volatile the second tier can be.
It was telling too that he decided against making a signing during the January window, while all around invested.
Jayden Bogle, signed from Sheffield United last summer, came in with promotion experience at right back and has arguably been the signing of the season, while midfielder Ao Tanaka, who came from the German second division, is a fan favourite.
Jayden Bogle has been a superb signing and offered a dependable presence at right-back
Joel Piroe is leading the Championship golden boot race but can be streaky
Leeds got Joe Rodon as part of the Archie Gray deal and used their relationship with Tottenham to bring in Manor Solomon on loan. Both have played major roles through the season.
Joel Piroe, who scored four on Monday having gone goalless in nine, leads the Championship golden boot race and Farke – known for his loyalty – compared his striker to shaking a bottle of ketchup. ‘All of a sudden everything comes out and that was the case,’ he said.
Above all, a promotion-at-all-costs mentality has engulfed the club, as evidenced by a ridiculous home league record where they’ve only lost once all season (to Burnley) and scored 20 goals in the opening 20 minutes of their 22 games at Elland Road this season.
Those electric starts have been essential to calming the nerves of what Farke regularly calls the ‘most emotional fanbase in western Europe’.
Even when Stoke won the toss on Monday and turned Leeds around so that they were attacking the Kop rather than South Stand in the first half, they flew out of the blocks and were three up by the 20-minute mark.
Perhaps the only real criticism of Farke was his faith in keeper Illan Meslier, who was dropped earlier this month for Karl Darlow. Without Meslier’s errors, Leeds would have gone up sooner but it took until April for the manager to go against his initial word and make what was his toughest decision of the season. Better late than never.
That said, plans for the Premier League have started already and no one needs to tell Farke how ruthless and unforgiving it can be – he has already tasted relegation before with Norwich and been sacked.
Angus Kinnear (CEO) is set to take Nick Hammond (Football Advisor) and Gary Penrice (scout) to Everton so there is plenty of change at Thorp Arch in terms of recruitment personnel, and Leeds will have a busy summer in the transfer window.
Ilan Meslier was dropped in April and it seems likely that he will move on this summer
A cut-out of the highly venerated Leeds boss is spotted in the window of a supporter’s house
Kalvin Phillips could make a return to his old side as the club seek experience in the ranks
Julian Weigl of Borussia Monchengladbach (centre) is of interest for Leeds this summer
Meslier is expected to leave if an offer comes in and a new goalkeeper is high on the priority list with Leeds linked to Wolves’ Sam Johnstone.
The club will look to turn Solomon’s loan into a permanent deal – the Israeli international is keen to stay but Spurs may receive offers from elsewhere – and a top striker is also wanted. Leeds will also look to strengthen in central midfield, with Borussia Monchengladbach’s Julian Weigl of interest. A potential return for Kalvin Phillips, 29, has been discussed too with Leeds prioritising the need for experience this summer.
Meanwhile, the plans to expand Elland Road to a capacity of 56,500 will begin imminently, with the executive board of Leeds City Council set to meet on Wednesday.
Either way, the attention on this famous club will now crank up a notch. The next fortnight is for celebration, with an open-top bus parade expected.
As Farke said on Monday night: ‘I just want beer after beer and champagne after champagne right now and don’t bother me with football, we’ll speak about it in a few days.’
The German hasn’t always found it easy to win over the fanbase but his name is etched in the history of this club now, alongside Bielsa as the only two managers to take Leeds up to the Premier League. It was late on Monday when the 48-year-old recalled the moment that his love affair with the club started, back in 2019.
Farke embraced Piroe as the players and manager were drenched in champagne on Monday
‘In my second year at Norwich, Marcelo (Bielsa) was on the other side. We came here, Elland Road was buzzing with all the white scarves and I remember thinking: “what an atmosphere”. Even at Premier League level, you don’t have this. You could feel something really special about this place,’ Farke recalled.
‘Even on that day as an opposition manager, I remember thinking that one day I’d like to be in charge of this unbelievable club with all their emotion and to bring the club back to where it belongs. Because this club, without any doubt, belongs in the Premier League. At the moment, we can’t label ourselves as an established Premier League side but this is why I signed the contract,’ he added.
The talk around Leeds on Tuesday was that the celebrations were incredible but nothing compared to the scenes when they ended 16 years of hurt in 2020 under Bielsa and got promoted.
But they are no longer content with just going up. From now on, Leeds United must do whatever it takes to remain in the Premier League.
