As far as supporting Leeds goes, it’s never easy. I wouldn’t like to think of the club as ‘cursed’ but if you took a look back at our recent history nobody could blame anyone for considering it.

Good things come to those who wait, apparently. If that is indeed true, then we are surely due something spectacular, some would say overdue.

As Leeds fans we stick by our club through the ups and downs, and in recent times we have had our fair share of the latter. You look around at other teams and ask yourself why we can’t be ‘normal’, just once.

Every transfer window opens and shuts with the disappointment and frustration we have become accustomed to. We watch our divisional rivals strengthen as they build squads capable of challenging for promotion, while we sit and cross our fingers until they turn blue, hoping for a miracle.

The miracle never comes, and we are left to scrap and chance our way through the division time after time.

With that in mind, the summer brought fresh hope in the form of a takeover. We were told to ‘dare to dream’. How fitting it is that we are now all suffering from a recurring nightmare.

The early hope soon turned to disappointment; the takeover saga has dragged on long enough to derail a season that began with an optimistic feeling of change. We thought this one would be different, how wrong we were.

With over a third of the season gone we are languishing in eighteenth place, eight points from the playoffs and seven from relegation. Eight points is by no means a huge amount at this point of the season, but when you can no longer predict where our next three points will come from, or be confident of them coming in the near future at all, you start to realise just how wide the gap has become.

Along with our league position, attendances have plummeted, as more and more fans choose to stay away until we finally become Bates free.

Those that do attend are met with an atmosphere I can only describe as eerie. Week after week we turn up hoping for the best but expecting the worst, we often find out fears justified. The days of 90 minute chanting have long gone, in its place are a few forced chants, needless to say ‘Bates out’ is the current favourite.

The energy has long been drained from everyone connected to the club, Leeds United is on it’s knees.

The season is far from over in terms of time, we still have 6 grueling months to scrap our way through, and who knows, things might finally play out in our favour. If investment in the team can be made in the next few days or once the January window opens then anything is possible, as Leeds fans we cant resist clinging to whatever shred of hope remains. For once, it would be nice to see our faith rewarded.

Things need to change and they need to change fast, the future of our club is hanging by a thin, worn and heavily strained thread.

Worryingly, if that thread snaps the only way is down.