As Leeds fall through the Premiership trapdoor, they will discover whether they have a hangman's noose around their neck or a bungy rope to bounce them straight back up. The club have painfully discovered the high price of unfettered ambition and dreams of Champions League glory.
Relegation is no respecter of reputations and painful as it is, Leeds' ambition now has to be strictly small-time if they are to recover.
The last time Leeds were relegated from the top flight, it took them eight years to clamber back and, like it or not, they will have to swallow a lot of pride and learn harsh lessons from others.
If they are prepared to do that, relegation could be a blessing in disguise, a chance to reassess, regroup and recover.
Any reluctance on their part to accept the punishment and learn lessons could see them go the same way as Sheffield Wednesday, who are recovering at leisure in Division Two from the rigours of Premiership relegation with the millstone of a heavy wage bill.
When Leeds last went down in 1982, the fall was not so great.
 Denis Law took no delight in sending Manchester United down |
Before freedom of contract, sky-high wage bills and multi-million pound television deals, relegation was not the crippling financial blow it is now and clubs were able to keep the players they needed to mount a quick recovery.
Leeds simply cannot sustain their wage bill in Division One, which invariably means their top stars will be sold.
Big clubs have recovered from the shock of relegation in the past.
Manchester United were arguably the biggest club to have dropped out of the top flight when Denis Law's back-heel sent them tumbling in 1974.
Relegation acted as a filip for United, allowing them to shed the dead wood and whirl back into the top flight with an exciting team that included the Greenhoffs, Gordon Hill, Steve Coppell and Stuart Pearson.
Arguably, they have not looked back since.
Whoever is Leeds' manager next season will have to be deft in the art of ferreting out players who can do a good short-term job, or getting a promising crop of youth players to develop their A-game earlier than planned.
SO WHAT'S IN LEEDS' FAVOUR?
The fact that they are still going helps. They came perilously close to going out of business but, if another planned takeover does not happen, they could still slip into administration.  There's no hiding place after relegation |
The fact Leeds is a one-club city means they can pretty much rely on the support of their fanatical fans. The First Division is not exactly strong at the moment, and any consistency could see them mount a promotion campaign. They may be forced to sell their top stars, but their future will rest on their promising crop of youngsters. WHAT COULD WORK AGAINST THEM?
Their debts may force them to offload so many players that they do not have a viable squad to make a push. If they fail to get off to a flying start, even their fanatical support may drop off. Any drop in crowds will affect an already precarious financial position. The effect of relegation may just place the club in a state of shock they may find hard to recover from. If they fail to learn their lessons, and again allow ambition to cloud reality. 
MMIX
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