Leeds began the season in the same strong form that helped them avoid relegation the previous year, and by Christmas Day were in the play-off places, leaving fans cautiously optimistic that Brian McDermott might be the man to take them back into the top-flight after a decade away.

GFH Capital, who had purchased the club the previous year, announced that they did not have the funds to continue running the club long-term, and eventually sold Leeds to maverick Italian owner Massimo Cellino, who immediately ran afoul of the Football Association's fit and proper persons test due to a past criminal conviction.

The uncertainty had a clear effect on the field, with Leeds' form collapsing dramatically, eventually leading to a farcial episode where McDermott was sacked, only to be reinstated a few days later.

The team won only three games in-between Christmas Day and April 8, before a late flurry of ten points from their final five matches stabilized their league position (though they would have survived even had they not gained any points from these games, largely thanks to the dismal form of the bottom four sides).

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