Mad Brit Diary

Relegation of Leeds is a sad spectacle.

(Friday, May 7, 2004) -- It's a sad day in Yorkshire, that lovely county in the northeast of England. Leeds United, the only team in the region playing top-flight soccer, has been relegated to the English Coca-Cola First Division.

After 15 years at the top, Leeds is now humbled. Former coach Don Revie and star player Billy Bremner, who helped the team win the 1972 FA Cup and 1974 league title, must be turning in their graves. Will the last one out of Elland Road, please turn out the lights -- the Fat Lady has sung and gone home. What Leeds needs now is for that fine Mad Scot, Gordon Strachan, to ride to the rescue and coach the team back to glory.

Australian star Mark Viduka has been cast as the villain in this sad affair. Shortly after giving Leeds a 1-0 lead against Bolton Wanderers in the first half of last week's game, Viduka threw an elbow and was sent to the showers. Leeds then fell apart, losing 4-1 and sealing its fate to First Division soccer. Falling into the lower division will cost the club over $35 million in lost TV revenue.

Now comes the selling of the crown jewels. Leeds wage bill is currently $75 million. In the First Division, the average payroll is $16 million. Leeds will try and seek buyers for Viduka, Alan Smith, Paul Robinson, Gary Kelly, Ian Harte and Michael Duberry in an attempt to cut its salary obligation in half. The club is also in debt of $89 million.

For Smith, a life-long Leeds fan, it was especially tough. He will leave the club, but says he would come back if the team gets back in the EPL.

Once upon a time Leeds was a joy to watch. The club was one of England's finest along with Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal. In the decade from 1965-75, Leeds played some wonderful soccer, but the club was known as an under-achiever. In that glorious mentioned decade, seven different clubs won the league, including Leeds in 1969 and 1975. The Yorkshire club won the title again in 1992, in the last year of the old English First Division, the Premiership predecessor, under Howard Wilkinson.

A few years ago Leeds was in the Champions League after a number of boring seasons, but everything began to fall apart in 2001. David O'Leary, now the coach of in-form Aston Villa, spent the club dry on players in his quest for greatness. Two Leeds players no longer with the team beat up an Asian student outside of a night club. From then on, things began to unravel. Leeds went broke and looked for new owners. The last time Leeds dropped down, it took eight years to return to the top in 1990. Let's hope the lads will be back soon.

Paolo Maldini might becoming out of international retirement for Italy at Euro 2004. The Milan defender quit the national team after the 2002 World Cup

Brad Friedel will miss Blackburn Rovers' last two games of the season with a groin injury Chelsea spent more than $260 million on players in the last year and will end the season with no silverware after falling to Monaco in the Champions League semifinals. What a great story! Monaco was broke and going nowhere -- now the French League team is in the final of the Champions League after killing off Real Madrid and Chelsea. Fernando Morientes, on loan from Real Madrid, certainly earned his wages this season.

Nice to see Colombian star Juan Pablo Angel do well at Aston Villa. He has 22 goals this season. . . Sad to see Leciester Les Ferdinand retire. Ferdinand scored five goals in 17 games for England.

Could it be true that the Los Angeles Galaxy hasn't won on the road in 18 games and Arsenal is still undefeated this season?

England superstar David Beckham is the highest paid soccer player in the world, earning around $26.9 million in 2003. According to France Football magazine, Real Madrid paid him around $7.9 million, including bonuses, while his off-field endorsements made up the remainder.

Real's Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane are next on the list, while Liverpool and England striker Michael Owen is the Premiership's best paid player. Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson is the highest paid coach.

Here's the rich guys list. Beckham ($26.9 million, Ronaldo ($19.7 million), Zidane ($16.8 million), Owen ($10.9 million), Ferguson ($10.4 million), England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson ($6.6 million),Roma manager Fabio Capello ($5 million) and Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger ($4.1 million).

The Kansas City Wizards are drawing crowds. With goals from United States national-team stars Chris Klein and Josh Wolff, the Wizards downed the Colorado Rapids 2-0 at Arrowhead Stadium Saturday before 24,740 fans, the second highest regular-season attendance in Wizards history.

Harry Kirshner says: "Hey, Mad Brit. I hope you got to see (Landon) Donovan against Mexico the other day. It was simply the best performance I have ever seen by a U.S. player in an international. That being said, Landon has no goals in five games for the (San Jose) Earthquakes this season, and his previous 5 or 6 performances for the U.S. national team were mediocre. I think that all of this adds up to the real possibility that he is bored, being way too gifted to stay in Major League Soccer."

Heard a rumor, have a gripe or a tip? Feeling lonely? E-mail the Mad Brit at themadbrit3@aol.com.