As 2014 draws to a close, we take a look back at an eventful last 12 months for Leeds United, starting all the way back on New Year’s Day when Blackburn Rovers were the visitors at Elland Road...

January

Following a mixed Christmas period, United entered 2014 occupying seventh in the Championship and level on 35 points with sixth-placed Ipswich Town. Brian McDermott remained optimistic of his side’s Play-Off chances, telling LUTV they had “everything to play for” with 23 games still to go. The year started in miserable fashion, though, as a 2-1 defeat to Blackburn was followed by losses to Rochdale, Sheffield Wednesday and Leicester City. Cameron Stewart and Jimmy Kebe were brought in on loan deals as McDermott looked to address his lack of width. United’s first point of 2014 came on January 28 in the shape of a 1-1 draw at home to Ipswich. Eleonora Sport, the consortium fronted by Massimo Cellino, appeared to have taken control of the club from owners GFH Capital in the closing hours of January and media reports suggested McDermott had been removed from his post ahead of the Yorkshire derby with Huddersfield.

February

February started with a bang. Following a night of intense speculation surrounding the club and the future of McDermott, Nigel Gibbs took charge of United and saw them cruise to an emphatic 5-1 win over Huddersfield, thanks to a Ross McCormack hat-trick and goals from Jimmy Kebe and Alex Mowatt. In the aftermath of the game, the club released a statement clarifying that McDermott had “not been dismissed from his post as has been suggested” and remained the first-team manager. He took training on the Monday morning and guided United to a 2-1 win at Yeovil Town the following Saturday. The day earlier, chairman Salah Nooruddin released a statement to confirm contracts had been exchanged with Eleonora Sport for the sale of 75 per cent of the club, subject to Football League approval. United then suffered a midweek 1-0 defeat at Brighton before ending the month with a televised 0-0 draw away to Middlesbrough. McDermott bolstered his squad with the loan signings of goalkeeper Jack Butland, who made an impressive debut at the Riverside, and striker Connor Wickham, who had tormented United earlier in the season while on loan at Sheffield Wednesday.

March

United started the month live on Sky Sports once again, picking up a positive 1-1 draw away to QPR, but heavy home defeats to Bolton and Reading followed and any lingering hopes of a top-six finish were rapidly diminishing. A 2-1 loss at promotion hopefuls Burnley was followed by an encouraging 2-1 home win over Millwall, but United were to then lose their next five on the bounce and slipped into the bottom half of the table. Bournemouth and Doncaster both took three points from United as McDermott’s side ended the month of March in 15th place. Off the pitch, Massimo Cellino was disqualified from taking over the club and subsequently lodged an appeal against the Football League.

April

April started with 1-0 defeats to both Charlton and Wigan Athletic, but it proved to be one of the club’s most significant months of the year as an independent QC overturned the Football League’s decision against Massimo Cellino and he was granted approval to purchase a majority stake in the club. Cellino was cleared to take up his position as a director of the club on April 10 following a Football League board meeting in London. United were beaten 3-0 by Watford at Vicarage Road but ended the season in relatively positive fashion. A Luke Murphy double sunk Blackpool at Elland Road before top scorer Ross McCormack put Barnsley to the sword as United made it back-to-back Championship wins for the first time since February. However, a 2-0 home defeat to Nottingham Forest followed before the month ended on a high with a 3-1 win at Birmingham – United’s final away game of the season.

May

Matt Smith’s 13th goal of the campaign secured a 1-1 draw with Derby County on the final day of the season as the curtain was drawn on 2013/14. McDermott’s side finished in 15th place with 57 points to their name. It promised to be a summer of change at the club, starting at the top as a mutual decision was agreed for McDermott to depart his position as manager. Upon his exit, the former Reading boss said: “It has been my great privilege to manage this great club and I have enjoyed the challenge immensely. However it is clear that Massimo wishes to implement a new structure and feels he will work more successfully for Leeds with a coach rather than a manager. I respect that Massimo must be fully supported in putting together his vision for the club so he can bring us the success we all want.” A number of first-team players soon followed suit upon the expiry of their contracts at the end of May. Jamie Ashdown, Michael Brown, El-Hadji Diouf, Adam Drury, Paul Green, Danny Pugh and Luke Varney were among those allowed to leave the club as free agents. Young full-back Charlie Taylor was handed a new three-year deal having impressed during a season-long loan at Fleetwood Town.

June

David Hockaday was appointed as the club’s new head coach and, alongside assistant Junior Lewis, he prepared the United squad for a two-week pre-season training camp in the picturesque setting of Northern Italy’s Santa Cristina. Captain Ross McCormack, who ended the season with 29 goals to his name and collected the Player of the Year award, was absent from the travelling party amid speculation he was set for an exit. Youngsters Lewis Cook, Chris Dawson, Jake Skelton and Lewis Walters did make the trip, though, as did triallist full-back Andre Blackman. Defender Lee Peltier had his contract terminated by mutual consent and joined Huddersfield on a free transfer, while the deal to sign winger Cameron Stewart permanently was cancelled and he headed for Ipswich instead.

Check back tomorrow for part two...