Calendar years are not usually a measure of time that football fans have to deal with, given that they tell only half the story of two different stories. But with the benefit of hindsight they sometimes tell us more than that, namely whereabouts on the scale of progress our club is, and they also give us an excuse to indulge ourselves in a whimsical and light-hearted end-of-year retrospective for no obvious reason.

Imagine this as an ‘I Love 2021’ clip show featuring a series of talking heads from ‘popular culture’, none of whom you recognise, or as a panel quiz hosted by Jimmy Carr that is at least an hour longer than it really needs to be. And while this might provide particularly useful filler given there are no recent games to dissect due to postponements, it does serve a purpose in shining a light on where Leeds United are in their radical evolution from a mid-table Championship club a mere three and a half years ago.

I’m going to stop short of proclaiming a winner for each category, and not just because I have no desire to force Illan Meslier to wear a Black Tie and then publically upset him. The idea is to throw a few suggestions into the mix to illustrate that 2021 has been a year of great progress, and actually, the second half of it ‘has’ given us some moments to cherish, even if the 2021/22 season so far has felt like wading through drying concrete compared to sailing effortlessly on the wind a few months earlier. 

So what was the ‘best moment of 2021’? If we judged this on social media clicks then it was probably Raphinha nut-megging Gary Cahill of Crystal Palace with an audacious back-heel, but given that earnt us very little in material terms, you have to look elsewhere. Digging the Elland Road pitch up back in January and replacing it, arguably eared us a few more precious points at home, but if we’re searching for moments of elation we’ve had a few this season. Luke Ayling’s equaliser at Old Trafford brought a very brief moment of joy, and we’ve had late goals at Elland Road from Rodrigo, Raphinha and Patrick Bamford to nurse bruises after. But it’s hard to look past the injury-time winner from Stuart Dallas at the Etihad back in April for sheer drinks-and-food-involuntarily-thrown-around-the-room madness.

In terms of ‘goal of the year’ we have had a few contenders this season, particularly if we can look back at Bill’s rasping strike against Manchester United purely in isolation. Raphinha’s individual effort at Norwich was as skilful, timely and significant as anything produced in our maiden Premier League season, and likewise, Joe Gelhardt’s strike at Chelsea showed Leeds at their cohesive, nonchalant and free-flowing best. Were they any better or worse than Patrick Bamford’s top corner strike at Leicester back in January? Jack Harrison’s deft finish at Newcastle? Or either of Rodrigo’s quick-fire double at Turf Moor in May, both of which oozed quality?    

That 4-0 win at Burnley ranks high for ‘performance of the year’, as does the aforementioned backs-to-the-wall 10-man win over Manchester City. The 3-1 win at Leicester was arguably our most complete performance of last season in terms of an all-round team display, while this season has been more about hard luck stories. Tottenham was 45 minutes of calmness, control and a tidy goal, but it was only 45 minutes. The Chelsea performance was so nearly Bielsa’s men back to their best, while the Watford win was Leeds in imperious form but lacking the devastating killer touch.

If we’re looking at ‘most promising player of 2021’ then we are almost exclusively going on this season, given that this time last year Pascal Struijk was already well-established in the first team. Amid the many injuries, suspensions and COVID absences suffered this season, at least the appearances of Joe Gelhardt and Charlie Cresswell have offered some cheer, while of the procession of other youngsters to have been offered the chance to shine, Crysencio Summerville possesses plenty to get excited about and is the only one we have seen enough of to make a judgement on.

There is usually a headline award on these occasions, but in an era where Marcelo Bielsa has cultivated a spirit of such selflessness and togetherness, it feels remiss to single anyone out for ‘player of the year’. Raphinha of course has caught everybody’s eye over the last 12 months, and for fans with recent memories of Billy Paynter’s toils in a Leeds United shirt, it is hard to believe we have an established Brazilian international in our midst. But then we have an England international in Kalvin Phillips too, and surely Illan Meslier will earn a full French international cap before long, on the back of sensational form between the sticks for Leeds? And given the generosity and self-sacrifice that Bielsa’s team ethic is based on, we have to mention Stuart Dallas, and his ability to play in three different positions in almost every game.

At this juncture of the year and of this particular season, it is perhaps most important to end on the ‘most heart-warming moment of the year’. And despite recent travails, this tells us most about where the club is at, how it is being managed and how many wonderful characters and personalities are deeply entrenched in it. Because here the list of nominees is almost endless. We have the various acts of charity and remembrance performed by the players, both on the pitch and on social media, giving shirts to young fans post-match, and the acts of defiance in speaking out against racism and the proposed European Super League.

When the players posed with the ‘Granny Val’ shirt after the 3-0 win over Southampton in February you knew this was a special bunch, and the way Pablo Hernandez and Gaetano Berardi were waved off against West Brom spoke volumes about that too. Adam Forshaw’s renaissance after two years of injury hell has been hugely uplifting also, but the Leeds United fans deserve some special praise while we’re dishing out the gongs for acts of attachment and emotional outpourings.

The post-match reaction to Stuart Dallas at Norwich summed everything about this club up, and the support in difficult moments at Elland Road against Wolves, Leicester, Crystal Palace and Brentford undoubtedly led to points earned and some material reward for our unwavering backing. Being back inside Elland Road after a torturous COVID absence hasn’t always been a comfortable experience, but the hysterical goal celebrations, the tumult of noise when the team has needed it and the overwhelming capacity of the collective will when Elland Road comes together is like nothing the Premier League has seen in years.

Plenty of independent observers have said it too, and it’s perhaps why we can look back at 2021 with pride and towards 2022 with hope, because after everything that’s happened over the last two years, Elland Road is still a fearsome place to visit and Leeds United are still a team with spirit and fight and with over half a season to go, with plenty left in the tank.