Leeds United more likely to avoid Premier League relegation as Leicester City news emerges
Leeds United would have a better chance of avoiding relegation from the Premier League next season if Leicester started with a points deduction should both teams go up, Paul Robinson has said.
The Foxes have been charged for an alleged breach of the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability rules but any punishment would not be enforced until next season if they are promoted as explained by Kaveh Solhekol on Sky Sports News (21 March).
With Leeds now above the Foxes at the top of the Championship on goal difference, albeit having played a game more, there might be some who will feel aggrieved if Leicester received a punishment and didn’t have it imposed on them in the Championship.
But Robinson thinks that in the long run it could end up being a good thing for Leeds if Leicester are hit with a punishment for next season.
Speaking exclusively to MOT Leeds News, Robinson said: “There’s two ways of looking at it, if Leeds United get promoted it will be fantastic if Leicester get points taken off them before the start of next season because it gives Leeds another opportunity to stay in the Premier League.
“We know how hard the Premier League is, one to get in and two to stay in. If Leicester are already facing a points deficit at the start of next season, and it’s Leicester and Leeds that do go up, then that would be a good thing for Leeds United.
“Whoever goes up are always going to be favourites to go down again and if one of the teams are starting with a points deficit then it helps your cause.
“Whereas if Leeds don’t go up this season then Leicester have points taken off them it will be a very frustrating one when you look at the speed at which Everton have had their points taken off them in the Premier League and the severity of the points deduction.
“But I think with the points deduction now for Leeds, you look at the Championship table – those types of points (the top three have) normally are enough to at least see you into the playoffs, sometimes automatic promotion.
“The standard that’s been set in the Championship this season, if you were to take those points off Leicester now, in the form that they were in, that would really hurt them.
“They’re struggling at the moment, we all know they had the huge gap, we’d signed them off as champions and sent them up to the Premier League.
“All of a sudden their bubble seems to have burst and Leeds are level on points so there’s a real title race not just a promotion race.”
Would Leeds United benefit from a Leicester City points deduction?
It feels like the answer to this is only going to be found with the benefit of hindsight such is the complication of this situation.
If Leeds can get over the line in the race for promotion and Leicester do receive a punishment for next season then, as Robinson alludes to, that is a good thing.
Imagine, even though you won’t want to, a scenario where Leeds miss out this season, though, and Leicester go up and any points deduction might have helped the Whites go up.
Essentially, right now, we’re all just speculating – we don’t know for sure Leicester will definitely get a points deduction. But it is just another almighty mess and one of the Premier League’s own making.
In other Leeds United news, a behind-the-scenes clause is to be triggered soon.
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