Steve Evans has claimed that the Football League are deliberately hampering our efforts to win promotion attempts to win promotion, because they need the money from our huge fanbase.

Leeds United’s paranoia knows no bounds when it comes to the Football Authorities, as we look for an ulterior motive behind their every move, and although Steve Evans has only been with us for a few months he’s quickly caught up with the traditions of the club. He thinks that Sky TV’s constant interference with our fixture schedule is all part of a plot to make sure we don’t get promoted.

Massimo Cellino had his say on this issue a couple of months ago and now Evans has told the Yorkshire Post “I suppose if you’re the biggest club in the Football League, the Football League perhaps want to keep you in the Football League. That’s how it feels when you’re in Elland Road.” He thinks that the FL don’t want to lose us as we make so much money for other clubs with our huge away following and TV audience.

“It was difficult enough to come out of Wolverhampton Wanderers, get back to Elland Road at three in the morning and then turn it around at Preston. Now we’re asked to do it again.” The head coach is complaining that each time a game is put back for TV coverage it means that the opposition has 24 hours more than us to recover for the next game.

And Massimo Cellino has written to the Football League requesting a copy of its broadcast deal with Sky, but so far the governing body has refused to let him have one. This seems extraordinary when the deal is supposedly negotiated on behalf of the League’s member clubs, and the size of our fanbase nationwide must enhance the value of the League’s TV rights.

I’m sure that the fans of some clubs will mock Evans’ comments with Leeds still in the bottom half of the table, and you could say that with the performances in some of the games we’ve done a good job in denying ourselves promotion, without any help from the League. But we’ve now got ourselves to within five points of the play-offs, and we must have a chance of closing the gap if we can find some more consistency in the second half of the season.

Our form guide shows that our results have picked up lately, but also highlights the difficult holiday programme we face against the two East Midlands clubs. The schedule won’t help, and Evans has already said that he’ll have to use a bit of squad rotation to keep everybody fresh.

Personally, I don’t think that our constant selection by Sky Sports is down to any devious masterplan by the League, and that it’s just that they want to show as many of our games as they can because of our viewing figures. But if it is giving us an unfair disadvantage on the field then it’s time that the League should insist on a limit to the number of time that Sky can show any particular club during a season.

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