OPINION
For many Leeds United supporters, today will have been a tough one to stomach.
For large parts of this season, it looked as if their team were nailed on for promotion. and when the automatic spots slipped through their fingers, most will have expected Marcelo Bielsa’s boys to give it a good go in the play-offs.
Instead, they capitulated in spectacular fashion against Derby County, and rather than making the long trip down to Wembley this afternoon, the Elland Road faithful will have been forced to watch as the Rams went toe to toe with Aston Villa.
For the sake of newly formed and increasingly bitter rivalries, there is perhaps some consolation to be taken from the fact that the Villans won out in a cagey 2-1 victory, but otherwise, this will have been a bank holiday to forget.
It could get a whole lot worse, however.
According to Football Insider, both Villa and Derby were plotting to swoops for United midfielder Kalvin Phillips if they were able to get back to the Premier League.
The fact that Villa have done just that could be a real blow for Leeds.
Even when they came down from the top flight, the Villans were never exactly been short of cash, and now they are back, with the exorbitant wealth that affords them, you can fully expect them to be making moves for players like Phillips in the near future.
For his part, the offer of playing for County, who would surely have struggled to stay up next year anyway, might have been one the midfielder could turn his nose up at.
Villa, on the other hand, look like they have the legs to reestablish themselves as a proper top flight outfit and represent a far more tempting, lucrative prospect.
Leeds should be worried.