Up until recently it seemed a fair question to ask. Leeds were rolling along nicely and looking set for the Championship playoffs. We could deal with the nature of those playoffs when we got there but where 24 teams started out with the hope of making the Premier League, Leeds would be one of the last six standing. Then they hit a speed bump and now a few doubts are setting in that they’ll even crack that top six. Hey, the fact that Leeds are even in that conversation is a lot more than most people were expecting eight months ago.

With Garry Monk as manager, Leeds have suddenly turned into this stable, competitive team. Rob Green having a resurgent season between the sticks. Kyle Barkley and the brilliantly combative Pontus Jansson at the back. Pablo Hernandez and Kemar Roofe pulling the creative strings. And of course a fellow called Chris Wood scoring all the goals.

Wood was shortlisted for the Championship Player of the Season, both he and Jansson were included in the EFL Team of the Season. It’s been great. There’s a positive atmosphere around the club that hasn’t been there for ages – there’s this great story that sums it all up about Chris Wood getting booed early on in the season. He’d been missing chances and taking some time to find his feet after an injury riddled campaign the year before and some fans had gotten frustrated and they let him know about it…

… Then he scored this beauty against Fulham and to celebrate he ran towards the stands, cupped his hand up to his ear and triumphantly gave the crowd a bit of what for. It was clearly vindicating for Wood and could’ve been a deal breaker among some long-suffering and passionate fans but instead it proved to be the catalyst for an unforgettable season for Woody. Now he’s beloved, now the only worry is whether Leeds can retain him after all this.

Except that just recently the wheels have fallen off. Back in mid-March Leeds had themselves a televised game against Brighton & Hove Albion, the second placed side in the division and along with Newcastle one of the clear favourites for automatic promotion. Leeds went on to play probably their best game of the whole campaign. A 2-0 at Elland Road thanks to two second half goals from none other than Chris Wood. It wasn’t likely to get them in touch with either Brighton or Newcastle at the top but it did have them settled nicely in fourth place, eight points clear of seventh.

To quote a wise man: things done changed. Leeds have won only once in the five games since. That was a 3-0 cruise over Preston but around that they dropped a 1-0 result to Reading and took a 2-0 L against Brentford. A stoppage time Chris Wood goal stole a thoroughly undeserved 1-1 draw against Newcastle (eh, you take them how they come) before a completely inept performance against Wolves, at home, saw them tumble on down to seventh. The Newcastle goal was the only one Wood has scored in those five games.

TABLE: @OfficialBHAFC are up!@LUFC drop outside the top seven, and it's still tight down the bottom. pic.twitter.com/pWEe6fKta5
— Sky Bet Championship (@SkyBetChamp) April 17, 2017

Here’s how the table stands right now. Leeds have slipped behind Fulham on goal difference. Leeds don’t score a lot of goals, Wood has 25 of their 55 total which is an enormous ratio of 45% (Dwight Gayle is next with 22 goals out of Newcastle’s 77 – 29%) so they don’t do too well in the GD stakes despite conceding the fewest goals of any team outside of Newcastle and Brighton. Hence Fulham are nine goals better than them. Huddersfield (+5) and Reading (+2) have shockingly bad GDs compared to Leeds (+15), Fulham (+24) and Sheff Wed (+14) but they’re also quite far ahead of them with only three games left. It’s all still possible – the only thing guaranteed is that Brighton are going up, they booked promotion on the weekend while Newcastle should join them soon with only four more points needed, though three will all but do it given Reading’s goal difference (Newcastle are at +37, same as Brighton).

Leeds cannot finish lower than seventh but from being so infirmed in the playoff spots, even seventh would be what us in the business tend to class as a ‘complete and utter choke job’. To, you know, put it bluntly. But Woody’s chances of playing Premier League footy ain’t over yet. Here’s what the five teams jostling for four places have remaining:

Reading: Nottingham Forest (A) / Wigan (H) / Burton (A)
Huddersfield: Fulham (H) / Wolverhampton (A) / Birmingham (A) / Cardiff (H)
Sheffield Wednesday: Derby (H) / Ipswich (A) / Fulham (H)
Fulham: Huddersfield (A) / Brentford (H) / Sheffield Wednesday (A)
Leeds: Burton (A) / Norwich (H) / Wigan (A)

Huddersfield and Fulham playing each other this weekend is huge. Someone’s dropping points and if it’s Fulham then Leeds can soar on back ahead of them with a win over a Burton side that are only four points out of the relegation zone – even then only thanks to a win last game over Birmingham (which had repercussions – Gianfranco Zola resigned and was replaced by… Harry Redknapp, of course). Even if Huddersfield lose then so long as Leeds win they close the gap up on them. Hudders have a game in hand but it’s midweek to the same Wolves team that just beat Leeds so that’s far from a sitter.

Fulham also have to play Sheffield Wednesday on the final weekend and with both of those teams within immediate range of Leeds, that means that if Woody’s boys win out then they’ll get their shot in the semis. Two-legged semi, home and away, then a final at Wembley for all the biscuits – the game they call the richest in football given the prize on offer.

And as luck would have it, Leeds’ run in is quite simple. Burton are languishing while Wigan are pretty much certain to go down. Norwich will be a tough task, traditional rivals and all that, but Leeds have a good record against the Canaries lately. Only lost once in the last six clashes and they’ve beaten them twice this season already… though that includes a penalty shootout win in the EFL Cup. Leeds also beat Burton 2-0 earlier in the season, with Wood scoring once, and drew with Wigan 1-1, Wood also scoring there too. He scored in both games against Norwich as well.

If they play like they did against Wolves then they’ll be going absolutely nowhere. Find some semblance of the form they showed in the middle of the season and Leeds should be able to get at least seven points from their last three games. That should get them into the top six. Gotta get those points on the board first but they needn’t panic quite yet.

Of course, that won’t get Chris Wood into the Premier League. They’d then need to win their semi and win at Wembley. To be honest, it’s a lottery by that point and the best team by no means always makes it out alive. Still, Leeds have the best defence of any of these five teams and they have the League’s top scorer too. You can maybe mark Woody out of most of the game but there are numerous examples this season of him doing nothing all game then popping up with a timely goal from his only chance. Hell, he did it against Newcastle a week ago (which could yet prove an enormous point). They’re not a team that the others will look forward to playing, not at all.

Leeds vs Rest of Playoff Contenders:

Leeds 1-1 Fulham, 17 Aug (Wood scored)
Sheff Wed 0-2 Leeds, 20 Aug (Wood scored)
Leeds 0-1 Huddersfield, 11 Sep (Wood didn’t score)
Leeds 2-0 Reading, 14 Dec (Wood scored)
Huddersfield 2-1 Leeds, 6 Feb (Wood scored)
Leeds 1-0 Sheff Wed, 26 Feb (Wood scored)
Fulham 1-1 Leeds, 8 Mar (Wood didn’t play)
Reading 1-0 Leeds, 2 Apr (Wood didn’t score)

Actually, based on that, Huddersfield might fancy a crack. Two losses to them already this season hardly portends to victory. Notice that Chris Wood has five goals in seven games against this lot. Problem is they’re likely to play either Reading or Huddersfield – since it’s not too good a chance they shoot all the way up to third or fourth. The other worry is that Fulham have scored more goals than anyone else in the division and are on a three game win streak. Sheffield Wednesday are on a four game win streak. In a notoriously competitive league, that’s tough to do. Compare that to Leeds’ tumbling form and it’s not ideal. Either way, just to still be in with a chance at this stage, they’d have taken that and then some before the season.

There’s a nagging feeling that Chris Wood might be a player who peaks at this level, that he lacks the intricacies to his game to succeed in the Championship. He wouldn’t be the first if that’s the case but then in recent years there have been heaps of Champo standouts who’ve done great making the jump up. Jamie Vardy most famously, but also guys like Charlie Austin, Andre Gray, Troy Deeney, Callum Wilson and a couple others. Nobody in the Chris Wood mould and he’s struggled to make an impact on Prem clubs before… though that was before and this is now. Who’s to say how much he’s improved since then?

So even if Leeds do fail in the fickle playoffs, there is one other way he can get into the Premier League next season: a transfer. Transfer rumours are ridiculously full of trash but you score enough goals, you get your name in the papers and you at least build a profile for yourself.

Back in January there were talks of a possible move to either Everton or Sunderland. Now, the latter club would be a clunker because they’re bottom of the Premier League so sign with them and you’ll be back where you started in the Championship but Everton might be forced to sell their talisman Romelu Lukaku and if he’s gone then they’ll need to stock up on strikers. It’s probably a matter of winning a better contract with Leeds from his agent, these quotes from ESPN FC in January suggest as much, but as another wise man once said: you can’t start a fire without a spark.

ESPN FC: “West Ham United and Sunderland are interested in Leeds United striker Chris Wood, but have been put off by the Championship club's valuation of the New Zealand international, sources close to the player have told ESPN FC.”

Welcome to the business end of football, bro. You’ve earned it. Football Insider, whatever they’re worth as harbingers of truth and substance, had their own ‘sources’ suggesting as recently as late-March that Everton are still “keeping close tabs” on the All Whites vice-captain. Lukaku isn’t the only bloke they’re losing with Arouna Kone’s deal ending and Enner Valencia only there on loan. One way or another they need strikers and being the top scorer in the Championship puts you in some demand.

Keeping it the full one-hundy though, it’s probably better to be a starting XI player for a Championship club than to sit on the bench for a Premier League side – that was the whole reason he joined Leeds in the first place to get out of a situation like that. Goals are such a commodity that even if Woody scores a hatty in the playoff final then Garry Monk, who knows the PL pretty well if you recall, will still wanna buy another striker or two. Being the best player on a promoted team doesn’t guarantee you anything once the jump is made… but if he’s in the Prem next season then being there with Leeds will be his best situation. You probably coulda guessed that already.

Coming all the way back to the start now, will he be in the Premier League in 2017-18? Umm… chances are negative to be honest, Jim. They should make the playoffs with a good finish to things however those playoffs only leave them with a one in four chance and those are not pleasant odds. A transfer’s a possibility but nothing to cheer for and even if he gets there again there’s no guarantee he’ll get to play. But dammit, Chris - Winston’s getting lonely!

Shout out to Chris Wood and shout out to you for reading this. If you wanna shout out to us, give one of those shiny ads a slap and help us make a couple more cents so we can keep writing this stuff, cheers.