KEY POINTS:
Published in the Leeds United official club programme is a 'real' League One table.
It had them sitting comfortably on top, 11 points ahead of nearest rivals Carlisle, going into this weekend's round of games.
In the real world, however, Leeds are seventh.
The fact they are so
high on the table is remarkable, considering they started the season minus 15 points after being penalised for going into administration.
They had been docked the mandatory 10 points last season but given this was done when relegation seemed virtually assured, the Football League and rival clubs felt this punishment was insufficient.
As well as the additional penalty, their existence was in doubt, as clubs are not supposed to be in administration at the start of a season.
For many involved with Leeds, however, it's more than just a matter of finances - it's personal.
Ken Bates of Chelsea infamy is the club's owner, having bought Leeds for £10 million in 2005, and is a divisive character.
You could say Bates' association with the reviled Leeds was a good fit. This is the Leeds that literally kicked opposition players off the park in the 1960s and 1970s.
And the Leeds that spiralled into massive debt in the late 1990s on the back of a fanciful and irresponsible spending policy that earned them a Champions League semifinal against Valencia in 2001 but also left them financially crippled.
Most outside of Leeds expected - and even hoped - the massive handicap would see them relegated further but only 13 matches into a 46-game season, they will not only survive but are odds-on favourites for the League One title.
It took them only five games to erase the deficit, half the time they hoped it might, and a further eight to sit on the cusp of an unlikely playoff position.
Manager Dennis Wise, who is good mates with Bates from his Chelsea days, has been heralded as the architect of the turnaround.
Although he couldn't save them from relegation when brought in early last season, he has ruled with an iron fist and purged the club of many of the players he felt weren't pulling their weight.
He was roundly disliked at the time and it is a matter of contention whether he was more loathed by players or fans but one member of the coaching staff last week described his image transformation as like morphing from Bin Laden into Elvis.
"We were put on the floor by the Football League and that has made us close, very close," Wise said recently. "They bunged everything at us but you use it to your advantage."
One huge factor in Leeds' favour is their home support. More than 30,000 packed Elland Road for the recent visit of the equally-despised Millwall, once managed by Wise, tipping their season average beyond 27,000. It is a figure that surpasses many Premiership outfits and 6000 more than they attracted in the Championship last season. Only two other League One sides have averages more than 10,000.
Many Leeds fans know they are disliked, which makes the results even more satisfying.
"I love the fact we are hated," says Paul, a lifelong Leeds fan who travelled to watch his side during its dizzying Champions League run. "We don't want to be liked."
Although fans didn't want Wise when he arrived, largely because of his Chelsea connections, Paul admits they respect him now because of the good job he's done. Most of their anger is directed at Bates.
"The way he's handled things has been awful," he says. "He's come to ruin Leeds and he's done a hell of a job at it. We were supposed to be out of debt by now but now we are £35m in debt."
At least the table tells it straight and fans are already looking forward to a return to the Premiership.
The club can also afford to approach their predicament with a sense of humour.
Aside from the 'real' league table, which they have promised to print every week for the rest of the season, at least two sponsors have provided some light relief. One supplied a skip to dispose of the 15 points when they won their first five games of the season and another named a racehorse Minus 15.
The horse apparently finished eighth in its first start.
Leeds will need a better placing than that if they want to earn promotion but the way they are going, many punters see them as a sure thing.
