BECKFORD, BIG 'ED, BATES ON THE BANDWAGON

Lots of stuff to blog about this week. Let me have your thoughts on some, any or all of the following…

WHICH SIDE ARE YOU ON, BRUV?

An interesting consequence of the current crop of players lucky enough to wear a Leeds shirt in League One is how they have managed to divide opinion amongst the supporters so starkly. There seems to be a line dividing those who expect to see and are therefore only interested in players of greater footballing ability and those on the other side who would say that their expectations are more "appropriate" to our place in the football league rankings, without much common ground in between. Players like Andrew Hughes and Jonathan Douglas are examples of those vilified by the former and championed by the latter; Andy Robinson and Neil Kilkenny perhaps examples of the reverse.

I have always believed that our needs as Leeds supporters are relatively simple. We love our heroes. They unify us. This is not a unique phenomenon nor exclusive to Leeds but it certainly is apparent at the moment as the broad spectrum of opinion on just about every player at the club right now illustrates this lack of a single focal point for our united affection.

The most topical at the moment is of course Jermaine Beckford. Twenty-nine goals already this season – an outstanding achievement in itself (it’s not even April yet) – would make him an ideal candidate but this is tempered by failings in the other areas of his game, not least his first touch and his temperament. The latter of these has been the catalyst for the recent explosion in the debate about our number nine.

Beckford is in fact the greatest example of the division between the supporters; between those who would have him first on the team sheet every week and those who yell from the terraces at every mistake, every misdirection of his frustration and, well, every miss. And there have been plenty.

The middle ground is, I think however, something to explore with Beckford. 29 goals is unarguably outstanding and shows that he is prolific at League one level. The transformation from RAC man to goal machine at Scunthorpe was something to behold, but this was of course via some abysmal performances during his first spell with us and relegation from the Championship. Since that relegation and Beckford’s recall to Elland Road he has become a regular goalscorer delivering tallies we have not seen since Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. That said, at the same time it should be remembered that when thinking about most goals he has scored I can recall at least another chance he should have put away and I'm talking about golden opportunities during tight games. Each as a result of a simple lack of footballing basics; concentration and control.

Herein I think lies the primary motivation for Beckford’s detractors. An inability to demonstrate consistent concentration and therefore ball control makes him unreliable, increasing the likelihood of mistakes at crucial times, particularly during key games. Given that this is League One – a fairly elementary level for those footballers with genuine ambition to succeed – the logical argument is that if we do get out of this division he would be shown up by the standard of the game in a higher division.

Add to this Beckford’s inability to keep his cool and this unreliability and unpredictability leaves some supporters’ feeling he is untrustworthy. Unshakeable Beckford supporters will point to the recent sending off at home to Swindon, and the punching of our tunnel cover, as evidence of how much Beckford cares and that, at this level, in excess of thirty goals a season is simply enough of a contribution, after all one man does not make a team.

Looking at this middle ground both sides have valid arguments. As a lover of attractive football I find Beckford continually frustrating. At times it seems almost inconveivable that a player capable of scoring brilliant sublime goals (that goal for Scunthorpe, or the chipped goals for Leeds against Hartlepool last year and Chester this year in the Carling Cup) could look so woefully incompetent on so many occasions. The two don’t match.

The unreliability argument can of course work both ways; you can always expect the unexpected with Beckford so from nothing you can have your matchwinner. I’m not sure that this has proved to be the case often enough for me, the play-off final at Wembley being the most poignant, disappointing example of a missed opportunity for Beckford to rise above the mediocrity of the division and propel himself and the club onwards and upwards.

Of course the debate and the arguments will continue in a continuous circle without much chance of resolution. But there are some common elements to take from it. We want to get out of this division. Now. With a tally of almost thirty goals Beckford is undoubtedly the man to spearhead that effort. The frustration with Beckford is that he could be the hero we crave so he is scrutinised most heavily and every mistake takes him further away from this pedestal.

History – based largely on statistics - will no doubt be kind to him and it is difficult to say that he would not deserve it.

Suspended tomorrow. Let's hope it doesn't cost us!

DAMNED IF YOU DO…

The opening of The Damned United takes place on Friday. The film, based on David Peace’s outstanding “factional” novel about Brian Clough and his 44 days at Elland Road in 1974, has generated a great deal of interest and has resulted in many printed words from journalists and ex-players alike, not to mention the numerous television programmes being broadcast reminding us what “Old Big ‘Ed” was like.

Cloughs brief tenure at Elland Road is a little before my time but I have read numerous articles, stories and anectodes about it over the years. A couple of things always stick in my mind. First of all was that Clough should never have been Leeds manager; at least not at that time. Don Revie, the man who had turned Leeds into one of the greatest club sides in the world, made his recommendation to the board for his successor. Jonny Giles, A man who knew the club inside out and in whom Revie saw the future by way of continuity. This was a model for success used by Liverpool so well over time. The board ignored him in what, historically, appears to be the most crucial misjudgement in the history of our club.

Having said that, Clough was clearly an outstanding manager which he showed over a long, distinguished and highly entertaining career. With the board having made its selection, the Clough debacle seems then to have been an enormous waste of an opportunity, caused in no small part by arrogance and disrespect on Clough’s part towards successful, seasoned professionals and what they had achieved (more than Clough at that point). However this was an ageing squad with maybe twelve months left as a competitive force and no provision had been made for youth development of the sort that provided the bedrock for Revie’s side over ten years. Some have even suggested that Revie left for England because he couldn't bear to break up that side.

There was always going to be a clash between manager and players in this scenario but it seems that upheaval is what may have been required to make sure that this aging squad didn’t disappear without adequate provision for the future. We unfortunately will never know whether Clough could have rejuvenated and revived the squad to enhance the longevity of the club's success. This is of course a much greater debate, one I would interested to be a part of at some point in the future.

Norman Hunter’s impressions of the new film were in The Times this week and make an interesting read, shedding a little light on the real opinion Clough held of the players. Well, some of them anyway!

Enjoy it if you’re going to see it.

HOPPING ON THE GRAVY TRAIN

Since the judgement of the F.A. panel that Carlos Tevez caused, singlehandedly, West Ham to survive the drop at Sheffield United’s expense, rather than Sheffield United being generally shit and therefore the cause of its own downfall, an unnecessary can of worms has sprung open which seemingly knows no bounds. First and foremost the judgement is dangerous. Football is a game with so many endless possibilities to narrow the facts down as the panel did was in my view erroneous.

And how we are seeing the consequences.

West Ham cheated and should have been punished, of that there is no doubt. In the context of the guaranteed £30 million premier league survival reward, their punishment was trivial, ill-thought and delivered with too much haste. This judgement has only exacerbated the problem. Having agreed to pay £25 million to Sheffield United all and sundry, including Uncle Ken, are keen to get their “due” from the troubled London club.

I have to say on the one hand that you cannot blame Bates. The judgement has been handed down from a court and any losses consequential to West Ham’s breach of duties should be properly recoverable. Whether those payments are recoverable is another matter of course but if they are the money would I'm sure come in very handy.

The problem is where do you draw the line? Can relegated teams now seek redress from anyone, to the point where failure in football is never the responsibility of the failed side, at least legally speaking? Also where does the responsibility of the offending party end? Can supporters sue for the emotional distress caused by relegation? Clearly some of these assertions are ridiculous but they illustrate the possible danger of how far-reaching this judgement could be.

Watch this space.

AND FINALLY…

Crewe away tomorrow. Three points crucial. We are on a good run of unbeaten form but these away games continue to be a thorn in our side as the recent trips to Oldham and Bristol proved. The fact that Crewe are on good form does not make a good omen but as ever on the eve of a match I am optimistic and, or course, expectant.

No Beckford. Dickinson in? A new hero? Three points please!

Marching on Together

A repost to long standing vilification...

An outstanding article in today's Times about Don Revie, written by Rick Broadbent who has penned extensively on Leeds over a number of years.

If you're interested in reading about our beloved Whites, his book "Looking for Eric: In Search of Leeds Greats" is absolutely terrific.

Anyway, enjoy!

Marching on Together.

It's All in the Mind

Well once again its been a while; sadly work commitments (particularly late working hours), are making it difficult to blog at all. If I could just be less long-winded...

The last blog centred around the difficulties we encounter with the “Champions League semi-finalists” label hanging round our necks. In the last eight days we were presented with an outstanding opportunity to get back to near the automatic promotion spots with two away games. Sadly these games have resulted in us throwing away four "massive" points rather than gaining two.

I think this goes to continue to illustrate the theme of the players unable to handle the expectation levels. I have lost count of the number of times since we were relegated from the Premier League when the chips have been down, the players have dug deep, produced unexpected results and, with other results fortunately going our way, put us in a position where our progress is in our hands, only for us to throw it away.

I recall the championship play-off season when, during January of that season, Sheffield United were slipping up and we were picking up points. Suddenly it was in our hands and, as soon as we were in that position, we threw it away. Last season, having worked tirelessly to get rid of the points deduction, to climb the table, we were within reach and it was in our control. That started the run of abysmal results and performances culminating in Blackwell being sacked.

The play-offs last year were another example of us being written off earlier in the season (with a massive points deduction) only to finish strongly, to pull ourselves back into it through the play-off semis, then to throw it away in the final (still hurts).

This all boils down to expectation. Expectation that having shown the grit and determination to put our destiny in our own hands that we should not fail. It is this expectation which I think weighs greatly on the players and it is this area of mental preparation where Grayson still has much work to do.

The defence now play as a unit. The reintroduction of Kilkenny into the centre of midfield has brought some much needed stability, ball playing and possession and has for me been the catalyst for some better football and a lot of decent chances being created. Some more clinical finishing and things may be much different. It seems that the season is creating something of a mirror of itself; earlier in the campaign, before the collapse of the defence, we were playing good football and creating lots of chances.

So back to talking of expectation. Yeovil at Elland Road tonight. I expect Leeds to win. Why? Well, after the Hereford game I wouldn’t but as I said, we have turned it around, unbeaten in four and playing relatively well. So once again I expect success. Though the difference would only be four points, victories in the Oldham and Bristol Rovers games would have put a very different perspective on our league position.

There are undoubtedly many more ups and downs before the season is out; I have written us off countless times this year. But how many more times can we put ourselves in the position of underdog, overcome the odds and throw it away when we have control?

Tonight is a must win. Nothing else will do.

Marching on Together

Welcome to “Leeds United, Champions League Semi-Finalists”

As seems to be commonplace now with my blogging the time which elapses between the start and finish of an article – in this case Gary McAllister’s dismissal to the week after the Carlisle match – grows ever longer. I hope that this does not spoil it too much and I hope to be able to blog a bit faster in future, and a bit more regularly!

As the not so famous song starts “a new era dawns". So welcome (back) to Leeds United Simon Grayson, our new manager. To be honest I don’t think I have ever watched a Blackpool game in my life so I am in no position to comment on Grayson’s qualification to manage Leeds, or to offer any critique about playing style and the things which are going to remain important to us as Leeds fans over the term of Grayson’s tenure.

No doubt this will develop as we move on through the season.

Gary McAllister

I feel a need to mention our outgoing manager. The speed with which he was appointed mirrors the speed at which he has been sacked. And, in this blink of an eye it is easy to forget his contribution. A fabulous player and captain for the club, unjustly labelled “Judas” when he left, if leaving is the right word for the way he is alleged to have been treated.

I had my reservations about McAllister coming back as manager at a time of genuine crisis but I must say he really did surprise me. The football we have played under his management has been at times outstanding, certainly better than anything I can remember us playing since the early part of the millennium. To actually be entertained at Elland Road – by the men in white – has been something of a novelty this last 10 months and for that alone he should be remembered fondly. The turnaround from the relegation form of Dennis Wise’s solo effort (post-Poyet) was quick and seamless and brought us back round not only storming into the play-offs but also a committee-decision away from automatic promotion.

There have been the questionable decisions; Fraser Richardson as captain being the stand-out one for me; a decision I still cannot get my head round and from which I cannot see one single ounce of benefit to the side. Others include the absence of Andy Robinson early in the season, though I am beginning to feel that Robinson’s contribution to Swansea’s season last year is a little overstated, given that they are relatively comfortable without him in the Championship. Furthermore, whilst Robinson’s decision to join was clearly based on an educated gamble that we would win at Wembley in May, I’m not sure he has yet shown enough professionalism in his game to hide his disappointment when given the chance to shine.

The biggest problem of course has been the defensive problems which have made us look so devastatingly inadequate. I wrote when were still winning games regularly that the biggest underlying threat to our success was our ineffectiveness in front of goal; we were scoring but the ratio of goals to the glut of gilt-edged chances being created was far too low. I was however, wrong. We may have been scoring and winning, but we were also conceding. The football being played and the chances created papered over the crack (or chasm as it turned out) of the defensive frailties which began to take over the consciousness of the team; it didn’t matter how hard the midfield and attack worked if the centre backs couldn’t get up to head the ball at a set-piece. At this point the rot really began to set-in and McAllister, undoubtedly a visionary in football terms, simply had nothing in the armoury to redress the dreadful absence of confidence and defensive organisation.

I hope and believe that history will show McAllister in a very positive light for all he has done for the club. I think that the fact that the supporters who have been quick to call for previous managers’ heads have stayed silent on this one during matches (though not on the message boards) has been a real mark of respect for the man.

Goodbye and good luck.

On On On (quickly)...

I am not saying that McAllister could never have turned things around but his appointment was made on a short-term basis so he would never have been given the opportunity. And this is the way the club, and the fans, have seen and continue to see our stay in this division. The current “crisis” has at the time of writing taken us fifteen points from the summit of the table, though this may be much more by the time I finish this post and this is simply too far now, in my opinion, to win the league. Automatic promotion is at this stage a distant dream and if we make the play-offs can the players really show sufficient mettle to handle the pressure and expectation of playing for Leeds United at Wembley.

But actually I think this goes to the heart of the problem of the Leeds United players, whether they are at Wembley or not.

We are not just Leeds United. We are “Leeds United, the Champions League Semi-Finalists”. It may sound grandiose but in fact this is no badge of achievement or honour, rather a noose that hangs around all our necks like a curse. It means different things for different people, though largely leading to the same outcome...

For the supporters this means the demand of instant success at this level. We’re Leeds United, the players should be wearing the shirt with pride, they should be thanking their lucky stars that a club of our stature has asked them to play for it and they should be giving absolutely everything, every day of the week. Looking at the squad list, this should mean success.

For our opponents throughout the course of the season, it is without doubt the one they look forward to. It is as if they actually believe they are playing against Kewell, Ferdinand, Bowyer and Viduka, rather than Marques, Johnson, Prutton and Becchio. Victory is therefore sought after and celebrated accordingly. Histon is a perfect example. Had Cheltenham lost to Histon, would there have been the furore? No, of course not. The non-leaguers would have no doubt been delighted and yes it might have led to a little chuckle at the giant-killing exploits of a non-league side but we may as well have been back at Cardiff in 2002 for all the hype that surrounded the defeat.

For the board and management team there is also the expectation of immediate success, particularly given the facilities available to the players and the gate receipts generated by the many thousands turning out to watch them, not to mention the wages paid.

And so all of this is in the face of the players each week; the expectation from employer and supporter, the opponents in their cup final. This is undoubtedly a huge amount of pressure for the players to face and clearly it works to our disadvantage. The “on paper” fantastic squad we have does not play like anything of the sort.

I should perhaps clear up at this point where I am taking this. I am a supporter which means my expectation levels are high. I do not talk about the players in these terms because I feel sorry for them. I do not. Not one bit. But the reality is simply that the players are at the moment unable to handle the double burden facing them; expectation from those wanting them to succeed, and pressure exerted by opponents with a greater desire frequently prepared to work and fight much harder and for much longer.

Because the problems appear to me to be psychological rather than physical, this is the reason our decline this season has been so rapid – in the modern game a lack of confidence can spread through a team like wildfire and I think this has been evident. It is also the reason Leeds United has become something of a player’s graveyard; players come in with glowing reputations (and often one can recall a great performance against us for another team) and end up wandering aimlessly around Elland Road in a Leeds shirt with every spark and aspect of creativity drained from them.

It also of course can work the other way. Take the spirit and unity of a much weaker squad during the first third of last season as a prime example of this. Marques and Michalik are testament to the way a modern footballer’s game can go to pot if his head is not right. These are less than shadows of the players who were in excellent form no more than 18 months ago.

And, fittingly, talk of our centre backs takes me to the happenings on the pitch and the Carlisle game. As you know it is not my intention to use this blog for match reporting purposes, there are some excellent blogs to quench your match-report thirst. But the performance against Carlisle spoke volumes for the general mood in and around Elland Road at the moment and I think has been something of a watershed for us. Though 2007-2008 really was a momentous season for so many reasons, this was supposed to be the year we re-emerged; debt-free with a strong squad – promotion, maybe even the title. Onwards and upwards.

Half-way through the season and we are going precisely nowhere. The feeling now appears to be one of weariness; another new manager, another series of bad performances, another set of players who promise so much but deliver so little. Coupled with the kind of defensive mistakes which means that Leeds have to score in every game just to be in with a chance of getting a point.

Now, of course, a snapshot of the table puts us 5 points off the play-offs and no-one would doubt that this snapshot is more positive than twelve months ago when we were playing relegation football under Dennis Wise.

What is different this year is that there is no adversity; no points deduction, no-one to blame, no injustice. We are at the right place in the league because our performances deserve it. And though the play-off places are still so close they feel to me to be so out of reach. If they are, our season is over, and if the season is really over we can only look to next year in League One and another attempt to escape.

The problem is, as I have said before, that this is our last year as what you might call “visitors” in this division. The mindset that our stay anywhere below the Premier League is temporary – matched by the turnover of management staff in a short space of time – is starting to fade as the weariness grows, along with an acceptance that this is actually where we belong. Whether this depressing picture is right is perhaps for another blog, a greater debate, another day.

But if this lethargy and acceptance is setting in we are at something of a crucial point in our history. Therefore much depends on the quick success of our new manager.

Simon Grayson

So welcome Mr Grayson (albeit belatedly) to Leeds United the Champions League Semi-Finalists. We know little of you and what we have seen so far (P3 W1 D1 L1) falls squarely with our league position. The players you have inherited are massively underachieving, some might call them disgracefully disinterested underachievers. They have little or no mental strength in a modern game (and division) where confidence and team-spirit seems to be everything, and where playing for Leeds United means they must be even stronger. That can be changed and it can have rapid impact. But it is you and your management team who can achieve this, not me the supporter, and dare I say it not the disinterested underachieving player himself.

Also, sort out the bloody defence.

Your mandate will be simple; get us out of League One, and fast. That is your reason for being here, not to build something over time, not to mull over the long-term future of the club. Not the easiest place to be, I accept, but that is the job. You must instill the mentality of winners into the squad otherwise you will be nothing more than another feature of the Leeds United annual managerial merry-go-round.

Put simply, your unexpected achievement at Blackpool is the minimum expectation here.

Marching on Together

We Truly Are Blessed

I think you'll find it's you who's fired, S'ralan

An interesting story emerging today, courtesy of the musings of that loveable bearded serial-sacker “S’ralan” Sugar.

Apparently we should have been punished more strongly by having to play at Hackney Marshes (which would certainly be a trek for home games though with low overheads the season ticket would be cheap) in the Zenith Data Red Square Blue Square Littlewoods Rumbelows Division 6 North and according to the man himself (presumably absent Nick and Margaret for their guidance) we don’t deserve to be in such a “strong” position i.e. struggling to stay in the play-off zone in the third division.

Clearly his rant, presumably coming at a time when he is bored and between series of The Apprentice (excellent show by the way S’ralan), deserves short shrift. I don’t know about you but the financial devastation caused to the club, the misery and depression, the (then) unprecedented level of punishment from the Football League not to mention the national humiliation didn’t feel like much of a let-off to me. Far from it. The king of the boardroom clearly fails to understand that actually the people who feel the pain are the supporters, not people like Ridsdale who are let off without any form of recrimination for their deeds.

That must be why Sugar was just so damn popular with the Spurs fans...

Marshing on to Hackney

Back to the Spotlight

Apologies that its been a while since my last blog… work commitments, a 13 month-old and general laziness have been keeping me very busy!

It has been a bit of a funny week to be honest, pivoting on the defeat at Derby on Tuesday night. Funny not in the sense that we lost but rather that out of a game where once again we failed to take our chances despite creating the national media finally picked up on two things; the positive football that Gary McAllister has brought to us and the centrepiece of that positive football, Fabian Delph.

The reports, both locally and nationally, coming out of the Carling Cup game at Pride Park were incredibly positive for Leeds, not least the gratifying sight of chunky bin-dipper Paul Jewell openly conceding our superiority for large portions of the of the game. And I want to see more of this of course, this is the type of publicity we have been sadly lacking throughout the hundreds of thousands of written words about Leeds since 2002-3 which frankly have been more akin to the tone of recent front pages in these turbulent economic times.

However it does continue to gloss over the outstanding fundamental issue at the heart of Leeds’ performances; the lack of penetration and ruthlessness in the final third. There is no doubt that the football we are playing is of a high quality, much higher than the third division deserves. McAllister is a great advocate of the patient passing game and I have to say I agree with his philosophy. However the strategy falls down when that patience is not rewarded with an end product.

In particular at home games the crowd have less patience than the players and this needs to be tempered. Under McAllister, Leeds will never be rampaging forward, it does not fit the philosophy. Passing the ball across the park, making the opposition work harder by chasing the ball, and stretching the play to create the opportunities in the final third does.

So where is it going wrong? Well let’s face it, it’s not really going wrong is it - Northampton at home and Derby away were examples of the issue I refer to but both of these were cup games of limited actual significance in the context of this season’s objectives – we are third in the table after all on a good run of form particularly at home. But this absence of ruthlessness and penetration has been a common feature of the season so far and it is this I think that makes the difference between where we are now and where ultimately this team is capable of being. Running away with the title.

All successful teams have inconsistencies during a season but always hit a point when everything clicks, the team finds its groove, creates momentum and pushes onwards and upwards. Finding this element to our game will I believe make everything fall into place. If we fail to find it there is a danger that the confidence in the final third could disappear completely over a period of time rendering the philosophy running through the midfield totally redundant. One will happen very quickly, the other more slowly over time. The Christmas period and Leeds’ transfer activity in January will suggest which way the club see it.

The other issue is of course the defence. This is perhaps food for another blog thought but it is also arguable that if the issue up front is resolved the issue at the back becomes less problematic.
So the other big piece of media spotlight this week, and in fact increasingly over the last few weeks, has been our star player, Fabian Delph. Let’s be completely honest. Delph is an unbelievable talent, perhaps potentially the greatest Leeds United-produced talent of my lifetime. His all-round game - passing, shooting, tackling, skill and pace - are supported by an incredible self-belief and this rightly puts him in the spotlight and, one suspects, ripe for the picking by a Premier League club.

But actually this raises a number of interesting questions about football, especially about financial power and individual short-term greed against longer-term impact, potential, and loyalty. I know, I know, there is no loyalty in football any more. Believe me, I view modern day footballers with utter contempt; they are pretty much all mercenaries who see the football profession as a ticket to personal extravagance first with professional integrity and success a distant, but intrinsically-linked second. A broad generalisation and of course every rule has its exceptions but actually the more one thinks about the anomaly that is Leeds United in League One, the more this may have a positive impact on the future of Fabian Delph.

Firstly, he plays for Leeds United. This actually means something. The interest generated at every away game I can remember, from the Premier League through to the depths of the Football League paints a clear picture. We have always been and will always be famous. This isn’t bragging, it is fact. It is infamy, borne out of hatred from outside and set against total devotion from within. Secondly, we appear to be on the cusp of something of a revival, a revival which Delph may well spearhead over the course of the next few years. If Leeds can be a mid-table Premier League side two years from now there is quite frankly no point in joining anyone outside the top four.

Thirdly, if the focus then is on the top four, should any of these pose an attraction at the current time, in terms of the player’s development? Of the top four, Arsenal would be the natural choice with an unbelievable ability to develop young players. But they have plenty, and if anyone has read the recent ridiculous questioning of Wenger’s tenure at the Emirates, it seems that Wenger will not be looking at Delph for a short term impact. This realigns Arsenal with the other three; Liverpool, Chelsea and Man United have all suggested an interest in Delph but any exposure to their first team would surely be extremely limited at this stage, limiting him to admiring the facilities and playing in the youth or reserve team.

Delph is at a League One club with Premier League facilities and is a fixture on the team sheet. In short, he is actually in his ideal place for his age and development. One can only hope therefore that he has good advisers around him. Rumours will continue and will hit fever pitch on 1st January. If Delph is still a Leeds player on 1st February that will perhaps be one of the most positive signs of the inner strength developing at our club.

And so it is late, the night before the Huddersfield game. The early kick-off, the promise of 35,000 inside Elland Road, the excitement. In short, the reason why we all fall in love with the game in the first place. One thing I have learned from the past few years is that football is a relative thing and can bring the same great things whether you are champions of Europe or pushing for promotion in League One. Bring it on…

TEAM PREDICTION

Ankegren

Richardson
White
Telfer
Michalik

Douglas
Kilkenny
Robinson
Delph

Beckford
Becchio

SCORE PREDICTION

Leeds United 3-1 Huddersfield
Marching on Together

As Relevant as Ever?

Despite their early positivity, Kevin and Dennis just couldn't work it out.

Though far removed from the recent Premier League mania, buy-outs, resignations and transfer lunacy of the entertaining but damaging extravaganza known as “the closing of the transfer window”, it got me to thinking about how this relates to Leeds United; to where we are now in the depths of the Football League, and to where we could be in a couple of years if we achieve the success currently predicted. 

This is not an article exclusively about Leeds but is the view of the current premier league talking  points, including the joke that it Newcastle United, from the perspective of a Leeds fan. First and foremost I’m sure most of you will agree that we still feel attachment to the Premier League. Consequently we look on events, somewhat unavoidably, as if we have a vested interest as opposed to those (perhaps permanently) who feel excluded, remote observers marvelling at the silly people with all their silly money.

So my initial reaction to the Abu-Dhabi multi-multi-multi billionaires is not one of mourning the death of football but actually that, if Manchester City can get this kind of money injected, why can’t we?

City and Leeds have much in common aside from the mutual and, of course, entirely justified, loathing of Man United. Both enjoy a similarly strong local fan base coupled with a decent national and international spread of supporters. Falling short of the level of blind fanaticism demonstrated on a daily basis by the Newcastle obsessives, but remaining well clear of the glory-hunting woodwork-crawlers at the Theatre of Wet Dreams, both Leeds and City demonstrate the type of loyalty that shows true supporters given the depths both have plummeted to in the football league during modern times and the continued attendance in volume despite this. In fact the City v Gillingam play-off final was at the back of my mind all day when we had a tussle with Doncaster in our final. Devastatingly the similarities didn’t bring us into line with the blue mooners on that occasion.

Both also, I think, feel a curse of sorts hangs over them. Though we have failed to achieve success in any form for as great a sustained period as City, you cannot help but feel that things are going to go wrong, that any bright promise can only bring untold misery.

In 2000-2002 Leeds spent big money. This was nothing, however, compared to some of the salaries and wages being paid today, and I’m not talking about Chelsea, Man United, or now of course Man City, rather the type of salaries and transfer fees that can be paid by newcomers from the Championship or teams perpetually struggling for top-flight survival.

Our gluttony however sent us crashing off the Premier League radar just in time to miss out on the more recent wave of cash thrown at clubs in the top-flight. This also meant, gallingly, that we missed out on the guaranteed 50 minutes of quality highlights every week, without fail, offered by Sky’s “Football First” service. That was a particularly bitter pill to swallow (recently sweetened in part by LUTV!).

But history suggests that we have missed out on so much not necessarily because of the amounts we spent but rather the point in time at which we spent it. Had events occurred to Leeds two years after they actually did (a Back to the Future-style alternate timeline if you like) it is possible that none of our recent misery would have been an issue because the flooding of so much new money into the highest level of the game coincided with the boy with the marker pen writing on his chest crying us out of the Premiership at the Reebok. I am not, and certainly would not deny that the misery which followed was a direct consequence of the way the club was run between 2000 and 2003, or that the results were the proper consequences of it. But it is interesting that the “crash” in the transfer market hit us at precisely the wrong time. We became a shining example of how not to run a football club at the same time as clubs traditionally with limited resources outspent the Ridsdale “dream-living” era by some distance using borrowed money with the support of vastly more lucrative T.V. deals. It is this which leaves me feeling a slight sense of misfortune though this accompanies, rather than replaces, the contempt I feel towards Ridsdale and the way he conducted himself.

“The Glory Years”. A classic Leeds United video. I have watched it about 4,000 times. For those of you Leeds fans who shamefully have never seen it, you would probably think the clue is in the title. Yet watching it you come away feeling not glory, but injustice, misfortune and frustration. I think it is precisely this feeling which makes me feel sympathy, perhaps camaraderie, with City over the last twenty years.

As supporters we are betrayed and brow beaten by the club we love but always come back for more. We never get what our loyalty deserves. Taking the two other examples, it would be difficult to argue that the Man United supporters deserve the success their team produce even if, begrudgingly, their players do. The Geordies on the other hand seem to be very much like the exposed bingo wings of their Saturday night women – impervious to pain – coupled with a blind optimism and a belief, presumably inspired by some form of hallucinogenic drug, that the only people that can make Newcastle United successful are people with strong links to the club. I hear Gazza desperately needs something occupy his time at the moment. Maybe they can persuade Vic Reeves to get out of the Churchill dog’s bottom and say “Oh Yes” to Mike Ashley or whoever is next in line at a club with such unrealistic expectations that their supporters will never be satisfied.

The distinction is realism. Scum expect success because they know no different. The Geordies surprisingly expect success having been nowhere near it for over half a century. We expect success but we are realistic enough to know that the gulf between us now and where we ultimately want to be couldn’t be much wider. Our push for promotion this year is a realistic one. Not because we are Leeds but because we have a capable squad and management team, for League One. We are just glad that we’re not fending off creditors, have a settled team and actually play some nice football for a change. City’s lot in the Premier League has been one of mediocrity sprinkled with the odd relegation flirtation. The Shinawatra takeover promised glory but in keeping with the curse delivered a qualified result, tainted by rumours of the owner’s criminal corruption and breaches of human rights in Thailand. Oh, and of course Sven. But they expect success because now they have the money to buy the players to provide it.

Underlying the hilarity of the Newcastle comedy roadshow (coming to a Championship stadium near you soon), and the bitterness at the perpetual Man United success story, is an interesting dichotomy in methods of pursuing success at the highest level. If Leeds did the wrong thing at the wrong time, the scum story since about 1995 is the complete opposite. Bringing a generation of youth through at just the right time, increasing the size of the stadium at just the right time, obtaining significant global investment at just the right time. All of this is of course is a matter of fortune rather than design (a common feature in their dominance since 1993). For the Geordies however, none of this would be possible with the exception of stadium improvements. The youth set-up is non-existent. Apparently Keegan was pleading for the board to buy Beckham, Henry and Ronaldinho in the summer – what one commentator recently described as “the showcase from the Rothmans Football Yearbook 2003” – but the sentiment is clear and it matches that of the Geordie masses. Buy big quick. reap quick, short-term success.

Sam Allardyce completely remodelled his squad in the summer and was given about three months to make them demonstrate European Champions class based on total attacking football. Ridiculous. His system at Bolton took three or four years to reap rewards and would probably have done the same at St James’ Park. But this was not good enough for the Geordies who in football supporting terms are simply greedy. The owner sacked Allardyce on the back of pressure from the masses and then, having brought in Keegan to appease them, put in place a structure which could only hamper Keegan and looked like the type of long-term system which would have clearly suited Allardyce. Odd.

Now Joe Kinnear has been appointed. Strange. Very, VERY strange. For this “massive club” his CV for this “massive job” included the following:-

He motivated Wimbledon into punching and kicking their way into a couple of semi-finals

He is not only able to survive heart attacks, but also one would presume the inevitable temptation of suicide at dealing with deluded Geordies on a daily basis

He is willing to touch something Terry Venables won’t

He is friends with Dennis Wise

He is happy to agree to a fifteen minute rolling contract (though this is probably governed more by the Newcastle United medical insurance policy than anything).

Please accept my apologies, this has inadvertently turned into a rant at the bar-coded jokers as they lunge from one self-made disaster after another which was not intended but has been enjoyable. So I must bring this into line with the article’s theme. Someone recently commented to me that the image of Newcastle is how we were viewed as we plummeted through the divisions. So how can I laugh so joyously and whole-heartedly at this tale of Geordie misery. Well that is because so much of this is down to them. Not the club or the manager or the board or the lenders or the transfer market, but the Geordies. We undoubtedly enjoyed the ride of the Champions League but we had no idea of the house of cards being constructed behind the scenes until it was too late. At the beginning of last season the Geordies were presented with a magnificent opportunity to create the foundations of a lasting success at the club, something they had never previously enjoyed. Allardyce the manager and Ashley the owner, instantly £200 million worse off on taking over, were the new “messiahs” on Tyneside. Oh how they love their messiahs! But their patience levels would just not tolerate this kind of idea. So they shouted about it, and they got exactly what they wanted. The Messiah!

Forgetting his last visit to save them, when millions were squandered, bottle was lost (on and off the pitch), not to mention his without-warning abandonment, he was back. Out of touch with football having not watched a game for three years he was there to turn back time and reignite the glory years. The great motivator was back to motivate the players. But these players, along with the vast majority of others in the modern game, are motivated only by one thing. And it isn’t Kevin Keegan. The great manager was back to buy all the best players the world by offering the pull of being managed by the great Kevin Keegan. But that isn’t what pulls the majority of players to clubs these days. Even if a genuine messiah was manager.  He would of course have known this had he actually taken an interest in the sport since resigning, surprisingly, from his last job.

And so he has resigned. Again. Surprisingly. The irony in the tale and in the current discord at Newcastle - where the owner is scared off by the angry mob whilst he looks to sell the club for over £450 million (despite not being interested in profit apparently) – is that Keegan’s resignation allows the Geordies to conveniently forget that his appointment was a terrible knee-jerk one and would never in a million years have produced the success that he promised and they believed in. Perhaps underneath all of the “sack the board” rhetoric, the “vote with your feet” crusade, is a veiled relief that Keegan left when he did in the way he did so they could divert attention from their idiocy onto their owner, another idiot who fits in more and more with them –the XXXL “King Kev” shirt aside – with each disastrous gaffe. If they do get a buyer and the buyer brings back King Kev, that would be the crowning moment in the Newcastle self-created spiral to oblivion. Hope does spring eternal after all.

So turning back to Leeds and to my friend’s comment. As supporters we had no control, no say. We have been used and abused for as long as I can remember. Our club was all but wiped off the planet by a man and his business associates who continue in business without any recrimination. We were gutted but loyal bystanders as the turmoil unfolded before our eyes. We cried at Cardiff and we cried at Wembley. But we are always realistic. We got what our season deserved overall at Cardiff and what our performance overall deserved at Wembley (though certainly not our season). But we were not the cause of any of it. The board never listened to us, they never made a decision we asked them to. They still don’t. And though Bates may be hated there is a deference you must give as a supporter to those who run a football club, that ultimately if they did all you asked of them the club would be bound to fail. And so it proves perpetually at Newcastle. Bates, Krasner, McKenzie and now in hindsight Ridsdale didn’t listen to us. And maybe in some way that will be to our benefit in the future, subject to the curse of course!  Same goes for City.

So can the blue half of Manchester really hit the big time? Fergie has been unable to resist the opportunity of having a dig in the press this week. “It takes more than money”, he says, “to win titles”. Chelsea managed it two years in a row. And at Man United the young nucleus of the mid-1990s home grown talent are on their last legs. Their team on Saturday, much the same as the one which won the Champions League (the inexpensive Berbatov being the only difference) contained only two home grown players.

Even at Arsenal, where Arsene Wenger has developed a fantastic set-up for bringing through young players, it must be remembered that many of these are still bought by the club rather than picked off the streets of North London. The success in Wenger’s model is yet to truly manifest itself but at board level you would imagine success might be measured equally between the number of trophies and the vast sums Arsenal will be able to command in the transfer market. From a personnel perspective this is perhaps the main flaw in Wenger’s plan but I really hope it succeeds.

Talk of curses aside, I think the future should look rosy for City and, for a short time, I would probably be happy for them. They have a good manager and more money than any football club in the world. As a Leeds fan, am I jealous? Yes of course it would be nice to see South American superstars (sorry Luciano) every week but perhaps it is a good time to be building nice momentum with a combination of bought, nurtured and local talent, so that by the time we reach the Premiership we will know whether football at the highest level really is on the verge of eating itself. In truth, the cursed Man City might be just the ones to spearhead the feast. 

And so, with five wins on the bounce, goals aplenty, good football to watch and 25,000 for a home game in the third division with Hereford United, we could really start work our way onwards and upwards, out of the football league and back to the thick of the madness that is the Premier League. Who knows there may be a multi-multi-billionaire waiting for us when we get there! 

We may be removed from it, but it is a good time to be onlookers with a vested interest.

Marching on Together.