When the fixture list came out last year the thought of playing Leeds United for the first time at Roots Hall stood out from the rest. Who knew then that it would be such a massive game with relegation still very possible come May for both clubs. For Leeds, playing in a European Champions League semi-final only a few years ago, it would be a disaster and a Blues win on Saturday, opening up a six point lead between the sides, would make that conclusion a little nearer. With the spring sun shining on a packed Roots Hall this is what football at any level is all about, a drama of the first order, a game that will take no prisoners, played between two sides that mirror their managers playing style,
After Southend's dramatic last minute win on Tuesday the only change I see Tilly making is Foran replacing the suspended MacCormack, oh how he would have enjoyed Saturday. (You lucky man Bradders, who needs to step up if we are to get a result, certainly help Gower out in midfield or Maher could be overrun, a worry in that third of the field for sure.)
After the Barnsley win at Plymouth last night the table reflects the importance of Saturday's match.
Former Coventry manager Mickey Adams had this to say about the two sides on BBC Sport Online this morning, first Southend:
Still to play: Leeds (h); Hull (a); Colchester (h); Preston (a); Barnsley (h); Plymouth (a); Luton (h); Southampton (a).
Beating Burnley on Tuesday was a big result for them as they climbed out of the relegation places, but it is the next game against Leeds that is the key match. Win and they make it three victories in a row as well as opening up a six-point gap on Leeds, which can give them the confidence to go on and avoid relegation. It is one of three games against fellow relegation candidates at home, Roots Hall is never an easy place to go and picking up wins at home is the target for Steve Tilson's squad. I can see them pulling out of trouble and the thing I like about them is that they have got players who can turn games - Freddy Eastwood and Jamal Campbell-Ryce on the right-wing can do bits of individual magic.
Did you know? Southend were in the relegation zone from 30 September until 13 March. (Well, yes Mickey I did, and it seemed a lot longer!!!)
As for Leeds: Still to play: Southend (a); Preston (h); Plymouth (h); Colchester (a); Burnley (h); Southampton (a); Ipswich (h); Derby (a).
They've got strong characters, people who have experienced the good times and not just the bad at the club, and they need to stand up and be counted. Leeds haven't scored enough goals, but if you take the last two games in isolation it has been a good return and that sort of form would be enough for them to escape. The interest and hype can make it very, very hard for the players to perform and the crowd at Elland Road can go one of two ways; if they see their team giving 150% they will be supportive, otherwise they can be quite unforgiving. But I think they understand the problems Dennis Wise has had, know he won't be giving up and are now backing their boys to the hilt.
Did you know? Leeds still have six players on their books who were in the Championship play-off final last season and four of them played in the draw at Leicester last time out.
The team Dennis Wise put out in that Leicester 1-1 draw and his comments after. Ankergren, Richardson, Heath, Michalik, Armando Sa, Blake, Kishishev, Douglas, Carole (Thompson 59), Cresswell, Johnson (Healy 44), Thompson (Moore 72). Subs Not Used: Robbie Elliott, Kandol.
"It was very naive from us and I think the players knew they'd made a mistake. They were still celebrating the goal and I think the shot took a deflection and it could have gone anywhere. It should have been an easy take but he's slipped and missed it."
We could go on for ever why Leeds are in this mess, it will be a big history section at the bottom, and they've certainly tried to get enough players in on loan, most of whom have got injured, to help out. Wise has had long enough to get the team playing as he wants and the return of Robbie Blake will be of help, while big centre forward Tore Andre Flo could also return. However, up to seven other players could miss the game but they have a mighty big squad!
Leeds will be backed by over 2,000 travelling supporters who have done an admirable impression of the band on the Titanic by keeping up the noise levels as their club slides towards what has seemed an inevitable drop. No matter how bad the Elland Road side have been on the road, and some of the displays such as at Luton and Preston have been nothing short of embarrassing for a once proud club, the fans have continued to turn up in their droves and keep the decibel levels up. Against Leicester they gave Dennis Wise's side tremendous backing with renditions of 'we are the champions, the champions of Europe', (oh yeh!), booming round the Walkers Stadium incessantly for a 20-minute spell in each half. However, just as with the musicians who continued to play on as the Titanic sank deeper and deeper into trouble it seems the fans' efforts will be in vain thanks to United's inability to eke out the wins needed to escape the drop! (Expect a strong version of "You're not famous anymore" from three sections of the ground when Freddy grabs an early lead, maybe.)
The smallest ever previous matches section follows: Tue 24-Oct-2006 Away CaC3 3 1 Hammell(pen) Hooper(2) 10449, well done to everyone who made that trip, officially the first time we ever played Leeds United, and the other game, Sat 28-Oct-2006 Away Cham 0 2 19528, where Southend should have at least got on the scoresheet if not more in Wise's first game as manager. Still, times have changed for Blues since then.
History of the club:
Leeds United Association Football Club are the only professional association football club in the city of Leeds. The club was established in 1919 following the demise of Leeds City. The club's nicknames are "Leeds", "United" or "The Whites". Although the club name bears the "AFC" suffix, the current badge displays "LUFC", however previous badges have included the official suffix.
Leeds rose to prominence under the management of Don Revie during the 1960s and 1970s, when they won a number of domestic and European trophies. After Revie's departure to manage the England team Leeds were relegated to the Second Division in 1982, not returning to the top flight until 1990, when they were managed by Howard Wilkinson. Leeds were league champions in 1992, (the last before the original Football League First Division became the FA Premier League), and this is their most recent major trophy. Currently, they are threatened with relegation to the third tier of the English football for the first time in their history.
Leeds United's predecessor team Leeds City FC was formed in 1904, but was forcibly disbanded by The Football League in 1919 in response to allegations of illegal payments to players during the First World War. A new club, Leeds United, was formed and began playing in the Midland League, taking the place vacated by Leeds City's reserve team. Yorkshire Amateurs, who occupied Elland Road, offered to make way for the new team under the management of former player Dick Ray. In 1920 Leeds were elected to the Football League and acquired by Huddersfield Town's chairman, Hilton Crowther.
Over the following few years, Leeds consolidated their position in the Second Division and in 1924 won the title and with it promotion to the First Division. However, they failed to establish themselves and were relegated in 1926-27. In the years up until the start of World War II Leeds were twice relegated, both times being instantly re-promoted the following season. In the 1946-47 season after the war, Leeds were relegated again with the worst league record in their history.
They remained in the Second Division for a further nine seasons until 1955-56, when Leeds once again won promotion to the First Division, inspired by Welsh legend John Charles. However, Charles was hungry for success at the highest level, and manager Raich Carter was unable to convince him that Leeds could satisfy his ambitions. Charles was sold to Juventus for a then world record of £65,000; the loss of such a key player led to Leeds' decline, and the team was relegated to the Second Division in 1959-60.
In March 1961 the club appointed Don Revie as manager. His stewardship began in adverse circumstances; the club was in financial difficulty and in 1961-62 only a win in the final game of the season saved the club from relegation to Division Three. Revie turned the team around, winning promotion to the First Division in 1963-64. Between 1965 and 1974, Revie's Leeds never finished outside of the top four, won two League Championships (1968-69 and 1973-74), the FA Cup (1971-72), the League Cup (1967-68) and two Inter-Cities Fairs Cups (1967-68 and 1970-71). Set against the success was an unenvied record of second places; during the same period Leeds were runners up in the League five times, losing finalists in the FA Cup three times, runners up in the Fairs Cup once, and losing finalists in the European Cup Winners Cup. Revie's last season at Elland Road was in 1974, and he left Leeds to take up the role of managing the English national team.
Brian Clough was appointed as Revie's successor. This was a surprise appointment, as Clough had been an outspoken critic of Revie and the team's tactics.[4] The team performed poorly under Clough, and after only 44 days he was dismissed and replaced by former England captain Jimmy Armfield. Armfield took Revie's ageing team to the final of the 1974-75 European Cup, where they were defeated by Bayern Munich. Assisted by coach Don Howe,
Armfield rebuilt Revie's team, and though it no longer dominated English football, it remained in the top ten for subsequent seasons. However, the board was impatient for success and dismissed Armfield, replacing him with Jock Stein, who also lasted just 44 days before leaving to manage Scotland.
The board turned to Jimmy Adamson but he was unable to stop the decline. In 1980 Adamson resigned and was replaced by former Leeds and England star Allan Clarke. Despite spending freely on players, he was unable to stem the tide and the club was relegated at the end of 1981-82. Clarke was replaced by former team-mate Eddie Gray.
With no money to spend on team building[7], Gray's concentrated on youth development, without winning them promotion from the Second Division. The board again became impatient and sacked him in 1985, replacing him with another former Revie star, Billy Bremner. Bremner carried on where Gray had left off, but found it just as difficult to achieve promotion, though he did bring the club close; Leeds got to the 1987 play-off final but were defeated after extra time.
I
n October 1988, with the team 21st in the Second Division, Bremner was fired to make way for Howard Wilkinson, who oversaw promotion back to the First Division in 1989-90. Under Wilkinson the club finished 4th in 1990-91 and then won the title in 1991-92. However, the 1992-93 season was a poor one, with Leeds exiting the Champions League in the early stages, and eventually finishing 17th in the League, narrowly avoiding relegation.
Wilkinson's Leeds were unable to provide any consistent challenge for honours, and his position was not helped by a poor display in the 1996 League Cup final which Leeds lost to Aston Villa. Leeds could only finish 13th in 1995-96, and after a heavy home defeat to Manchester United early in 1996-97, Wilkinson had his contract terminated.
Leeds appointed George Graham as Wilkinson's replacement. The appointment was controversial as Graham had previously received a one year ban from the The Football Association for receiving illegal payments from a Football Agent. Graham made some astute purchases, and by the end of the season Leeds had qualified for the following season's UEFA Cup. In October 1998 Graham moved on to become manager of Tottenham Hotspur, and Leeds opted to replace him with assistant manager David O'Leary. O'Leary introduced promising youngsters, and under the coaching of Eddie Gray Leeds secured 3rd place in the league, sending the club into the UEFA Champions League. Unfortunately, Leeds' image was further tarnished when players Jonathan Woodgate and Lee Bowyer were involved in an incident which left an Asian student in hospital with severe injuries. The resulting courtcase took nearly two years to resolve; Bowyer was cleared, and Woodgate convicted of affray and sentenced to community service.
In the UEFA Cup, Leeds reached their first European semi-final in 25 years and were paired against Turkish champions Galatasaray in Istanbul. Leeds lost the game, but the result was overshadowed by the death of two Leeds fans, Christopher Loftus and Kevin Speight, who were stabbed to death before the game[9][10]. Leeds were only able to draw the return leg at Elland Road, thus going out of the competition. A minute's silence is held every year at the match closest to the anniversary of the incident to remember Christopher Loftus and Kevin Speight.
O'Leary's Leeds never finished outside of the top four, but following their appearance in the UEFA Champions League 2001 semi-final against Valencia their fortunes began to change. Under chairman Peter Ridsdale, Leeds had taken out large loans against the prospect of the share of the TV rights and sponsorship revenues that come with UEFA Champions League qualification and any subsequent progress in the competition. However Leeds narrowly failed to qualify for the Champions League, and as a consequence did not receive enough income to repay the loans. The first indication that the club was in financial trouble was the sale of Rio Ferdinand to Manchester United for approximately £30m. Ridsdale and O'Leary publicly fell out over the sale, and O'Leary was sacked and replaced by former England manager Terry Venables. Leeds performed badly under Venables, and other players were sold to repay the loans, including Jonathan Woodgate whom Ridsdale had promised Venables would not be sold. Tensions mounted between the pair, eventually resulting in the sacking of Venables, who was replaced by Peter Reid. By this time Leeds were in danger of relegation, but Reid saved Leeds from the drop in the penultimate game of the season. During this time Ridsdale had resigned from the Leeds board, and was replaced by economics expert Professor John McKenzie. An unsuccessful start to the 2003-04 season saw Peter Reid dismissed, and head coach Eddie Gray took over as caretaker manager until the end of the season.
Gerald Krasner, an insolvency specialist, led a consortium of local businessmen which took over Leeds and under his chairmanship oversaw the sale of the clubs' assets, including senior and emerging youth players of any value. Caretaker manager Gray was largely blameless for the performance of the team during the 2003-04 season as the majority of the squad was sold out from underneath him and despite his best efforts, Leeds were relegated after 14 years in the top flight. Following relegation, Gray's reign as caretaker manager was terminated, and Kevin Blackwell was appointed manager. Most of the remaining players were sold or released on free transfers to further reduce the wage bill. Leeds were eventually forced to sell both their training ground, for £4.2m, and their Elland Road stadium in the autumn of 2004.
The club finally managed a financial turn around on 21 January 2005, when Krasner announced the sale of a 50% stake of the club to Ken Bates for £10m. Blackwell stabilized the team by signing players on free transfers and low wages and Leeds finished the 2004-05 season mid-table in the Championship. In the 2005-06 season Leeds finished in the top 6 and made the promotion playoff final, which they lost to Watford. On 10 September 2006, Kevin Blackwell announced that within a year the club would be debt-free[16]. However, the 2006-07 season started badly and on 20 September 2006 Kevin Blackwell's contract as manager of Leeds United was terminated. Dennis Wise was eventually installed as his replacement after a month without a permanent manager.
In Leeds' first fifteen years the club kit was modelled on Huddersfield Town's blue and white striped shirts, white shorts and dark blue socks with blue and white rings on the turnovers, because Huddersfield's chairman Hilton Crowther was attempting to merge the two clubs. He eventually left Huddersfield to take over at Leeds. In 1934 Leeds switched to blue and gold halved shirts incorporating the city crest badge, white shorts and blue socks with gold tops. The kit was worn for the first time on 22 September 1934. The club also adopted their first badge in 1934, using the city crest as Leeds City had. In 1950 Leeds switched to gold shirts with blue sleeves and collars, white shorts and black, blue and gold hooped socks. In 1955 Leeds changed again to royal blue shirts with gold collars, white shorts, and blue and gold hooped socks; this echoed the original Leeds City strip. In 1961 Don Revie introduced a plain white strip throughout, in the hope of emulating Spanish side Real Madrid! In 1964, Leeds introduced a perching owl as their logo. The design was a surprise, given Revie's superstition about the symbolism of birds. The owl came from the city crest, which itself was based on the crest of Sir John Saville, the first alderman of Leeds. In 1973 came the embodiment of Seventies imagery with the iconic LU Smiley badge. Revie's predilection for gimmicks was years ahead of its time, and done with the explicit intention of gaining acceptance from a public outside West Yorkshire. In 1984 a new club badge was introduced. It lasted until 1998, making it the longest lived of the modern era. The Rose and Ball badge was distinctive, in the traditional blue, gold and white and incorporating the white rose of Yorkshire together with the club name.
Elland Road has recently been sold by the club in a 25-year sale-lease back deal with a commercial buy-back provision for when the club's finances improve. According to a recent Board of Directors statement, Leeds United should become debt free in the 2006/07 season. However, reduced attendances in the last couple of years may have a bearing on that[citation needed]. Initially the ground was the home of the Holbeck Rugby Club who played in the northern rugby union, the forerunner of the rugby football league. One of Leeds' first nicknames, "The Peacocks", comes from the original name of Elland Road - "The Old Peacock ground". It was named by the original owners of the ground, Bentley's Brewery, after their pub "The Old Peacock" which still faces the site[19]. When Leeds United were formed, the council allowed the new club to rent the stadium until they could afford to buy it themselves. With the exception of periods from the 1960s until 1983, and from 1997 to 2004, the council has owned the stadium. It is however owned by a leasing company at present. The stadium is currently the 10th largest football stadium in England.
Previous manager Kevin Blackwell said that the club had over 250,000 ticket applications for the 2005/06 Championship Play Off Final, but the club currently struggles to fill Elland Road for home matches, with attendances averaging around 20,000 in the 2005/06 season - down from 30,000 the previous season. Alex Ferguson has said that Elland Road has one of the most intimidating atmospheres in European Football. Leeds are 10th in the all time average attendance figures for the Football League & Premier League, and have the third most rivalries in the English League.
In April 1972 the Leeds squad released a single, "Leeds United" with the b-side being "Leeds! Leeds! Leeds!" (commonly known as "Marching On Together"). It was issued was to coincide with the team reaching the 1972 FA Cup Final; the vocals on the original recording were by the Leeds team. The record reached number 10 in the UK singles chart.[23] Whilst it is not officially the club anthem, "Marching On Together" is played before every home game, at half time and at the end of the game. Unlike many football songs that are just new words set to existing music, "Leeds Leeds Leeds" is an original composition by Les Reed and Barry Mason, purposely written for Leeds United. The song Strings for Yasmin by Tin Tin Out is played before kick off at Elland Road, whilst Nightmare by Brainbug is played before the second half.
The 2006 movie The Penalty King is about a blind Leeds United fan!
Leeds United fan groups usually take the moniker "Whites", e.g. Wetherby Whites, Seacroft Whites, Tadcaster Whites, Knottingley Whites etc.
(Thanks to the usual suspects for the above and, as I will sadly not be there on Saturday, I love my wife, I do, I hope it's a great occasion. No I don't. Rubbish game, three points for the Southend........COME ON YOU BLUES!!!!!!!!!!)
