Telegraph 24/12/06
Leeds left clutching at draws
By Trevor Haylett at Elland Road, Sunday Telegraph
Leeds (0) 0 Hull (0) 0
They filed away silently in their thousands, dejected and in desperate need of a warm fireside and some seasonal cheer. There was none to be found inside Elland Road, a grand stage where they used to pay homage to the best team in the land but which now endures a level of mediocrity shaming the memory of all those great performers from the past.
A 0-0 home draw with Hull is certainly no reason to crack open the Christmas champers. It has come to something when that minuscule return is seen as a sign that there might soon be some light beneath a skyline presently offering only grey and gloom. 'A clean sheet' claimed those for whom a glass three-quarters empty, is a glass one-quarter full.
Yes, only the fourth clean sheet in 13 home games. But the lunchtime kick-off also produced a whiteout, a washout, at the other end and that is three successive games that the Leeds die-hards have been left short-changed.
So the sense of despair that has hung around this once-great institution since that catastrophic afternoon at the Millennium Stadium in May when Watford ridiculed Leeds' arrogant contention that their place among the elite had merely been placed on hold for two seasons, will linger into the new year unless Dennis Wise can imbibe his struggling team with some inspiration between now and Boxing Day afternoon.
There was a debate among some fans at half-time as to whether they were witnessing the worst 11 in Leeds' history. There was no lack of effort and no shortage of possibilities as Frazer Richardson and Eddie Lewis raided from full-back and sent over a stream of crosses, but only one of them forced Boaz Myhill to dirty his hands as Tresor Kandol headed goalwards. There was precious little forward punch and a paucity of midfield creativity, though some optimism could be gleaned from the promising debut of 18-year-old Jonathan Howson.
"It's clearly two points dropped," Wise said, "but I was pleased with the way we went about it today. We are getting there. We looked solid and played with a lot more confidence."
Yet with a large away following lending voluble support, Hull looked just as likely to steal away with the prize and there was no sense of hanging on for their point. They had the best player on view in Michael Bridges, who once wore the white of the home team on those rare occasions when he was not on the treatment table, and opportunities through a Sam Ricketts drive and Ryan France's header to leave Leeds behind in the bottom three.
Whether it will prove enough to enable Phil Brown to shed his 'caretaker' label is a decision for another day.
"After a performance like that it looks like I've the backing of the players, but the bottom line is that the decision is for the chairman to make," he said.
When Ken Bates, the Leeds chairman, emerged into the cold afternoon air there were just three supporters left in the club car park, two of whom shook his hand, the third planting a smacker on his cheek, demonstrating that goodwill at this time of year is not an old-fashioned concept. As for all the rest . . . they just wanted Christmas to begin and for this bad memory to disappear.
Leeds left clutching at draws
By Trevor Haylett at Elland Road, Sunday Telegraph
Leeds (0) 0 Hull (0) 0
They filed away silently in their thousands, dejected and in desperate need of a warm fireside and some seasonal cheer. There was none to be found inside Elland Road, a grand stage where they used to pay homage to the best team in the land but which now endures a level of mediocrity shaming the memory of all those great performers from the past.
A 0-0 home draw with Hull is certainly no reason to crack open the Christmas champers. It has come to something when that minuscule return is seen as a sign that there might soon be some light beneath a skyline presently offering only grey and gloom. 'A clean sheet' claimed those for whom a glass three-quarters empty, is a glass one-quarter full.
Yes, only the fourth clean sheet in 13 home games. But the lunchtime kick-off also produced a whiteout, a washout, at the other end and that is three successive games that the Leeds die-hards have been left short-changed.
So the sense of despair that has hung around this once-great institution since that catastrophic afternoon at the Millennium Stadium in May when Watford ridiculed Leeds' arrogant contention that their place among the elite had merely been placed on hold for two seasons, will linger into the new year unless Dennis Wise can imbibe his struggling team with some inspiration between now and Boxing Day afternoon.
There was a debate among some fans at half-time as to whether they were witnessing the worst 11 in Leeds' history. There was no lack of effort and no shortage of possibilities as Frazer Richardson and Eddie Lewis raided from full-back and sent over a stream of crosses, but only one of them forced Boaz Myhill to dirty his hands as Tresor Kandol headed goalwards. There was precious little forward punch and a paucity of midfield creativity, though some optimism could be gleaned from the promising debut of 18-year-old Jonathan Howson.
"It's clearly two points dropped," Wise said, "but I was pleased with the way we went about it today. We are getting there. We looked solid and played with a lot more confidence."
Yet with a large away following lending voluble support, Hull looked just as likely to steal away with the prize and there was no sense of hanging on for their point. They had the best player on view in Michael Bridges, who once wore the white of the home team on those rare occasions when he was not on the treatment table, and opportunities through a Sam Ricketts drive and Ryan France's header to leave Leeds behind in the bottom three.
Whether it will prove enough to enable Phil Brown to shed his 'caretaker' label is a decision for another day.
"After a performance like that it looks like I've the backing of the players, but the bottom line is that the decision is for the chairman to make," he said.
When Ken Bates, the Leeds chairman, emerged into the cold afternoon air there were just three supporters left in the club car park, two of whom shook his hand, the third planting a smacker on his cheek, demonstrating that goodwill at this time of year is not an old-fashioned concept. As for all the rest . . . they just wanted Christmas to begin and for this bad memory to disappear.