Daily Mail 3/3/07
Wise on the warpath
By DEREK HUNTER
Leeds United 2 Sheff Wed 3
The crisis at Leeds United plumbed new depths yesterday after Dennis Wise’s side crashed at home against 10-man Sheffield Wednesday 48 hours after skipper Kevin Nicholls demanded a return to his former club Luton.
Nicholls was immediately stripped of the captaincy, with Wise claiming he was "gobsmacked" by Nicholls’s attitude.
Luton are one of the clubs struggling for survival whom Leeds are desperate to overhaul and who visit Elland Road for an important Championship head-to-head next Saturday.
Furious Wise said: "Kevin Nicholls came in to see me on Thursday and I had a call from Luton’s manager Mike Newell, who said he was interested in signing Kevin. I said I was not interested in letting him go to Luton. I told Kevin he needed to think about it but he said he had made up his mind, that he made the wrong decision to come to Leeds and wanted to join Luton straight away."
Wise said there was no chance of allowing Nicholls to move to Luton on loan until the end of the season, adding: "I told him he would not be going now, but he could leave at the end of the season."
The news is the latest proof of the turmoil at Elland Road just weeks after Wise accused one of his players of leaking team news to Crystal Palace hours before the sides were due to play each other.
Wise’s immediate concern is that his side are still bottom of the Championship and could not beat a Wednesday side reduced to 10 men after 49 minutes when Marcus Tudgay, scorer of the visitors’ first goal, was sent off for a second bookable offence — kicking the ball away.
By then, though, Brian Laws’ side were already two goals to the good. They took a seventh-minute lead when Tommy Spurr spotted Tudgay in space and crossed for the striker to guide his header wide of goalkeeper Graham Stack.
After Wednesday goalkeeper Iain Turner had made desperate saves from David Healy and Ian Moore, Chris Brunt robbed Leeds defender Frazer Richardson near the touchline, spotted Stack off his line, and scored with a spectacular 40-yard lob after 37 minutes.
Tudgay’s dismissal should have signalled a Leeds revival but they fell further behind when slick passing by Deon Burton and Glenn Whelan enabled Jermaine Johnson to fire past Stack after 54 minutes. Wednesday make a habit of shooting themselves in the foot and, when Lee Bullen hacked the ball into his own net two minutes from the end, it almost proved fatal.
Richard Cresswell set up a nervy finish with an overhead shot to score against his old club, but Wednesday clung on as their fans sang "Leeds are going down".
It is hard to quarrel with that.

Gobsmacked Wise blasts skipper
By CHRIS WHEELER
Leeds United 2 Sheffield Wednesday 3
Under a headline ‘The Enemy Within’, Ken Bates used his programme notes to launch a typically outspoken attack on a former Elland Road director before Saturday’s must-win Yorkshire derby.
Those words could so easily have applied to another extraordinary day in the Leeds United soap opera.
The club that only three weeks ago brought us the dressing-room mole who leaked team news to opponents Crystal Palace, came up with the captain who - manager Dennis Wise revealed – wants to move back to Luton Town instead of staying to steer his ship away from the rocks.
Throw in the fact that Wise gave Kevin Nicholls the skipper’s armband when he first took over in October, Luton are battling with Leeds to avoid relegation, and the two sides meet in a monumental clash next weekend, and it begins to stretch the bounds of credibility. Even by Elland Road standards, you could barely make this up.
No wonder, Wise shook his head in disbelief as he explained the events that led to Nicholls being stripped of the captaincy and frozen out of his plans for Saturday’s game after Luton boss Mike Newell inquired about re-signing the midfielder he sold to Leeds for £750,000 in the summer.
"Kevin made his kind up he felt he’d made the wrong decision in coming to Leeds," said Wise. "But I was gobsmacked he wanted to go to Luton almost straightaway - a team that are fighting us for relegation.
"He must be crazy if he thinks I’m going to loan him to Luton for the rest of the season. Not in a million years. We expected him to dig in like the rest, not jack it in. It’s frightening." It the circumstances, Saturday’s captain’s column attributed to Nicholls read a little strangely. "There is no doubt in my mind we are all in this together," he said.
Apparently not. Nicholls was nowhere to be seen as Leeds went three down to their Yorkshire rivals in a game they simply had to win, saw Wednesday reduced to 10 men, and then threatened the most unlikely of comebacks with two late goals.
Afterwards, a bewildered Ian Moore spoke for his teammates when he discussed the sense of disbelief at Nicholls’ request.
"It’s awful," said Moore. "I’ve never known a captain to do this - it’s part of your job. He’s got to rally the players, and if he’s not pulling in the same direction as the rest of the lads you’re in massive trouble.
"To decide he wants to do that is a bit of a kick in the teeth. Luton are down there as well, and we’re playing them next week. The timing couldn’t possibly be any worse.
"If that’s what he wants to do then so be it, but I’m pretty disappointed and I’m sure most of the rest of the lads will be.
"When Dennis Wise came he, he made a big decision to take the captaincy off Paul Butler and give it to Kevin. For me, that was a surprise at the time.
"If I was made captain of a big club like Leeds, I’d be very proud.
"I just can’t understand his motives and I’m sure the fans won’t be happy when they find out.
"There was no indication at all. The players were asking what had happened on Friday when he wasn’t involved in the team, but it was pretty hush hush.
"It’s one thing after another at the moment. There are so many things, it seems to be snowballing."
Wise handed the armband to Jonathan Douglas, but the Republic of Ireland midfielder was powerless to prevent Leeds tumbling to another disastrous defeat.
Marcus Tudgay headed Wednesday in front before Chris Brunt caught Frazer Richardson in possession and lobbed goalkeeper Graham Stack from fully 40 yards.
Iain Turner frustrated Leeds with a string of fine saves and, although Tudgay was sent off for his second bookable offence soon after the interval, Jermaine Johnson provided a wonderful finish to a sweeping move after 54 minutes.
Lee Bullen’s sliced miss-kick past his own keeper after 88 minutes appeared to be little more than a consolation until Richard Cresswell added a second. Having put their fans through despair and humiliation, Leeds now gave them something even worse – false hope.
Inevitably, the final whistle signalled another defeat and another step nearer League One.
"At 3-0, it was the lowest point of the season," said Moore. "It was embarrassing more than anything.
"The club is going through the worst days it’s probably ever had. Things don’t look good at the moment." Chairman Bates published the address of the former director and mischievously invited fans to contact the man directly. Heaven knows what he has planned for Nicholls.

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