Sunday Times 12/8/07
Leeds luck takes turn for the better
Tranmere 1 Leeds United 2
Ian Winrow at Prenton Park
A SUMMER of fraught brinkmanship was consigned to history as Tresor Kandol's late winner gave Dennis Wise and his Leeds United players the first, tentative, sign that fortune may finally be turning their way as they attempt to negotiate their first ever season in League One
weighed down by the 15-point penalty imposed by the Football League.
The punishment — levied because of the club's breach of insolvency rules last season — meant that Leeds went into the game knowing that they will remain rooted at the foot of the third tier until at least September.
Kandol's goal, though, scored in the last minute of normal time, offered hope and the euphoric reaction from supporters and players at the final whistle articulated perfectly the tensions that have built up around Elland Road in the last few months. "We enjoyed that," admitted Wise, with more than a hint of understatement. "It was nice to be back playing football."
Nobody connected with Leeds will complain that Kandol's header owed as much to Tranmere's defensive sloppiness as it did to the forward's bravery. For the Yorkshire club, this was all about the result.
And the result offered a glimmer of light after the spiral of decline that has dragged the club from the heady days of a Champions League semi-final and a genuine challenge for the Premier League title to the new reality of a tricky opening-day away trip to Tranmere.
"We just wanted to get this out of the way," the manager added. "You don't want to have to wait a long time for your first win and find yourselves a long way behind. We've got a lot of catching up to do as it is."
The off-field efforts to overturn the points deduction will continue according to Ken Bates, the chairman, despite the rejection of the club's appeal against the penalty by an overwhelming number of League clubs at a meeting last Thursday.
Bates branded the meeting a "total disgrace" and intends to ask the Football Association to intervene although an agreement between the club and the League will prevent Leeds seeking redress through the courts.
In the meantime, Wise has the unenviable task of building and motivating a team capable of overcoming the demoralising experience of spending the opening weeks with a negative points tally and ensuring the club's predicament does not move from crisis into utter disaster.
Having lost key players, the manager was forced to wait until last week before adding new players to his squad but, unsurprisingly, for someone schooled as a player at Wimbledon and then as a manager at Millwall, Wise is undaunted by the situation.
Aware that he and Bates are unlikely to win any popularity contests in West Yorkshire, he has urged the club's supporters to shelve their differences and generate the siege mentality he believes is required to halt Leeds' slide.
The sold out away end at Prenton Park and the reception given to the visiting players during the warm-up suggested Wise's plea had had the desired effect, although in keeping with the club's recent history, the cracks quickly began to show.
Calvin Zola twice came close for the home side in the opening ten minutes and Leeds' resistance quickly wilted when Chris Shuker again broke into the area, on the left hand side, before drilling a low cross that Chris Greenacre sidefooted home from close range.
Exiting the field at half-time to the sound of jeers, Leeds appeared to be in familiar territory but their performance after the break suggested that Wise's powers of motivation remain undiminished as the Yorkshire side added some much needed craft to their previously desperate efforts, upsetting Tranmere's first-half poise.
Leeds wrested control, exerting steady pressure before Matt Heath drew the visitors level with a cleverly worked headed goal from Alan Thompson's free kick. "I wasn't happy with the way things went in the first half and we had a bit of an argument in the dressing room at half-time," Wise said. "But we got much better."
With tempers on both sides fraying, a winning goal seemed unlikely until Frazer Richardson's cross found it's way onto Kandol's forehead and deflected over the line from two yards.
For Wise and his players, it was a case of job done. "This is only the start," Wise said. "We have a long way to go, [but] when you feel the odds are against you it can work in your favour."
Star man: Alan Thompson (Leeds)
Player ratings. Tranmere: Coyne 6; Stockdale 5, Chorley 7, Goodison 6, Sherriff 6; Shuker 7 (Curran 84min), Jennings 7, McLaren 6, Davies 7; Zola 5, Greenacre 6 (Taylor 81min). Subs not used: Achterberg, Tremarco, Kay
Leeds United: Ankergren 6; Richardson 6, Marques 7, Heath 7, Lewis 6; Weston 6 (Flo 74min), Hughes 7, Thompson 8, Westlake 6; Kandol 6, Beckford 6 (Howson 80min). Subs not used: Parker, Carole, Elliott.
Scorers: Tranmere: Greenacre 22.
Leeds: Heath 55, Kandol 89.
Referee: L Mason (Lancashire).
Attendance:11,008.
Leeds luck takes turn for the better
Tranmere 1 Leeds United 2
Ian Winrow at Prenton Park
A SUMMER of fraught brinkmanship was consigned to history as Tresor Kandol's late winner gave Dennis Wise and his Leeds United players the first, tentative, sign that fortune may finally be turning their way as they attempt to negotiate their first ever season in League One
weighed down by the 15-point penalty imposed by the Football League.The punishment — levied because of the club's breach of insolvency rules last season — meant that Leeds went into the game knowing that they will remain rooted at the foot of the third tier until at least September.
Kandol's goal, though, scored in the last minute of normal time, offered hope and the euphoric reaction from supporters and players at the final whistle articulated perfectly the tensions that have built up around Elland Road in the last few months. "We enjoyed that," admitted Wise, with more than a hint of understatement. "It was nice to be back playing football."
Nobody connected with Leeds will complain that Kandol's header owed as much to Tranmere's defensive sloppiness as it did to the forward's bravery. For the Yorkshire club, this was all about the result.
And the result offered a glimmer of light after the spiral of decline that has dragged the club from the heady days of a Champions League semi-final and a genuine challenge for the Premier League title to the new reality of a tricky opening-day away trip to Tranmere.
"We just wanted to get this out of the way," the manager added. "You don't want to have to wait a long time for your first win and find yourselves a long way behind. We've got a lot of catching up to do as it is."
The off-field efforts to overturn the points deduction will continue according to Ken Bates, the chairman, despite the rejection of the club's appeal against the penalty by an overwhelming number of League clubs at a meeting last Thursday.
Bates branded the meeting a "total disgrace" and intends to ask the Football Association to intervene although an agreement between the club and the League will prevent Leeds seeking redress through the courts.
In the meantime, Wise has the unenviable task of building and motivating a team capable of overcoming the demoralising experience of spending the opening weeks with a negative points tally and ensuring the club's predicament does not move from crisis into utter disaster.
Having lost key players, the manager was forced to wait until last week before adding new players to his squad but, unsurprisingly, for someone schooled as a player at Wimbledon and then as a manager at Millwall, Wise is undaunted by the situation.
Aware that he and Bates are unlikely to win any popularity contests in West Yorkshire, he has urged the club's supporters to shelve their differences and generate the siege mentality he believes is required to halt Leeds' slide.
The sold out away end at Prenton Park and the reception given to the visiting players during the warm-up suggested Wise's plea had had the desired effect, although in keeping with the club's recent history, the cracks quickly began to show.
Calvin Zola twice came close for the home side in the opening ten minutes and Leeds' resistance quickly wilted when Chris Shuker again broke into the area, on the left hand side, before drilling a low cross that Chris Greenacre sidefooted home from close range.
Exiting the field at half-time to the sound of jeers, Leeds appeared to be in familiar territory but their performance after the break suggested that Wise's powers of motivation remain undiminished as the Yorkshire side added some much needed craft to their previously desperate efforts, upsetting Tranmere's first-half poise.
Leeds wrested control, exerting steady pressure before Matt Heath drew the visitors level with a cleverly worked headed goal from Alan Thompson's free kick. "I wasn't happy with the way things went in the first half and we had a bit of an argument in the dressing room at half-time," Wise said. "But we got much better."
With tempers on both sides fraying, a winning goal seemed unlikely until Frazer Richardson's cross found it's way onto Kandol's forehead and deflected over the line from two yards.
For Wise and his players, it was a case of job done. "This is only the start," Wise said. "We have a long way to go, [but] when you feel the odds are against you it can work in your favour."
Star man: Alan Thompson (Leeds)
Player ratings. Tranmere: Coyne 6; Stockdale 5, Chorley 7, Goodison 6, Sherriff 6; Shuker 7 (Curran 84min), Jennings 7, McLaren 6, Davies 7; Zola 5, Greenacre 6 (Taylor 81min). Subs not used: Achterberg, Tremarco, Kay
Leeds United: Ankergren 6; Richardson 6, Marques 7, Heath 7, Lewis 6; Weston 6 (Flo 74min), Hughes 7, Thompson 8, Westlake 6; Kandol 6, Beckford 6 (Howson 80min). Subs not used: Parker, Carole, Elliott.
Scorers: Tranmere: Greenacre 22.
Leeds: Heath 55, Kandol 89.
Referee: L Mason (Lancashire).
Attendance:11,008.