Yorkshire Evening Post 11/1/08
Promotion is in reach for Leeds United
By Phil Hay
It sounded like a figure plucked from the air, and to most observers it was.
The date was August 9, and Dennis Wise was at his most defiant. News had reached him that Leeds United's appeal to the Football League against their 15-point deduction had been dismissed with what amounted to a near-unanimous vote against the argument from Elland Road.
In response, Wise vowed that Leeds would aim for 105 points and finish the season in May as League One's champions. It was a bold comment, but one which seemed to invoke a herd of flying pigs. The city of Leeds was more inclined to feel that the Football League was attempting to relegate their club.
United's position at that beleaguered point in their history did not lend itself to such a target. Wise had been hindered by a transfer embargo until the third day of August, a week before the first weekend of the season. The group of players he had hastily assembled was now being asked to drop no more than 33 points over the course of 46 games.
In 20 previous seasons, only Wigan and Fulham had gathered 100 points on their way to this particular trophy, and both clubs were experiencing a renaissance at the time of their success. On average, 92 has been the highest total a championship-winning team could expect to produce. But Wise's optimism was not misplaced and nor was his aim unrealistic. United, at the turn for home, are halfway there.
It is dangerous to sniff at ambition, however extreme it may be. That master-of-words Ian Holloway once said that those who reach for the sky are most likely to claim the stars, and the first half of United's season has travelled forward with that attitude.
Had Wise allowed their campaign to revolve solely around the task of avoiding relegation – and for all his protestations and words of caution, that was never the case – it is likely that they would be presently engaged in such a battle. But his plan to amass 105 points has been pursued with methodical and commendable consistency, to the point where survival is taken as read.
Their league position – fourth after 25 games – has no more surety than that of any other club, and promotion is too far away to appear fated. But in a contest which can finally be described as even five months after it began, Leeds are in a position to reap what they have sown. It was not the year envisaged by the Football League when they imposed United's deduction, and not the revival expected by the club chairman who supported it. But this season has moved exactly as Wise hoped and believed it might.
The door to a successful term was opened by the unbeaten sequence of 13 league matches which ran from the first game at Tranmere to the 4-2 defeat of Millwall at the end of October. Without it, Leeds may have entered 2008 as nothing more than an outside chance for the play-offs.
Managers fear the consequences of a poor start to a season, but the margin for error becomes ridiculously small when a penalty on the scale of United's is handed out.
Wise knew that an average of a point from every game would leave his club with a negative tally until the first week of November. Their form was of such a standard that by the time their 14th match ended in a 3-1 defeat at Carlisle, they were already in League One's top six.
Wise's players trampled over the division with the ferocity expected of a team stung by injustice, and by the time their 15-point penalty was removed by a victory over Hartlepool on September 8 it was clear that Leeds had no business in the bottom four.
Their performances were not as flawless as their results, but until Leeds began to drop points with increasing regularity during their matches either side of Christmas, the club remained beyond reproach.Wise's squad are the highest scoring in the division and their prolific statistics have been underpinned by the league's most prolific striker, Jermaine Beckford.
Their defensive record, meanwhile, is comparable with every other team inside the top six, and thoroughly respectable. This is clearly an untimely moment at which to lose Rui Marques to the African Cup of Nations, but Darren Kenton arrived at Elland Road yesterday to fill the void for a month. Marques himself was quick to point out that individual players do not decide promotion; the success of a club is generally dictated by the strength of their squad.
This month should see to it, then, that Leeds attack the second half of the season with greater strength in depth.
Wise has attended quickly to United's midfield, the one area of his squad which has failed to inspire confidence, and his signings appear to be progressive transfers rather than safe options.
Leeds have the potential to increase in strength from here, and if the club complete the season as they started it, they will leave this division in May.
From their 21 remaining games, they require 50 points to meet Wise's pre-season target and around 45 to have a realistic chance of automatic promotion, a rate of more than two points a match.
The figures are daunting but less so when compared to United's initial goal of 105, and Wise's opinion that his players have achieved nothing of note is not strictly true. Their sparkling half-season has been a delight to watch. It is also the very reason why Leeds have everything to fight for.
Promotion is in reach for Leeds United
By Phil Hay
It sounded like a figure plucked from the air, and to most observers it was.
The date was August 9, and Dennis Wise was at his most defiant. News had reached him that Leeds United's appeal to the Football League against their 15-point deduction had been dismissed with what amounted to a near-unanimous vote against the argument from Elland Road.
In response, Wise vowed that Leeds would aim for 105 points and finish the season in May as League One's champions. It was a bold comment, but one which seemed to invoke a herd of flying pigs. The city of Leeds was more inclined to feel that the Football League was attempting to relegate their club.
United's position at that beleaguered point in their history did not lend itself to such a target. Wise had been hindered by a transfer embargo until the third day of August, a week before the first weekend of the season. The group of players he had hastily assembled was now being asked to drop no more than 33 points over the course of 46 games.
In 20 previous seasons, only Wigan and Fulham had gathered 100 points on their way to this particular trophy, and both clubs were experiencing a renaissance at the time of their success. On average, 92 has been the highest total a championship-winning team could expect to produce. But Wise's optimism was not misplaced and nor was his aim unrealistic. United, at the turn for home, are halfway there.
It is dangerous to sniff at ambition, however extreme it may be. That master-of-words Ian Holloway once said that those who reach for the sky are most likely to claim the stars, and the first half of United's season has travelled forward with that attitude.
Had Wise allowed their campaign to revolve solely around the task of avoiding relegation – and for all his protestations and words of caution, that was never the case – it is likely that they would be presently engaged in such a battle. But his plan to amass 105 points has been pursued with methodical and commendable consistency, to the point where survival is taken as read.
Their league position – fourth after 25 games – has no more surety than that of any other club, and promotion is too far away to appear fated. But in a contest which can finally be described as even five months after it began, Leeds are in a position to reap what they have sown. It was not the year envisaged by the Football League when they imposed United's deduction, and not the revival expected by the club chairman who supported it. But this season has moved exactly as Wise hoped and believed it might.
The door to a successful term was opened by the unbeaten sequence of 13 league matches which ran from the first game at Tranmere to the 4-2 defeat of Millwall at the end of October. Without it, Leeds may have entered 2008 as nothing more than an outside chance for the play-offs.
Managers fear the consequences of a poor start to a season, but the margin for error becomes ridiculously small when a penalty on the scale of United's is handed out.
Wise knew that an average of a point from every game would leave his club with a negative tally until the first week of November. Their form was of such a standard that by the time their 14th match ended in a 3-1 defeat at Carlisle, they were already in League One's top six.
Wise's players trampled over the division with the ferocity expected of a team stung by injustice, and by the time their 15-point penalty was removed by a victory over Hartlepool on September 8 it was clear that Leeds had no business in the bottom four.
Their performances were not as flawless as their results, but until Leeds began to drop points with increasing regularity during their matches either side of Christmas, the club remained beyond reproach.Wise's squad are the highest scoring in the division and their prolific statistics have been underpinned by the league's most prolific striker, Jermaine Beckford.
Their defensive record, meanwhile, is comparable with every other team inside the top six, and thoroughly respectable. This is clearly an untimely moment at which to lose Rui Marques to the African Cup of Nations, but Darren Kenton arrived at Elland Road yesterday to fill the void for a month. Marques himself was quick to point out that individual players do not decide promotion; the success of a club is generally dictated by the strength of their squad.
This month should see to it, then, that Leeds attack the second half of the season with greater strength in depth.
Wise has attended quickly to United's midfield, the one area of his squad which has failed to inspire confidence, and his signings appear to be progressive transfers rather than safe options.
Leeds have the potential to increase in strength from here, and if the club complete the season as they started it, they will leave this division in May.
From their 21 remaining games, they require 50 points to meet Wise's pre-season target and around 45 to have a realistic chance of automatic promotion, a rate of more than two points a match.
The figures are daunting but less so when compared to United's initial goal of 105, and Wise's opinion that his players have achieved nothing of note is not strictly true. Their sparkling half-season has been a delight to watch. It is also the very reason why Leeds have everything to fight for.