Yorkshire Evening Post 12/7/08
Bright start for Mac's men
York City 1 Leeds United 1
Forty-seven days after finding the door to the Championship locked, Leeds United resurfaced last night with the complexion of a club who have not allowed Wembley to darken their thoughts for longer than necessary.
Pre-season matches can be as mundane as they are perfunctory, but Leeds arrived in York at the start of their schedule of friendlies with no obvious signs of festering wounds sustained in or carried from the League One play-off final in May.
Though Gary McAllister may have privately wondered how severe the after-effects of United's defeat to Doncaster Rovers would be, there were few worthwhile concerns raised by their 1-1 draw at KitKat Crescent.
His players looked reassuringly lean – unaffected, in the main, by their recent break from training – and approached their game against York City with a satisfying level of interest.
In the stadium's uncovered terracing, reserved for away crowds, almost 2,300 of United's supporters braved the rain and the lack of a competitive edge to witness the club's first performance of the summer. Neither sight smacked of a club wallowing in their own failure.
The first game of the close season is traditionally designed as a fitness exercise, a fact epitomised by McAllister's decision to field a total of 23 players over the course of 90 minutes and different line-ups at the start of each half, but United's following were typically oblivious to the lack of significance surrounding last night's match.
The travelling pack provided half of the 4,405 attendance seen at KitKat Crescent, a figure which unexpectedly eclipsed the impressive crowd drawn in for the pre-season match between the clubs at the same ground exactly 12 months ago. York will do well to attract a larger gathering at any stage of next season.
So beleaguered were Leeds in the summer of 2007 that Dennis Wise, their equally besieged manager, relied on a blend of trialists, out-of-contract professionals and academy players to fulfil the game in York. Had it not been for the express permission of the Football Association, who sanctioned the game despite United's struggle to conclude their period in administration, the friendly would not even have kicked off.
McAllister can count himself blessed that as a result of the club's defiant rehabilitation last season, in which he played his part, he was able to look out on a large and settled squad yesterday – and one consisting entirely of players who are already contracted to Leeds for the 2008-09 season.
He should also rest assured that the nasty surprises which awaited Wise at the end of every turn last summer will not hinder his own path before Leeds begin their season at Scunthorpe United on August 9. United presently lack a shirt sponsor, as they did 12 months ago, but the vacancy is an isolated issue rather than one of many.
This pre-season has no reason to develop into the after-thought it became a year ago.
McAllister's main priority between now and August will be acquiring the handful of players he intends to supplement his squad with, but the range and variety of professionals on offer to him already was amply displayed by last night's 1-1 draw.
Ten of the 11 who started the play-off final were involved, the exception being the departed loanee, Dougie Freedman, whose prospects of returning to Elland Road remain speculative.
United's two new arrivals, Andy Robinson and Enoch Showunmi, appeared for their club debuts after half-time and contributed to a healthy contest without straying towards the spectacular. Though neither of McAllister's line-ups chosen before or after half-time is likely to represent that selected at Glanford Park in four weeks' time, United's manager cannot feel troubled about the task of selecting a dominant team from the score of senior players available to him.
York's attitude was as McAllister would have desired – energetic, committed and positive enough to force a draw against Leeds for the second year running – and the absence of a victory was neither here nor there.
United won two of their eight friendlies in 2007 but succeeded in producing the second best record in League One during the season which followed. Of more concern to Wise than the club's results was the state of his players' fitness, and McAllister is likely to adopt a similar tack. On the evidence of yesterday's stalemate, the condition of his squad is scarcely a problem.
Leeds dictated the first half and produced their goal in the 25th minute after an incisive passage of play involving Frazer Richardson, Andrew Hughes and, finally, Jermaine Beckford.
Richardson's accurate pass played Hughes into space on the right wing, and the midfielder's low cross picked out Beckford who drove a clinical finish past Michael Ingham in York's goal.
The keeper's one-handed save had diverted Beckford's header over City's crossbar in the second minute, and the striker had sufficient chances to finish the first half with three goals to his name.
Another effort on the half-hour, a low shot which beat Ingham, also missed the post and flashed into the side-netting.
Much of United's momentum in the first half stemmed from Hughes, who worked to lively and damaging effect behind Beckford and Curtis Weston, and his shot from 25 yards slipped just wide of Ingham's goal in the 20th minute.
But York plucked an equaliser from a rare opportunity in the closing seconds of the half.
City's possession had caused United's defence few problems other than a cross which dropped over the head of makeshift centre-back Robert Bayly and forced Casper Ankergren to parry a shot at the feet of Martyn Woolford, but a sudden lapse allowed Onome Sodje to collect the ball on the edge of Leeds' box with a clear sight of goal.
Ankergren's prompt reaction blocked Sodje's first shot, but the ball squirmed through the Dane's legs and allowed Sodje to attack the rebound with a low strike which United's scrambling defenders were unable to block on the line. In different circumstances, the concession would have disappointed McAllister. Last night, the 43rd-minute breach was of little importance.
His starting line-up was withdrawn at the interval and replaced by a fresh set of players, including Robinson and Showunmi.
Robinson tested Josh Mimms, the son of former Tottenham and Blackburn keeper Bobby and York's replacement for Ingham, with a curling free-kick 13 minutes from time, but the second half rarely promised a third goal.
Alan Sheehan drove a left-footed strike over the bar, while Craig Farrell's free-kick at the other end of the field missed the goal by a foot. Neither side came closer than the 86th-minute shot from York's Adam Boyes which Alan Martin pushed away with one hand.
But by then McAllister was carrying a satisfied look which indicated that the wheels on his machine were turning as planned once more.
Bright start for Mac's men
York City 1 Leeds United 1
Forty-seven days after finding the door to the Championship locked, Leeds United resurfaced last night with the complexion of a club who have not allowed Wembley to darken their thoughts for longer than necessary.
Pre-season matches can be as mundane as they are perfunctory, but Leeds arrived in York at the start of their schedule of friendlies with no obvious signs of festering wounds sustained in or carried from the League One play-off final in May.
Though Gary McAllister may have privately wondered how severe the after-effects of United's defeat to Doncaster Rovers would be, there were few worthwhile concerns raised by their 1-1 draw at KitKat Crescent.
His players looked reassuringly lean – unaffected, in the main, by their recent break from training – and approached their game against York City with a satisfying level of interest.
In the stadium's uncovered terracing, reserved for away crowds, almost 2,300 of United's supporters braved the rain and the lack of a competitive edge to witness the club's first performance of the summer. Neither sight smacked of a club wallowing in their own failure.
The first game of the close season is traditionally designed as a fitness exercise, a fact epitomised by McAllister's decision to field a total of 23 players over the course of 90 minutes and different line-ups at the start of each half, but United's following were typically oblivious to the lack of significance surrounding last night's match.
The travelling pack provided half of the 4,405 attendance seen at KitKat Crescent, a figure which unexpectedly eclipsed the impressive crowd drawn in for the pre-season match between the clubs at the same ground exactly 12 months ago. York will do well to attract a larger gathering at any stage of next season.
So beleaguered were Leeds in the summer of 2007 that Dennis Wise, their equally besieged manager, relied on a blend of trialists, out-of-contract professionals and academy players to fulfil the game in York. Had it not been for the express permission of the Football Association, who sanctioned the game despite United's struggle to conclude their period in administration, the friendly would not even have kicked off.
McAllister can count himself blessed that as a result of the club's defiant rehabilitation last season, in which he played his part, he was able to look out on a large and settled squad yesterday – and one consisting entirely of players who are already contracted to Leeds for the 2008-09 season.
He should also rest assured that the nasty surprises which awaited Wise at the end of every turn last summer will not hinder his own path before Leeds begin their season at Scunthorpe United on August 9. United presently lack a shirt sponsor, as they did 12 months ago, but the vacancy is an isolated issue rather than one of many.
This pre-season has no reason to develop into the after-thought it became a year ago.
McAllister's main priority between now and August will be acquiring the handful of players he intends to supplement his squad with, but the range and variety of professionals on offer to him already was amply displayed by last night's 1-1 draw.
Ten of the 11 who started the play-off final were involved, the exception being the departed loanee, Dougie Freedman, whose prospects of returning to Elland Road remain speculative.
United's two new arrivals, Andy Robinson and Enoch Showunmi, appeared for their club debuts after half-time and contributed to a healthy contest without straying towards the spectacular. Though neither of McAllister's line-ups chosen before or after half-time is likely to represent that selected at Glanford Park in four weeks' time, United's manager cannot feel troubled about the task of selecting a dominant team from the score of senior players available to him.
York's attitude was as McAllister would have desired – energetic, committed and positive enough to force a draw against Leeds for the second year running – and the absence of a victory was neither here nor there.
United won two of their eight friendlies in 2007 but succeeded in producing the second best record in League One during the season which followed. Of more concern to Wise than the club's results was the state of his players' fitness, and McAllister is likely to adopt a similar tack. On the evidence of yesterday's stalemate, the condition of his squad is scarcely a problem.
Leeds dictated the first half and produced their goal in the 25th minute after an incisive passage of play involving Frazer Richardson, Andrew Hughes and, finally, Jermaine Beckford.
Richardson's accurate pass played Hughes into space on the right wing, and the midfielder's low cross picked out Beckford who drove a clinical finish past Michael Ingham in York's goal.
The keeper's one-handed save had diverted Beckford's header over City's crossbar in the second minute, and the striker had sufficient chances to finish the first half with three goals to his name.
Another effort on the half-hour, a low shot which beat Ingham, also missed the post and flashed into the side-netting.
Much of United's momentum in the first half stemmed from Hughes, who worked to lively and damaging effect behind Beckford and Curtis Weston, and his shot from 25 yards slipped just wide of Ingham's goal in the 20th minute.
But York plucked an equaliser from a rare opportunity in the closing seconds of the half.
City's possession had caused United's defence few problems other than a cross which dropped over the head of makeshift centre-back Robert Bayly and forced Casper Ankergren to parry a shot at the feet of Martyn Woolford, but a sudden lapse allowed Onome Sodje to collect the ball on the edge of Leeds' box with a clear sight of goal.
Ankergren's prompt reaction blocked Sodje's first shot, but the ball squirmed through the Dane's legs and allowed Sodje to attack the rebound with a low strike which United's scrambling defenders were unable to block on the line. In different circumstances, the concession would have disappointed McAllister. Last night, the 43rd-minute breach was of little importance.
His starting line-up was withdrawn at the interval and replaced by a fresh set of players, including Robinson and Showunmi.
Robinson tested Josh Mimms, the son of former Tottenham and Blackburn keeper Bobby and York's replacement for Ingham, with a curling free-kick 13 minutes from time, but the second half rarely promised a third goal.
Alan Sheehan drove a left-footed strike over the bar, while Craig Farrell's free-kick at the other end of the field missed the goal by a foot. Neither side came closer than the 86th-minute shot from York's Adam Boyes which Alan Martin pushed away with one hand.
But by then McAllister was carrying a satisfied look which indicated that the wheels on his machine were turning as planned once more.