Leeds, Luke Murphy and Us - The Square Ball 24/9/21
IT'S GOOD TO BE BACK
Written by Jennifer Barrett
Damn, it was good to be back. After watching the
celebrations across social media and on the TV when Leeds finally returned to
the Premier League, after what felt like a lifetime absence, along with the
pure joy of a wonderful first season back, there was little doubt that my first
trip back to Elland Road, in person, for an actual game of football, would be
pure greatness.
In all honesty, a second round League Cup match against
League One’s Crewe Alex wouldn’t normally have wetted my appetite so, but after
such a long season away, this was an opportunity not to be missed. Thousands
others clearly thought the same. For many, it was the first and rare
opportunity to secure tickets as the demand continues to outstrip supply, and
mercifully, a messaged reminder from a friend was timely enough to secure my
own.
Despite the relaxation of Covid related restrictions in
recent months, the feeling of being in a crowded place still pings off the old
anxiety. But weirdly, the thought of being at Elland Road, in amongst it all,
felt different. I knew it would. I mean, there’s absolutely no logic to it.
Being in a supermarket or the queue for a ride at the funfair during the summer
holidays with someone breathing on me is an automatic no no, accompanied by a
very clear ‘back the fuck off’ look, but weaving in and out of the crowds in
the Peacock, or the concourses in the ground? No problem. That said, I did book
a ticket on the single seats at the very edge of N12, in case the discomfort
crept back in.
But it all felt utterly glorious. The walk to the ground,
the smell of the burger vans, the queues outside the East Stand turnstiles,
literally bumping into friends I’d not seen for so long and hugging them. Into
the Peacock where the queues outside were forty or fifty-odd deep if not more,
before a chance look inside and a more successful route to the bar. And let me
tell you, that pint of Yorkshire Blonde was all kinds of warm hug for the
insides.
In person, for an actual game of football
It really felt like never having been away. The stadium felt
like the comforting mass of old but in many ways new, with huge adverts
adorning every stand and free space, video hoardings and new floodlights. The
rest was just like it was, the noise, the buzz, the songs, the passion. Every
bit as up for this match as the biggest occasion.
The game took a long while to get going and it honestly felt
like another awfully familiar Leeds cup performance with plenty of chances and
a bucketful of profligacy, doomed to end in a humiliating spot kick defeat or
some such abjectness. Mercifully the introduction of Lord Patrick Bamford was
the injection Leeds needed to muster some superiority and quality did enough in
the end. Just the reward for the sell-out crowd who’d been treated to an almost
full strength outfit, three goals and an eventual easy passage into the third
round.
It was the icing on an already most enjoyable cake, eagerly
awaited for so long and demolished with glee. It may be a while till some of us
find ourselves at the front of the considerable ticket queue again but, until
then, it was a night to savour. Football under the lights. Victory, on a
Tuesday night. Being back in the company of thousands of friends you’ve never
met. Being back, watching Leeds United. And there is nothing better.