The Scratching Shed

The wild scenes at Elland Road on Saturday, followed by some hardcore partying that ran well into Sunday morning are now behind us and the focus shifts to the possible transfer targets of this summer.

Strikers

No one will be surprised to see that the biggest story today is Jermaine Beckford. The majority of Leeds United fans are already resigned to the probability of Beckford’s departure, but Simon Grayson offered some room for optimism by telling reporters that Beckford had received a new offer from Leeds United. Grayson went on to add that it wasn’t easy when the competition is from Premier League clubs (Everton, Newcastle) but he remained hopeful that the striker would stay.

I’m reluctant to say that I think he’ll leave because I said that in January (and at this time last year), but it seems unlikely that he’d turn down the chance to play for Everton to remain at Leeds. Whatever happens, Beckford should be remembered for the goal-scoring machine he was. For all the controversy, he always did what we paid him for and for three consecutive seasons, he’s been our only consistent source of goals. I wish him well.

With or without Beckford, we need some more fire-power upfront. Regular readers will remember my relentless insistence that we sign Gary Hooper back in January and he remains a likely target. The striker position is often the biggest page turner, so don’t be surprised to see us linked with everyone from Gary Hooper to Billy Sharp to Cristiano Ronaldo (not that he’d be welcome). Losing Beckford leaves us looking very weak in this area. Those that remain – Becchio, Kandol, Somma and Grella – are either unproven or fail to provide goals on a regular basis, so it’s essential that we bring one, if not two more experienced strikers into the team.

Midfield

The midfield is an area many fans have been concerned about all season. When it’s good, it can be the engine that powers us past teams in second gear, but for too long towards the end of the season it became inconsistent and offered little support to a shaky defence. That said, I don’t necessarily think we need whole scale changes. Jonny Howson remains inconsistent, but I often feel that’s because he’s left playing a position that doesn’t suit him. When sent on solely to attack like he was against Bristol, he showed us exactly what he’s capable of.

I’m not overly concerned about the midfield because I think the Championship is a different style of football that may suit some of our players more. It’s certainly not as scrappy and as rough as League One and we now have the added bonus of not being everyone else’s FA Cup final. It’s been repeated by everyone throughout the season, but what we do need is a Batty-esque type player. Someone who will mix it up and offer support to the centre-backs. Doyle’s tried to play this role, but not always successfully. Elsewhere, it’s just shedding the deadwood and adding quality depth (which applies across the entire team). I’d like to see Arsenal approached about the possibility of a season long loan for Sanchez Watt, who has shown real glimpses of class, but may not be ready for a top four Premier League side.

Defence

This seasons defence has been a story in it’s own right. From the best defence in the league to one that looks like it had never played together before, all in the space of nine months. It’s hard to say who will be able to cut it in the Championship, but my primary concern would be the full-backs. We’ve struggled in the absence of Ben Parker all season, and this should have been resolved in January.

I’ve been puzzled for a while as to why Rui Marques didn’t return to the team because him and Kisnorbo were the best central partnership we’ve had in 2009-10. Richard Naylor has been a great servant of the club, but his time must surely be up. There’s a few others too that need to be set free, so I suspect the defence will be where most of our changes are made.

Finally, there’s the goalkeepers Higgs and Ankergren. Both have served us well this season and it’ll be a shame to lose either of them, but it’s hard to see Simon Grayson not moving for a new number one. That said, both could probably play in the Championship so if the money is a little thin, we might be set for another season of watching Casper’s goal-kicks head straight into the stands.

So, long summer ahead…

I guess whatever happens this summer depends entirely on money. Anyone who thinks the majority of this team couldn’t make it in the CCC is kidding themselves – after all, this is the same team that knocked Manchester United our of the FA Cup, gave Liverpool and Tottenham a run for their money and destroyed League One for most of the season.

Whole-scale changes are unlikely and unnecessary. What we need to do is trim the deadwood and replace it with some quality and depth, but there’s a lot of players in this team more than capable of playing at the next level and it’s only fair they are given the opportunity to prove it.

It’s a bit of a running joke amongst Leeds United fans that choosing to support the Whites should come with a health warning. Every team has it’s ups and downs, but after the last few years of following Leeds United to some of the most unusual and grottiest places I never knew existed, I feel as though we’ve had more than our fair share of downs.

There have been some ups of course. Every cloud does have a silver lining, but in Leeds United’s case, the cloud is a monstrously big black one and the silver lining is a fine, almost invisible shimmer around its edge.

It’s not only us fans that suffer the consequences of this seemingly never-ending sequence of disasters though. Our friends, family and loved ones can often fall victim to the aftermath too. I’m sure I’m not alone in saying that my mood on a Sunday morning can often be dictated by the result the day before. Although it makes no sense to anyone other than those that live, breathe and love Leeds United, the 460 mile round trip to watch Leeds United fall to pieces in Gillingham is something I wouldn’t have missed for the world – no matter how annoyed I was afterwards.

My head tells me it’s just a game and that I’m insane for spending such an enormous amount of my income following this team through thick, thin and thinner, but somewhere inside me there’s an irrational love for this club that keeps me coming back time and time again, like a beaten wife to her abusive lover.

This season has once again taken Leeds United fans on a crazy rollercoaster ride of emotions. Leading the way early on and opening up a good lead at the top, Leeds United were unbeatable until the nasty thugs at Millwall drew the first blood. Leeds bounced back though with successive 4-0 wins that sent a statement of intent to the rest of League One.

As the season progressed, Leeds United were reminded of better days when the Premier League giants Liverpool visited Elland Road. Not even the most optimistic breed of Leeds United fan was predicting a win, but Leeds held their own and despite ultimately losing the match, there was a sense of pride amongst Leeds United fans few have felt for years. Liverpool may have won the match, but Leeds had shown millions they were on the rise again with a fearless display that almost paid off.

The seasons climax came in January though. Leeds were flying in the League and it seemed as though no one could stand in the way of our title challenge. The draw we’d all hoped for came next. FA Cup Round 3 – Manchester United v Leeds United.

"That" Jermaine Beckford goal

Expecting a slightly more defensive Leeds United was probably Man U’s downfall. Leeds came, they saw and they conquered. It was no fluke either. Leeds attacked from the off, and for the thousands of us that were lucky enough to have tickets to Old Trafford that day, we witnessed the proudest moment in our clubs recent history as Jermaine Beckford’s solitary goal knocked Man United out of the FA Cup. “We’re not famous anymore!”

Leeds dropped out of the FA Cup in the next round after taking Tottenham Hotspur to a replay, but these were proud days for the resurgent Whites. We’d held our own against Premier League competition, knocking out the English champions on their own soil in the process. As Leeds United ups go, this was the climax of a season. .

This being Leeds United however, when everything is going so magnificently well, something has to go wrong. Whether it was the Jermaine Beckford January transfer saga, a fitness problem caused by lack of rotation, our poor showing in the transfer market or an adverse impact of too many loanees unsettling the squad, the Leeds United rollercoaster was starting to derail.

The form dipped, and game by game, Leeds’ hold at the top loosened. By the end of January, Norwich had overtaken Leeds at the top and things didn’t improve. Despite a substantial lead on the play-off places, Leeds simply couldn’t turn things round quick enough and at the beginning of April, Leeds United dropped into third and the dreaded play-offs started to look like a reality.

Luckily for Leeds, through a combination of improved form and the rest of the league failing to capitalise on our errors we regained second place. A dismal points haul against the top six, disastrous results against the likes of Gillingham, Walsall and Exeter and the ongoing love/hate relationship between the fans and Jermaine Beckford could all be used as reasons to why we failed, but the truth of the matter is, this is Leeds United – We always do things the hard way!

What it all comes down to is one game. 90 minutes of football at a sold-out Elland Road against a Bristol Rovers side with absolutely nothing left to play for. Win, and we’re promoted. Lose, and the gates are opened for the rest to jump in. Whatever the fans think about the current playing squad, the manager’s tactics and selections or Jermaine Beckford’s selfishness is irrelevant. These people have put Leeds United in a position to escape third tier football. They’ve done it the hard way, but this is Leeds United and deep down inside, however frustrating they may be, it’s the ‘ups and downs’ that keep us coming back.

Keep fighting Leeds – We’re almost there!

Don’t forget to cast your vote in the TSS Player of the season poll by clicking here. Voting closes on Sunday at midday.

Another absolutely dismal display in League One from Leeds United resulted in an embarrassing 3-0 defeat away to Swindon Town. Whilst none of us expected to go an entire season without some rough patches, this particular run of results would be much easier to accept if it wasn’t for the impressive performances that have come in between them away to Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup.

Managers will inevitably make mistakes and Simon Grayson’s run as the untouchable saviour of Leeds United has undoubtedly come to an end after he chose to pick the same team that battled hard at White Hart Lane for a fixture in the league just a couple of days later. Call me fickle, but when things are going well and he makes the right decisions, I’m the first to praise him. Equally, when things are going wrong and he insists on putting so much focus on cup games nobody cares all that much about, he’s going to open himself up to scrutiny and his decisions lately should be the first thing everyone points the finger at.

Last night, the team once again looked jaded and disorganised. Swindon Town, although more than deserving of the result simply aren’t as good as it makes them look. On a better day, I have no doubts that Leeds would have returned home with three points, but we lacked fight and determination throughout. Swindon simply wanted it more and whilst they gave 110% to earn the victory, Leeds gave about 40%.

For a club who allegedly has the most depth in this league, we seem to be having a hard time showing it when it matters. Teams that can afford the kind of cup runs we’re currently on have 23 players they can rotate throughout the weeks to keep the performances up, but Grayson has stuck with the same eleven far too often lately. It beggars belief that David Prutton was sent out on loan to one of our promotion rivals (where he scored) when this team is clearly in desperate need of freshening up with rotation.

I said after our last league game that the FA Cup run had come at too much of a price to our league form and I’m disappointed to be proved right once more. We have a lot of players who could do a decent job in JPT and FA Cup games, like Grella, Tres, White and Robinson, but they’re largely ignored whilst the same names appear on the team sheet time and time again. We’re at that time of the season now where Saturday and Tuesday fixtures will occur almost every week (something that isn’t helped by the amount of rearranged matches for the cups) and we have to start utilising this apparent depth or we’ll be sliding down the table faster than the interest accumulates on Manchester United’s debts.

Whilst I’m putting the brunt of the blame on Simon Grayson shoulders, the players shouldn’t escape scrutiny either. There was some seriously suspect performances last night and no matter how tired they maybe, I expect every player on the park to give 110% week in, week out for the amount of money they earn. They’re professional athletes at the end of the day. If they can’t handle three hours of football a week, there’s something fundamentally wrong with our training regime.

Coming up to the end of January now and Leeds United still haven’t won a game in the league this year. Colchester up next and a must win game now, or things are really going to start getting hairy at the top. Luckily, Charlton lost the other day to offer us some respite, but Norwich continue to perform well and for some reason, their six-fingered fans seem to have a bit of a hard-on for us and have spent the last 12 hours filling their forums and ours with endless dribble about us blowing the lead and them being superior. At this moment in time, it’s hard to argue against them, so let’s hope Simon Grayson can offer us something to fight back with when Saturday comes.

Barnard snubs Leeds for Saints

Leeds United did go in for Lee Barnard, but were beaten to his signature by Southampton.  Apparently, the reason he chose Southampton over Elland Road is because he didn’t want to move north, which would make sense. Clearly, this was never about climbing the ladder for Lee, or he’d have definitely chose Leeds. No disrespect at all meant to Southampton, who I fully expect to make the play-offs, but promotion is still a dot on the horizon for them. The play-offs are a bit of a lottery that everyone wants to avoid (especially us).

£10m bids for Beckford?

This mornings papers are claiming that Leeds may now receive offers in the region of £10,000,000 for Jermaine Beckford! I was willing to help him pack and drive him where ever when people were quoting £3m, but for £10m I’ll carry him to the next club on my shoulders. Whilst I don’t doubt the FA Cup games have turned a few heads, football will have gone to a whole new level of crazy if we get £10m for Jermaine.

Maximum impact

Max Gradel should become our first permanent signing of the January transfer window today as he undertakes the necessary medical at Elland Road. The Ivorian youngster impressed Leeds United fans immediately after arriving on loan three months ago and there’s been calls for Grayson to ‘sign him up’ ever since.

Max has clearly enjoyed his time at Leeds United and spurred on by the overwhelming love he’s received from the clubs supporters, he almost immediately handed in a transfer request on his return to Leicester.

Return of Rose?

According to The People, Leeds are preparing to make a move for former academy starlet Danny Rose, who currently plays for FA Cup opponents, Tottenham Hotspur.

Rose met his former club in Saturday’s clash and gave a pretty impressive performance throughout. However, the appearence was a rare treat for the youngster who has spent most of his time so far out on loan. It’s believed Bolton (who are coincidentally our opponents in round 5, should we beat Tottenham) are also hoping to get Danny in on loan. Rose is believed to prefer a move to another Premier League club so the chances of him returning to Leeds are slim.

Snoddy here to stay

They say always end on a high and today, that particular high is provided by Robert Snodgrass who hit all the right notes after our draw with Tottenham telling The Times that he didn’t want to leave Leeds United;

“If they don’t want to sell me, I don’t want to leave, there’s no point. This team will be there at some point in the next two years.

“Everything is set up to go right back to the top.

“There’s no point being here if you think it stops when we get to the Championship.”

Reading between the lines, that statement could be taken as a bit of a dig at Jermaine Beckford, but in another interview Snoddy defended our “lazy” wantaway striker;

“Becks is just a clinical finisher and he’s rapid. Sometimes people say he doesn’t work too hard but you have to pick and choose.

“What do you want? Do you want the goals or do you want a striker who works hard? I think I prefer the goals, to be fair.”

Goals vs work rate? Where have I heard that argument before…

The “FA Cup minnows” once again threw a spanner in the works at White Hart Lane coming from behind twice against a strong Tottenham Hotspur side to setup a replay at Elland Road.

Jermaine Beckford was the man of the hour once again, scoring both of Leeds United’s goals including a dramatic 96th minute equaliser from the penalty spot, after a silly challenge on him late on from Michael Dawson.

Penalty drama was ripe throughout the tie. Casper Ankergren saved Jermaine Defoe’s effort from the spot early on and both teams had good shouts for another penalty each. The one Leeds did get was also a bit hard to call as Dawson may have got something on the ball first. However, Spurs should be questioning why he threw himself so clumsily at a Leeds United player inside the box with just seconds to go.

Leeds United once again played brilliantly against Premier League opposition. Harry Redknapp was under no illusions of what to expect after seeing the Manchester United game and took no chances with his starting selection, but Leeds battled hard throughout. Casper Ankergren had a much busier game than the opposition keeper, but came up with several great saves to keep the tie alive, leaving the Leeds fans wondering if this was the same team that we’d just seen drop valuable league points against Exeter and Wycombe.

Grayson had dropped Luciano Becchio for the tie, playing Robert Snodgrass behind Jermaine Beckford. The changed proved a valuable one from Grayson with the extra man in midfield helping Leeds United to battle well in the centre of the park.

No one had forgotten Manchester United throughout this great FA Cup tie with chants of “Are you watching Manchester?” aimed at those who branded us FA Cup minnows. In a roundabout way, a League One side, no matter how big really should be considered minnows in the FA Cup, but Leeds United have almost single-handedly restored some magic to the competition this season and made it exciting and unpredictable once more.

Whilst I’m immensely proud of the lads efforts once more and relishing the replay at Elland Road, the extended run continues to leave a bittersweet taste in my mouth. If our form in the league is going to suffer as these runs continue, I’m sure I’m not alone in thinking it’s not really worth it. At 2-1 last night, I was actually happy to bow out of the competition with dignity, even though the Roy of the Rovers ending was incredible.

The most concerning thing is that whilst Leeds have been busy shaking the Premier League teams up a bit, Norwich have quietly continued to pick up the points and have now replaced us at the top of the league. Sure, it’s only on goal difference and we have two games in hand, but in the second half of the season, I can’t help but feel our minds have been a little elsewhere lately, evident from the poor form in the league.

What we’ve learnt from Tottenham

• We can score penalties! When was the last time one of those went in for us?
• Casper Ankergren is immense in the big games.  (Even if his handling does terrify us at times)
• We really can compete with anyone on our day. Shame our days aren’t coming often enough in League One at the minute.
• Premier League fans are getting quieter. Sure, the Spurs fans had their moments, but much like Man United there was large portions of the game where they didn’t make a peep and sat quietly munching on their prawn sandwiches.
• Jermaine Beckford can play in the Prem. That’s three goals against two Premier League clubs now. Still doubting he can make it in the Prem? (You are aren’t you? “Takes him six chances etc… etc…”)
• Danny Rose isn’t bad. The ex-Leeds academy star had a pretty good game, putting himself about the pitch well.

TSS man of the match: Casper Ankergren.

As suspected, the supposed end to the Beckford saga was a false dawn as Simon Grayson has suggested Beckford has already signed a pre-contract with Everton where he’ll leave for at the end of the season.

Whilst the Beckford news is hardly a shock, Sky Sports are reporting something a little more interesting alongside it. They’re claiming that Leeds United have agreed a deal with Southend United to bring in Lee Barnard for one of those “undisclosed fees” our Kenneth is so keen on.

The second part is great news if true. Barnard is a more than capable striker who should add a new dimension to the Leeds front line. Anyone who saw Becchio miss a header from six-yards at the end of yesterdays game and Mike Grella prove largely uneffecient throughout would have been left under no illusions that Leeds need to strengthen the front line. Kudos to Simon for realising that.

Lee Barnard is 25 years old and has had a bit of an uneventful career before joining Southend in 2008. Since then, the forward has made 73 league appearences for the club, scoring 35 goals in the process. Coincidentally, Barnard started his career at this weekends opponents Tottenham. He spent six years under contract at White Hart Lane moving around on loan to various clubs, but never made it in Spurs’ first team.

As for Beckford, although I aren’t even slightly surprised I am disappointed. The team is clearly unsettled at the minute which has brought with it some dismal performances and a poor run of form and I can’t see how this will help matters. I have no doubts this is why he pulled himself off the transfer list and would bet money he’s getting a nice signing on fee for his troubles. It’s simply a waiting game for him now and I can’t help but question how much desire he’ll have to play for the Whites in the meantime. This is probably why Grayson is looking to bring Barnard in now.

Leeds suffered their second defeat in a row at the hands of Carlisle United as the JPT brought an unwelcomed distraction to Elland Road. Whilst many are delighted to have knocked Manchester United out of the FA Cup and would love a trip to Wembley in the JPT, the cup runs are clearly coming at a price to Leeds United and the slump in form can only be attributed to an Old Trafford hangover added to the continued uncertainty around the future of Jermaine Beckford with Everton amongst the latest rumours.

There’s an argument that could suggest this weeks cup games give us the chance to get our poor run out of the way before getting back to League One action next week, and if that’s the case then so be it, but this was a third consecutive poor display from the Whites who look jaded and seem to be lacking in ideas at times.

It’s like watching the Leeds United side pre-Simon Grayson with us failing miserably at defending set-plays, lacking organisation in defence and fight across the pitch and failing to put away the chances that fall for us. Whilst there was a noticable improvement on Saturday’s display and Leeds were perhaps a little unlucky to lose, this still wasn’t good enough from the league leaders.

The lack of fight is what worries me the most. Complacency has definitely crept in and despite the January transfer window being open, no one seems to be fighting for the right to wear the shirt as much as they should be. To be beaten at Elland Road is bad enough, but to be beaten by a side struggling like Carlisle are and for them to control the game in large parts like they did is quite frankly embarrassing. 

I aren’t going to go through the match blow by blow, because there are so few positives to take from it. To say I’m disheartened would be an understatement, but I rest assured in the belief that Simon Grayson can turn this round. Up next is another distraction as we head to White Hart Lane in the FA Cup. I hope Simon Grayson rests the first team for this one and fields the reserves because I honestly couldn’t care less about winning it. The league is all that matters.

After the Spurs distraction, we head to Swindon back in League One. The entire teams focus should be on this game and this game alone, Tottenham is quite simply irrelevant. This form can’t continue or Charlton and Norwich will make us pay. The team need to understand that the important thing is escaping League One and forget their moment in the spotlight.

Final score: Leeds United 1-2 Carlisle United

A more in-depth match report can be found here at Travels of a Leeds fan

FA Cup R4 – Spurs v Leeds

The FA Cup fourth round clash will once again be shown live on ITV, making it the fourth consecutive televised tie for Leeds United (I’m counting the one shown of theFA.com as we received the television fee for it).

The game has been scheduled for a 5:15pm kick-off on January the 23rd. Leeds haven’t played Tottenham Hotspur since January 2004 when Spurs beat us 1-0 at Elland Road. Although the history of the tie shows very little between the two sides, Leeds haven’t beat Tottenham since 2001, when we beat them 2-1 both home and away.

Possibly our most historic victory over Spurs was back in 1992 when we beat Spurs 5-0. Leeds United were champions at the time and Eric Cantona scored the Premier League’s first ever hattrick.

JPT area final – Leeds v Carlisle

Dates for both the two-legged JPT area final have now been confirmed. We’ll play Carlisle at Elland Road on the 19th of January with tickets on sale today at Cat C prices. The return leg at Carlisle will take place on the 9th of February which is a Tuesday with an evening kick-off time of 19:45. With a place at Wembley up for grabs, this should be a good game.

Tamas Vasko

No, I’ve never heard of him either but if you were to believe reports in the Daily Mirror (and no one would blame you for being sceptical) he’s about to join Leeds United on-loan. Tamas is a centre-back so Leeds are presumably looking for cover for Rui Marques whilst he’s on African Nations duty.

He currently plays for Hungarian club, Ujpest Dozsa (wiki link) and has spent the last few seasons on loan, most notably at Bristol City where he made 19 league appearences and also contributed a goal.

Doesn’t the result make Manchester United’s taunting all the more enjoyable? When I first read the headline of ‘Manchester United draw FA Cup minnows’ on their official site, I couldn’t help but laugh. Clearly they still held a soft spot for us and felt us worthy of such taunts. Had it not been Leeds United they drew, I imagine the official site would have been much more respectful of their opposition but this is one of those rivalries where there’s no love lost, so what would be the point building bridges?

On the approach to Old Trafford I came across a man with a masterplan to make money by selling those cup game scarves you see baring the colours of both teams with a 50/50 divide. Clearly he’d underestimated how much we both hated one another as I can’t see many Leeds United fans buying a scarf with Manchester United’s name and colours on it (and vice versa). He didn’t look to be having much success as I passed that’s for sure.

By this point there was Police everywhere as you may well expect. Apparently there’d already been some trouble between the fans in the station and a couple of fights outside the ground, but on the whole and considering the occasion, it wasn’t as bad as may have been expected. I didn’t encounter any problems with the opposition fans anyway and all the Leeds fans I saw were being their usual charming selves. I guess if anything was to kick off, it’d have likely happened after the game but there’s a funny thing about winning that makes our naughtier few better behaved.

The security element of the tie was doing their best to treat us all like animals. As the Police warned some fans to calm their passions “or else” I moved by swiftly before another unjustified altercation with the law that I could do without. Travelling away often presents itself with instances where the Police decide you have less rights than a terrorist and very little right to complain thereafter – regardless of whether you’d done anything wrong or not!

The temptation of asking the steward who searched me on the way into the ground if he’d at least buy me dinner first was hard to resist, such was the mans thoroughness and clear love of his job. I did resist however as there were more law enforcement officers around and they didn’t look like they’d need much of an excuse to arrest any fan they felt was being problematic, so it was through the turnstyles and in to Sold Trafford for the first time in almost six years.

You have to give credit to Man United’s manager for his approach to this game. As big a distaste for the bloke as we all may have, he rarely makes a mistake in his preperation for media frenzy matches like these and he wasn’t about to start now. All week he’d been stressing publically how big a match this would be for Leeds and the supporters of both teams. He’d told of how we shouldn’t be underestimated and warned his team for a battle and that’s exactly what they got.

From the off Leeds looked to take the game to ManU and it was clear we were in for a two-way battle. Most minnow teams like ourselves go to Old Trafford and look to leave with a respectable scoreline, but Simon Grayson was having none of that. If we’re going to play, we’re playing to win.

Chances fell both ways with Darren Gibson firing wide for ManU and Jermaine Beckford heading over the bar for Leeds. Danny Welbeck quickly settled into the game for Manchester United and was making a real nuisance of himself down the right. Andy Hughes was left wondering what had happened as Welbeck burst down the flank with pace and sent a good cross straight across goal, with no Man United player able to make a connection. Meanwhile, the older Donkey Brother was getting his usual reception from the Leeds faithful and was booed everytime he touched the ball.

Becchio had a good chance for Leeds with a headed attempt from Kilkenny’s cross but headed well over the top of goal. It was the best chance so far and Becchio knew he should have done better. Meanwhile, the crowd was in full voice as the Man United fans repeated “We all hate Leeds scum” again which they mixed with a song about Cantona and some nonsense about Rooney. Hard to hear them whilst munching Prawn sandwiches in all honesty. Leeds on the other hand had no time to snack and were busy working there way through a much wider range of songs. This was probably around the ‘we’re not famous anymore’ stage of proceedings.

On the pitch the exchanges were just as lively. Leeds were fighting for every ball and attacking at every available opportunity. Simon Grayson’s tactics of pushing men forward when in possession made for a brilliant end to end battle, but there were several nervy moments when the Reds countered and their pacey players like Welbeck broke free.

Beckford celebrates the goal of his career

It was roughly twenty minutes in to an action packed first half when Leeds countered quickly and took the lead. Jonny Howson picked out Jermaine Beckford who had been busy giving the over-rated Wes Brown the run around with an excellent long-range pass that landed nicely for Beckford. His first touch took him wide of the goalkeeper and his second was a tame shot that beat the goalkeeper and slowly but surely crossed the line! Cue crazy celebrations in Old Trafford and silence in the home stands. “1-0 in your cup final!” Wes Brown meanwhile may as well have been sat in the stands.

Man United quickly tried to get back on level terms and had it not been for a Jason Crowe goal-line clearence, Wayne Rooney would have done so almost immediately. That was about the best Man United could offer in terms of a reply in the first half and as tempers began to flair, the horrible Wes Brown got himself booked for a foul on Lucciano Becchio. One of several poor challenges he made in a game where it was a miracle he didn’t get sent off.

After a cheerful half-time for Leeds United fans, we returned for the second half and rather unsurprisingly, Man United were throwing bodies forward. Their whinging players futile appeals for a penalty were dismissed by the ref after Howson dispossessed Welbeck and just minutes later, the tempers flaired again as Micky Doyle was brought down for a free-kick. Jonny Howson – who played an absolute blinder - decided he could take on Gibson and Brown and as tempers flaired, the ref had to intervene and calm matters down before normal service was resumed.

The ref - who despite his reluctance to send Wes Brown off for a series of challenges where he never got anywhere near the ball - had to issue some more yellow cards as the tackles started to fly in all over the place. Both Naylor and Gibson found their way into the book, but in truth, both teams could have received a lot more yellow cards but a very good ref allowed the game to flow throughout and tried to keep his cards in his pocket.

Nayl’s was solid and hungry throughout, as was Kisnorbo. Even the usually criticised Hughes and Crowe were sticking the tackles in and making life hard for Manchester United. The midfield were closing down and challenging players whenever Man U were in possession and Becchio seemed to play the majority of the match back there with them. When we had possession, we were never afraid to pass it about and run with the ball, particulary Johnson and Howson who deserve a special mention. The whole team as one were performing brilliantly and you have to give full credit to Grayson who was tactically spot on.

Man United, who had started strongly enough with a good defence and near-on £60m in strikers decided to make some more changes to try and win the battle of the midfield. Giggs and Valencia came on, but surprisingly Welbeck was removed which was a bit of a relief as the lad’s pace had caused us problems throughout. Strange move, but I’m sure there was motive to the madness.

Owen joined proceedings not long after but despite so many attacking options, Man U were still struggling in defence and Jermaine Beckford once again broke free to narrowly fire wide when one on one with the keeper. Hearts in mouths by now, as Rooney prowled and Owen looked to get in on the action.

Leeds would get another chance however, by which point Snoddy had joined proceedings in replace of the outstanding Jonny Howson. A free-kick in a good position had his name written all over and he struck beautifully, only to be denied by the bar. Despite leading, one more would have settled some nerves as we approached the end of the game and the inevitable five minutes of added time came. As the crowd mocked the officals with chants of ‘Fergy time,’ Man United looked for one final chance, but Casper, Nayl’s, Kis and whoever else could get their body in the way kept the Champions at bay.

The final whistle blew and Leeds celebrated a result we’ve not managed in 29 years. Victory at Old Trafford for the FA Cup minnows and third tier team. Every Man United fan you taunt over the coming days will inevitably claim it was a weak team or that the referee didn’t give them 29 minutes of ET and three penalties, but there’s no taking away from what Simon Grayson’s lads achieved today. They did us proud and thoroughly deserved their victory. A special day for Leeds United that I expect we’ll look back on in years to come as the first sign of our resurrection.

TSS man of the match
Jonny Howson for me. I could hazard a guess that ITV went for Becks and it wouldn’t be undeserved. He made Wes Brown look second rate throughout and was always a threat, but Jonny rose to the occasion like the Leeds lad he is. He knew what the rivalry meant and gave it absolutely everything. All the team played their part and all of them deserve the praise they’ll receive but Jonny grew today for me. He was like Leeds’ answer to Stevie G.

The draw for the fourth round gave us another trip down memory lane as we head for Tottenham Hotspur. Ken Bates will no doubt be delighted too at another obvious money spinner, which will once again undoubtedly be on TV.

A great start to 2010 I’m sure you’ll agree. Happy new decade for Leeds? Let’s hope we’re celebrating just as much in May! One things for sure now though. If Beckford does leave in the coming days, he’ll leave Leeds United a hero, in the meantime though, I’m sure you’ll enjoy his goal again!