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Part 1 Minus 15 - Part
2 The fightback begins - Results and table
In the history of Leeds United Football Club, 2007 was for the most part
a year to forget: relegation, the descent into administration, bitter
disputes with the taxman and a gutting 15-point penalty. But a stunning
opening to the season indicated that United might have reached the nadir
of their fortunes and could at last start to dream of a return to prominence.
Even a stuttering run of results after Gus Poyet quit Elland Road for
Tottenham in October could not prevent their seemingly unstoppable rise
and by the end of the year they were sitting in an improbable third spot,
six points behind leaders Swansea City. United's year kicked off poorly, New Year's Day bringing a 3-1 defeat
at home to Oldham. Richard Sutcliffe in the Yorkshire Post: 'In truth, the Latics
did not have to display too much quality to smash what before kick off
had been the best home record in English football with Leeds being so
poor that their display evoked memories of the horror shows that polluted
so much of last season. United, to be quite blunt, were unable to pass,
cross or tackle during an opening 45 minutes that drew deserved jeers
from the crowd of 25,906 at the half time whistle. The defeat, which means
United have taken just one point from a possible nine since Christmas,
saw Wise's side slip to fifth and he recognises reinforcements are badly
needed.' Wise was quickly into action in the transfer window, signing 23-year-old
winger Sebastian Sorsa from HJK Helsinki as his contract expired on 31
December. He was less successful with attempts to court Walsall left-back
Daniel Fox and a £300,000 bid was turned down. Leicester's Darren Kenton
came in on loan as cover for Rui Marques, off to represent Angola in the
African Cup of Nations. Wise also chased Bolton's Slovakian centre-back
Lubo Michalik, who had a loan spell at the club in 2006/07,
but those particular negotiations dragged on for several weeks. The midfield
was bolstered with the signings of Birmingham's Australian midfielder
Neil Kilkenny, Stoke City's Peter Sweeney and Northampton's Bradley Johnson. It was hotly rumoured that Jermaine Beckford would be on his way to the
Premiership with Derby County, but United resisted all overtures and hung
on to their man. One player who did leave was Shaun Derry, making a loan
move to Crystal Palace permanent. Alan Thompson was also away, on a short-term
loan deal to Hartlepool. Kilkenny had been on loan at Oldham and he impressed Wise with his performance
for the Latics in their victory at Elland Road. He moved initially on
an emergency loan move, so that he could appear for United on 5 January
against Northampton. He was outstanding in a 3-0 victory and the deal
was made permanent days later. When United faced Crewe at Gresty Road in a televised fixture on 14 January,
Kenton, Sweeney and Johnson all made their debuts. It was a telling outswinging
cross from Sweeney that gave Beckford the chance to bravely nod home the
winning goal. Phil Hay in the Yorkshire Evening Post: 'Beyond the result, United's
performance was another indication that Wise's activity in the transfer
market has successfully tackled the problematic areas of his squad. Sweeney
made an excellent debut on the left wing, supplying the thrust and quality
of crossing that Leeds have been yearning. Darren Kenton was asked to
fill the sizeable shoes of Rui Marques at centre-back, and did so with
the confidence of a player who has coped at a level far above League One.
He and Paul Huntington kept Crewe in check, and though United were not
always comfortable beneath high deliveries into their box, their clean
sheet was only briefly threatened. 'Titles are not won in January, as Wise reiterated before kick off, but
this month had the Another 30,000-plus crowd packed into Elland Road for a local derby against
Doncaster Rovers on 19 January eager to see if United could bolster their
challenge against a team who were just two points below them. They couldn't,
and Rovers were well worth a single goal victory. United's early season successes had often come courtesy of late goals,
but when they faced Luton at Kenilworth Road on 26 January, the boot was
on the other foot. Paul Huntington, making a fist of things with his fourth
successive start, gave United a 27th-minute lead and it seemed that would
be that, but a goal from Sam Parkin in the fourth minute of injury time
rescued an unlikely point for Luton. Two days later there came the shock news that Dennis Wise had decided
to leave Elland Road, accepting a back room position at Newcastle United. The move came out of the blue and a clearly disappointed Ken Bates commented,
'There was a speculative article in the Mail on Sunday last week which
we just ignored, then on Friday I got a phone call from Shaun Harvey who
said Newcastle had asked for permission to speak to Dennis. I wasn't too
surprised, but we wouldn't allow permission until we had it in writing
that they would pay compensation. Dennis had a one-year rolling contract,
and if either party breaks it we have to agree on compensation. I thought
it only right to advise Dennis. He said he would like to talk to them
and I said he could once we had it in writing. That duly arrived and I
told Dennis first thing this morning that he could meet the Newcastle
chairman, and he said he would like to take the opportunity if he could. 'He said he was sorry it was such short notice, but it was too good an
opportunity to miss. In football you never stand in the way of anyone
who wants to improve themselves. We've agreed that he will prepare the
team for tomorrow, but it wouldn't be appropriate if he was at the game.
He will get them ready for the game and hopefully he will go out on a
high.' With Dave Bassett dismissed following Wise's departure, technical director
Gwyn Williams was in charge for the game at Southend on 29 January as
the Dennis Wise era ended with a disappointing 1-0 defeat. Earlier in the day it had been confirmed that former United midfielder
Gary McAllister would be the new man at the helm, at least until the end
of the season. The 43-year-old had been at the heart of the United team that won the
league title in 1992 and he made almost 300 appearances for the club.
He also played for Motherwell, Leicester, Coventry and Liverpool, won
57 Scottish caps and managed Coventry for a couple of years before resigning
in 2004 to care for his late wife as she battled cancer. The Scot was delighted, saying, 'When I was first approached I couldn't
quite believe it. It's a great honour to be back at the club and I can't
wait to get in and amongst it ... I'm here until June initially and quite
simply my job is to come here and 'When a new manager is appointed late in January it's usually to pick
up the pieces of failure, but this is different. The boys are in a fantastic
position, they can go second tonight, and I'm joining a winning club.' Bates was just as pleased with the move and said, 'We decided to move
quickly and Gary was always in our minds ... He has a philosophy about
how Leeds should go forward. He wants to play football and he wants his
team to play football, but he also knows that's not always easy in League
One. I said 20 years ago I wanted my team to be cheered off for entertainment
and I want that to happen here. I think Gary will give us that.' McAllister's appointment was a smart move by Bates, and he was welcomed
with open arms by fans who had never fully accepted Dennis Wise, though
he had earned their grudging respect for the way he turned things round. In contrast McAllister was seen as a Messiah. The talk was all of a more
cultured style, something that McAllister emphasised after it was announced
that Steve Staunton would be his No 2. 'It's not often that you're able
to appoint an assistant with the experience of management that Steve has.
I've worked with him before and what I like about Steve is that he's been
brought up in the Liverpool way. We'll benefit from that influence because
I want the players here to approach the game in the right way, with a
certain type of performances. It's an important appointment and I'm in
the process of looking for a first-team coach to work with us.' Former Carlisle manager Neil McDonald quickly arrived to fill that gap. Staunton was with the Republic of Ireland for more than two years, leaving
in 2007 after the country's failure to qualify for Euro 2008. His availability
appealed to McAllister after a move for Sammy Lee was complicated by McAllister had no time to make his mark in the remaining hours of the
transfer window and merely sanctioned moves that were already in train.
25-year-old striker Anthony Elding was signed from Stockport, while United
paid £200,000 for Bolton's Lubo Michalik. Darren Kenton's loan deal was
made permanent and his former Leicester team mate, 21-year-old Irish left-back
Alan Sheehan, joined on loan until the end of the season. There was a positive atmosphere around the club, but the early signs
were not encouraging. McAllister's first game in charge saw United lose
2-0 at home to Tranmere, slipping out of the play-off positions in the
process. McAllister: 'The game did not have a great deal of quality in it ...
It is obvious there is a bit of work to be done to get us back on track.
We have a free week now and will be putting in a lot of work on the training
ground. I am going to encourage them to play football. We have to snap
out of this rut quickly. The job I expect of them is simple - to get us
out of this division in 16 games. But we will have to be better than we
were against Tranmere. 'First of all, we have to compete and win battles across the pitch before
you have the right to get the ball down and pass. There is loads I can
work on. There were a couple of plusses with Jonny Howson and Bradley
Johnson, two of the younger players, showing little bits of bravery to
get on the ball. 'We don't want to be sitting after games saying we've played well and
not won. That's the crux of it. We've got to enjoy playing but we've got
to be winning ... it's about finding the balance between getting the ball
down and playing, and making sure the performance level is high.' McAllister had to wait a while for his first win, with United playing
out three successive 1-1 draws following the Tranmere defeat, slipping
to ninth spot in the process. After the third draw, at home to struggling Crewe on 23 February, the
seventh game without a win, the manager spoke out. 'We're not going to
hide behind the fact that we did get a late equaliser and take pats on
the back for that. It wasn't enough. We've made it clear to the guys that
when teams in the lower half of the division come here, they'll most definitely
raise their game. We didn't raise our game enough. As a group of guys
in that changing room, we know we've got to be a lot better than that. 'We've got 13 games left now, and we need points. Dropping points at
home is not going to get us where we want to be. I'm seeing signs of improvement,
but ultimately it doesn't matter what happens at the training ground or
what we see during the week. It's what people can produce on match day.' On 1 March, United finally won under McAllister, by a single Tresor Kandol
goal at Swindon. The manager was delighted, saying, 'When you come back
into the game after being out for a while, there's nothing like winning.
There's an old adage that I've used all the way through my career which
is that the harder you work, the luckier you get, and these guys have
been working really hard. They deserved a break.' McAllister remained concerned about an inability to turn chances into
goals and he made overtures to Crystal Palace's Scottish striker Dougie
Freedman in the last week of February. Initially Freedman rejected the
move, but then changed his mind and on 6 March agreed to move on loan
to Elland Road until the end of the season. Around the same time, McAllister released Leon Constantine, Curtis Weston,
Ian Westlake and Matt Heath on loan, while Tore Andre Flo announced his
retirement. First United goals for Bradley Johnson and Neil Kilkenny secured a 2-0
victory against Bournemouth, but then came an inexplicable home defeat
to Cheltenham. Freedman came on as sub in both games and looked a good
signing. He made his first start in the 15 March visit to bottom club
Port Vale and he confirmed his class with two goals. But more important
than the goals was the way that Freedman influenced United's play with
his guile and movement. He was the perfect foil for Beckford and his experience
would prove invaluable. Unfortunately United were brittle against Vale. They were two goals ahead
at the break, but allowed Vale to draw level with goals in the 65th and
67th minute. A second goal from Freedman, four minutes from time, looked
to have sealed the win, but Luke Rodgers snatched an equaliser in the
third minute of injury time to leave McAllister bemoaning defensive fallibility. The result saw Leeds slip to tenth, two points outside the play-offs,
and McAllister acknowledged the missed opportunity. 'To come away from
home and create a few chances as well as the three goals we scored - it's
just hugely disappointing. The facts are that if you come away from home
and score three goals, you should be going home with the points. We're
going to have to stick together. We really need to have the sort of mentality
the club probably had at the start of the season when everyone was writing
them off then. People are maybe looking and saying "their push is
maybe fading a little bit", but I can assure we'll be working extremely
hard to get ourselves back in there.' United had won just two of the previous eleven games and now faced a
crucial run of five games against teams in the promotion shake-up. The first was in a televised match at home to Walsall on the evening
of 22 March. With Freedman catching the eye, United gave one of their
best displays in winning 2-0. The goals, one in each half, both came from
smart Beckford finishes following killer through balls from Neil Kilkenny.
To round off a fine night, captain Jonathan Douglas came on as a second
half sub to complete his recovery from the injury he sustained before
Christmas. A week later United were stymied in a goalless home draw with Brighton,
but they bounced back instantly when Alan Sheehan's glorious free kick
into the top corner of the net was enough to earn a victory at Doncaster
Rovers. Sheehan picked up a yellow card in the game, his tenth of the
season, resulting in a two-game ban. Gary McAllister was fulsome in his praise for the full-back: 'It was
a fantastic goal. I'm pleased for Alan Sheehan. He arrived from reserve
team football and it was clear he was pretty leggy at first. But he's
worked hard to get to this level and he's showed the qualities he's got.
It's a big step from reserve team to competitive football. 'It was a big game for big players and we had some big performances.
We rode our luck on occasions ... During those times when we had to defend
we had people throwing their bodies and heads in front. If we'd have done
that at Port Vale when they scored three times ... it shows we have learned
from that.' On 3 April, the club announced that McAllister had been awarded a 12-month
rolling contract, with Ken Bates commenting, 'We've been impressed with
what Gary has done and we decided it was fair to offer him a rolling contract
to enable us to plan the future of Leeds United with confidence and security. 'We met in Leeds a fortnight ago and went through every player on the
books, from the highest earners to the kids on £15 a week. He told us
who he thought was surplus to requirements and who he thought we should
keep. The depth of knowledge that Gary showed about every player, and
not just the senior players, was extremely impressive. He goes to every
reserve game and his knowledge showed how dedicated he was to the job. 'Shaun and I made the decision with the board that he deserved a new
and longer contract. I'm delighted that he's accepted because, from the
club's point of view, we know the direction we're heading in and we can
start planning for next season. 'The most important thing about Gary was that when Gwyn Williams first
asked him whether he wanted the job back in January, he said yes. Full
stop. There were no questions about "how much", and no arguing
about the contract. I think he feels as if he's come home.' Two days later, United's impressive run continued with a 2-0 victory
at Leyton Orient which took them back into the play-off positions. The
decisive second goal came from Jermaine Beckford, who thus became the
first United player to notch 20 in a season since Mark Viduka in 2003. The position was reinforced with a home victory against second-placed
Carlisle. The visitors took the lead through Scott Dobie in the 17th minute
and were still ahead at the break, with Leeds not getting in a meaningful
shot. They were far better in the second period and Dougie Freedman bundled
in a 50th-minute equaliser when the Carlisle keeper failed to gather a
Neil Kilkenny cross. Nine minutes later Jonny Howson ran in to hammer
Leeds ahead after Tresor Kandol's shot was parried. On the hour Danny
Graham forced home an equaliser following a corner. Freedman volleyed
home a winner in the 69th minute after Kilkenny's free kick ran loose. It had been a breathtaking game and McAllister praised Freedman's contribution:
'We've spoken about his guile and his touch of class, but we have to applaud
his physical state. We sent him home last night and he reappeared this
morning and wanted to play. As soon as he looked me in the eye and said
he wanted to play I had no doubts.' United came unstuck during an evening derby at Huddersfield on 15 April.
Jermaine Beckford had damaged an ankle against Carlisle and was unavailable,
giving Tresor Kandol a recall, but that was the only change to a side
that was now quite settled. Skipper Jonathan Douglas and Town's Jon Worthington were both dismissed
in the first half for two bookable offences and that ruined the game as
a spectacle. It looked like the match would end as a tepid draw, but Huddersfield
grabbed the only goal in the second half to end the Leeds run. Happily, United's main rivals for the final play-off spot, Walsall, lost
1-0 at home to Bristol Rovers that same night to leave Leeds relatively
secure in sixth spot. Victory would have virtually guaranteed the Whites
a place in the play-offs. McAllister: 'Obviously there was a lot of disappointment in our changing
room, but we'd had a good run, and it's certainly not a disaster. It was
a very scrappy game and the sending offs had something to do with that.
They contributed to it being a game of knock-downs, free-kicks, and petty
tackles. 'I felt Dougie's was for two soft For that trip to Millwall on 19 April, David Prutton was recalled for
the suspended Douglas, while Elding and Sheehan replaced Kandol and Kenton. Phil Hay in the Yorkshire Evening Post: 'On the afternoon when
Gary McAllister was welcomed to Elland Road by a 2-0 defeat to Tranmere
Rovers it may not have occurred to him that Leeds United might reach the
sanctuary of the Play-Offs with a game in hand. McAllister's first job
was to oil United's creaking engine and the fruits of his labour were
rewarded by the sight of Leeds monopolising sixth place in League One
in London yesterday. 'A splendid volley from David Prutton and a close-range finish from Andrew
Hughes put paid to Millwall at the end of a frenetic game at the New Den.
And the assistance of results elsewhere carried United to a position where
their involvement in the play-offs is just one more positive result away
from being ratified. 'A late winning goal for Brighton against Hartlepool United prevented
Leeds from travelling home with complete assurance, but the situation
has been placed in their hands so comprehensively that it would surprise
Albion's manager Dean Wilkins if their fingers released the prize. Brighton
- the only club now in touch with sixth position - are at the stage where
divine intervention is required. 'A defeat to Huddersfield Town on Tuesday was in danger of being followed
by a goalless stalemate yesterday, a result which would not have been
disastrous but which would have cast a degree of doubt over United's final
league position. There is every possibility, however, that United's last
game of the season at home to Gillingham will be meaningless in a competitive
sense. 'If, as seems likely, a Play-Off position belongs to United by the end
of next weekend's game at Yeovil ... the city of Leeds will breathe a
collective sigh of relief at the end of a compelling and exceptional year. 'It is easy, nine months on, to overlook the fact that United have negated
a points penalty which equated to five League victories, and to forget
that the win gained yesterday secured their 85th point of the term. To
be on the cusp of reaching the play-offs at all is a stellar achievement;
to do it with a game remaining would be a creditable bonus. 'The loss of Jermaine Beckford's pace had been an obvious factor in United's
1-0 defeat at Huddersfield on Tuesday night and he was missing again yesterday,
held back by the ankle injury which McAllister had hoped would heal before
kick off.' A 4th-minute goal by Dougie Freedman in the Friday night fixture at Yeovil
was enough to secure the required win, but they had to cope with the dismissal
of Alan Sheehan after 65 minutes. The red card meant United still harboured hopes that their appeal against the 15-point deduction
would lead to an even happier outcome to the season. The reversal of the
penalty would have guaranteed automatic promotion. Ken Bates had not been deterred when League chairmen voted to confirm
the penalty in August and had insisted that United would fight on. They wrote to the Football Association in August asking for a review
of the case. The FA rejected that request at the end of September. United
continued to pursue their fight in October, writing to the FA chairman
to draw his attention to 'what we perceived as inconsistencies in the
FA's decision and asked them to look at it again. The reply to the second
request was rejected by the FA's director of corporate affairs. This is
the same person who rejected the original request. In effect, the same
individual confirmed his own earlier decision. There was no independent
review.' The FA refused to budge their position and it was decided that the matter
should be referred to an independent arbitration panel, which was eventually
set for the week commencing April 14. The panel was chaired by former High Court judge Sir Philip Otton, an
experienced football arbitrator. He had been involved in some controversial
hearings, such as those surrounding Chelsea tapping up Arsenal's Ashley
Cole in 2005 and West Ham's 'ownership' of Carlos Tevez. Completing the panel were lawyer Peter Cadman, who had chaired previous
Premier League disciplinary commissions, and former Premier League Chief
Executive Peter Leaver. Originally it was thought that the hearing would last for three days
with the decision to be announced before the game at Millwall on 19 April.
It was later reported that the hearing would go into a second week and
that the verdict would be returned 'within three to four weeks'. The decision
was announced on Thursday, 1 May, just three days short of a year after
United had entered administration. The club argued that the Football League did not have the power to impose
a 15-point penalty, that they had acted unfairly and unreasonably and
that the chances of an appropriate CVA were dashed by the conflicting
demands of the Football Creditors rule and HMRC's intransigence. The panel rejected the appeal outright. They found that the club had
freely agreed to the conditions of the League's decision to grant them
the Football Share, chief of which was the points deduction. There had
been an agreement that United could appeal, and that this would be heard
by the other League chairmen. The panel also found that there had been
an unreasonable and inexcusable delay on the part of the club in commencing
proceedings. Click here to read the full text
of the panel's findings. It was no compensation for Ken Bates, but the panel also criticised the
League's Insolvency Policy and appeals procedures, and the United chairman
was quick to call for Lord Mawhinney and the League's board to resign. Phil Hay in the Yorkshire Evening Post: 'The claim by Ken Bates
that defeat in his battle with the Football League was not the same as
foregoing the war is clearly a matter of opinion, but it was not altogether
the cry of a sore loser. To all intents and purposes Bates was beaten
yesterday, outflanked on the issue of most immediate significance to him
and his club's supporters. Vague the Football League's reasoning for a
15-point penalty may have been, and warped its appeal process most certainly
was, but the success of Leeds United's case was bound to be judged on
the recovery of some or all of their deducted points. 'Defeat is not a sensation that will sit well with Bates, a man who backs
himself to fight his way out of any corner, but the conclusive ruling
published by the arbitration panel yesterday served to enhance the importance
of a problem thrown up and highlighted by United's suffering. As a direct
result of the hit taken by Leeds in August and the legal case which has
followed, other English clubs may have cause in future to thank Elland
Road's chairman. 'Insolvency was, until the turn of this century, a foreign language to
football supporters, and a matter over which few had any interest. When
Bates presented a Company Voluntary Arrangement to United's creditors
while Leeds were in administration last summer, the majority were required
to ask exactly what a CVA was. The arrangement ... was voted through by
a fine margin ... but many commentators assumed that the acceptance of
his terms was a formality, the final and natural step back into solvency.
In the end it was anything but, and it is clear today that the approval
of a CVA put forward by any professional club is as far from a formality
as it could possibly be. 'It was highly appropriate that, on the day the three-man arbitration
panel sided with the Football League, Rotherham United announced that
their own administration was likely to end without any such CVA. Leeds
United are out of the Football League's hair but a crisis of insolvency
is sticking to the organisation like glue. It is inevitable that United's
case will bring about necessary - and perhaps fundamental - changes to
its rules on administration. 'The ruling of the arbitration panel did not specifically blame Leeds
for the failure of their CVA, the catalyst for both the sale of the club
directly to Bates by KPMG in July and the 15-point deduction which followed
in August. It stated instead that the Football League acted within its
own rules and guidelines by imposing a penalty for what it believed was
a breach of its rules (an accusation which Leeds have always contested).
Whether or not United were actually guilty appears to have been left to
the judgement of the League's board. Before even considering the validity
of the penalty handed to Leeds, the panel dismissed the club's claim on
the grounds that they had delayed arbitration for an "unreasonable
and inexcusable" length of time and had already signed a legal and
binding document preventing them from appealing against the 15-point deduction
for a second time. For those reasons, it was ultimately a case that Leeds
had no chance of winning. 'A victory for Bates was secured by persuading the panel that it was
inappropriate for Football League clubs to decide an appeal made by one
of their rivals, a system which is clearly open to abuse and prejudice,
and if nothing else yesterday's ruling will instigate a new appeals process
which relies on independent consideration rather than the opinion of potential
competitors. 'But it is on the matter of the CVA, and the stance of HMRC towards Football
League regulations, that the impact of United's case should be most profound.
Leaving administration without a CVA was not standard practice last 'The Revenue is often the largest creditor of financially-stricken Football
League clubs. United's arrears alone were in excess of £7m last May. But
as a result of Football League rules, which require football creditors
to be paid in full by any insolvent club, the Revenue is no longer prepared
to agree to any CVA which sees players, managers and clubs paid every
penny they are owed while the taxman goes short. The League's reasoning
for insisting on the payment of football debts is sound in principle.
It argues with justification that its competition would lack integrity
and credibility if member clubs failed to meet their financial obligations
to those involved in it. But with HMRC adopting such an aggressive stance,
that insistence is also potentially flawed. 'Leeds predicted last summer that the absence of a CVA in their case
would be the first of many. That prediction has proved accurate, and probably
more quickly than Bates expected. The frustration for United's chairman
is that his CVA was approved initially then scrapped because of the timescale
involved in the legal challenge made against the agreement by HMRC. Whether
the Revenue would have seen its case proven is a moot point, but Bates
has always argued that the grounds of the challenge were 'spurious'. 'United's chairman will not delight in aiding the clubs who voted against
his original appeal against the Football League's 15-point penalty but
inadvertently he has. The tribunal's ruling read: "These proceedings
have brought to light the necessity for a review of the insolvency policy.
We were told that there are 40 or more current or anticipated insolvencies.
In many cases it will prove impossible to exit administration via a CVA.
The League in the course of the hearing appeared to recognise the need
to amend the policy to make specific provisions where there is no CVA.
It is to be hoped that this can be achieved during the coming close season." 'One option for the Football League is to agree a 15-point penalty as
a mandatory sanction for any club that exits administration without a
CVA. Given that rule changes require the agreement of its members, that
law seems improbable. More likely is that the insolvency rules will be
relaxed in a way which is more sympathetic to a climate in which many
clubs are breathing with difficulty. Above all, the conflict of interest
between the Football League and HMRC is one that can no longer be ignored. 'United called a halt to their struggle yesterday, declaring in a statement
that "the matter is closed". It will now require a successful
Play-Off campaign to give Leeds the promotion their players and supporters
deserve, and to ensure that a case which may be to the long-term benefit
of English clubs is not to United's immediate cost.' A Play-Off place confirmed, Gary McAllister rested some players during
the final game of the League season, at home to Gillingham on 3 May. Frazer
Richardson, Jonny Howson, Neil Kilkenny and Dougie Freedman were all allowed
an afternoon off, while Jermaine Beckford's ankle was given further time
to recover. Peter Sweeney, Anthony Elding, Scott Gardner, Tresor Kandol
and Andy Hughes were named in the starting line-up with Bradley Johnson
asked to fill the suspended Alan Sheehan's position at left-back. United were a goal behind after 20 minutes, but blinding goals from Johnson
in the 69th minute and Kandol in the 88th secured the points and condemned
Gillingham to relegation. The points took Leeds above Southend United
and into fifth spot, confirming a Play-Off semi-final clash with Carlisle
United. The first leg was on 12 May at Elland Road, but Leeds were never in it.
They had plenty of chances and both Freedman and Beckford went close in
the first half with curling efforts to the far post. However, goalkeeper
Keiren Westwood, who had endured a difficult time in Carlisle's defeat
at Elland Road in April, gave an inspired display, stopping both shots
and, indeed, everything else that came at him all night. Carlisle were smarter and sharper in midfield and took a stranglehold
on the contest. Leeds' quartet were caught between the devil and the deep
blue sea, never sure whether to hang back or push on, and left acres of
space for the visitors to exploit. After 32 minutes, Carlisle were awarded a corner kick that should have
gone the other way, and the clearance fell to Simon Hackney on the left
wing. That left United in disarray and they struggled to get any control. The
chances kept coming but either they squandered them or found Westwood
in the wrong place at the wrong time. Five minutes after the break they were undone when Carlisle broke swiftly,
with two men overlapping to leave Frazer Richardson in no man's land.
The cross found Bridge-Wilkinson storming in to force home despite the
close attentions of Michalik. Gary McAllister rang the changes, throwing Kandol on for Beckford after
58 minutes, claiming that the striker was feeling his damaged ankle. Then
Carole came on for Prutton, and in the dying seconds Hughes for Howson. But it all looked over for the Whites. Five minutes of injury-time had gone when Paul Huntington got the ball
around half way. He evaded a Carlisle challenge and came inside before
launching a huge lofted ball to the far post. Kandol was in the mixer,
causing panic in the back four but couldn't get a telling touch. As it
ran loose across the box, Freedman was on it in a flash to fire home. In a season of late goals, none had come later. There were seconds remaining
and United had pulled the irons out of the fire at the last. They would
still face an uphill struggle in the second leg, but they went there with
a fighting chance. After that, United got a grip on the game. Despite having a number of
chances they couldn't get a second goal and as time went on it seemed
the match would go to extra-time. Just as the extra minute's injury time began, Freedman flicked a ball
across the face of the Carlisle area and Howson controlled it and sent
a low shot bobbling inside the post to settle the contest. The United players and supporters went wild with excitement. Just seconds
later the game was over and Leeds were on their way to the Wembley final. Unfortunately, their moment of glory had passed. Though their performance
in the final against Doncaster Rovers did not plumb the depths of
the 2006 Championship Play-Off debacle
against Watford, they were outplayed by a high quality team. They
fell to a dead ball sucker punch early in the second half when James Hayter
headed home from a corner and never remotely looked like beating former
Elland Road keeper Neil Sullivan in the Rovers goal. It was a sad and disappointing end to an extraordinary season when United
had come back from the very brink of extinction as a club. There could
easily have been a fairytale conclusion to the story, but that has rarely
been the way for Leeds United Football Club. Their long-suffering supporters trudged sadly away from the scene of
yet another tragic defeat on the big occasion, but at least they had the
satisfaction of knowing that they would live to fight another day, something
that had seemed quite unlikely for a while in 2007. Finally clear of the massive debts that had dogged them for a decade
and ready to start a new season on level terms, Leeds United could look
forward to a campaign when they could realistically hope to be starting
the long and tortuous climb back to the top of the English game. Part 1 Minus 15 - Part
2 The fightback begins - Results and table
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