Leeds win

It has been a long time since I have been able to use those two words together. This follows yesterdays 1-0 victory over Luton and was precisely one month since they had last registered three points. Sadly, fate conspired against them and Southend and Hull both won. The good news was that Luton were dragged into the relegation zone as a result of this result. I wonder if Kevin Nickolls is so keen to rejoin Luton now? Also Barnsley lost and QPR only picked up a point so the bottom of the table has tightened up again with six teams split by four points.

Fascinating piece in the Observer which hardly mentions the football but has some great quotes a few of which are worth repeating here

"If you closed your eyes just for a moment and forgot all about the reality of the league table, the financial meltdown, the off-field bickering, life at Elland Road did not look as crummy as all that. An angelic looking blonde girl with pig tails played tag with her Leeds-shirted brother around Billy Bremner's statue. The queue to get into the club shop that has a sale on was healthy. A couple merrily scoffed their pre-match chips underneath the bronze plaque commemorating Bremner, Don Revie, and the FA Cup won by the old team of legend. There was, believe it or not, a buzz around the place."

"Considering this season has been the story of 42 players, three managers, one volatile chairman, thousands of lost supporters and endless tales of woe, is it any wonder the club sit bottom of the table?"

Sorry I make it four managers but only just!

"Think about it for a moment. Some 42 players have pulled on the shirt for Leeds this season. That is almost enough for four separate teams. There has been a constant stream of loaned journeymen, the latest being yesterday's debutant, Lubomir Michalik, the Slovak who joined from Bolton. It is hardly the blueprint for success. Leeds haven't won successive league games all season."

"Surveying the wreckage of this ailing club, it pays to look at the bigger picture and remind yourself not just that it is six years since they were in the semi-finals of the Champions League with a team of internationals. But also, Leeds have won the English title more recently than Liverpool. Leeds were the team to last conquer the game in this country with an English manager in Howard Wilkinson."

"Now there are nine games to go. Nine games to somehow avoid the drop and prevent the worst nightmare in the history of Leeds United. They have never before sunk as low as English football's third tier. It starts for them at Leicester on Tuesday, followed by a trip on Saturday to Southend, who are one place and one point above them."

The rest of the season promises to be very stressful whatever the eventual outcome. Now would be a very good time to string together back to back wins for the first time and given the position of next Saturdays opponents three in a row would be even better.

Reports from the BBC here and the report from The Observer is here