THE WAILING OF BLUE FLASHING sirens, the whiff of freshly laid manure from the police horses and the prospect of new blood in the clubs for pigeon fanciers. An eclectic mix that equates to Sunday football in the Steel City. The police presence is a universal one when Leeds United take to the road but the pigeon club is a more parochial tradition.
There are certain public houses in Sheffield that open their doors early on the Sabbath to accommodate only affiliated members and devoted pigeon fanciers. Naturally, the attraction of liquid refreshment before breakfast is one that entices the more hardened football supporters to contemplate feathers instead of fanzines.
Whether or not any of the Sheffield United followers, as they have done in the past, managed to infiltrate the ranks of the birdmen of South Yorkshire yesterday is uncertain. Those who swear an allegiance to Leeds, though, certainly needed some form of sedation before and after the proceedings at Bramall Lane where Leeds capitulated with an alarming feebleness to the enemy from south of the county, undone by two goals shortly after half-time that briefly roused what was otherwise a woeful derby match.
The lack quality was only to be expected. When confronted by a side managed by Neil Warnock, rational fans seek an alternative by ringing their dentists to book in for that root canal treatment they have been delaying for months. Kevin Blackwell, the Leeds manager and Warnock’s former No 2, was making his first return to Bramall Lane and must have known what to expect — the ball in the air so often that it could have been seeking permission to land from air traffic control.
Only when Sheffield United had established their two-goal advantage did they relax sufficiently to perform with a hint of the fluency that saw them reach the play-off finals and beat Leeds, then in the Premiership, in both domestic cup competitions two seasons ago. Those days, like those European Cup sojourns of Leeds, are but distant memories. While the result delighted the partisan home crowd, this was very much the stuff of mid-table mediocrity which, for Leeds, could yet become a realistic ambition.
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“It wasn’t all sweetness and roses, was it?” Blackwell said. “When I look at the bench (packed with teenagers), I know that it is not good enough for Leeds United. The club has a decision to make. We have to bring players in but we have to raise money to do that.”
The scoreline flattered Leeds, who might have fallen behind earlier had either Ashley Ward or Andy Gray, the Sheffield forwards, demonstrated a predatory touch with four chances that came their way.
Ward finally found his shooting boots in the 55th minute, however, as Sheffield began to assert themselves. Even so, the way the Leeds central defenders broke ranks and allowed him a clear run at Neil Sullivan, who was beaten with a firm right-foot shot from ten yards, was dismaying for anyone with the club’s best interests at heart.
Nine minutes later., Jonathan Harley, the former Chelsea defender, curled a left-footed free kick over the wall and beyond Sullivan. When Leeds tried to hit back, Michael Duberry volleyed against the crossbar from two yards out before Ward struck the woodwork with a header at the other end. The Sheffield hordes claimed it was “Easy, easy”. It was anything but that on the eye. In terms of the contest, they were spot on.