Your reading a pre 2010-11 archived article
This is Clarkeonenil’s regular comment column, cutting through the various passing issues of football and getting to the core principle in the shortest time.
Someone else’s gain.
So the City of Leeds and Elland Road go forward as a venue as part of England’s bid for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup’s, Jacob Alder must be well chuffed. Whilst lots of people will be tempted to see yesterday’s announcement as a good thing for both the area and the club it does beg a few questions. For example, if the City Council can’t afford to keep running care centres where does it expect to find its contribution to the infrastructure changes? If Leeds United can’t afford to repurchase Thorp Arch where is it going to find its contribution to the stadium changes from? If the people of Beeston weren’t too keen on a modest development around the ground in 1998 why does anyone think they will rush to applaud the extension of Elland Road to 52,000 and the accompanying Bates hotel? Sorry but as we speak all yesterday did was muddy even more waters.
The most interesting aspect of this for me is legacy and particularly the ground. Now whilst I don’t think O’Leary’s team as it could have been would have had a problem filling a 52k ground (as long as it was somewhere near Kippax), Grayson at the peak of his powers is going to struggle to pack that out even in the PL. Truth of the matter when it comes to Leeds supporters is that the club is a Yorkshire one and it is its non lioners that are its most loyal whilst the locals are the most fickle and glory-seeking. The South Stand will always be one of the limiting factors on making the ground compete with the likes of Eastlands or St James Park for awe. Car-parking, rail stations, pubs, cafes, space, non football use, all issues that need reflecting on. The danger is white elephant will be born that will add to the permanent burdens the club already carries.
One thing is for sure, even if they get it right, it won’t be the Tory/Lib-Dem coalition on Leeds City Council that wallows in the pride and it won’t be the glorified fund manager and his cohorts that rake in the cash. Both will thankfully be long gone!
Alienating everyone.
Normally I would consider myself a pragmatist, football is a squad game; managers have to juggle issues like fitness, form and keeping players happy. Under other circumstances a shuffling of a winning team isn’t that bad an idea if you do it with some intelligence. What Mick McCarthy did was nothing like intelligent or pragmatic, no instead the Barnsley bruiser insulted the PL, insulted the travelling Wolves fans but worst of all from his own perspective, insulted his own squad. 10 changes is ridiculous for a game against the PL title holders, it beggars belief that McCarthy doesn’t understand this, his protestations on the matter are meaningless, Wenger is spot on when he states the “international credibility” of the PL is now in question.
Part of the problem is the way the PL has split into two camps, those who can muster up stupid amounts of money and try (but sometimes not really achieve) to compete and those, defined as now half the clubs, who just want to survive for ever. But even if you factor that in you still play with fire sending a “B” team to Old Trafford. What if that 11 had got properly tanked, what is some of them think that is it for them for the season, what if every one of those players decides to hand in a transfer request because they don’t believe they are valued? There is also the “Ebanks-Blake” issue, has he missed his one chance to go to his old club and show SAF what he let go? You would have thought an “old-school” type like McCarthy would have understood players better. Maybe we just saw why he doesn’t hack it in the big league.
One thing is for sure, when March, April and May comes around and the annual whinging about some teams playing under-strength teams at the tail end of the season starts, no-one will be listening if it’s coming from Wolves!
Plodding slowly onwards.
Having referenced the road blocks occupying places 9-20 in the PL its occasionally nice to see the other side of that coin and a fantastically competitive CCC, well from second down anyway. Based on defeats, Ipswich are still in with a play-off shout, anyone from Barnsley to Blackpool to Swansea could be the next Burnley, that is an amazing 18 teams to choose from. Personally I think Nottingham Forest are best equipped to join Newcastle United and West Bromwich Albion but that is not the same as rooting for them, no that is Doncaster Rovers. I want to see a real success story, a Conference to PL trilogy complete.
Donny to me are (fingers crossed given the state of Middlesbrough and Watford at the moment financially) the best example of a well run club you can find at the moment, a good manager supported by a realistic chairman, a municipal stadium and a slowly growing fan base. Yes there are a few issues, the failure to sell out the recent local derby against Sheffield Wednesday being a clear sign that they still play in “a town full of Leeds fans”. All in all though the club has a lot to commend it and I for one would like to see it grace the money-bags debt league.
One thing is for sure, I’d rather they made the play-offs this season and not next, the idea of repeating 2008 is not something to contemplate.
