Jones's outburst and supporters' abuse top up a toxic mix with rancour and red mist
Jeremy Alexander at Ninian Park Monday February 19, 2007 The Guardian Cardiff and Leeds have a simmering history and it came sharply to the boil here, sweet in part but mostly sour. Oddly, after it all boiled over in a frantic final 10 minutes in which Cardiff's nine men clung to a precious win, it was the victorious manager who was seething. Dave Jones made Paul Jewell seem a model of discretion. The object of his fury was Mark Clattenburg, widely regarded by Premiership managers as best of the young referees. Jones said: "He was a joke. I think he lost the plot. Maybe the game was too big for him. I can understand why he's not good enough to ref in the higher division and he's not good enough at this level either. He should keep on going down. "He's lots to answer for. He's depleted my squad [West Brom tomorrow, then Preston] through bad refereeing. The red and yellow cards today were for nothing challenges. I thought he was trying everything in his power to give Leeds a helping hand but he doesn't have to justify himself." Jones may have trouble doing just that to the Football Association. He might have had a case if he had restricted his complaint to the late dismissal of Simon Walton, whose second yellow was for a dive. Walton, impeded by Matt Heath first, was more fouled than fouling. Michael Chopra's high arm across Hayden Foxe's nose when already booked got what it deserved. Apart from the Walton decision the referee was unexceptionable. Nor was he demoted. For good reasons he got the day's toughest match. Jones's blood was up. He had been subjected to chants from Leeds fans referring to a charge against him in 2000 that was swiftly thrown out of court. Uttered by one person they would have been slanderous. Jones branded the perpetrators "cowards" for doing it en masse. Earlier Cardiff fans had taunted Leeds's about supporters stabbed in Turkey. Last week's transport disruption league had these clubs sixth equal. They would surely share top in the disgraceful chant league. Good blood as well as bad was spilled. Shortly before half-time Rui Marques and Jonathan Douglas, both of Leeds, collided in mid-air. Marques was replaced but, with Douglas, the stitch was not in time to save 10. When he returned Leeds were behind. For the third home game running Michael Chopra chipped a free-kick over the wall from the same divot. It was the exact place from which Graham Kavanagh scored similarly when Cardiff, then in the third tier, knocked Leeds, top of the Premiership, out of the FA Cup in 2002 and opened hostilities - a sweet spot indeed. That marked the start of Leeds' decline, which Dennis Wise seems unable to halt. In the interim Peter Ridsdale, who took Leeds from the financial frying-pan into the fire, has become Cardiff's executive chairman and is trying to do the journey in reverse there. When Cardiff won at Leeds his celebration so incensed the new incumbent, Ken Bates, that he was barred from the boardroom. Before Saturday he extended an olive branch to Bates, no doubt keen to show him his new piranha. Cardiff could have avoided late anxiety if Steve Thompson had converted a penalty after Chopra's dismissal. Leeds's assistant manager, Gus Poyet, trying to be Wise after the event, said: "Chopra was the difference." Leeds showed so little vision they might all have been moles. They did not force a save from Neil Alexander until a long shot by Douglas after 93 minutes. Perhaps they should tell tomorrow's visitors, QPR, their team now. Historically they always win when they leak. Man of the match Kevin McNaughton - Cardiff _______________________________________________ the Leeds List is an unmoderated mailing list and the list administrators accept no liability for the personal views and opinions of contributors. Leedslist mailing list [email protected] http://list.zetnet.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/leedslist the mole has returned
