Siege mentality proves Leeds' undoing as Cox ends record run
Mark Tallentire at Priestfield Monday October 1, 2007 The Guardian Indignation at being deducted 15 points has given Leeds United a siege mentality not seen since 2000-01, when two of their players were on trial during the run to the Champions League semi-final, and again it has been a positive force, which has helped the team equal the winning record of the great 1973-74 side to lift themselves out of the relegation places. It can also be a negative influence, however, and was almost their undoing at Gillingham, where they took the lead with 11 men but had to hang on with nine players for more than half an hour to leave the manager, Dennis Wise, also sent off at half-time for swearing at the referee, and the fans seething at the perceived injustice. Tresor Kandol was dismissed for two bookable offences committed before half-time, both dissent, the second for applauding loudly when awarded a free-kick after Efe Sodje's challenge, and his fellow striker Jermaine Beckford joined him for chipping the keeper after the whistle had gone for offside before needlessly hacking down Sean Clohessy in the right-back position four minutes later. After the final whistle the referee and his assistants were pelted with coins by a handful of Leeds fans as a huddle of security guards rushed the officials to the tunnel in that corner of the ground, the fourth official using his board to protect his head. Several other Leeds fans exchanged blows with stewards while police dog handlers struggled to restore order. The Football League will now await the referee Danny McDermid's report with interest. "Leeds are high-octane, play on the edge and their bench is noisier than the crowd," said Iffy Onuora, Gillingham's joint caretaker manager. "I laughed when [Wise's assistant] Gus [Poyet] jumped 10 feet in the air to protest about something then sat down and winked at me. It's a bit of kidology. They had great careers, are well known and like to try and play on it. "Good luck to them, but the flip side is that when you play on the edge and it goes to the other side you are in trouble, and that's what happened. One or two of their players lost a bit of discipline at the wrong time. I don't think the referee did too much wrong and I don't think he had too many alternatives with the decisions he made." Leeds's seven league wins had come against clubs in the top half of Saturday morning's table and they would have expected another against a managerless team they had already managed to overtake despite the 15 points. However, Gillingham, who made six changes to the side thumped at Nottingham Forest, were game and competitive despite going a goal behind, when Matt Heath knocked a Jonathan Douglas free-kick across goal and Seb Carole headed in from close range. The home side, whose chairman has added Brian Little's name to a managerial shortlist comprising those of John Gorman, Martin Allen, Micky Adams, Brian Kidd and Graham Rix, pressed hard in the second half and with the fourth official indicating five minutes' injury time and Wise hopping about in the press area anticipating eight, Ian Cox met Barry Cogan's corner and powered a header high into the net to secure their deserved point. All of which made Wise's post-match comment that he intends to report the referee for swearing at him as the officials left the pitch - "it's not acceptable" - somewhat perplexing but that is the Leeds way, and so far it is working for them. Man of the match Barry Cogan (Gillingham) _______________________________________________ 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 6 in a bloody row!
