(who in a bit of wish fulfilment seem to have added another point to our minus total)
McAllister era cheered but jeers for the Wise reign Michael Phillips at Roots Hall Wednesday January 30, 2008 The Guardian On the day they lost their manager and gained a new one, Leeds United missed out on bolstering their promotion push. The abuse aimed at the departure of Dennis Wise to Newcastle was interspersed with welcoming chants for the new manager, Gary McAllister, on a cold night on the Essex coast where Leeds, who had won only two of their previous six games, found themselves stumbling again. Having overcome their 16-point deduction at the start of the season to move into a challenging position for promotion, Leeds were hoping to provide their new manager with a victory which might have taken them to second in the table. But after a pre-match routine conducted by Gwyn Williams, the member of the backroom staff who was in caretaker control last night, Leeds were continually caught out by Southend's fluent counterattacking. Southend took the lead five minutes before the interval. Steven Hammell, preparing to take a free-kick, spotted David Lucas not guarding his near post. The keeper scrambled across but, following up, Lee Barnard tucked it over the line. Williams said later: "Dennis said goodbye to the players this morning. It's been a difficult couple of games. I have known Dennis since he was 13 and he has done a great job turning things around in a little time. His new role is different but Dennis is bright enough to cope. He is going to take on the role Frank Arnesen has at Chelsea and Liam Brady at Arsenal. "In football nothing surprises me. The chairman was happy to bring it all to this conclusion. We drew up a shortlist of which no one was top and no one was bottom. Gary wanted the job and he has great credentials. I am happy to stay." McAllister will meet his players for the first time this morning. A key midfielder in the 1992 title-winning side, he has now been given the opportunity to revive his managerial career by endeavouring to lead them out of League One. The 43-year-old's appointment on a short-term contract was finalised so quickly that Dave Bassett, who had been told he would be in charge last night, was relieved of his caretaker duties while working with the Leeds players at Tottenham Hotspur's training ground. After a brief spell as player-manager of Coventry City, McAllister quit football in December 2003 to look after his wife, Denise, who died of breast cancer in March 2006. In recent months the former Scotland international made it clear he wished to return to the game and now he has until the end of his season to prove himself. "It's a great honour to be back at the club and I can't wait to get there," he said. _______________________________________________ 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 DELETE THE FOOTERS WHEN REPLYING YOU LAZY SODS!!!! DELETE THE FOOTERS WHEN REPLYING YOU LAZY SODS!!!!
