They will all be gunning for us on the road now
Peter Lorimer
Talking SoccerONE way and another, we should all expect some fireworks in this month of November.
The fixture list has a far-flung look about it, with trips to Carlisle, Bournemouth, Hereford and Cheltenham in the offing, and with much of football's focus on who will be the first team to beat Leeds in the league this season the permutations are becoming more interesting.
Elland Road is becoming something of a fortress but our only home games are against Bury in the Johnstone's Paints Trophy and Swindon in League One.
It is probably on the road that the record is most vulnerable and table-topping Carlisle will be chomping at the bit to get at Leeds tomorrow.
This is a tough one for Dennis Wise's men. Any club that has had three managers in the first three months of the season could not possibly be expected to sail through their examinations, but that is precisely what Carlisle are doing against all the odds.
They're a tough nut to crack and Leeds will need to be at the very peak of their performance to come away with anything.
It's like a little game all of its own in League One now, with everybody wanting to be the first to scalp Leeds, and if Carlisle don't do it then the incentives will be bigger for, in turn, Bournemouth and Cheltenham.
Certainly Hereford is a potential banana skin in the first round of the FA Cup. But whatever happens through the course of this difficult month, any downturn in results, league position and cup progress should not in any way be put down to the recent change in the managerial set-up.
It was always going to be a difficult time whether Gus Poyet was number two or whether it was Dave Bassett.
It was disappointing, though inevitable once a club like Tottenham moved in, that Gus had to go but, listen, it wasn't an argument.
Here was the chance for him to operate, presumably on big money, in the environs of the Premier League at a club he knows well and, as far as I'm concerned, the question of loyalty doesn't even come up.
What it does tell us is that what is happening at Leeds is making people sit up and take notice and if that also makes us vulnerable to approaches for our manager, who is doing a wonderful job, then that's life.
If, suddenly, there's a whiz kid operating at one of the big banks or insurance companies – or in any trade – then their rivals will want to plunder him. Naturally.
Football is no different. What can be said about both Dennis and Gus is that their time at Leeds will have greatly enhanced their CVs.
Dennis has chosen as the successor to Gus a man he knows well and who snapped him up as an 18-year-old on a free transfer.
That is how far they go back.
They think alike, have that great element of trust and a mutual admiration that is evident in all good double acts and Dave brings to Elland Road a wealth of experience gained over many years around the leagues.
At least he is coming to Leeds at a time when a solid foundation is in place.
Never a week goes by when there isn’t a new setback in the midfield operation and now Ian Westlake goes and breaks his toe.
Considering the number of injuries in that area of the field, combined with Jonathan Douglas’s international commitments with Ireland, United’s unbeaten streak is all the more praiseworthy.
Jonathan showed his value to the team through his captaincy and with two blistering goals last weekend. Let’s hope that he can now show the way forward for the rest of the campaign.
YEP
