Denne artikkelen fra YEP stadfester det meste av det som allerede har blitt sagt i denne tråden:
Match report:Old habits keep Leeds United on trackBy Phil HayWhen Gary McAllister arrived at Elland Road in January, he walked into Leeds United with the intention of re-designing the club in his own image.
He envisaged a team whose performances were as attractive as they were effective, breaking Leeds from the mould of direct tactics favoured by Dennis Wise.
McAllister's plan was admirable, but it will come as a surprise to him that United are bearing the hallmarks of the most productive days of his predecessor.
Wise had a talent for eking out results from matches where his side's superiority was negligible, and that resilience was responsible for giving Leeds the opportunity of promotion that exists today.
It is also a trait that has been in evidence during McAllister's first two victories as the club's manager.
Last weekend's win over Swindon Town was produced as much in spite of United's performance as because of it, and their defeat of Bournemouth on Saturday showed that Leeds have not lost the art of maximising their profits and riding their luck.
A more confident side with more reliable strikers than Bournemouth would have left Elland Road with some form of reward, and McAllister was unlikely to overlook that fact when his players reported to Thorp Arch for training this morning.
It was a minor complaint at the end of another important fixture but, as Wise discovered towards the end of his tenure, a club can only sail close to the wind for so long.
Leeds played well enough to vindicate the result and the club's season is progressing positively again after a spell of meandering form. A fortnight ago the play-offs were drifting away from McAllister and his players, a single point is now the margin between Leeds and the top six.
But the sequence of chances created and missed by Bournemouth – a club who are a handful of games away from relegation – served as a warning of what will happen if Leeds are so generous for the rest of the season.
Bournemouth lacked the incision required to punish Leeds on Saturday. A club set against them in the play-offs would be far less forgiving.
Bournemouth and Leeds can relate to each other in so far as both clubs know the crippling effect of life in insolvency, but that is as far as the connection goes.
Twenty-seven points separate two teams who will not share a division next season, regardless of whether Leeds are promoted in May. Saturday's game reflected their respective fortunes, and showed why one club is staring at relegation while the other flirts with the play-offs.
Bournemouth threatened to run riot at the start of the second half but, trailing 1-0, found a goal beyond them. When United came to life briefly on the hour, their second goal came quickly and put the game beyond their visitors' reach.
Leeds under Wise operated in much the same manner, and United are once again looking like a team with the legs and the heart required to claim a top-six position in League One.
With Cheltenham Town and Port Vale to come, it is not unrealistic to expect that they will be in that section of the division by Saturday evening.
United are eight weeks shy of the end of the season and concerns about performances are slightly missing the point. If and when the play-offs arrive, the competency of Leeds will be severely tested, but McAllister's only requirement until then will be the regular acquisition of points.
For all the talk of lost form and a faltering campaign United are now
unbeaten in five games and in better health than they were one the day of McAllister's appointment.
His commitment to passing football is slowly forcing its way into the club's performances and certain improvements are obvious.
David Prutton's relocation to the centre of midfield has been a resounding success, and his influence was key to Saturday's victory. Bradley Johnson has also improved by the game.
McAllister's midfield still lacks width and his defence was fortunate to escape with a clean sheet, but he can feel assured that he has taken a grip of the problematic situation he inherited.
Leeds were assisted on Saturday by the softest of goals in the 11th minute, which stemmed directly from the small squad at the disposal of Bournemouth manager Kevin Bond.
With both of his senior goalkeepers injured, Bond – who is operating under a transfer embargo – received dispensation from the Football League to sign Cardiff City's David Forde on a seven-day loan, and the 28-year-old was given his debut at Elland Road after a single day's training with the club.
The absence of familiarity was apparent when a hopeful punt from Prutton towards Bournemouth's box saw Forde hesitate before rushing to the edge of his area in a vain attempt to gather the pass. The keeper collided heavily with Neil Young, and the ball deflected into the path of Johnson who walked it into an empty net from 10 yards out.
Bournemouth's extension of charity to Leeds encouraged the hosts to cut loose, but United found themselves hanging onto their lead as the first half wore on.
Sam Vokes drove a shot wide of a vacant net after Casper Ankergren dropped Max Gradel's cross at the striker's feet, before Gradel flashed an effort into the stands after Vokes' unselfish pass gave him space to shoot in the 31st minute.
Tresor Kandol had the opportunity to increase United's lead four minutes before half-time, but his header from Jonathan Howson's inch-perfect cross skewed several yards beyond Forde's left-hand post.
The second half began much as the first 45 minutes had ended. Gradel and Vokes saw strikes deflected away from Ankergren's goal within two minutes of the restart, and the latter sliced a wasteful lob over United's goal after winning the ball from Rui Marques and drawing Ankergren from his line five minutes later.
When another strike from Vokes rebounded off the feet of United's Danish keeper it seemed that the pressure was about to tell, but the reaction from Leeds was immediate.
Kandol brought a two-handed parry from Forde on 61 minutes, and Shaun Cooper was lucky to escape unpunished after Prutton's rising shot struck his arm inside the box.
Rob Shoebridge, the referee, was unimpressed by Prutton's appeal, but United's second goal 60 seconds later made the decision irrelevant.
A sweeping move ran to Howson on the left wing and his pass to the edge of the box picked out Neil Kilkenny's run. The Australian midfielder shaped to shoot towards one corner of the net but drove a disguised shot into the other, leaving Forde flat-footed.
A second goal was ample protection for McAllister, and the fight drained from Bond's players as the rain hammered down on Elland Road.
Bournemouth are near certainties to be relegated, and Saturday's result shortened those odds further. The prospect of United claiming a play-off place is also an increasingly attractive wager.
