What The Locals Say.........

Last updated : 27 October 2003 By Kevin Markey
This is what the Yorkshire Post wrote;

The plc directors of Leeds United decided not to turn up for this important Premiership encounter with Liverpool. The fact they all preferred to stay away could, in the long run, prove bad news for under-pressure manager Peter Reid.

None of those who will ultimately decide on his future were at Anfield as this damaging defeat saw the Elland Road club slip dangerously into the Premiership's relegation zone.

To chairman John McKenzie and his fellow board members this was simply another poor defeat in what has been a very disappointing campaign.

A harmful scoreline, it is the kind which can sway the mood within the boardroom. Having earned an uneasy vote of confidence earlier this month, it is nonetheless clear Reid's future at the helm remains as uncertain as that of Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith.

It is, therefore, unfortunate for Reid that the only aspect of this game likely to make any member of the board sit up and take notice is the result itself.

Forget the fact that they were unlucky in defeat and that their endeavour deserved at least a point for none of that will matter because no one of note was there to witness it.

While Prof McKenzie and his colleagues stayed away, possibly in preparation for the release tomorrow of the club's potentially horrendous financial figures or possibly because there is still ill-feeling between the clubs over the sale of Harry Kewell last summer, the manager and his players displayed great heart and no little courage in their attempt to halt their worrying slide.

The third time he has returned home to his beloved Merseyside as Leeds manager, Reid has yet to taste anything but bitter defeat.

This loss, however, was markedly different to his two previous experiences. Last March, his first game in charge of the team brought a shambolic 3-1 thumping at Anfield and only last month the dismal 4-0 humiliation against Everton was enough to spark those initial doubts about his leadership.

Saturday's defeat was not in the same category. Indeed, were it not for the hesitant finishing of striker Mark Viduka and the poor decision-making of referee Jeff Winter Leeds may even have won.

The scores were level at 1-1 when, five minutes apart, the two decisive moments condemned United to a fifth defeat in six Premiership games.

First Viduka wasted a glorious chance in the 52nd minute when he shot straight at Liverpool goalkeeper Jerzey Dudek after Seth Johnson had teed him up perfectly and then Danny Murphy found the net at the other end in controversial circumstances.

His free-kick from the left was weakly struck and too close to Leeds's Paul Robinson to find any of his waiting team-mates but to Murphy's delight and United's horror it managed to squirm through the England goalkeeper's grasp and nestle in the back of the net.

Assistant referee Ray Gould raised his flag to inform Winter there were three players in an offside position but the referee overruled him and allowed the goal to stand. His suggestion that none of the Liverpool players was interfering with play held no sway with Reid or his players.

Indeed, the United fans who had arrived at Anfield ready to boo former player Kewell momentarily switched their ire to the man in black. It was a cruel blow for United, the kind which regularly kicks teams and managers when they are already down.

When lively substitute Florent Sinama-Pongolle added a cute third by nipping in between the dithering Zoumana Camara and the advancing Robinson, the unwarranted punishment was complete with a misleading scoreline.

United's players looked shattered, mentally as much as physically, by the final whistle. Driven by the impressive David Batty in midfield, they had matched Liverpool every step of the way and shown their fighting qualities with a bold first-half fightback.

Both sides had seen good chances go to waste before Michael Owen fired the home side into a 35th-minute lead with a well-aimed left-foot strike.

The equaliser came shortly before the break from a most welcome source. Alan Smith had not hit the back of the net since the trip to Tottenham Hotspur on the second weekend of the season and his delight at finally breaking the drought was clear in his badge-kissing, air-pumping celebration.

Leeds could certainly do with their favourite son now embarking on something of a goal run.

His equaliser, clinically sweeping in a low cross from Jermaine Pennant from the right, was his 50th goal for the club in 201 appearances: a strike ratio which needs to be improved if he is to fulfil his potential as a top-notch Premiership and international forward.

His career, and goal tally, kicked off at Anfield five years ago when his debut strike helped earn a vibrant and thriving Leeds a famous win. Half-a-century of goals later, however, and it is a different story for the beleaguered club and their no-show directors.

Liverpool: Dudek; Finnan, Biscan, Hyppia, Riise; Diouf, Gerrard, Smicer (Murphy 49), Kewell; Heskey, Owen (Sinama-Pongolle 58).

Leeds: Robinson; Kelly, Camara, Matteo, Olembe; Pennant (Lennon 82), Batty, Johnson (Barmby 80), Milner (Sakho 75); Smith, Viduka.

Referee: J Winter (Cleveland)

Leeds man of the match: David Batty.