Last season, when only one ground proved more inhospitable for visiting clubs in League One, it was a title the venue deserved.

Picking holes in the club's home record has, for the past 12 months, been a case of splitting hairs and the statistics produced by the 2007-08 season were largely immune to justified criticism.

The evidence of 2008 in isolation, though, does not imply that the idea of clubs melting in the heat of Elland Road is anything more than a myth.

United won 15 matches at their own stadium last term but, since the Latics broke their unbeaten home sequence with a 3-1 victory on New Year's Day, the waters have grown muddy.

Of the 13 competitive fixtures contested at Elland Road before the League One play-off final, only five have ended in Leeds wins.

An identical number were lost. A 14th fixture on Saturday – the first on United's turf this season – failed to improve that statistic and led Oldham Athletic's manager John Sheridan to suggest that the atmosphere generated at Elland Road offers as much help to away teams as it does to their hosts. He has a point.

On a stage where Leeds should have the whip-hand, points and results have become unexpectedly elusive and the club's displays porous.

At their most convincing, United are capable of the type of display which crushed Walsall's prospects of qualifying for the play-offs last season, but their loss to Oldham on Saturday fell further down the scale of performances.