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Leeds United: McAllister's earned some breathing space
Three weeks ago, Gary McAllister was asked for his reaction to the news that Huddersfield Town and Carlisle United had dispensed with their managers.
"Unfortunately this is part of the job," he said. "The one certainty is that you're going to get sacked."
It is the mantra of every football manager and the condition under which they agree to employment. Stan Ternent and John Ward lost control of their clubs so their clubs exercised the right to take extreme action.
A change of manager is not a guaranteed solution to ailing form, but it is so often the result.
Leeds United are unlikely to jump to that conclusion while the dust settles on their defeat at Histon, but the board at Elland Road cannot be oblivious to the sound of their manager's position being critically examined.
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It was ridiculous to think that, having commented on Ward and Ternent, McAllister would be addressing doubts about his own credentials less than a month later.
That was the reality on Sunday afternoon as, in a cramped press room beneath Histon's main stand, he looked the question in the eye and stated that, yes, he was still the right candidate for the job at Elland Road.
McAllister was bound to say that, but it was essential he did.
The loss to Histon was a humiliation for a man who prides himself on maximising the talent of his squad, but it was not the final straw for his tenure. Far from it.
More troubling than the question itself would have been any sign in McAllister's answers of personal uncertainty about his ability to achieve at Leeds United what he promised he would.
Yet the pressure being placed on him by sections of United's support is justified to a large degree. He must see that himself.
McAllister set out in pursuit of automatic promotion this season, but his team lie seventh in League One. He put a high value on a place in the third round of the FA Cup but saw it sacrificed against a Blue Square Premier club, the likes of which Leeds have never lost to before.
His defence is fragile and the club's results away from home during the past two months have been unspeakably poor. To say otherwise would be a distortion of the truth.
These are honest criticisms of a manager and his squad, and criticisms that can be made of every club in the country from time to time. What they do not amount to is a strong case for changing, or even contemplating changing, the managerial set-up at Elland Road. United's directors would have no excuse for leaping down that road today.
The consolation for McAllister in the face of radio phone-ins and online forums flooded with attacks on him is the fact that Ken Bates never takes decisions on the advice of the public.
When he recruited McAllister in January, Bates made the point of stating that, although the appointment was popular, it would have been made even if it was not. That is how United's chairman works.
At times like this, his attitude is agreeable. There are those who would have thrown McAllister to the lions after Histon's victory, but to do so would ignore all the good that McAllister has brought to Elland Road.
It would also be virtually unprecedented – unacceptable, even – for a club to rule that seventh place at the start of December was grounds to hand their manager his P45.
McAllister's preferred style of football, when his team's performance come together, is easy to enjoy and encourage. It is value for money.
There is an argument that attractive football is worth less than points, but I don't recall Dennis Wise receiving such grace in the run up to Christmas last year. Good results, it was said of Wise's second coming, but not much of a spectacle. Patience wore thin eventually.
Individually, certain players have blossomed under McAllister. Delph's development has been a treat, and it took assurance on McAllister's part to involve him as heavily as he has this season.
Jermaine Beckford is a more rounded player than he was 12 months ago and Jonathan Douglas, in the past four months, has been at his most effective since joining Leeds permanently in 2006. These are not chance steps forward.
There is frustration in the battle to find a defined role for Andy Robinson, who was projected as a key player this season but has been largely peripheral, and the low confidence among McAllister's defenders. As a group, they are struggling.
But, in general, the bulk of United's squad have made a good contribution to the season.
Leeds also have much to value in McAllister's persona.Wise was a fiery and passionate individual who showed a tendency to bring the club and himself into disrepute, and as suited as that was to the scrap with the Football League, United will be better served over a long period of time by a less impulsive boss with a smaller appetite for picking fights. A boss who lets football speak for itself.
McAllister made no attempt to hide behind the shocking pitch or any other excuse at Histon on Sunday.
One complaint emanating from the mud-bath at Bridge Road has been McAllister's lack of animation on the touchline.
Every manager has his own approach and the best do not always involve kicking every ball, though Sunday was perhaps the time for that.
In general, though, McAllister spends plenty of time in his technical area and would probably argue that overblown gestures are for the benefit of the media and spectators.
Changing that side of his character will not make him a better manager. Reacting to the problems he is currently facing will.
The fact is that premature calls for his departure – which must surely find agreement with only a minority of supporters – were not due to the defeat at Histon. They were due to the build up of dissatisfaction caused by seven defeats from nine matches away from home and the frailty in United's defence which McAllister has, so far, been unable to get a grip of.
That failing first displayed itself in a big way at Rotherham United in October and almost two months have passed since then. It is far from ideal to be heading into December without a settled defence or a line of four that McAllister can rely on and trust to do the job he asks of them.
The goals conceded by Leeds recently have seen repetition of the same faults – a lack of organisation and a lack of concentration – two factors that the players must be held accountable for.
Yet ultimately it is the job of McAllister, Steven Staunton and Neil McDonald to rid the team of a failing which has been evident for some time. The fact that they have failed to do so is automatically concerning.
One lesson to be taken from Northampton Town and Histon last week is the need for pragmatism – the appreciation that one style of football does not suit all games.
Direct tactics had more effect on both clubs than McAllister's traditional style of play, and it may be that a more cautious, protective system is the answer to United's form away from home.
McAllister should not shirk at the thought of ironing out his problems at Elland Road. It is why he is there. But it would be hopelessly rash, with Leeds just six points behind leaders Leicester City, to rule that his time is up or close to an end. This is his 11th month as manager and arguably the first time he has needed the supporters to trust him. On the evidence of his previous 10 months, he has earned that trust.
Football is so ludicrously fickle that there is more chance of McAllister claiming the manager of the month award than losing his job in December.
United are being tempted to stick or twist, but there is hardly a decision to make.
There is no doubt about the professionalism, the commitment or the enthusiasm shown by their manager; he now has a chance to show that he can manage his way out of a corner.
Leeds did not regret changing their manager midway through last season, but it is doubtful whether the same would be true this term.
While McAllister gave United's campaign a shot in the arm 12 months ago, it took the club a full month to get going again. The most likely cost of that lull this season would be automatic promotion, the one target that matters to Leeds above all others.
The scrutiny on McAllister is not unreasonable. It comes with the desk. What would be unfair is demanding an improvement in results while at the same time denying him support in achieving that.
At this challenging time, it is the least he deserves.
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Sunday 12 February 2012
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