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Leeds United: Whites have finally landed Mr Right
It’s taken as read that pressure will always go with the territory at Elland Road, whether you be a manager, coach or player.
It has been the making of some, while proving the sorry downfall of others, which has been the case for the last half-century since Don Revie picked up a footballing giant firmly by the bootstrings and stirred it into life, making the footballing world take note.
To be manager of Leeds United, like the other great one-club city in England in Newcastle United, means you are pretty much under the microscope 24-7.
Every decision and quote is pored over and dissected by its army of supporters whose insatiable appetite for news on their club is ravenous. Switching off isn’t much of an option either.
Neil Warnock has the broadest of shoulders and has always been able to look after himself in a managerial sense and those qualities will stand him in good stead for arguably the biggest challenge of his long managerial career.
Loud, proud, opinionated and passionate, football’s very own Marmite Man provokes love and hate emotions in equal measure among football supporters. But one thing is crystal-clear, you never ignore him. And while he can give it, he can also take it.
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Great copy for journalists and never short of a line he may be, but invariably there’s plenty of method in his musings and in terms of keeping the heat off his players, Warnock is a past master.
The Sheffielder hogged plenty of the limelight in a seven-and-a-half-year association with boyhood club Sheffield United from 1999 to 2007, famously feuding with the likes of Stan Ternent, Phil Thompson and Gareth Southgate along the way and grabbing plenty of back-page headlines in the process.
But he is remembered chiefly by Unitedites for putting the club firmly at the top of the Steel City pecking order, with former Blades and Leeds striker turned radio pundit Keith Edwards confident he will prove as big a success just up the M1 at Elland Road in his own inimitable way.
Edwards said: “Neil will give people a lot of headlines and that’s why everybody likes him.
“I always say it’s about players, but you’ll find that Neil will take a lot of pressure off the players by creating all of the attention on himself.
“There are no two ways about it, at Leeds United there will be players who maybe feel a bit of pressure. But Neil will take it off them, that’s what he tends to do, he takes the pressure on his shoulders really well.
“With the reputation of Leeds in the past, there’s always pressure to do well. We had it when I played there in the FA Cup semi-final and play-off final.
“Neil will be the man who wants to do really well and put Leeds on the map. The job will have a certain ring about it for Neil. With respect to the other clubs around Leeds, they haven’t got the same name as Leeds.
“It’s an intriguing appointment, but I think it’s the right one.
“I think it’s fair to say Leeds will be guaranteed to have some fun under Neil. I loved the comment when he left Queen’s Park Rangers when he said he takes full responsibility for where they are now – the Premiership!”
After leaving Loftus Road at the start of the year, Warnock, who turned 63 in December, announced his intentions to have one last managerial hurrah before riding off into the sunset. Or in his case, his beloved Cornwall.
The task of taking on United was always likely to prove an irresistible one for the Yorkshireman and while the odds on him orchestrating a successful promotion charge via the Championship play-offs in 2011-12 are fairly long, Edwards for one wouldn’t put it past Warnock.
Just 14 matches remain in United’s season, with Warnock’s new side currently in 10th place in the Championship. They are only three points behind sixth-placed Birmingham but have played more games than virtually all of their play-off rivals.
United also have a teak-tough run-in and have still to play all of the current top five, along with fellow play-off aspirants Hull City and Middlesbrough, but you sense it’s a situation Warnock will grasp and relish.
And in terms of short-term fixes, the veteran gaffer has previous, with one of the most unheralded yet truly remarkable achievements coming in the south west footballing backwater of Torquay United, who he saved from relegation out of the Football League in 1993 following a sterling Great Escape mission.
Edwards added: “I think it’s the right appointment for Leeds. Neil’s got all the experience in the world, hasn’t he.
“I’m sure Neil will be having a good go at it (promotion), with Leeds being on the fringes of it (the play-offs).
“Leeds, like Sheffield United, are crying out for success and if they get into a play-off spot, they will take their chances from there.
“Neil’s record in the play-offs isn’t brilliant, unfortunately, but there’s no reason why Leeds can’t do it because in this division in this particular year, the teams are all of a muchness.
“If anyone can organise a team and make them very difficult to beat, it’s Neil. His teams, without being disrespectful, invariably grind results out. That’s his strength, getting the best out of average players with all the respect in the world.
“Yes, Leeds have some quality players. But at Sheffield United, it was mainly about his organisational skills and we’ve got no axe to grind with him whatsoever as he got us into the Premiership.
“You will soon see a very hard-working side who are prepared to graft for each other.
“When we got promotion, I can’t recall a side working as hard for each other as we did.
“Promotion will be tough, but Neil will absolutely love a challenge like that.
“In the past, he thrived on saving teams, now he’s got the challenge to get Leeds into the play-offs. He’ll thrive on that pressure and the attention he will get at Leeds.
“He’ll enjoy the challenge, that’s the difference between him and a lot of other managers. He’ll love Leeds as a football club and the fact they could get crowds of 30-odd thousand. He’ll thrive on it and why not!”
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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Comments
There are 26 comments to this article
Page 1 of 2
original koppite
Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 01:44 AM8allanb78...Fact is Harry Reynolds was the chairman and he allowed The Don to spend significant amounts of money which, together with the best group of kids that any club have ever had, came through to allow us to turn out a great team. The squad was so good that great players like Jimmy Greenough, Rod Belfitt, Terry Hibbit, Terry Yorath and others couldn't get a game and Eddie Gray who might have been the best midfielder that ever played was rarely able to play in his best position. The Dons job was made easier than it is today by the retain and transfer system, which prevented a player leaving even when out of contract, without the agreement of the club.
OldhamWhite
Wednesday, February 22, 2012 at 10:54 AMI cant believe all the people on here mocking the actions od L.U.S.T, I aploud the Chairmans appointment in Warnock but lets not forget the hard work of L.U.S.T. and had it not been for their growing support and actions to stand up to Bates, we would have ended up with Redfern until end of season - if not longer. Now lets all get behind Warnock and see what old mans Bates does in the summer and backs him or not!
bramley whites
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 10:04 PMGo on bulldog we all love leeds and leeds and leeds leeds leeds and leeds we all fxxxng love leeds
LeedsBulldog
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 08:10 PMSome on here are saying dont get excited yet - that is so hard for me not to do - YES its a masterstroke by bates to shut us up for a while BUT with Neil warnock running the gaff - i think we may see an INSTANT improvement on our defence - just like when George Graham arrived - BUT with an attacking force thrown in - who cant get excited about that! heres a quote from the above article " you will soon see a very hard working side who are prepared to graft for each other" - LOVE IT!!! roll on saturday! MOT 4 EVA WHEREVER WHENEVER WHATEVER!!
qbywhites
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 07:56 PMjust need to bring ticket prices down to a realistic level
Gogol
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 07:43 PMPeople, some of you are getting a bit carried away here by saying "there's a buzz around the city", "feel the electricity", "brilliant future" and so on. Let's calm down a bit and see what happens over at least the next four games because I remind you that there's been a change of manager, not a change in the running of our club or of chairman!
Scratchingshed68
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 07:41 PMGreat appointment by the Board who were under enormous pressure from the fans and the media to stop the rot including the chairman's choice of read the Daily Mail as well as the YEP. The latest addition of the leader of Leeds city council to the supporters trust to sit alongside MP's and other city dignitaries adds gravitas to the 4,000 plus voice of Leeds fans. The President Nigel Martyn has said that he is delighted with the move and as Neil Warnock has said himself we are in the top 6 clubs in the country. I understand we are now top 6 in Trust membership, so let's hope we make the top 6 in the championship this season. 666 - surely an omen.
Bluesman
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 07:03 PMWarnock is King! I like his gritty Yorkshire humour and his abiliy to make the headlines. He is hard working, organised, passionate and speaks his mind, just like a good Yorkshire lad should. Give him time and support him to the hilt.
Brighouse White
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 05:14 PMNot since Howard Wilkinson's appointment in 1989 have I felt such universal approval of a new manager at Leeds. Certainly, Warnock has the backing of the crowd, and I can't think of any other manager we could have realistically appointed that would have created such a wave of enthusiasm. The reason for this is Warnock's record is there for all to see and no-one can argue with it . Without doubt, he is the manager we all would have got in to do the job of getting us promoted, so credit to Ken Bates for getting something right! Also, I can't imagine Warnock didn't get assurances about the backing he'll get in getting in immediate loan signings and the summer transfer market - surely that will have had a big bearing on him snubbing a reported bigger offer from Huddersfield to take up the Elland Rd hot-seat. Bates has made half the best decision he has ever made for Leeds by attracting Warnock to the club - time will tell if he makes the other half by backing him in the market place!
tiff
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 04:58 PMYou can feel the buzz around the city. Lets just hope that the man can produce the goods ! all the fans are behind him and so they should be. Yes lads this is the last chance saloon for us.
ELLAND BACK
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 04:18 PMjigzy sort your head out, grayson was nothing to do with the protests, you stick your head back in the sand, NEVER FORGET B O. warnocks a lot further along in his career than grayson so naturally hes a better manager but dont forget it took him 6 years to achieve his first promotion (from the conference), graysons had two in that time both league 1, it took warnock 25 years to achieve his first promotion to the premiership with sheffield united, so lets wait and see what happens over the next 8 games because its a tough run we are just coming into.
allanb78
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 03:44 PM12Fullerton Don't know who Warnock will; bring in but confident that whoever it may be will serve us well whilstever we are in the Championship..However i've been mulling over the Snodgrass situation and how we can get the best out of him.Somehow my mind keeps going back to our finest mid field generals Giles and Strachan.Both,as you know,were originally old fashioned right wingers.who moved inside to great effect. When looking at Snoddy I see many of the qualities they possessed,tight control,ability to make space,eye for the killer pass and the requisite touch of nastiness.Could Snoddy make the conversion I wonder?
gemania
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 03:24 PMI agree with allanb78, and fullerton about our history of being an insignificance until Revie took over. We are clearly a bigger club than in the early 60's , but we are not and never have been a giant club. That accolade probably only applies to Manyoo, Liverpool and Arsenal. (Chelsea could become a giant if they continue to win lots of trophies and stay near the top for many years). If we were more honest with ourselves about our actual place in the pecking order of English football, we might suffer less anguish when things are going badly, and be more realistic in our aspirations. When we finally get back in the top flight, the incumbant manager will soon be given a hard time unless we are immediately challenging for a top four place.
nickjb
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 02:45 PMAs he's evidently signed away the right to pour out his extreme emotions on the BBC - he wasn't allowed to give an interview for Radio 5's Monday Night Club yesterday - it makes me wonder what other sacrifices he'll have to make. After all, Warnock's voice is about as vital to him as Whitney Houston's was to her. If he's such a forthright maverick, why didn't he tell Bates where he could stick his childish tantrum with the BBC who were merely and reasonably investigating the fit-and-proper-person-to-own-a-football-club ethics, based on the tangled web of his business practices ? We all know that Warnock's speciality is promotion to the Premiership, and that, like Grayson couldn't take us further in this league, he couldn't survive with the more refined tactical strategies played out in the Premiership. So, knowing his failings, why would he, even if he could, perform the miracle in fourteen (or fifteen !) games to give himself nothing but grief next year ? He loves leading from the start of a season in the Championship, so I don't think we should be dreaming too much of a fairy tale end to this term. Everyone seems to have gone bipolar on this forum ! He'll want all the adulation for a whole season, not fourteen exhilarating victories followed by fourteen inept performances and a sacking next Christmas ! On the other hand, he does have a big ego, so maybe he believes he was doing a fine job with QPR this season and that it was just bad refereeing that caused his results ! I just think it's kinder to burst a few balloons now rather than later.
fullerton
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 02:17 PMallanb78~ You are not nit picking at all, it was a very lax comment by Mr Wobschall unless a solitary 2nd division championship more than 80 years ago now qualifies a team as a footballing giant....Don Revie's miracle you say? Love it! ... Back to the present It is great how NW's appointment has created a buzz we haven't felt for ages. We may not make it this season but we will give it a damned good shot. It will be interesting to see which players Neil brings in and who leaves.
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