Only a Francesc Fabregas penalty, seconds before the 90th minute mark spared The Gunners from a similar fate to that of our dear friends from over the hill just 12 months ago...
Watching on a large screen in a nearby pub, with an Arsenal fan in attendance was difficult to take, especially when ITV's cameraman panned over the 8,500 members of The White Army that had descended on North London. Having decided against the trip to The Emirates for several reasons; I could only look on in envy as our support embarrassed the muted home sections.
I'm sure the disappointment of the late setback was raw for those within the stadium, but 200 miles North, in a sleepy public house, with just a handful of people staring intently at an oversized screen, I was barely moved; I had already seen enough to be rightly proud of my team. Gone are the days when Leeds United evoke sneers and ridicule, gone are the days when poor results are laid at the feet of Publicity Pete... Simon Grayson (and whisper it... Ken Bates) have transformed Leeds United back into a force to be reckoned with, a far cry from the shivering wreck of a club that fell into League One in 2007.
For me, the late equaliser was almost welcome, an excuse to introduce the snood wearing, prima-donnas of The Premiership's top four to a 'real' football atmosphere - a 'winner takes all' night match at Elland Road!
Don't get me wrong, I'd rather we'd have held on, if just for all the pundits to purr over 'The magic of The F.A. Cup' and how Leeds United's Premiership return is just a matter of time etc. etc. Although with Newcastle's 'laugh-a-minute' encounter at Stevenage, quite how much coverage we'd have got is debatable...
Upon returning to the car, I reconciled the last minute disaster with the thought that I'd rather have that happen at The Emirates than have had to endure a vomit-inducing last minute equaliser from Potato Head at Old Trafford last year.
It is with that final thought that I invite you all to echo the chant at the final whistle yesterday - "WE'RE LEEDS AND WE'RE PROUD OF IT..."
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Well done.
ReplyDeleteYou at least deserved the replay.
Do you remember when you were a member of 'the snood wearing, prima-donnas of The Premiership top four'?
Must seem like a long time ago now.
Return leg .. 4-0 Arsenal ??
ReplyDeleteAside from walcotts' admitted dive..(no penalty given), Leeds were continually on the back foot and the challenge on Bentner was a foul..that's two confirmed penalties. Lucky to get off the hook..HUH? Allen Road...Leeds are out.
ReplyDeleteYes it does. for me personally the trips to (and defeats) at the likes of Tranmere, Exeter, Carlisle and Hereford make days like yesterday all the more enjoyable... When the good times do come around again, I'm sure few Leeds fans will take them for granted...
ReplyDeleteAll I would say is, we gave you a better game than City did just for the fact that we attacked you, even at 1-0.
ReplyDeleteHad to remove the comment??? I suppose so to appease the readers. Terrible when you admit the obvious. Wenger will not be so forgiving. Luckily he let Watt play..and for that Leeds could honestly say it wascentral to them not losing. First team on Allen Road...but good match at Emorates..considering the advantages Wenger gave you.
ReplyDeleteI do admit Leeds played well..pressing the Gunners back. I would suggest you could admit A.W. gave you a bone in Watt playing. Mistake on A.W.'s side yes, as he was central to your performance until his substitution. Fab changed the match as well. At bare minimum we saw what effect Watt can have given the opportunity. good for you, better for us. I doubt Watt will be allowed to play the return.
ReplyDeleteAll you Gooners saying "Leeds can't win at Elland Road" should know, we've already won.
ReplyDelete60,000 at the Emirates plus the TV money and now 40,000 at Elland Road and maybe some more TV money. We were never going to win the fa cup anyway, just like Arsenal.
I removed my comment due to typing the same sentence twice.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous posters above are typical of the clowns who think football doesn't exist outside the Premiership. Where is Allen Road (probably the home of Leeds Untied as ITV called us today in the draw), or the Emorates. Why will Watt not be allowed to play in the replay? As for Fabregas changing the game can you tell me how many clear cut chance were created from his introduction until the last five minutes. Walcott's pace was the game changer as was his ability to cheat
ReplyDeleteI think most Gooners are missing the fact that 99% of Leeds fans would have been happy to escape The Emirates with anything less than a 4-0 defeat and no injuries. Whatever happens at ELLAND Road is irrelevant.
ReplyDeleteDont worry guys that goal was your last hurrah
ReplyDeleteWatt central to our play?!!?
ReplyDeleteMadness, it was an average performance from Watt given his usual standards and did nothing spectacular, in fact he barely touched the ball. Snodgrass would've been far more effective if Watt didn't play as he usually plays down the right whipping crosses in.
It was a disciplined Leeds performance from players with more heart than Arsenal could ever hope for. Grayson invited a needless amount of pressure with bringing two defenders on late on and thus the penalty came out of the continued pressure.
Good game, stop moaning you depressing Goons. Blame Bendtner for being a disgraceful waste of space for the result, and don't forget to thank your GK, he should be number 1 given your others frailties.
Arsenal were so disappointing
ReplyDeleteBentner was terrible, Arshavin? all these stars
didnt step up to the mark. I thought Leeds were workmanlike and missing pace (Beckford). But gave 100% and showed a few moments of quality. The Leeds crowd were exceptional as always and gave Arsenal Fans a lesson in passion. Im sure Arsenal will ease to a comfortable win at Elland Road,but they will have to work bloody hard for it !
So proud to be a Leeds Fan again
All credit to the players and staff
Alex Bruce was immense. :-)
Got to congratulate Wenger for praising Leeds' efforts...the official Arsenal website for a balanced view of the game (admitting a win for the home team would have been a travesty)...several hundred Gooners applauding OUR players from the pitch, a club with class. Lets just hope the replay is a cracker whatever the result
ReplyDeleteArsenal's performance yesterday summed up why they haven't won anything in so long ..... loads of possession, loads of pretty football, lots of shots - but they never really looked like scoring until the penalty. Until they can find a consistent, natural goalscorer - they'll always be making up the numbers in the top 4 ......
ReplyDeletewell played Leeds deserved something out of the game for grit, passion a some excellent defending. Arsenal dominated possession, territory and chances but did not look like scoring until the subs came on. I've seen Watt play better, his pace created problems but only as an individual - he was far from key to their overall performance IMO. BTW we have a consistent natural goalscorer: RVP, although it would be virtually miraculous if he stays fit for the rest of the season. We're twice the team your 'friends from over the hill' are we just don't have Webb et al on the payroll
ReplyDeleteArsenal fans should check the rules beforer saying that Watt cannot play in the replay as it has nothing to do with Wenger.
ReplyDelete15. PROVISIONS CONCERNING PLAYERS
[b](iv) Players on season “long term loan agreements”, are not considered “loan” players for
the purposes of the Rule, and are therefore eligible to play in the Competition.[/b]
Arsenal would actually in my belief win many more trophies if they had fans that actually supported them.
ReplyDeleteThey were less than poor yesterday
Read that as more than poor.
ReplyDeleteWhoops
It's funny all this Watt talk. It's not like he is a bad player or anything and I'm sure he would have played more but for his injury a couple of months ago. The fact is though the guy has started very few games for Leeds this season! He is far from being our star player like some of you Arsenal fans seem to think.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny how as Leeds fans we just come to terms with the side we put out and don't look for excuses when it doesn't work out with that team. If we did though we could say that we had no McCartney, no Kilkenny and the best centre half we have have has been out all season. I remember back in 2000 in the premier league when we had about 8 of our first team out for about about 3 months. We were shit until they all came back. We hit Champions form for half a season and got to the Champions League Semi final that season. Not having anything like our best team fucked us up that season. We didn't get into the top 3 by a point in the end(4th meant the uefa cup back then). The rest as they say is History. I'm bringing this up 11 years later because it fucks me off all these Premier teams fans/Fergie fucking moaning about the teams they put out when it all goes tits up after the event!
ReplyDeleteyou deffo have the right to be proud. here's hoping for a good match at Elland Road, may the best team win. looking forward to it, much more fun than playing teams like Shaktar Donetsk (zzzzz...) in the shit Champions League group stage ffs!!! (if you were an Arsenal fan you'd understand. Barca will be fun and scary though) hope the players/manager are looking forward to it as much as I do and put in some real effort. hope Cesc, Nasri, v.Persie plays. also the 4000(?) Gooners will make more noise than the 50 000 at the E******s. see ya!
ReplyDeleteWell played Leeds, supporting Leeds until todate in Asia is no small feat, and i always proud for following Leeds since their amazing days when david o leary. Leeds amazing history falls way back and i have no doubt that Leeds will be back to top flight pretty soon.
ReplyDeleteAlso, to dirtyleeds, keep up the good work with the blog.