Leeds United 2-1 Middlesbrough: Big Game Players
The lovely atmosphere of Elland Road in autumn, when a game starts in sunlight, is played beneath brass skies, and ends floodlit but not too cold.
Leeds United is a massive football club. That’s a given; it’s been proven by science and experience. What is hasn’t always had, in recent years, is massive players.
The last truly big side at Leeds was Dennis Wise’s, and perhaps that’s why we’ve been plotted our course so far the other way: nobody really remembers the shadows cast by Paul Butler and Sean Gregan all that fondly. Gary McAllister set the standard, that Simon Grayson followed, by creating a team in his own spirit; apart from the odd Trundle here and Showumni there, McAllister preferred the slight, willowy talents of Delph and Howson; Grayson raided the minibar for miniatures, putting Kilkenny, Doyle and Gradel out on the pitch.
The cookies have been cut at the academy, too; Tom Lees looks grizzly but fragile, and Sam Byram has a slender elegance that looks like it belongs in the midfield ballet rather than at full back. There’s no room for him in midfield, though, because Alex Mowatt and Chris Dawson are already there, teenagers who look like they’ve been left behind by the primary school kids who lap the pitch before games these days.
This preference for grace over brawn has had several effects. For one thing, it stumped Neil Warnock, who must have looked around in despair for his ‘big man’ up front, before deciding he’d stick with what he knows and just have everyone boot it forward anyway. It has also, on occasions, left Leeds open to being blown away in the breeze; physical stature doesn’t necessarily translate to mental toughness, but the sides that lost and lost big to Blackpool, Watford and Forest in recent seasons all looked very small by the time the fifth, sixth and seventh goals were going in. And we hardly ever scored from corners.
Into the breach, then, welcome Marius Zaliukas. And welcome too a rejuvenated Jason Pearce, and a suddenly as-tough-as-he-looks Tom Lees. Marius was immense against Middlesbrough, and while that must come with an advisory warning - all our defenders always look amazing on their debuts - this time really was different, because Zaliukas wasn’t just immense on his own. He made the whole team seem bigger.