Playing Watford this weekend took my mind back to that sorry day in 2006 at Cardiff. A defining day for Leeds United that saw us not only fail to win promotion to the top flight at the second attempt but literally a year later we were being relegated to League One.
I remember turning up at the ground and hearing the team news and thinking well thats us losing today then. Blackwell truly messed it up. We had beaten them at Elland Road 2-1 and drawn with them away 0-0 that season. Robbie Blake had scored a double in that home win.
Blackwell played our best young inform centre back Kilgallon at left back to accomodate the clumbersome Pau Butler and then left Blake, Healy and Bakke on the bench. I think Cresswell was suspended. There were practically no goals left in the side bar Hulse and Eddie Lewis.
I was drunk at the match. The only game i have ever attended drunk. The only way i could get a ticket was to join an organised mini bus and drinking commenced at 5am. The pitch was spinning. The game was always a blur which is probably a good thing. I recall the corner on the far side been headed in to the net by some unknown yankee, and then Neil Sullivan heading into his own net.
The whole sorry mess was made worse by the fact the Watford manager was Aidy Boothroyd who had left Leeds to become Watford manager at the start of that season. They got an infectious vibrant manager who built a pretty damn good side very quickly and well we were left with Kevin...Fking ...Blackwell, arguably the second worst manager Leeds have ever had (nobody beats Terry Vegetables). In that Watford side was Marlon King. Useless at Leeds on loan scoring 0 goals in 9 games. Boothroyd took him to Watford. Remember also Matty Spring......injury prone featherweight and useless at Leeds.......Boothroyd bought him for Watford and yes he was in that side that battered us also. I had to check a couple of things to make sure my memory was correct. Noted that the referee that day was Mike Dean!
I recall stopping for a curry on the way home. I had zero appetite and probably the only time i have left food on a plate as an adult. Sitting their crying into my chicken bhuna we had no idea what sorry days were yet to come.
As depressing a memory it is, it does make me more determined to enjoy this season. We will lose many games, hopefully we will many. Its a joy to watch great football and some of the players we have are wonderful. Let us hope that it will be a long time before a player as bad as Sean Gregan ever puts on our beloved white shirt!!
MOT
Leeds v Watford 06
posted on 4/10/21
Can anyone recall if the stadium roof was closed?
posted on 4/10/21
comment by Kebablegs (U17699)
posted 35 minutes ago
Can anyone recall if the stadium roof was closed?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Think it was closed due the shiete weather. Remember the atmosphere and noise was unreal
posted on 5/10/21
comment by Earl * * Not available in N.I. (U9333)
posted 9 hours, 38 minutes ago
comment by Kebablegs (U17699)
posted 35 minutes ago
Can anyone recall if the stadium roof was closed?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Think it was closed due the shiete weather. Remember the atmosphere and noise was unreal
----------------------------------------------------------------------
If you get a moment, the video of Leeds fans booing Lord Mawhiney or whatever he was called Unreal being booed by half a stadium with the roof closed.
posted on 5/10/21
comment by Shaun M - Everywhere you go, always take Rapinha with you! (U9955)
posted 55 seconds ago
comment by Earl * * Not available in N.I. (U9333)
posted 9 hours, 38 minutes ago
comment by Kebablegs (U17699)
posted 35 minutes ago
Can anyone recall if the stadium roof was closed?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Think it was closed due the shiete weather. Remember the atmosphere and noise was unreal
----------------------------------------------------------------------
If you get a moment, the video of Leeds fans booing Lord Mawhiney or whatever he was called Unreal being booed by half a stadium with the roof closed.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Turns out that was actually at Wembley for the Donny game.
posted on 5/10/21
I got tickets at Watford, literally a pile of tickets on a table, pick your own.
I seem to remember us having loads of chances to catch teams above us yet as they dropped points so would we.
I drove down, remember the anticipation on the day, just wanting to get into stadium.
Noise was incredible, could not hear anything, but what a flop.
Only match I've ever left early from, didnt want to get stuck with loads of Watford fans on M4 going back home.
Then had to endure days of celebrations in Watford and people ribbing me about it.
posted on 5/10/21
Then we went and messed every playoff up thereafter.
I was on holiday in Ireland with my mrs and her parents. in the middle of nowhere. I made them drive me around until we found a pub with sky sports, It was a proper local place, for local people, had about 15 pints of Guinness and don't even remember the game, luckily.
posted on 5/10/21
i was in kos with my then girlfriend, watching the game in a bar with the owner whose son was on the books of watford youth. what a horrible day, not only did he barrate me all game / day, i ended up finishing with my bint of a bird, we had another week on the island but the next day i met this gorgeous greek girl who let me stay with her for the rest of the holiday, ended up staying an extra week, wow what a girl......
posted on 5/10/21
comment by Macca: Emily Bishop's love child (U8194)
posted 1 day, 1 hour ago
I remember watching that game on Sky and thinking at the end Oh well we'll go up next season as champions...
What a fall from grace that game started. I seem to remember Sean Dyche being in Watfords defence and we hardly layed a glove on them.
It always used to make me paranoid that Kevin Blackwell received a brown padded envelope off Bates to deliberately throw that match, the team selection was so bizarre.
I had it in my mind that Bates didn't want us to go up as he could skim off the top via his various off shore companies all sorts of dodgy deals that benefitted his personal bank balance while rinsing the club fairly unopposed by the EFL but wouldn't have got away with similar behaviour under Premier league scrutiny.
Anyway we rode that horrible ride and today we can appreciate the club being run on a far more solid and honest platform.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Wasn't there a question at the time about if we got promoted, would we have to repay some of the enormous debt we had run up under Ridsdale? That whole era under Bates was all about him making money and nothing about us winning games.
posted on 6/10/21
Just can't see that he didn't want us in the prem to save paying back money, the club was struggling to brake even, when you think about it, it's not logical.
He was too tight to take the risk on splashing the cash to make a decent challenge
posted on 6/10/21
comment by Wetherby White (U6810)
posted 1 hour, 8 minutes ago
Just can't see that he didn't want us in the prem to save paying back money, the club was struggling to brake even, when you think about it, it's not logical.
He was too tight to take the risk on splashing the cash to make a decent challenge
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Totally agree, Wetherby. As much we like to think it was his mission to bring Leeds down and bleed it of cash, it wasn't in his interest financially to hold the club back - and the making of money was the number one priority for Bates. I think he was just too tight to spend. Though I can believe that deep down he despised the club and its fans.