Dirty Leeds Keep FA Cup Alive And How!

It was one of the greatest shocks in recent football history, an event that proved you should never write anyone off, and that the Magic of the FA Cup^TM is still well and truly alive.

No, not Leeds’ win at Old Trafford, but the moment during Alex Ferguson’s post-match interview when it looked like he was going to be gracious in defeat.

Breaking the habit of a lifetime, Fergie paid tribute to Leeds and admitted his side were not good enough.

He said: “Leeds had far bigger appetite than us. Human beings can always surprise you but we didn’t expect that today.

“I am shocked by the performance because our preparation for the game was very good. But we never got going. The quality of the passing and whole performance was bad.”

Then reality intervened, and Fergie reverted to type, haranguing referee Chris Foy for adding ‘only’ five minutes of injury time to a second half with no major stoppages.

“The referee gave five minutes, that is an insult to the game and the players out there,” he stormed, before suggesting that refs should not be allowed to keep time.

The only realistic way he can avoid further FA action for yet another rant against a match official is if he pleads Tourette’s.

In truth, Manchester United could have had all the Fergie Time they wanted and they would not have scored.

Despite Wayne Rooney’s best efforts, Leeds simply could not be breached. United’s singular lack of goal threat was summed up by the moment when Michael Owen scuffed his shot horribly when he looked odds on to score.

It is the kind of chance he used to convert with his eyes closed, and maybe that was the problem; as the ball came, he must have screwed his eyes up tight and swung wildly with his right boot - how else to explain such a lamentable effort on goal?

Dimitar Berbatov looked ponderous, Gabriel Obertan ragged and Danny Welbeck totally out of his depth (although no more so than the dreadful Wes Brown, who committed enough fouls to get sent off five or six times).

In recent years, United could always rely on one man to bail them out when they failed to perform, but Cristiano Ronaldo is now a Real Madrid player. And isn’t it surprising the difference it makes when the best footballer in the world leaves you?

All right-thinking neutrals loved it of course, although if you could pick any League One team to beat Manchester United at Old Trafford, it would probably not be Leeds.

As the final whistle went, the TV camera cut to a tattooed skinhead making a gleeful w**ker sign - proof positive that an unseemly fall from grace has not taken the Dirty out of Leeds.

Anyone above a certain age - or who saw The Damned United - knows Leeds have spent nearly 40 years being universally hated. They may never be more popular than they are now.

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Thank goodness for the Leeds result, because otherwise it was a third-round weekend to forget. Well, not even to forget, since many fans were not watching in the first place.

Here is a selection of particularly rubbish crowds (average league attendance in brackets):

Wigan Athletic v Hull City 5,335 (18,463)

Aston Villa v Blackburn 25,453 (37,780)

West Ham v Arsenal 25,549 (33,335)

Middlesbrough v Manchester City 12,474 (20,238)

Sheffield Wednesday v Crystal Palace 8,690 (22,373)

Many reasons have been suggested for these pathetic turnouts.

One popular explanation is that we live in tough times, and that the hard-working folk who scrimp and save for a season ticket cannot shell out an extra £20(Rs.1,600 approx) to watch an extra game.

That is absolute rubbish. Are we supposed to believe that a massive proportion of fans (around 40 per cent) have exactly enough money to pay to watch 19 home games, but that a 20th is beyond them?

In ‘this economic climate’, surely a more likely scenario is that people would not be able to afford £500(Rs 40,000 approx.)for their season ticket in the first place, but might treat themselves to an afternoon at the football on FA Cup third round day.

Another theory is that the cup just doesn’t matter as much as the league any more. Take Wigan-Hull, for example, which to most neutrals looked like the worst tie of the round.

These are two teams whose only priority is Premier League survival, and for whom a Cup run is nothing but a distraction. Unlike lower-division sides, a rollercoaster ride to the last eight spells fixture congestion, not romance.

But what sort of lives do fans of these teams lead if their wildest dreams involve finishing fourth from bottom?

Instead of trudging grimly to 17th place, wouldn’t you rather have the kind of season Middlesbrough enjoyed/endured in 1996/97, when they reached both cup finals and went down.

The result might have been disappointment in triplicate, but goodness it was exciting.

Would Boro fans really have traded places with Coventry, who narrowly avoided the drop that year?

True, the Sky Blues held on to their top-flight status for another four seasons but they went down in the end. The same fate will befall both Wigan and Hull - it is a question of when, not if - so wouldn’t they rather have a bit of fun when they are half-decent?

I have a simpler explanation: a lot of football fans don’t actually like football.

People pay several hundred quid for a season ticket, then drag themselves along to every league game through a mixture of duty and not wanting to waste their money.

But they don’t want to be there. Oh no.

Last season, 17,689 turned out to see the same fixture in the Premier League but how many people really wanted to be there? Judging by Saturday’s gate, not that many.

Buying your tickets in bulk is one thing but many fans, given a straight choice whether they wanted to go to a football match or not, headed for the sales.