Leeds United AFC 3 Carlisle United 2

It’s been rumbling on all season and we are finally nearing the point of closure. For those watching on from higher ground, it no longer matters about the moral rights and wrongs. It also matters not about the much divided opinions of the masses. The only thing that matters are the results of a process which it is hoped will be independent. There are rumours circulating and there are pockets of idle gossip. Only Bates and those close to him will know if he has been offered a number of points back to let the matter drop. Only Bates and those close to him will know the percentage game the club are playing. Only time will tell if the club will be hit with further sanctions should Bates fail. Bates used today's programme notes to spell out 6 points that he believes are the "real issues" of this arbitration:

1. What did we do wrong - the football league has been unable or unwilling to tell us.

6. Give us back our 15 points

Every fan you speak to has an opinion on the matter but not one of them believes we will get back 15 points. Not many of them think we will get any, but they cling to the belief that Bates has followed this through when many would have dropped the issue. With that in mind Bates must have a strong case or something up his sleeve. If not, why pursue and spend time, money and effort into a case that has the potential to leave him with egg on his face. With the talk of the points deduction reaching fever pitch, we were informed that a high profile name was added to the much talked about petition to 10 Downing Street that now has over 34,000 names on it:

"Golfing legend and lifelong Leeds United fan Colin Montgomerie OBE has given his backing to a petition surrounding the club's 15-point deduction."

Given the timing, this immediately felt like a cheap publicity stunt. Mind you, it was a confusing one given that any Leeds fan with a memory span longer that Liesdales goldfish will remember that back in 2005, it was Monty himself seeming to have had a change of heart regarding his allegiance by giving interviews saying:

"I must apologise to all those Leeds supporters out there. I’m still a big fan, and it is still the first result I look for. But I live across the road from the Chelsea ground now, and I go the matches." Colin Montgomerie - 2005

There’s just something about "Celebrity" football fans. Its hard to put your finger on, but it’s as if their elevated position in society means they are able to play by different rules than others. For example, another "Celebrity" Leeds fan was of course England Cricket star Nasser Hussain. Nasser is an Arsenal fan now after he claimed that he changed teams so that his boys can watch 'decent football'. If only it were so simple for the rest of us. I suppose there are pro's and con's to having "Celebrity" fans out there following your club, but at the end of the day I guess we have to simply be eternally thankful that we don’t have to suffer the likes of Mick Hucknall amongst ours. Also this week, and perhaps more worrying than which star will be next to name us in an interview, contract talks between Rui and the club were suspended. Its interesting to recall that it was Wise who talked Rui into not signing a deal back in January when he said:

"Rui knows that he's got another contract here. But does he want to sign a new contract on League One money when there's a possibility that we'll go up, or does he want to sign a contract on Championship money? If he wants to sit down then he can, but I told him he'd be a fool. He'd be mad to do it now because we only pay a certain amount of money. Obviously if we go up, we'll pay that little bit more." Dennis Wise

If you look back to majority of games this season, Rui has been nothing short of a colossus at times and in some respects even been the difference between winning and losing games. These performances both for Leeds, also his successful African Nations with Angola, have naturally attracted interest from other clubs. Should we fail in our promotion push this season, it’s feared Rui won’t be the only player we will be sad to see leave the club in the summer. So this morning we awoke early for the penultimate home game of the season. With the lucky song blaring out of the radio, there was just that feeling in the air that this was to be our day:

The last visit to Elland Road from the Cumbrians ended in defeat as Andy Ritchie bagged a brace back to give us a 2-0 win in 1986. This season of course we have already lost to them at their place. We saw one of the best 45 minutes of the season so far as the Wise / Bassett combination got off to a flying start. We tore them apart but missed a host of chances, only take a slender 1-0 lead into the break. The second half was a bemusing role reversal as the home side ripped us apart and won 3-1. Some say this was the turning point of the season and result wise, its hard to disagree. Back to today and Macca was forced into one change to the side that swept away Orient. Sheehan suspended for today and Huddersfield on Tuesday, so in came Kenton at left back...

So with Casper in goal, Fraser, Lubo and Huntingdon joined Kenton at the back. Kilkenny, Johnson, Douglas and Howson made up the midfield with Beckford and Freedman up front. It was reported that Beckford had undergone an early morning fitness test after his injury at Orient and also Freedman had shaken off a sickness bug to play. With a crowd of 28,530 in great "early kick off" form, the boys set about keeping the current good run going. Playing towards the South Stand there was an early shooting chance for Douggie, but his shot flew high and wide. With Kilkenny playing more infield today this was leaving Fraser vulnerable and Carlisle were having the most joy down the our right. Playing with a 5 man midfield and just Graham upfront, they were a tough tackling and well organised outfit. With no little pace though the side, it was easy to see why they have been so successful this season. For our part, we were not clicking as we had done a week before. Good moves were breaking down too easily and the final ball left a lot to be desired. We were failing to get either striker in the game and Carlisle were beginning to settle well into a good pass and move tempo. In contrast to the referee who took charge of the Brighton game, today’s official Probert, seemed keen to let the game flow and it made such a difference...

It was Carlisle who struck the first blow with a good move that left us chasing shadows. Great work down the right left Fraser pulled out of position. Hackney deliver a peach of a ball across the 6 yard box and Dobie was totally unmarked on the back stick to slam home. It was a blow, but one that the boys responded to positively and though we were again failing to be in anyway "slick", we still fashioned chances. Freedman headed over and after a short corner, Johnson saw a brilliant left foot curler flash just past the post. Carlisle were continually threatening though and the extra man in midfield was giving them the advantage. Only the offside flag stopped Graham bursting though after a great move through the middle. After a couple more scares, we continued to try get Beckford and Freedman into the game, but it was looking like one of those days. On 42 minutes, great build up play between Kilkenny, Douggie and Johnson saw the ball fall at Freedman’s feet, but his shot went a whisker wide of the top corner with the keeper beaten. The halftime whistle was met with an appreciative crowd who could see the work rate and effort, but perhaps not the tempo that would have troubled Carlisle and we hoped that a Macca pep talk would do the trick. With the noise of the fans being cranked up, we began the second half like a hurricane...

It was beginning to be reminiscent of the Viduka inspired win over Liverpool back in 2000 and we got an early reward for our efforts. On 49 mins, Kenton never gave up chasing the ball on the by-line and he got the ball back to Kilkenny. Kilkenny had time and space to loft in a cross which Beckford missed at the near post, but it was enough to put off the keeper and Freedman bundled in a header for 1-1 and send the home support wild. At this point, things could potentially have gone sour as Beckford hobbled off and it was Kandol chosen to spearhead the attack. It was Kandol however who began to have a telling influence on the game. Kandol managed to hold the ball up a couple of times as we probed and pressed Carlisle. With Douggie and Howson able to get into the game more, we were looking more like the side we saw last week. It didn’t stop Carlisle attacking on the break, but today was the day we were reminded just why we brought big Lubo back to the club. He was simply magnificent in the second half and pulled off some terrific blocks and timely tackles. With Huntingdon next to him playing some neat balls out of defence, we soaked up pressure and quickly hit back and on 58 we nicked the lead. Johnson’s ball into the box was knocked onto Kandol. Kandols shot was well saved by the keeper but young Howson mopped up and twatted home for 2-1 and an amazing turn around...

Carlisle got their heads down and whilst the home support was still celebrating, they won a corner. It was swung into the middle and as Casper came to grab It, he dropped it onto Grahams boot and he said "thank you very much" for a quick fire reply that took the wind out of our sails. It was a blow that could have gone either way and with Carlisle tails up, they could have taken the lead. Great play by Hackney saw a ball into the middle fall to Dobie, but he failed to apply the finish. The game began to get stretched and both teams went for a winner. Johnson was having a great second half and he fired one goalwards that was deflected for a corner and we had hearts in mouths a couple of minutes later when Casper made up for his error with a diving save. The next goal was going to be crucial and it came on 69 minutes. A bad tackle on the left saw the ref pull out a yellow for Carlisle’s Smith. The resultant free kick was swung into the box by Kilkenny and the ball fell to the feet of Freedman 6 yards out who lashed it into the top left hand corner for more mayhem on the terraces. It was a long way from over and Carlisle kept coming forward. Both Lubo and Huntingdon made timely blocks as we managed to keep out both Dobie and Hackney. Up the other end, we were still looking dangerous. Freedman had his eyes on a hatrick and Kenton was also making great runs forward...

In one flowing move, Kenton just fired wide after cutting into the box. It was nervy end to end stuff and when Douggie fizzed one just wide after great work from Kandol, you though perhaps we should just try shut up shop. However Macca brought on Prutton for Kilkenny and he had a an immediate impact with a couple of half chances. With 4 minutes of stoppage time held up, there was no sign of either team wanting to stop and It was Kandol who nearly had the final say. To be fair it would have capped off a great display from him had he notched. With the keeper out of the action after he fought for a high ball, he just needed to prod goalwards, but he appeared to slip at the vital moment, not getting enough on the ball and the chance was gone. The ground erupted like Mount Vesuvius on full time and with 3 vital points in the bag, all eyes were on results elsewhere. So, we congratulate Swansea and we hope to join them next season in the Championship. With 4 points and a better goal difference on our nearest playoff challenger Walsall, cementing 6th spot is still in our own hands. The temptation will of course be to pin hopes on the arbitration going our way, however with away trips to Huddersfield away on Tuesday and Millwall on Saturday, its key that we do not take our eyes off the ball. Anything that happens in our favour off the park from Wednesday onwards will be a bonus...

Leeds United AFC... "15 point's, who gives a Fuck"... Keep Fighting...