Whatever George Graham might have lost when he fell from grace at Arsenal over irregular payments on transfers, he has retained the knack of organising teams to win difficult games against apparently superior opposition. It was this knack that helped to end Manchester United's unbeaten record on Saturday as Leeds United achieved their season's first home victory. Beating the Premier League champions now does not make Leeds a class act overnight but it will have silenced, for the moment, the grumbles Graham was beginning to experience after a series of encouraging away results had been offset by some barren performances at home.
"We needed this victory," Graham said after Saturday's match. "You have to keep your home fans happy. Perhaps only two to five per cent of our supporters go to away games. We got booed off the pitch here last week (Leeds had lost 1-0 to Leicester City). That's the nature of the game."
The way Manchester United were defeated recalled the pre-Bergkamp Arsenal which under Graham won two league championships, an FA Cup, a Cup Winners' Cup, and two League Cups. Graham's Leeds are hardly in that category but the way his present team held on to win after David Wetherall's header had given them the lead 11 minutes before half time struck a familiar chord. For David Seaman read Nigel Martyn, whose second half saves to keep out headers from Gary Pallister and Teddy Sheringham frustrated Manchester United's untidy but determined recovery. And the consistency with which David Hopkin and Alf-Inge Haaland closed down space in midfield recalled some of the old Arsenal's grittier performances overseas.
Manchester United's left wing, far from being their strongest attacking arm, was often their point of weakness. Karel Poborsky achieved little in attack and, what was more to the point, did nothing defensively to prevent Gary Kelly dominating the right flank for Leeds.
Kelly's was the free-kick that led to the goal. Striking the ball with his right foot from a position close to the left-hand touchline, Kelly fooled Peter Schmeichel with a flighted, drifting delivery worthy of Shane Warne. The goalkeeper started to come for the ball but then hesitated, doubting if he could reach it in time. No such doubts were entertained by Wetherall whose far post header was to win the match - Manchester United's first away league defeat since early March.
Even allowing for the broody introspection that sometimes affects teams when an important European game is imminent (United play hosts to Juventus on Wednesday), this was an indifferent performance by Manchester United. David Beckham was again peevishly below form and both Teddy Sheringham and Ole Solskjaer looked short of match practice following injuries.
Paul Scholes playing in a more forward position may be Ferguson's best hope against Juventus. Saturday's game ended with Pallister playing up front faced by Robert Molenaar, Leeds's ponderous Dutch defender. The two centre-backs swayed in unison like circus elephants do when they are trying to remember why they came.
For the moment, United's biggest concern will be the knee injury suffered needlessly by Roy Keane towards the end when he made a rare appearance in the Leeds penalty area but only to make a hot-headed challenge on Haaland which brought him pain and a booking and left his team, their substitutes already in use, with 10 men. There is never a good time to lose Keane and now would be as bad a time as any.
