UNITED’S MARCH RAISES THE ROOFE
‘Sloppy’ Forest hit by Leeds double
THOMAS Christiansen has gathered together players from the lower leagues of Europe to get Leeds back into the top flight of English football.
Owner Andrea Radrizzani is demanding a minimum of a top six finish in the Championship, in other words the play-offs or bust.
It’s now seven games unbeaten for Leeds, two of them in cup ties, and the early signs are that they might just do it.
Third at this early stage and with leaders Cardiff the only other unbeaten team left in the Championship, it’s so far so good on a return of not much money spent.
“I am very pleased,” said Christiansen. “I may look calm on the outside to you but I am excited on the inside.
“My players have worked hard and they are doing what I ask them. I believe this was our best game.
“Now it is the international break and it is time for us to have a rest ready to take up the challenge again,”
There’s some big money available after the sale of goal scorer Chris Wood for £15m to Burnley, so Christiansen can presumably top up on his bargain Euro buys.
“Wood helped the team while he was here. We should recognise the work he did,” added Christiansen. “But we have shown we have others who can score goals.”
There is so much history for these clubs to deal with, a lot of it glorious, some of it unsuccessful and controversial, the latter encompassed on the front of the match day programme.
A picture of Brian Clough with his words, saying that he wanted to do what Don Revie did at the club but better, referred to his 44 days as Leeds manager.
His miracles weren’t to be there though, they were at Forest where he picked up his career and brought two European Cups to the East Midlands.
New managers, new ownerships, new players- there’s a new beginning at both clubs.
Forest is a much brighter place than it has been under the control of Fawaz Al-Hasawi’s, but optimism has to be confirmed and Forest had problems to deal with they couldn’t solve.
They had struggled to make an impact on the game for 24 minutes when Pablo Hernandez took a free-kick.
Forest did not clear it well enough and when Liam Cooper headed the ball back into the mix, Kemar Roofe was there to head again, from six yards, for his fourth goal of the season following the hat-trick in the Carabao Cup win over Newport in midweek.
Roofe is one of those who was at Leeds when Christiansen, unknown outside of Cyprus where he won the league with APOEL, arrived and has retained.
Others have gone in his revamp, like captain Liam Bridcutt who was making his debut for Forest and had Forest’s only chance, a long range header easily saved by Felix Wiedwald.
Leeds were much more decisive, Ezgjan Alioski cracking a 25-yard screamer to clinch the win four minutes from time.
“You talk about positives, there were no positives. We were below par all over the pitch, we were loose, we were sloppy, lacking intensity,” said disappointed Forest boss Mark Warburton.
“We move the ball quickly and we have so much quality as a group but that wasn’t there for whatever reason.”