DERBY PREVIEW
Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds prepare to do battle...
THOMAS Christiansen will drive through the gates of Hillsborough this afternoon knowing that victory for Leeds could see them close on Carlos Carvalhal.
For the Danish-born Spaniard, these are golden days. Six wins from ten, the best goal difference in the Championship, attacking play to die for.
When Christiansen replaced Garry Monk in June, his only prior experience in Cyprus, most expected a quick and messy divorce. Instead, the Elland Road honeymoon has stretched to the end of September.
Optimism, for so long a barren creek, now
thunders through the avenues and alleyways of Yorkshire’s biggest city.
“It is a special club,” he said on the eve of today’s derby. “And for me to bring these fans happiness – it is why I am here.” Two years ago, Carvalhal was riding just such a wave at Sheffield Wednesday. Successive play-off failures have stemmed the flow of goodwill.
Unrest, already rumbling after a poor August, erupted following last weekend’s televised defeat to Sheffield United in the Steel City derby.
A 1-0 reverse at Birmingham only intensified the criticism. Now, three seasons into a twoyear plan, the likeable Portuguese has never looked more vulnerable.
“I don’t really know Carlos,” says Christiansen, a striker who won two caps for Spain during his formative years at Barcelona.
“But I have seen his team and how they perform. You could guess just from watching them that he is a European coach who has adapted to England. He has good ideas, he seems a good man.
“Is it fair that he is under this pressure? Fairness isn’t important. You cannot think like this because football doesn’t have memories. It doesn’t care what you did in the past.
“Carlo Ancelotti was sacked the other day. What had he done? Lost 3-0 in the Champions League to one of the best teams in the world.
“Look at Claudio Ranieri. What he did with Leicester and what happened to him the following year. When he was sacked, everybody seemed to forget that he had achieved something extraordinary. “That is football. When you win matches, people forget the defeats. When you lose, people forget the wins. The board makes demands and if you don’t meet them… that is that. “Imagine you are a salesman. You are given some goods to sell and target to hit. If you don’t hit those targets, what will your boss do? He will find someone else who can. Football is a business
just like any other. You have to deliver if you want to stay in a job.”
Christiansen’s deconstruction of the business may sound cold and unsympathetic. In reality, it is a combination of icy Scandinavian detachment and a healthy cynicism honed by three decades in the business.
Carvalhal deserve sympathy? Yes, says Christiansen but he also knew what he was getting into.
“Every manager has a plan, a timeframe,” adds the 44-yearold, who won the Cypriot title with APOEL earlier this year. “In my situation, a two-year contract with an option for three.
Reality
“But you also have to face the reality. If I hadn’t started this well, I could have been out and those plans mean nothing.
“But I accept this risk. And not just me. Every manager, every coach who comes to a new club has to accept that risk. Carlos, I’m sure, is the same. “If the board or the chairman doesn’t like what he sees, he will sack the coach. All you can do is give your best. Even if it’s not enough, you can leave with your head up.” For Leeds, the sternest tests are yet to come. Several of their players – Ezgjan Alioski, Samu Sainz – were plucked from warmer, less physically demanding climes. Recent defeats to rugged Millwall and Cardiff outfits prompted admissions from both Christiansen and defender Pontus Jansson, left, that the Whites must grow some cojones when the going gets tough. “The big guys, like me, we have to take more responsibility,” said Jansson, the giant Swedish centre-back. “Last year, we had the opposite problem. We struggled against the teams who played football and were really good against the physical ones. “But we’ve only played ten games. The new players have learned from every game and they’ve got plenty more learning to do. The next time we play a big, strong team, we’ll be better prepared. We’ll win, and everybody will stop talking about us being weak.”
Mastery
To that end, Jansson – who will be without suspended defensive partner Liam Cooper – has promised to go at Wednesday “like 11 animals”.
“When it just comes out of your mouth, that is no good,” said Christiansen. “If you do it on the field, great.”
Like his players, Christiansen is learning. His fatalistic view of the profession has taught him not to assume a good start equates to a mastery of the Championship. Carvalhal could certainly attest to that.
“As a coach from abroad, you must keep adapting,” he says. “On day one, you have to know about the league. How the other teams play, what they do. The history of your club. The coaches there, the players.
“Then you have to see how your ideas fit in. I have a lot of ideas about how to play – that is why I was appointed.
“But I am not here to commit suicide. I know that some things will work in England and some will not. Along the way, of course I will get defeats. I will use them to learn and improve. Hopefully that will lead to results – because results are the only things that will keep me here.”