The data analyst in me wants to chart our results against off-pitch turmoil. Without doing much research I’d hazard a guess to suggest it’s a pretty clear correlation. A ridiculous Massimo statement = instability and losses. Andrew Umbers doing anything at all = instability and losses. Same goes for Salerno. When Redders was partnered with Thompson and allowed to focus on the football, we started winning.

Spooky, right? As I sit here at nearly 11pm on Monday night having got home from the Wolves match I don’t remember a single moment today where I expected a win. With the club seemingly hell-bent on ostracizing Redders (who cut a lonely figure against Blackburn laying cones out himself ahead of warm-up), it’s very hard to enter an away fixture against a team chasing the playoffs and expect good things. Were things stable and quiet behind the scenes, with Thompson assisting, with contracts clear and underway, I’d have backed Leeds to pull off an upset. We’re not so good at winning when we’re supposed to, but when you look back at Middlesbrough’s season, that one little “L” in a rich run of form will always stand for Leeds.

It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog – they say. Alas, Salerno/Umbers had effectively been jamming marshmallows filled with ketamine into this particular dog’s mouth, so while the fan in me craved a victory, the fact Emilia Clarke hasn’t yet appeared in my shower shows that what you want and what you get are two very different things indeed.

Team selection

With Austin starting a 3 match ban and Cook still carrying an injury those were two mandatory changes. Bellusci was apparently injured too, but it’s possible he’s been dropped for either a woeful performance against Blackburn or the (still) unsubstantiated rumour of him celebrating Steve Thompson’s dismissal. Morison was dropped too. You could argue it’s because he only played on Saturday, or because he’s simply not very good.

This meant that Cooper came in for Bellusci, Antenucci in for Morison and Phillips in for Austin. I like the decision to start Kalvin Phillips, a unit of a lad who has cut his teeth in the development squad being box-to-box. From what I’ve seen he likes a shot as much as he likes a full-blooded tackle. While there’s inevitably a section of our support wondering why we’re handing a debut to the lad away from home against a better side, it’s beautiful because it doesn’t matter. Win or lose our fortunes don’t really change.

So why not blood a youngster in a difficult game? It’s good practice. Not like Cook being brought on for his senior debut losing against Millwall in the first game of the season, Neil knows what he’s doing.

What was terrific was how keen and supportive the other academy products were of him. Mowatt, Taylor and Byram all taking to social media congratulating him on the debut. I say it every time don’t I, but THIS is what I want from Leeds. Lads playing for each other.

Onto the game, then…

Match performance

Leeds started brightly and while we showed the same defensive fragility we did against Blackburn, we were showing a bit of intent. Through some sharp pressing we forced an error at the back which allowed Charlie Taylor to slot home his first senior goal for the club. As the players slid on their knees in-front of the away support it seemed too good to be true. The sun was shining and Leeds were winning after little over 10 minutes. Somewhere Steve Morison was fuming that such chances didn’t fall to him, but he’d have put it out for a throw-in anyway so perhaps it’s best that it didn’t.

Wolves went on to assert themselves on the game, understanding that their astonishing pace and incisive passing could do significant damage to a clumsy Leeds defense. In Dicko, Sako and Afobe they had three very direct, fast players who just pulled us to pieces. Scott Wootton isn’t a natural right-back and it really showed, while Berardi is keen to advance forwards he often was caught out of position when their pacey players attacked. Cue a mad scramble as Cooper and Bamba miss headers, Taylor and Byram overlap to add men behind the ball while Antenucci stands on the half way line wondering why Andrew Umbers keeps glaring at him.

8 minutes later the score was level as Dicko broke free once more and hit a scorching shot beyond Silvestri’s fingertips. He was afforded the opportunity by Leeds repeated stand-off defending and refusal to press – a trend that would be repeated for a further 80 minutes.

The first half was tense as Wolves continued to employ this successful formula with the whites offering very little. It was reminiscent of Hockaday/Milanic football, if I’m brutally honest, as Leeds did little more than walk the ball across the width of the pitch. The ball would come to Wootton who wouldn’t know what to do, so he’d play it inside to Murphy, who would look for options, see none, and pass to Phillips. Kalvin on his debut seemed a bit shy, so did little more than return the square ball. This would repeat for a while until someone gets frustrated and hits an over-ambitious ball towards Taylor/Antenucci.

Many of our goal kicks went straight through to theirs. Lofted balls were comfortably collected by the Wolves back line who pendulously then swung into attack. The frustration was tangible, Mowatt being the only one really trying to show movement. Murphy was his tenacious self but ultimately lacked sufficient options to capitalise on the possession in those brief moments when we looked like going forwards.

Byram, Taylor and Antenucci started coming deep to pick up the ball which gave us even less in the final third. Instead of employing the slick overlapping passing play we’ve come to expect from this young side, we resorted to hitting it long. I can’t criticise Antenucci for failing to convert anything because he simply had no service. Just before the break Wolves went ahead as Sako released Dicko behind the dozy Leeds defense who smashed it home past Silvestri.

Completely deserved, but disappointing.

Leeds grew into the second half a bit more, with Mowatt looking the most likely to make something happen, but a classic pinball moment in the Leeds area allowed Afobe to stab the ball into the roof of the net to take it to 3-1. Again, deserved. Leeds hadn’t shown anywhere near enough fight and were being undone by a team actually playing for something. It was perhaps typified by Sam Byram eying a player in white doing the rarest of things, some direct attacking movement to get in behind the Wolves back line. So he played an angled through-ball to Billy Sharp. The obvious problem being the green tabard draped over the fat-lad’s torso. Alas, Billy was warming up and had not yet been introduced.

But one must commend the courage of this young side, as they continued to clumsily try to create something, an incisive move forced a mistake as Batth put the ball into his own net on 65 minutes bringing the match back to 3-2. Leeds got some fire in their bellies and Wolves suddenly seemed unsure of themselves; our passing sharpened up, we were more expansive, more incisive and started asking questions of the Midland side.

Chances were in short supply, though, so it took another moment of brilliance from Alex Mowatt to level the game. He ran from deep and parallel to the goal as Wolves refused to commit a foul on the edge of the area. Alex then unleashed that incredible left foot to bend a shot into the top corner to the delight of the Leeds fans. If Wolves were unsure of the result at 3-2, they were dejected at 3-3.

True to form though, the home side managed to snatch a winner as Leeds failed to prevent balls being played into the area, be it from free-kicks given away too softly (I wouldn’t call it a good day for the officials, if I’m honest) or classic clumsy defending. A deadly header into the top corner secured the victory for them and if I’m perfectly honest, it’s fair. Leeds offered far, far too little to warrant a win.

Not that we needed one.

Do it for Redders

It says something about my frame of mind that the primary reason I wanted a win was so that Redfearn could stand defiantly in the dugout, with Umbers frowning from up high, Neil’s brass testicles glowing in the Spring sun. I wanted a win for Redders more than for me. I wanted him to have this to make a point.

Judging by the players’ activities on social media, Liam Cooper seems fond of favouriting Tweets in favour of Neil and I expect he’s not alone.

I didn’t see or hear a single real fan make a single sound in opposition of Neil. In fact the renditions of “One Neil Redfearn” were not only loud and well participated, but they were met with approving applause and Leeds salutes from the man himself.

I couldn’t be more behind Neil. I really couldn’t. I want Steve Thompson back. I want Nicola Salerno out. I want Matt Childs back. I want Andrew Umbers to fall down the stairs. I don’t necessarily want Massimo to sell, I just want him to shut up and disappear. He can fund the club, he can be involved to a point, but we’re best when he’s a quiet investor and not the rampaging unpredictable media darling he thinks he needs to be. But seeing as he’ll never be able to be a quiet, sane owner, I fail to see how we can progress without him either changing or selling.

On that note, it’s late and I’m going to bed and deal with publishing this tomorrow. In Neil I trust completely. I’m told Salerno has left Leeds (having been sufficiently scapegoated for his role in the Thompson sacking he’s no longer needed it seems) and we’re only a week or two away from the mad Italian returning.

I can’t imagine that things are going to calm down, but we might get some decisions made. I hope to God Lucas Radebe that after the dust settles and the decisions are made, that we’re facing a future that not only has Neil Redfearn in it, but Sam Byram, Lewis Cook, Charlie Taylor and Alex Mowatt. Without those five together, what’s the point?

On and on.

Oh and Luke Varney scored today. Karma hasn’t quite caught up with the cheating weasel yet.

Yet.