This weekend sees Mothering Sunday, that time we all nip out, get a card and spoil our mothers rotten. But March is also a celebration of something else, something musical.
It is 40 year ago since London-based punk rock band The Clash released seminal song White Riot, March 18 1977 to be exact. Probably more better known for songs such as ‘London Calling’, ‘Rock the Casbah’ and ‘I Fought the Law’, nonetheless ‘White Riot’ is a near-two minute spank-thru of class-based economics intertwined with issues of race.
Lyricist Joe Strummer was said to be appealing to white youths and looking for some sort of reaction to the mediocrity of the mid-70’s UK society. Amongst its lines is a signal of positivity: “Are you taking over / Or are you taking orders? / Are you going backwards / Or are you going forwards?”
That quartet of lines pretty much sums up what can be said to be Leeds United this season, a season with just eight games left. Gone is the sense that there is someone at the club running it on their orders, replaced by a sense that common sense is taking over. Current incumbent head coach Garry Monk has been at the helm since the start of the season, something of a rarity seeing that Leeds had six managers in the previous two seasons.
In a sense Leeds United are looking backwards, and when they do so they see an ever-widening gap between themselves and the pack chasing a play-off place. Eight points, or nearly three wins, separate Leeds in fourth and Fulham in seventh – a Play-Off place looking more secure with every passing game.
Leeds are definitely going forward though, especially when you consider the struggles of the previous seasons where fans grew impatient due to stagnation and mediocrity playing out their hands. That’s all very much ‘last season’ in a season where United seem to just be rumbling along and picking up the points – grinding out those points as and when they are needed.
Leeds have games against the following teams as they look at a run-in to what could turn out to be their best season for a long time: Reading, Brentford, Preston, Newcastle United, Wolves, Burton, Norwich and Wigan. Of these games, three are against teams in the top third of the table (Reading, Newcastle and Norwich), three are against sides in the middle third of the table (Brentford, Preston and Wolves) and two against sides in the bottom third of the table (Burton and Wigan).
It doesn’t look that daunting a run-in…if you take Newcastle United out of the equation of course. From all the sides other than Newcastle, Leeds have picked up points – winning every game barring the home game against Wigan that ended 1-1. In short, of all the reverse fixtures against their remaining eight opponents, Leeds have picked up 19 points from a possible 24 on offer. In picking up these 19 points, Leeds United have scored 14 goals and conceded just six times.
In a season where many Leeds United fans expected their side to be breaking rocks in the hard sun, it seems that instead every clash could be turning into a Whites riot.
