Amongst all the talk of wage deferrals, appeals to the Football League and how we’re going to avoid going into administration, it might have escaped everyone’s attention that there is a football match taking place at Elland Road tomorrow when we face Doncaster Rovers.
The deferral of 50% of the players wages for March can hardly have improved the morale of the dressing room, but when Brian McDermott spoke to the official site he was calling for a much improved performance to atone for the embarrassment of yet another poor performance on Tuesday night.
"We have to have a fighting performance. The only thing that matters is winning the next game. We beat Millwall last time out here in a game we needed to win and we’re looking for another home win against Doncaster. We were well beaten in midweek at Bournemouth and we have to come back from that.”
There are quite a few selection issues to sort out before kick-off. Byram and Austin both took knocks against Bournemouth and will have late fitness tests, as will Warnock, who was absent on Tuesday night with some unspecified problem. Some will be pleased that Jimmy Kebe is still out with a hamstring injury, and Jack Butland is likely to continue in goal even though Paddy Kenny has now got back to fitness.
Doncaster need the points to pull away from the relegation zone, though Millwall’s poor form at the bottom has left them in a relatively comfortable position. They are now eight points above the bottom three, although South Yorkshire rivals Barnsley have a game in hand. But McDermott is expecting a tough game against a side managed by one-time Leeds striker Paul Dickov.
Rovers have signed veteran Australian defender Lucas Neill on loan from Watford, though Dickov has hinted that he will stick with the same back four who have served him well in the last few matches. If Neill is included then James Coppinger will move back to his usual midfield role to accommodate him. They have no injury problems for tomorrow’s game.
For different reasons the two sets of fans will have plenty to moan about tomorrow. There is bound to be some sort of impromptu demonstration outside the East Stand by fans not sure if they’re complaining about GFH or the Football League, or whether it should be both. And Donny fans have been moaning on their unofficial sites about being £36 for tickets. If they think a match against their club isn’t worthy of Category A status I’ll have to say I agree with them.
As for the match itself, it could well be another dispiriting Leeds performance, so maybe the best we can hope for will be a draw.