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September 15, 2002
(Sunday)
Woodgate
overshadows "stand-in" Rio
The pre-match
headlines may have centred on Rio Ferdinand, but his
hotly-anticipated return to Elland Road was overshadowed by a
performance from a player he was apparently bought to stand in for.
Jonathan Woodgate produced another exemplary display which had boss
Terry Venables purring with delight, one which proved the dark days
are behind him and was the foundation for Leeds' first victory over
Manchester United for five years.
Ferdinand, in contrast, was often far from his customary composed
self as mistakes crept in.
The venomous reception he had been expecting from Leeds fans still
fuming at his £30million defection to Old Trafford in the summer
never fully materialised.
There were taunts, while boos and jeers greeted his every touch, and
yet it could have been so much worse for the 23-year-old centre-back,
who still appeared to be knocked out of his confident stride.
There were two first-half mix-ups with Fabien Barthez and an
uncharacteristic hash of a simple ball out of defence to Harry
Kewell, a player he also allowed to ghost in for the winning 66th-
minute header as Leeds ended a nine-match winless run against United.
Former Leeds team-mate Woodgate, whose career was effectively put on
hold for two years as he struggled to cope with the effects of a
court case.
Sir Alex Ferguson's side were unable to find a way past Woodgate and
Dominic Matteo in the first half, and then Lucas Radebe in the second.
Venables was full of admiration for Woodgate as he said: "He missed
the start of the season through injury and so it was Radebe playing
with Dom.
"But he's come back and he was excellent at Newcastle. I was told he
never gave away a foul in the whole game.
"He was just immaculate up there and I thought he was outstanding
again against Manchester United. He was great."
Radebe added: "He's made a great comeback. He had a terrible two
years, but I think with Woody's character he was always going to
prove himself and be great.
"You always knew that when he did come back he would come in and make
the position his own. That's what he's done, and with a performance
like against United you can't fault him.
"It's a great feeling. This is the best day for the fans, for the
team and for the manager. We've been dreaming of this moment for a
long time. It's about time we turned the tables and got one over on
them."
Radebe also had sympathy for what Ferdinand had been through in as he
added: "He came in for a lot of stick, but he's a big guy.
"It was always going to be difficult but he's quality and it won't
affect him. Nothing can destabilise quality players."
Woodgate survived two penalty appeals in the first half ¡V a shirt tug
on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and a block on Nicky Butt.
Referee Jeff Winter also declined to punish David Beckham for
elbowing Lee Bowyer, merely awarding a free-kick.
Nevertheless, Ferguson complained of bad luck.
"Everyone says they were penalties, but to be honest we're getting
some horrendous decisions going against us at the moment," he said.
"That happens in football. You go through a period when you don't get
any breaks. They even themselves out, we hope, as the season goes on
and maybe in a few weeks we will start getting decisions.
"But it was a clear-cut penalty. I don't know what the referees' job
is. They seem to be afraid to make decisions."
Successive defeats to Leeds and Bolton has ensured this is United's
worst start to a season since the inception of the Premiership a
decade ago.
Ferguson added: "There's no question we are lacking a cutting edge
because the quality of our play and teamwork is good, while there's
resilience as we are defending very well.
"We just have to dig in at this moment in time. It's not easy, but
that's the character that comes into it and I think their character
is okay."
The match was marred by an incident involving Barthez, who kicked his
bottle through his net after conceding the goal, hitting a fan in the
process, leading to a complaint against the France international
which West Yorkshire police are investigating.
Eleven arrests were also made as fighting between rival sets of
supporters broke out on several occasions outside the ground,
resulting in injuries to two police officers.
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