https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/nov/18/garry-monk-revived-leeds-united-rafael-benitez-buoyant-newcastle
The “sold out” signs have been dug out and dusted down as Leeds United <https://www.theguardian.com/football/leedsunited>prepare for a first full house in six years. A capacity 38,000 crowd is expected to pack Elland Road on Sunday when Rafael Benítez’s Championship-topping Newcastle United <https://www.theguardian.com/football/newcastleunited> aim to extend an eight-game winning streak and Garry Monk’s sixth-placed Leeds United hope to emphasise their play-off credentials. The two managers, by succeeding where several predecessors failed and managing to exercise varying degrees of control over two of the game’s more idiosyncratic club owners in Massimo Cellino and Mike Ashley, have already achieved the unexpected but Monk can cast only covetous eyes at Benítez’s budget. “Newcastle’s squad is high calibre for this league so we’re going to be tested but my players are ready,” he says, sitting behind his desk at the slightly run-down Leeds training base near Wetherby once patrolled by, among others, George Graham, David O’Leary and Terry Venables. “Newcastle are where they deserve to be but they’re also where they’re expected to be, so there’s big pressure on them. “On paper they should win every game but football’s not like that. Let’s hope it’s one of those days when it doesn’t work out for them. “It’s going to be difficult – in my old Swansea midfielder Jonjo Shelvey they’ve got a fantastic <https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/nov/16/newcastle-jonjo-shelvey-pleads-not-guilty-fa-charge-racist-language> talent and a dangerous player who loves the big stage – but we know we have enough in the dressing room to make it difficult for them. We’re unbeaten in seven games at Elland Road and we want to make it eight.” As with Benítez’s players, the Leeds squad have spent this season slowly repairing frayed bonds with their supporters and, following a slightly sticky start, mutual trust seems to be returning. “I’ve got a very young squad and apprehension among the players contributed to early results,” says Monk, who arrived in West Yorkshire in June and is seeing a series of solid summer signings, most notably the impressive Swedish defender Pontus Jansson <https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/nov/10/tammy-abraham-pontus-jansson-championship-most-eye-catching-players>, proving their worth. “Elland Road can be a difficult place for us as well as the away team but we’ve been rebuilding our relationship with the fans and they’re buying into what we’re trying to do. The fans and the players are starting to respond to each other. We want regular full houses. We want to make Elland Road our fortress again.” It seems an awful long time since the match planners pinned on the training ground walls detailed the Champions League adventures of 2000-01 under O’Leary, let alone 1991-92 when Gary Speed shone in the Leeds midfield as Howard Wilkinson’s side took the title. Speed later became a stalwart at Newcastle and his death in 2011 <https://www.theguardian.com/football/2012/jan/30/gary-speed-taking-life-inquest>hit both clubs hard, so it seems thoroughly appropriate that, with Sunday’s match falling close to the fifth anniversary of it on 27 November, the entire ground will stage a special tribute. In the 11th minute both sets of supporters will remember their much missed No11 by breaking into a minute’s applause. “That’s vitally important; Gary was a legend for both clubs but I know the Leeds fans regard him as one of their own,” Monk says as sleet begins falling from leaden skies outside. “The day it happened I was playing for Swansea at home to Aston Villa and I couldn’t really believe it was true. I was alongside Ashley Williams – who’d been part of Gary’s Wales squad – in defence and I had to really nurse him through the game. It was a strange feeling.” Speed would surely have appreciated the renaissances under way at his former clubs, not to mention the mutual respect between their two managers. It is almost three years <https://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/feb/20/swansea-napoli-europa-league-match-report> since Benítez and Monk first crossed swords when Swansea faced Napoli in the Europa League, with the Welsh side losing 3-1 on aggregate. “I’d only just become Swansea manager and Rafa was brilliant with me,” Monk recalls. “Afterwards we had a really good chat. It wasn’t one where he just shook hands and said he had to get on the bus. He sat down and talked for a long time, offering me advice and recalling his experiences as a young manager. I’ve got the highest respect for Rafa. His career’s been second to none so it’s great to come up against him, pit my wits against his tactics and try and win.” Monk, like Benítez, is essentially a football romantic who wants his teams to play pure passing football but, like the Spaniard, he has learnt to be pragmatic when necessary. “I’ve probably sacrificed a bit of what I truly believe in but, since I changed the style a little bit, results have improved,” he concedes. “That’s been a lesson to me.” _______________________________________________ Leedslist mailing list Info and options: http://mailman.greennet.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/leedslist To unsubscribe, email leedslist-unsubscr...@gn.apc.org MARCHING ON TOGETHER
