Football: Leeds lack special breed

Leeds United 0 Aston Villa 0

THIS WAS dire, but at least George Graham had not donned the virtual reality goggles managers normally wear on these occasions. The match, he agreed, was begging for a piece of individualism. Others could have pinpointed accurate passing and shooting, but no one would fault his analysis.

Genuine Championship contenders have players who do something different, who plant doubts in opponents' minds and so create time. Individualism, in short, and on this evidence neither Leeds nor Villa possess enough of the special breed. That will limit their horizons.

Graham realises this, and his future at Elland Road depends on the board's willingness to address the problem. For months he has been saying Leeds need three players to compete with Arsenal and Manchester United. So far, little or nothing has happened.

"I'm still searching," Graham said when he was reminded, explaining, "It's very difficult to buy players in the first month of the season, unless Newcastle or Chelsea are having a clear-out."

Which prompts the obvious question over why Leeds let the summer go by with only Clyde Wijnhard (pounds 1.5m) and Danny Granville (pounds 1.5m) to show for it. The answer, almost certainly, is money, and that is what is casting doubts about Graham's continuing career at Elland Road.

On the radio beforehand Graham had pooh-poohed suggestions he might join Tottenham - Spurs made an official approach that was rejected yesterday - but was less than adamant he would never leave Leeds. "You never say never in football," he said, which was a barely veiled threat to Leeds' owners.

Villa's John Gregory is more fortunate, and his signing of a new contract suggests he realises this. The selling of Dwight Yorke was not encouraging, but any club which buys Stan Collymore for pounds 7m can not be accused of an unwillingness to gamble with big stakes.

If Gregory could get Stan the Invisible Man to rediscover a striking presence then an alliance with Paul Merson has potential to lift Villa from the "good, but no better" category. They are, like Leeds, sound defensively but lacking something further forward, as a combined total of 12 goals from 12 matches underlines.

Leeds' peak arrived in a flurry, when Ian Harte cut in from the left and thumped a shot against the post so hard the rebound had such a furious pace that Lee Bowyer did not have enough time to aim his header. The goal was gaping but he hit the bar.

Villa were fortunate, as Gregory acknowledged, although they might have won the game after 86 minutes when Robert Molenaar marred an otherwise exemplary day for defenders by chesting a pass with precise care into the path of Julian Joachim. The small striker sped away but pushed his shot wide.

"Both sides are top six," Graham said, "and not ready to join the big boys," an assessment not mirrored by Gregory. "There's room for improvement," he countered, "but you have to remember we are inexperienced at this level. Paul Merson apart, nobody has been top of the Premiership before. We're going to work hard to stay there."

Different men, different thoughts but if these really are the best and third best teams in the Premiership English football is in more trouble than we imagined.

Leeds United (4-3-3): Martyn; Hiden, Radebe, Molenaar, Harte; Bowyer, Hopkin, Ribeiro (Haaland, 75); Halle, Hasselbaink, Kewell (Sharpe, 75).

Substitutes not used: Wetherall, Wijnhard, Robinson (gk).

Aston Villa (3-5-2): Bosnich; Ehiogu, Southgate, Barry; Charles (Grayson, 81), Hendrie, Taylor, Thompson (Draper, 60), Wright; Merson, Joachim.

Substitutes not used: Ferraresi, Vassell, Oakes (gk).

Bookings: Aston Villa: Taylor, Wright.

Referee: J Winter (Stockton-on-Tees).

Man of the match: Southgate.

Attendance: 33,446.