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The eighth episode of The Square Ball’s 2009-10 season saw Dan Moylan joined by Michael Normanton and Daniel Chapman (Moscowhite) — with Paul O’Dowd (Oddy) absent — for a wide-ranging review of a demanding Easter period for Leeds United.
White Watching covered three fixtures across the holiday weekend. The opening result was difficult: a 0-3 home defeat to Swindon Town, with Billy Paynter scoring twice and Charlie Austin adding a third, was one of the more humbling performances of the season on home turf. Leeds recovered strongly in the two games that followed. A 2-1 away win at Yeovil Town saw Richard Naylor score twice before Dean Bowditch pulled one back for the hosts. The run of fixtures ended with a 2-0 home win against Southend United, Max Gradel and Luciano Becchio the scorers.
The Swindon defeat generated a notable controversy. Jermaine Beckford’s V-sign towards supporters in the South Stand became the main talking point of the episode, with the hosts spending considerable time on the context, the reaction, and what it revealed about the pressure the squad was operating under. The segment was less a straightforward condemnation than an attempt to understand what had prompted the gesture and what it said about the mood in the dressing room at that point of the season.
Season ticket renewal figures also came under examination. With approximately 7,000 to 7,500 renewals registered against a total of around 11,500 available season tickets, the panel considered what the numbers indicated about supporter confidence. A review of the club’s accounts added to the financial picture: an operating profit of approximately £15,000 alongside declining gate receipts raised longer-term questions about the economics of League One football at Elland Road. A rumour that Australian businessman Frank Lowy was interested in a takeover circulated that week and was treated with appropriate scepticism.
The main feature was False Dawns — a historical survey of moments when Leeds United supporters had allowed themselves to believe the corner had been turned. Alan Clark’s brief tenure in 1980, the forced dissolution of Leeds City in 1918, the signing of Tomas Brolin, the 1992-93 title defence collapse, striker Frank Strandli, and the Ridsdale era were each examined as episodes that combined genuine initial promise with outcomes the club would rather forget.
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