Leeds United out of the FA Cup. It's done. Let's move on.

Article by Jeremy Taylor 

I know it's a strong temptation to exorcise anger and frustration at what was an utterly toothless performance at Rochdale. It's also important that the players and the manager understand the one thing we won't tolerate at Elland Road is a lack of effort. But, as fans we need to be mindful that we don't get carried away and end up being over-vocal as a result of what's built up over a longer period of time. We need to put things into perspective.

After all, we're not the only side to fall victim to a 'giant killing' this year, or any year for that matter. Look at what happened to West Ham yesterday. Not necessarily a 'giant killing' I'll admit, but it was a Premier League side receiving an utter hiding from a team in a lower division. The manager got it wrong and he held his hands up. It happens. It's the FA Cup and it's famous for such things.

Ask yourself this. What's the bigger shame; the current Leeds United side in transition with a bloated squad of players who know they have no future at the club, losing a match to a fired up Rochdale in front of their home crowd. Or, a Manchester United team packed with world class footballers being managed by the most successful club manager in footballing history, losing to a League one club with a historic rivalry. What's the bigger embarrassment?

Let me repeat. What we saw on Saturday is wholly unacceptable and the players need to know that. I believe Brian when he says they are hurting. I also believe him when he says that it ranked up there in the worst moments of his career. There are not many crowds as vociferous in their aggression than a humiliated bunch of Leeds United fans. But it's done and it's gone and we have plenty to be positive about, still. In case you’ve forgotten…

We are a point away from the playoffs.

We have entered into a transfer window and for the first time in a long, long time there’s no likelihood of losing key players, only gaining new ones.

We're about to be (re)taken over by a consortium with money and a passion for the club.

We have a great manager who will lead us back to the Premier League before long.

And yes, I firmly believe the last point. Suggesting Brian McDermott should be sacked, as many Leeds fans have done on blogs and comment boards over the past day or so, is utterly ridiculous. The term knee-jerk doesn’t even come close. It doesn't even bear thinking about what would happen if he left now.

We're not Manchester City or Chelsea and we have absolutely no right to expect a manager to come on board and for us to suddenly win and win and win football matches. Clubs like Chelsea and Man City have big squads filled with world-class players that collectively cost well in excess of a quarter of a billion pounds. As a manager, when you take over a squad like that you know and expect that failure to win matches isn't tolerated, hence the hot seat churn at clubs like that.

However, when you take over a squad full of players that are both practically worthless and generally not good enough to perform at the level you require then a period of rebuilding is required and anything other then total failure is usually overlooked for a period as a result. We must not forget that the only reason we still have an ageing and under par squad is because no other club would consider taking them off our hands. These players are going no-where until their contracts run out at the end of the season. We mustn’t underestimate how restrictive these bodies are in terms of rebuilding. McDermott constantly toes the ‘only look at the next match’ line, but in terms of his squad he’ll already have one eye on next season for sure.

When Brian McDermott joined Leeds United he quickly realised that the whole club, not just the team, needed reforming and rebuilding - such was the state of decay at all levels. What he's done in under a year is remarkable and at present we are over achieving. Some will point out that we were in the same place last year under Warnock apart from we also had a good cup run to wash it down with, and it's very difficult to argue with that point. But I'm going to try.

We're at a crossroads. The same as last year when the wheels dramatically fell off for Neil Warnock; who basically ranted his way to Christmas amidst a fog of lucky results, hoof ball and at times simply bundling the ball into the net. I'd even go as far as to say he rode his luck right up to Christmas 2012 before it finally ran out and we fell to pieces before hurtling towards relegation. Had Warnock stayed on I think we'd have gone down. The question is are we facing the same scenario now? I’d say no, not by a long way.

Brian's past record shows his teams gel and march into the second half of the season whilst growing in strength towards a strong finish. All the signs (apart from the past 4 weeks admittedly) have pointed to this repeating.

His statement about "I'll use it as a complete and utter driver" resonated with me and I'd be very surprised if this mental approach isn't something Brian hasn't used to great effect before. The last time McDermott was under pressure like this we came out and destroyed Birmingham City as a response. I'll bet there was a 'driver' involved in that pre-match dressing room speech too.

I'm being rather predictive here and as a consequence could be left with egg all over my face, but my hunch is that we'll see a different Leeds United at Hillsborough at the weekend. They'll be a bit worried about it too, or at least if they aren't then they should be.

I'm even going to put it out there that the humiliation we suffered on Saturday was a blessing in disguise. Not only has it probably given certain players (*cough, Austin) the shake they needed but it's also happened at the right time. McDermott will use it as a fog horn in the dressing room in a way that should coincide with a surge in focus that comes from new signings arriving.

I'd expect McDermott to be saying things like "the rest of our season starts now". After all, if we were offered a point off the playoffs at this stage back at the beginning of the season we'd have all gladly taken it.

The fact is, IF; and it's a big IF, we improve now and start playing football and winning matches then we will be in the playoffs at the end of the season. We’re four wins and 12 points off automatic promotion with 23 games and 69 points left to fight for. There's a whole lot more twists and turns left yet.

We could well see the Rochdale result as the defining moment of our season, the turning point. Let's see if I'm right or wrong come 5.30pm on Saturday. Until then...

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