Leeds need new blood

Aston Villa 2 Leeds United

After Leeds' previous defeat by Aston Villa, at Wembley in March, Howard Wilkinson talked of feeling "emotionally disembowelled" by the reaction of their supporters. Unless they show an implausible improvement when the clubs renew Coca-Cola Cup combat on Wednesday, George Graham's return to management may itself start to become a pain in the Arsenal.

The third-round tie at Elland Road, four days before Graham faces a bitter- sweet "homecoming" to Highbury, suddenly assumes enormous significance for Leeds. Following four defeats in five Premiership games under the new regime, not to mention a struggle to see off the might of Darlington, it is a match they dare not lose.

Unhappily for the manager and their impatient support, whose honeymoon is beginning to look as if it was scripted by the House of Windsor, it is also a fixture they appear ill-equipped to win. The superiority of Brian Little's team was as pronounced as in the final or in their other 3-0 encounter at Villa Park in January. Moreover, they will be able to call on Mark Draper and, in all probability, Gareth Southgate.

Yet the player who did most to reinforce Villa's psychological stranglehold over Leeds was embroiled in a forlorn fight against relegation at the time of those triumphs. Serbia's Sasa Curcic, formerly of Bolton, sprayed passes around at angles Leeds did not know existed, as well as dribbling them to distraction.

When it comes to praising his players, Little tends to err on the side of excessive moderation. He was certainly understating the pounds 4m Curcic's contribution when he said: "Because of Sasa's style, he sticks out if he's playing well. There were other people that were just as important but who don't stand out."

None, however, made the impact Curcic achieved, which was all the more impressive given that Mark Ford stuck to him like a skin graft. Hurdling a scything challenge, for which the Leeds limpet was cautioned, he made a 70-yard run to set up Dwight Yorke for the goal which ended almost an hour of impasse.

As Leeds lurched from rugged to ragged, Tommy Johnson sealed their third Midlands defeat in Graham's five weeks in charge. Where, he was asked, did it all go wrong? The words "Rune Hauge" sprang to mind, but his reply was equally simple: "At the back, in midfield and up front."

The assessment was harsh on the three-man defence who, presumably under instructions from the bench, operated more like orthodox centre-backs. That merely played to the strengths of Yorke and especially Johnson, a master of running on to balls played into the channels or into the spaces behind the wing-backs.

Otherwise it was a fair analysis. With Gary McAllister gone, Leeds have no creative force worth the kind of attention they paid Curcic. Lee Sharpe looked a luxury player, slower than in his pomp at Old Trafford, and it is inconceivable that Graham will persevere much longer with Ian Rush, who was 35 yesterday.

Rush, to paraphrase an ancient Anfield adage, has never scored when Leeds have lost... or won... or drawn. The way they pumped long balls aimlessly forward meant Mark Bosnich scarcely had to lift a finger, let alone an arm. Graham acknowledges the need for new blood but is anxious to ensure that "the ones coming in are better than those going out."

Even the man whose midfields at Arsenal famously favoured industry over imagination must have rued the fact that his inheritance did not include Curcic, reputedly one of numerous Wilkinson targets during Leeds' summer of discontent. Revenge over Villa would buy time, but while the pounds 9m squandered on Sharpe and Tomas Brolin underlines the importance of spending carefully, Graham's urgent priority must be to buy players.

Goals: Yorke (58) 1-0; Johnson (65) 2-0.

Aston Villa (3-5-2): Bosnich; Staunton (Scimeca, 42), Ehiogu, Tyler; Nelson, Taylor, Curcic, Townsend, Wright; Yorke, Johnson (Joachim, 81). Substitutes not used: Hendrie, Farrelly, Oakes (gk).

Leeds United (3-5-2): Martyn; Wetherall (Beesley, 65), Jobson, Radebe; Kelly, Wallace, Ford, Palmer (Couzens, 89), Sharpe; Rush, Hateley. Substitutes not used: Harte, Jackson, Beeney (gk).

Referee: G Poll (Tring).

Bookings: Aston Villa: Ehiogu. Leeds: Palmer, Jobson, Rush, Ford, Radebe.

Man of the match: Curcic. Attendance: 39,051.