Happy Grayson Day

Happy Grayson Day everyone.

That's foxed you hasn't it? Today is the second anniversary of Simon Grayson's tenure at Leeds United beginning and thus has been decreed (by Thom Kirwin, Yorkshire Radio's Leeds commentator) Grayson Day.

It's been a remarkable two years for the young manager and his team, having taken over a team that was struggling badly under former Leeds captain Gary McAllister, Grayson guided them to the play offs in his first half-season in charge. Promotion followed in the second and now they sit second in the Championship on a run of nine games without a loss.

It was an easy choice for Grayson in the winter of 2008 to take the job. Born a Leeds fan in Ripon he started his playing career at the club but would only manage to make two starts before leaving for a successful career at Leicester. When Ken Bates came calling Grayson was at Leeds before they and his former club Blackpool had managed to sort out any form of compensation. The fee for his services wasn't agreed until April of 2009.

Nine straight defeats and a first game against the league's runaway leaders, and the club Grayson had captained into the promised land of the Premier League, Leicester meant he was thrown in at the deep end straight away. 1-0 down and looking increasingly likely to take their losing run into double figures Grayson threw Robert Snodgrass on for the last 14 minutes and the scott repaid his manager with a last minute equaliser.

In the next 20 games the whites only lost four and charged into the play-offs on top form. Grayson had moved quickly to shore up an increasingly leaky defence with the loan additions of Richard Naylor and Sam Sodje. While big name loan of Lee Trundle never paid off Naylor and Sodje formed arguably the best defensive pairing in the division.

The play-off defeat to Millwall was a hard pill to swallow for Leeds fans but, rather than wallow in a common post-play-off slump Leeds charged out of the blocks at the start of the next season. It all looked so good for the man they call Larry and his team. Top of the league, long unbeaten run and a cup tie against their most hated of rivals Manchester United.

It was that cup tie that started the hardest part of Grayson's tenure at Elland Road. The team had ridden the wave for over a year, nothing could stop them. The feeling of injustice at the play-off loss had urged them on yet again into the new season. The addition of Patrick Kisnorbo proving to be yet another astute signing by Grayson. Then came the day out at Old Trafford. In the 19th minute Jermaine Beckford latched onto Jonny Howson's long ball forward and the rest was history. After years in the wilderness Leeds fans were ecstatic, their closest rivals out-played and comprehensively out-sung by a team from the third division.

Then came the transfer request. Higher teams had long coveted the striking talents of Jermaine Beckford. The striker, plucked from a life repairing car windows, had scored more than 20 goals in every season Leeds had languished in League One. Newcastle were sniffing around and Beckford's agent knew there was more money on offer than Leeds were willing to pay. The next match against Wycombe should have been a celebratory day, a day when the fans and players rejoiced in the previous weeks victory. Instead a stunned and quiet Elland Road watched a dispirited team trudge to a 1-1 draw. Beckford may have withdrawn his request soon after but the wheels were already in motion. Leeds proceeded to loose to the likes of Exeter and Swindon, no real signs of the old team could be seen.

Then, when the wheels were seemingly completely off Grayson pulled it out of the bag again. Since his transfer saga the talismanic Beckford's form had nosedived. It got to the point where the unthinkable happened and Grayson dropped his lead scorer, preferring to pair the energetic Max Gradel with the ever present Luciano Becchio. The two struck up a good partnership and the ship was steadied to an extent. By the time Beckford returned the team was limping its way to promotion. A 4-1 demolition of MK Dons, in which Beckford showed he was truly back, put them in pole position for the final game.

It came down to one game, one game where four different clubs could all seal the second automatic promotion spot, each would occupy that spot at some point during the afternoon but it was Leeds who came out triumphant. Max Gradel lost his heat late in the first half and was sent off, having to be dragged from the pitch by his team-mates. Then, the moment all Leeds fans dreaded. Bristol Rovers took the lead. Another season in the third tier of English football beckoned. Grayson threw on Jonny Howson, dropped because his impact on games had diminished over the previous few months.

In the 59th minute Becchio layed the ball off to Howson, the young Leeds fan, 25 yards out and he hit it. Thirty-seven thousand people watched as the ball flew beyond the desperate grasp of Rovers' keeper Mikkel Anderson and into the net. The comeback had started, the noise inside Elland Road went up dramatically and exploded 5 minutes later when, captain for the day, Beckford bundled the ball home for a second goal. Leeds had finally made it back into the Championship.

The summer was a tricky one for Grayson, Beckford left for a contract at Everton, Kisnorbo was out with a bad injury suffered in a home loss to Millwall a few weeks before and his only usable left back was a central midfielder by trade. Come the start of the season a much changed side lined up against Derby in a new 4-5-1 formation. It was an up and down start to the season. Victories against Watford and Sheffield United were sandwiched between collapses against Barnsley (5-1), Cardiff (4-0) and an embarrassing 6-4 loss to Preston having been 4-1 up. There was no real problem up front but the defence was leaking far too fast.

Loanees were brought in in the shape of George McCartney and Andy O'Brien, another who had been a Leeds fan growing up. But the real change was a change in formation. With the defence leaking so badly Grayson decided to shore it up with two defenders in an anchor role. The 4-2-3-1 formation also allowed Howson, Snodgrass and Gradel license to attack with the free-scoring Becchio.

These four players have played a huge part in Grayson's time at Leeds, repeatedly being the players he can turn to if he needs inspiration. And thus a the current nine-game unbeaten run came about. Leeds now sit above their tormentors Cardiff in the automatic promotion spots in the Championship. The highest position they have held since relegation from the holy-land of the Premier League in 2004.

The work is far from done, but Grayson's job has never been easy. It would be far to easy to say right now that he has been amazing and done nothing wrong, but that would be untrue. Loanees like Trundle, Lee Dickinson and Peter Capaldi have simply not been up to standard. A continuing problem with a leaky defence still troubles Leeds and the job of getting back into the top tier is far from done.

Today he can look back at what he has done with pride, a far bigger task than the one he faced when he took over at Blackpool. The pressure of the Leeds job is immeasurably bigger. Grayson has taken Leeds a long way. The ever-faithful Leeds fans can only hope this continues.