Leeds United v Wolves: Warnock’s new faces quick to lay down marker

Twelve months on from a humbling opening-day defeat to newly promoted Southampton that set the tone for a largely unhappy season at Elland Road, new-look Leeds United produced a performance that could not have been more contrasting to those insipid efforts at 
St Mary’s.

Energised by a summer that has seen 10 new faces arrive and another in El-Hadji Diouf likely to follow this week, United claimed a deserved three points against a Wolverhampton Wanderers side boasting plenty of Premier League experience.

Luciano Becchio’s 17th-minute winner meant there was to be no medal for the old gold of Wolves just a week on from the closing ceremony of the Olympics.

It also proved there really is life after Robert Snodgrass, the Leeds talisman who became the latest crowd favourite to leave during the close season in a £3m switch to Norwich City.

For Aidy White, one of just three regulars from last season named in manager Neil Warnock’s 
starting XI, just how quickly things can change over a year was even more apparent with the left-back having failed to make the squad for that ill-fated journey to 
St Mary’s.

“I didn’t even travel to Southampton on the opening day of last season,” said the 21-year-old, who signed a new four-year contract at Elland Road in the summer.

“I was at Farsley playing in the reserves. So, I have come a long way from that and so have the team.

“Maybe it is the manager that is the big change, maybe the new signings. We had a big clearout, squad-wise, and the players who have come in have been excellent. Maybe the fans are getting a buzz off them.

“When you bring people in like Jason Pearce, it is a sign of what you are trying to do – be hard to beat.”

Judging by United’s efforts against one of the three sides relegated from the Premier League in May, White’s assertion about the team put together by Warnock this summer may well prove profound.

Playing at a high tempo, Leeds never gave the visitors a second to settle during a first half in which Wolves manager Stale Solbakken admitted his new charges were second best.

The tone was set in central midfield where the powerful presence of Rodolph Austin, a summer 
arrival from SK Brann in Norway, was keenly felt.

Not only did the Jamaican international produce a couple of bone-crunching tackles to suggest he will quickly be taken to the hearts of the Elland Road faithful but, crucially, he also seems to have the happy knack of being in the right place at the right time to avert danger, particularly on the edge of his own area.

Austin is just the sort of protective barrier in front of the back four that United have lacked in recent seasons, which is why their defensive record has been so 
appalling since winning promotion back to the Championship two years ago.

Alongside Austin, David Norris has also had a promising start to his United career with the flighted pass that sent Luke Varney through on goal during the second half showing he possesses the vision to dovetail nicely with the industry of Austin.

Elsewhere, Pearce and Lee Peltier, named as captain ahead of kick-off, looked much more solid than in the Capital One Cup win over Shrewsbury Town a week earlier.

Another new face, albeit one from the club’s academy, impressed as Sam Bryam kept Matt Jarvis, a £7m target for West Ham United, quiet, while Warnock could also reflect with satisfaction on Paddy Kenny’s role in the goal that sealed a winning start to the campaign.

So pinpoint, in fact, was the 40-yard pass from the United goalkeeper to Ross McCormack that the watching Gary McAllister, working for Sky Sports, would surely have been proud of its accuracy.

It allowed McCormack, fresh from signing a new three-year contract, to control the ball and race forward in one movement before swinging over a cross for Becchio to stoop and head past Carl Ikeme.

United deserved their lead after earlier going close through Austin, and after the break Varney should have done better when played through by a delightful pass from Norris.

Wolves did improve in the second half thanks to the introduction of Slawomir Peszko but, even so, Kenny did not have a save worthy of the name to make as Leeds deservedly claimed the points.

Understandably, the natives went home happy – in direct contrast to a year earlier when defeat at Southampton had led to the first of several protests against the United board ahead of the opening game at Elland Road of 2011-12 against Middlesbrough.

With the protracted takeover saga that has dominated the United agenda this summer continuing to edge closer to a conclusion, the hope now for the players is that a sense of harmony has been restored.

Left-back White said: “What happened on the pitch last season didn’t really help the crowd.

“They come here to see results and see a good performance and be entertained. A lot of the time last season we weren’t there, were we? It was always difficult. We had the change of manager and the period in between and it was very difficult.

“But the manager (Warnock) adjusted things and it was all about building towards this season.”

As for how far United can go this time around, White added: “I wouldn’t put any limits on what we can do.

“Confidence is high and the play-offs would be fantastic but our aim is to get promotion. And with the players who are here, why not?”