Leeds stand united in grief for fallen fans at Elland Road

At 2pm yesterday, Leeds United remembered.

For Jesse Marsch, who has spent most of his career managing clubs used to flog energy drinks, and his Leeds players, some of whom were not even born on April 5, 2000, it was hopefully a few minutes that will have hammered home what - and who - the badge on their black hoodies stands for.

History matters at a football club. They are about more than just 11 blokes kicking an artificial pig’s bladder around a piece of grass. They represent an identity, a way of life. Twenty-two years ago, Kevin Speight and Christopher Loftus’s devotion to it cost them their lives, murdered in Istanbul the night before they planned to watch their team in a UEFA Cup semi-final first leg.

That shared identity is what makes Leeds greater than the sum of their parts, what conjured unlikely wins over Norwich City and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Speaking to the assembled crowd wanting to pay their respects on a cold, windy day in Leeds, supporter Gareth Senior, reading off his phone so as not to miss any important points, struck a difficult balance to give those behind him who did not already know a clearer idea of who they are representing.

He started by demanding Kalvin Phillips, the Leeds-born midfielder coveted by so many top clubs after his starring performances at the European Championships, be sold immediately if he ever again wore the shoes he turned up to Saturday’s match in.

It both lightened the mood and was a friendly Yorkshire warning - he might be mixing with superstars now, but never get carried away with yourself.

But there was a serious edge too, and Senior to his immense credit was unafraid to express it. He made it clear the grieving families felt their club should have done more to mark the anniversary on the pitch. Leeds will tell you they did mark it - there was a piece in the programme but only a small one - but know after this reminder they need to do more.

In Leeds’s defence, they made amends for their misjudgment - oversight, call it what you will - yesterday, rolling out the entire squad to pay their respects and setting, in chief executive Angus Kinnear’s word, a “benchmark” for future Aprils.

They have handled a horrible pandemic well in marking the passing of too many of Don Revie’s former players, and opened their doors to help those raising funds for former players like Brendon Ormsby and Stacey Daniels. They got it wrong on Saturday but are not bad guys.

Yesterday allowed the players to show something we rarely see from Premier League footballers - their human sides.

Phillips took his punishment, then posed for countless photographs with supporters - even taking some himself. So did his team-mates, and Marsch.

As emotion started to get the better of Senior, there was a comforting arm on his right shoulder. It belonged to Liam Cooper, Leeds’s captain.

Like Phillips, he gets it.

Afterwards, the fans decamped to The Old Peacock. Cooper, Stuart Dallas and others put their hands in their pockets and money behind the bar.

It is important Phillips, Cooper and Dallas pass on their understanding of what it means to wear the shirt onto those players some of whom had probably barely heard of Leeds, never mind Leeds United, before their agents first mentioned the name.

“We’ve got a fantastic balance in the squad of local players who know what it is to be Leeds and I think they do a great job in translating the importance of the club, the history of it and the heritage and what needs to be given on the pitch,” says Kinnear.

“They were all prepared to take some time out of their schedules to come from Thorp Arch to Elland Road and be part of a moment that was important to the families.”

It is a strength the club has to make use of to compete with clubs with bigger bank balance.

“It’s really important,” says the chief executive. “Since Andreas (Radrizzani, the chairman) took over we’ve opened the doors to all our playing legends from Eddie Gray, who is part of the furniture, here every day, a bellwether for the club and a supporter of everybody, to the older legends who still work here on a matchday and some of the more modern legends.

“We now have Jermanie (Beckford) involved in the club regularly, we had Erik Bakke and Mark Viduka back for our last couple of games.

“Having players who understand what it is to play for Leeds around the club, around the team and around the staff can only make us stronger.”

Knowing what you are is increasingly important in this ever-more cosmopolitan game.

For Leeds, the events of Istanbul are part of that.

If they ever lose sight of it, there will be plenty ready to hold them to account.