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It is clear that Leeds Utd have messed up badly in the sale of tickets to those who queued at Elland Road overnight.

The club and police allowed the overnighters to be displaced by latecomers who pushed into the queue this morning. As usual, the police and club wrung their collective hands and did nothing constructive and allowed the genuine fans to lose out the selfish, “me-first” parasites who are such a prevalent party of the welfare society in the country. Understandably, there were ugly scenes when the “sold out ” signs went up.

It is incredible that the club were unable to fairly distribute the tickets in the 21st century. They could have spent £50 on cloakroom tickets and handed them out to the overnighters, thus preventing anyone buying a ticket the following day until all such tickets had been redeemed at the ticket office. What’s up? Too difficult to think of? Couldn’t find an employee willing to spend overnight with the REAL fans handing out the tickets?

While we support Ken Bates on this site wholeheartedly, we have to say that on this occasion he, or his staff, screwed up big time and it is not the sort of mistake that is quickly forgiven, especially by parents whose offspring lost out on a chance to see the Whites at Wembley. He owes those who lost out a public apology - over to you Ken…

As a sop the club have announced that the Conference and Exhibition Centre at Elland Road will be open to show the game live on big screens. Not much consolation for the genuine fan screwed by the behaviour of the shameless minority.

The Football League have chosen second-rate Andy D’Urso as the referee for the League One Play-Off Final at Wembley between Leeds United and Doncaster Rovers.

D’Urso, once a FIFA and a Premier League referee is now on the lower League lists.

At least he is used to high profile games but he will be forever remembered for back-pedalling from a snarling pack of Man Utd players (Stam, Butt, Beckham, and Gary Neville), led by an out of control Roy Keane, after awarding a penalty against the Man Utd without realising that Sir Alex had forbidden such practices against his team at Old Trafford

However, his indellible memory for Leeds Utd fans will be of being in charge of the travesty of an FA Cup tie at Ninian Park, where Alan Smith was dismissed on the pitch, Cardiff chairman Sam Hamman paraded around the pitch inciting the Cardiff fans during the game, protected by a convicted football hooligan, and where Leeds fans were attacked off the pitch by Cardiff fans and outside the ground by South Wales police dogs.

(Did the South Wales police ever discipline an officer for their behaviour that day - including the assault on the president of a Leeds United Supporters Club as he was boarding a coach? Thought not).

D’Urso played a major role in the 2-1 defeat at Cardiff. He allowed Gavin Gordon to stay on the pitch after disabling Rio Ferdinand, the Leeds captain. “He nearly broke his ankle,” said then Leeds manager David O’Leary.

Dopey D’Urso then dismissed Alan Smith for a foul on Cardiff’s Legg, who admitted, “I was holding him and he was trying to shake me off, and caught me in the mouth. I got a cut lip.” In an attempt to seem less like a wimp he then alleged that Smith had “…kicked me earlier on off the ball but I ignored it.” There’s a hero, boyo!

David O’Leary was incensed by Andy D’Urso’s red card against Smith, “It was a disgraceful decision,” said the Leeds manager.

Presciently, O’Leary added. “I am wondering whether there is an agenda against Smith; referees are very quick to jump on him.”

O’Leary’s words were later proved correct when the comments of a referee’s conference were leaked which, indeed, confirmed that Smith was a pre-determined target. (Of course, once Smith moved to the Theatre of Queens he came under the protection of the Red Knight, Sir Alex Fergybum and none of the evil black dwarfs dare approach the “blond one” and he was saved from further persecution).

Back to this season and Andy D’Urso has refereed Leeds United twice already. Firstly; in the 3-0 League Cup defeat to Portsmouth in August and secondly; in the 2-0 home win over Walsall in March 2008.

In these games D’Urso only issued a total of four yellow cards, two against Leeds and two against their opposition, so hopefully he will continue this even-handed restraint in Sunday’s final.

The fact that there were no cards at all issued in the Carlisle Utd v Leeds Utd semi-final tie gives every hope for an exciting final not ruined by the inequality that a red card brings to a game.

Carlisle Utd 0 Leeds Utd 2 (2-3 on aggregate)
League One Play-off semi-final 2nd leg

Carlisle United - Westwood, Raven, Livesey, Murphy, Horwood, Dobie, Lumsdon, Bridge-Wilkinson, G Smith, Hackney, Graham. Unused subs - Howarth, Arnison, Thirlwell, Taylor, Madine.

Leeds United - Ankergren, Richardson, Huntington, Douglas, Prutton, Beckford, Howson, Johnson, Michalik, Kilkenny, Freedman. Unused subs - Marques, Carole, Kandol, Hughes, Lucas.

Justice was served in a large measure last night when the team that got 91 points on the pitch during the season and missed the League One title by two points got to the Wembley play-off final. 

The 2-0 Leeds Utd victory over Carlisle United came courtesy of local Leeds lad Jonny Howson scoring in each half.

It was a stunning victory - an adjective often over-used in football but appropriate for this match. Howson scored with 90 minutes and 40 seconds on the clock just as the stadium announcer had said that there would be only one minute of added time. The referee played an extra minute after the goal and Carlisle managed to get the ball in the box but didn’t threaten the Leeds goal and then it was all over. Leeds fans and players celebrated and the Carlisle Utd players were understandably shocked, some in tears.

The fact that there was so little added time was due to the spirit in which the game was played. The game had no bookings - surely a record for a second leg play-off match - and no substitutions. I cannot remember the last time I saw that in a game.

Carlisle United and their fans must feel like they have had something taken from them but in truth the job was only half done after the first leg victory and the overall result was fair.

Carlisle had a better chance than Leeds of securing automatic promotion during the regular season and blew it at the death.

They dominated the 1st leg at Elland Road but didn’t play to the final whistle and how important Dougie Freedman’s goal was to be. Last night was the reverse of the first tie, with Leeds dominating the match for long periods with Carlisle limited to a handful of chances compared the hatful they made in the first leg. The Leeds midfield played the ball around last night, having been AWOL in the first leg. The Leeds fullbacks, Bradley Johnson and Frazer Richardson were more effective in defence in preventing the crosses that had made Carlisle so dangerous in the first leg and both were tireless in attack, Johnson hitting the post late on with a header and Richardson linking up with the attack and pumping in cross after cross. Jonathan Douglas deserves credit for his hard work in front of the defence too. Worthy of mention was Carlisle-born Paul Huntington who suffers dog’s abuse all night from the home fans but that would have been light relief compared to the threatening phone calls he received earlier in the year from the brain-dead sections of Carlisle’s support - no one savoured the Howson goal more than Paul.

In the end Carlisle Utd were undone by not playing to the final whistle again, when extra-time was surely in the mind of everyone on the pitch including the Leeds home-grow hero Jonny Howson.

The result still doesn’t mean Leeds United are promoted but a trip to Wembley is a fitting reward for the loyal and active support given by tens of thousands of Leeds fans up and down the country this season. It is justice.

Meanwhile spare a thought for Lord Mawhinney who will have spent a sleepless night trying to work out how he can avoid being present at the League One play-off final or what it will be like to spend the worst two hours of his life on national and international television being verbally abused by 50,000 Leeds fans. Let’s hope that as he pours the gin on his cornflakes this morning the wretched little man considers the “revolver in library solution” and does us all a favour.

The arbitration tribunal has handed down its ruling today on the Leeds United appeal against the Football League 15 point deduction from the League One points tally for season 2007-08.

The arbitration tribunal has ruled against Ken Bates and Leeds United by reinstating NO points. Leeds United therefore remain on 73 points and in the final, sixth, play-off position. If they beat Gillingham on Saturday and Southend United lose they may be able to go up one place.

The automatic promotion place now depends on the final game of the season with Doncaster Rovers, Nottingham Forest and Carlisle United all able to take the coveted spot. Therefore, at the moment Leeds United have no idea who they will face in the play-off semi-final.

A disappointing result but not totally unexpected - so on to the play-offs and Wembley!