Looking back on his experience of taking Manchester United to Leeds United’s formidable home ground, Sir Alex Ferguson once wrote: “The crowd invariably give us the impression that a lynching would be too good for us.”
Michael Carrick would have experienced a metaphorical assault from those in Manchester, let alone Yorkshire, had his United side fallen to defeat at Elland Road on Sunday afternoon. This was the club’s worst start to a league season since the dire sequence of results which led to Ferguson’s appointment 40 years ago. After a week spent fending off controversy and a calamitous run of form, the Red Devils managed to salvage a 1–1 draw on enemy turf.
