In his latest column for leedsunited.com, lifelong supporter Jon Howe reflects on Tuesday's victory over Crystal Palace and how special Elland Road is under the floodlights.

Howe is the author of two books on the club, ‘The Only Place For Us: An A-Z History of Elland Road’ - which has been updated as a new version for 2021 - and ‘All White: Leeds United’s 100 Greatest Players’ in 2012.



It is said that smell is the sense that is most evocative in terms of conjuring up memories of the past. As Leeds United fans, we spend a lot of time remembering the past, particularly having recently gone nearly 18 months without being able to watch our team in the flesh. But when trying to remember the Elland Road experience, all the five senses come to mind, and not always in an especially pleasant way.

Before Tuesday night’s 1-0 win over Crystal Palace, Elland Road under lights and on an evening, was something Leeds United fans hadn’t experienced in a league game since the 3-2 comeback win over Millwall in January 2020. We had this season’s League Cup game with Crewe of course, but strolling down Lowfields Road in short sleeves in the fading August sunlight has none of the drama and spectacle of jet black skies, howling winds and hordes of fans cowering from the elements as they head towards a glowing beacon of hope, a magnetising illumination which fills the heavenwards panorama and which is the only thing in the world that would wrestle them away from a cosy night in front of “I’m A Celebrity…”.

And just like Patrick Bamford capped that wild and innocent pre-COVID January evening with a dramatic winner from Leeds being 2-0 down, so Raphinha stepped forwards with the weight of 36,000 hopes on his shoulders and nonchalantly buried an injury-time penalty like he was ordering a Caipirinha from the bar at Fazenda. It sent Elland Road into orbit and in an instant changed everything.

Elland Road under lights somehow has a quality that lends itself to extremes. We have had dark moments of tragi-comedy and intense highs of maximum drama, there is very rarely anything in between. Think of the high-scoring defeats to Preston North End, Nottingham Forest, Birmingham City and Blackpool in the middle of the last decade, and then Pablo’s first-minute wonder goal in the majestic 4-0 romp of West Brom, Eddie Nketiah’s late winner versus Brentford in the promotion season and, well, Tuesday night. Remember Tuesday night?

Somehow, the descent of darkness throws a cloak of intrigue over Elland Road. There is a sense of theatre, there is a hum and an energy that isn’t quite there in daylight. The stadium is encased in a stunning radiance against the cheerless skies, it becomes a stage rather than a football pitch, a platform for the most magical and bewitching things and the contrast of dark and light brings focus and intensity, where our minds can’t drift off into idle thoughts about what’s for tea tonight and where we’re going after the game. Under the lights at Elland Road the only place we’re going after this is to bed, and this is the only thing that would keep us from it.

Any seasoned football fan would agree that football under lights has this indefinable quality, which changes your perception of an event which is essentially the same thing you experience in the same place, but at a different time of day. Elland Road in daylight is like looking at a beautiful photograph, but Elland Road under lights is like looking at a beautiful photograph that is framed; a scene perfectly captured and displayed, a scene that is separated from its surroundings but also, somehow, aesthetically integrated into them. The fan’s viewpoint is manipulated and their attention is captured and focussed, and when we get home we might be racing on adrenaline from what we have just witnessed, but it soon catches up with us, and a solid sleep is guaranteed.

That was the case on Tuesday night when it felt like a critical point had been reached in Leeds United’s season, and Leeds United passed the test. In the preceding week, Luke Ayling had spoken about missing the intensity of 50 games a season and the constant focus required to handle the turnaround of Saturday-Tuesday-Saturday-Tuesday games. He felt that was when Leeds performed at their best. It is hard to disagree with that, although it’s to be hoped he doesn’t hanker after actually playing in the Championship again, because I definitely don’t. But certainly, Leeds are at their best when they find some rhythm and maybe the break from international breaks over the next few months might just do us a few favours?

It was around this time last season when a few more midweek games appeared on the fixture list and Leeds started steamrolling opposition like Newcastle and West Brom, so we can probably thank Amazon Prime for this. And while one of our midweek games this time around is Manchester City away, the 90-minute performance against Crystal Palace on Tuesday night – where frills, entertainment and fast-flowing football gave way to grit, doggedness and endurance – at least showed that Leeds have the spirit and togetherness to ride this difficult period out. And it reminded us that you just never know what this side might be able to grind out against one of the top sides.

It is amazing what a win can do to your outlook, on life in general, though we don’t always like to admit that to our loved ones, but also to the league table and the prospects for Leeds United’s season. Suddenly you notice that compared to this stage of last season Leeds have only two points fewer (15 compared to 17) and sit only one place lower (15^th compared to 14^th). Furthermore, we have lost two games less this time around (five compared to seven). So even though 50% of our opening 14 games last season ended in defeats, it somehow felt far more enjoyable than the start to this season.

In terms of amusement, thrilling team goals and one-to-eleven fearlessness, Leeds are currently nowhere near where they were last season, and yet the Premier League standings tell us otherwise. It is almost as if the win over Crystal Palace, as well as gifting us three precious points, has put a frame around the league table and allowed us to view it in a different perspective, to manipulate our viewpoint and change how we see it.

Elland Road under lights – and particularly those wonderful new diamond floodlights – is very special and has the ability to trigger very special things. We walk into the night not knowing what we might experience, and we walk back in not comprehending what we just have. A frame around a photo, a darkness around Elland Road and three more points for Leeds United; changing our perceptions, attacking our senses and helping us summon the spirit of past glories. Leeds United at its best is intoxicating and sometimes overwhelming, and while smell might be the most evocative sense if we want to remember the past, we can’t afford to be focussed on anything but the present and the future. “Here we go with Leeds United…”; we’re moving forward, not looking back, so get ready to use every sense you have.