Brian Kidd will add some extra spice to the Manchester United v Leeds United showdown at midday today (Sky Sports 1) when he returns to Old Trafford for the first time since severing his ties with the club and becoming embroiled in a public fall-out with Alex Ferguson.
"This will be Brian Kidd's day," the Leeds manager David O'Leary said of his head coach yesterday. "I just hope the Manchester United fans remember what he did for their club and give him the reception he deserves."
That summed up the lingering sense of bitterness from Ferguson's caustic criticism of Kidd's football knowledge in his autobiography.
That Ferguson invited his former assistant to rejoin the club's training staff last year after an unsuccessful spell in management with Blackburn Rovers indicated he wanted to forget their personal differences. Kidd, however, has let it be known recently that "I did not deserve the way I was treated".
Even now he is clearly not comfortable talking about the experience. Instead he prefers to dwell on Leeds.
"I know these lads have the heart and desire to succeed," he said. "I can see the same determination in the eyes of someone like Rio Ferdinand as I used to with people like David Beckham and Roy Keane."
Certainly the statistics support Kidd's argument that the balance of power is swinging, that Leeds are not the team of tomorrow, but very much the team of today. O'Leary's players have accumulated 62 points from their last 28 league games while Ferguson's have managed 54. This season, while the champions have given away 16 goals, Leeds have conceded only three.
O'Leary is among those who believe Jaap Stam's bewildering departure could see Ferguson's final year in office ending in disappointment and the longer it takes United to find the antidote to their current malaise, the greater the chances of Leeds taking the title back across the Pennines.
It is a point Ferguson recognised yesterday. "They've had the hardest programme of anyone, yet they're still top of the league," he said. "Leeds have got good spirit, they are very strong and they are the most aggressive team in the league.
"Remember Wimbledon in their heyday? Even their kitman was 6ft 4in. Leeds are another big team but the game has changed and they play good football, as well."
FA Premiership: How they stand
P W D L F A Pts
Leeds 9 5 4 0 12 3 19
Arsenal 9 5 3 1 21 8 18
Aston Villa 9 5 3 1 14 6 18
Man Utd 9 5 2 2 26 16 17
Liverpool 8 5 1 2 15 9 16
Bolton 10 4 3 3 12 11 15
Chelsea 9 3 5 1 13 9 14
Everton 9 4 2 3 15 12 14
Tottenham 10 4 2 4 16 14 14
Newcastle 9 4 2 3 15 13 14
Blackburn 10 3 4 3 18 14 13
Sunderland 10 3 3 4 9 12 12
Middlesbrough 10 3 2 5 10 17 11
West Ham 9 3 2 4 9 17 11
Charlton 9 2 4 3 8 9 10
Fulham 9 1 5 3 8 11 8
Ipswich 10 1 5 4 10 15 8
Southampton 9 2 1 6 8 17 7
Derby 9 1 3 5 7 16 6
Leicester 10 1 2 7 6 23 5
