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Leeds in a fix prior to clash against unbeaten Arsenal
London, Oct 31: Leeds manager Peter Reid could find his job on the line again if his side fail to avoid defeat at home to unbeaten premiership leaders Arsenal tomorrow.
London, Oct 31: Leeds manager Peter Reid could find his job on the line again if his side fail to avoid defeat at home to unbeaten premiership leaders Arsenal tomorrow.
Back-to-back defeats by Manchester United and Liverpool have left Reid's side teetering on the edge of the abyss at second from bottom of the table.
Barely a month after he was granted a reprieve from the sack following a humiliatingly public consultation exercise by Leeds chairman Sir Roland Mckenzie, Reid knows another defeat will reopen discussion of his future.
Mckenzie virtually confirmed as much earlier this week when he admitted: "At any time when you are near the bottom of the table, any board is going to have a look at the situation."
Relegation would threaten Leeds' very survival, a fact underlined by the club's announcement earlier this week of pre-tax annual losses of 49.5 million pounds (84 million dollars) - the highest ever by a British football club.
Arsenal meanwhile could find themselves up against one of their own players at Elland Road. Jermaine Pennant is currently on loan at Leeds from Highbury but Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger will not block Reid from selecting him, as he could have done.
That raises the fascinating prospect of right-winger Pennant attempting to give close friend Ashley Cole, the Arsenal left-back, the runaround.
"We know each other very, very well but you've got no friends on the football field," Pennant told Arsenal.com.
Bureau Report