Stan Collymore may have frequented more last-chance saloons than Wyatt Earp but after yesterday maybe, just maybe, the nomadic centre forward should not be perceived as a cowboy after all.
With the vultures gathering above Valley Parade, Collymore did his best to earn Chris Hutchings a stay of execution here with the type of goal that, before the tantrums, the Priory Clinic and everything else that has sullied his career, was once regarded as his forte.
Collymore being Collymore, things have a habit of going awry, of course. His manic celebrations in front of the Leeds supporters will not have gone down well with the powers-that-be inside Lancaster Gate but, of more consequence to his new employers, just as his acrobatic goal seemed destined to secure their first victory since beating Chelsea on August 22nd, a rare win bonus was denied them by Mark Viduka's equaliser 11 minutes from time. The wait goes on.
Even so, Collymore's goal and a return to the old-fashioned Bradford ways of rolled-up sleeves and perspiration should allow Hutchings not to break out in a cold sweat every time his telephone rings over the next few days.
Judging by the comments of Geoffrey Richmond last week, had Bradford lost this soggy Yorkshire derby it would have been difficult to envisage any other situation than Hutchings being removed from office by his trigger-happy chairman. As it was, he can breathe a little bit easier, for now at least.
"It has been a long week but that performance says it all," said Hutchings. "It was a great team display. The players gave everything for Bradford and everything for me and Stan was fantastic. All he wants to do is concentrate on his football, forget about everything else and do his best for this club."
Collymore's signing may have carried more than a hint of desperation given the inevitable baggage but those who believe his partnership with Benito Carbone will be to a relegation fight what Pepsi and Shirley were to popular music will have a good portion of humble pie facing them this morning.
After the first 20 minutes Collymore looked out of shape and Carbone out of luck, but when they finally connected after 20 minutes the end product was exemplary, the timing exquisite.
Carbone can claim an assist with his right-wing cross but the ball was still falling behind Collymore until he contorted his body and produced an overhead kick of stunning power and precision into the bottom right-hand corner of Paul Robinson's net. Few would have had the audacity to try such a shot, even fewer would have pulled it off.
"It was a fantastic goal," said Hutchings. "Stan's missed a lot of training over the last few weeks so it was a gamble to play him but he gave me everything he got. I had to take him off after 70 minutes because he was knackered but in that time he showed what a great player he can be."
Quite why Collymore decided to stain the moment by crudely baiting Leeds's travelling fans is another matter entirely. "I think he was just delighted with the goal," mumbled Hutchings, his explanation as watery as the Valley Parade pitch. The FA's compliance officer Graham Bean was among the crowd and even though the referee Stephen Lodge took no action, Collymore's mail this week is likely to include an invitation from Lancaster Gate to explain his actions. They certainly have his address.
That Bradford preserved their lead for so long owed much to their goalkeeper Matt Clarke who was in defiant form all afternoon along with Ian Nolan who, twice in the first half, dug out goal-line clearances to deny Danny Hay and Dominic Matteo.
Leeds had finished the opening period showing signs they were adapting better to the rainy conditions and the second half was a story of almost unremitting pressure from O'Leary's depleted team.
Collymore continued to be a threat until being withdrawn, but Bradford's attacks were becoming few and far between and such was the level of activity around the Bradford penalty area there was a certain air of inevitability about Viduka's equaliser, the Australian striker jumping unchallenged to clip a neat header beyond Clarke from Matteo's cross.
An indignant O'Leary also claimed that Leeds should have had a penalty when Alan Smith was felled by Peter Atherton, although television pictures showed the Bradford defender got the slightest of touches on the ball.
As it is, Bradford remain second from bottom while Leeds are now nine points adrift of Manchester United and Arsenal. "I'm not a genius and my players are not rocket scientists," said O'Leary. "We've been devastated by injuries and there was no way we could keep up with the two biggest and best clubs around. We just have to dig in and hopefully when we have players coming back at Christmas we won't be too far off."
BRADFORD: Clarke, Nolan, Wetherall, Whalley, Atherton, McCall, Lawrence, Beagrie (Sharpe 90), Petrescu, Carbone (Ward 72), Collymore (Saunders 71). Subs not used: Davison, Grant. Booked: Lawrence, Clarke, Beagrie. Goals: Collymore 21.
LEEDS: Robinson, Kelly, Woodgate, Hay, Harte, Matteo, Dacourt, Bowyer (Burns 63), Bakke, Viduka, Smith. Subs not used: Jones, Milosevic, Evans, Hackworth. Booked: Bakke, Harte, Dacourt, Viduka. Goals: Viduka 80.
Referee: S Lodge (Barnsley).
