YOU NEED A TOUCH OF AMNESIA to appreciate New Leeds. They have a striker who displays the passion of a depressed couch potato and a defender who has conceded six goals and a penalty in his first two games. Yet the callers to the Saturday night phone-in were happy and Peter Reid, the manager, called it terrific.

How times change. Once it was the last four in Europe. Now it is the bottom five in England. That the penalty that changed the course of the game was contentious does not paper over the cracks. With five loan signings in their side, Leeds United have been kicked off football’s top table and are living on crumbs of comfort.

Step forward Paul Robinson. Unfortunately, that is precisely what the talented young goalkeeper did. After Roque Júnior had sullied an impressive home debut by bringing down Mikael Forssell and earning himself an early bath, the goalkeeper made a wonderful penalty save from David Dunn. Dermot Gallagher, the referee, then ordered a retake and Robbie Savage scored.

Robinson did move off his line. Not by much, the sort of margin that is almost always overlooked, but he moved. The crowd barracked Gallagher and forgot that Leeds had been unbeaten in the previous 18 matches that he had taken charge of.

Forssell added insult to injury with a second Birmingham goal to underline their rising stock. Buoyed by the return of Kenny Cunningham, Birmingham’s game-plan wavered between dull and duller, but they have conceded just two goals (none when Cunningham has played) and are unbeaten. Dunn looks like one of the buys of the summer and Forssell is the sort of poacher Reid would die for.

For all the promise shown by Lamine Sakho, Jermaine Pennant and Salomon Olembe in midfield, the Leeds attack is decidedly tepid. Mark Viduka has always prided himself on his economy of movement, but it is a fine line between nonchalance and apathy and he appears to have placed his sofa over it. Alan Smith, meanwhile, is doing nothing to justify his reputation. Leeds desperately need their big-name duo to stand up and be counted.

Leeds United (4-4-2): P Robinson 7 — G Kelly 5, Z Camara 5, Roque Júnior 6, I Harte 4 — J Pennant 4, J Morris 6, S Olembe 6, L Sakho 6 (sub: A Lennon, 81min) — A Smith 4, M Viduka 4. Substitutes not used: S Carson, L Radebe, C Chapuis, D Batty. Booked: Roque Júnior, Olembe, Sakho, Camara. Sent off: Roque Júnior. NEXT: Everton (a). FORM: LLWDLD

Birmingham City (4-4-2): M Taylor 6 — D Johnson 5, K Cunningham 7, M Upson 7, J Clapham 5 — D Dunn 6 (sub: C Morrison, 90), R Savage 5, S Clemence 6, S Lazaridis 5 — M Forssell 6 (sub: O Tebily, 88), C Dugarry 5 (sub: A Cissé, 85). Substitutes not used: I Bennett, S John. Booked: Savage, Dugarry. NEXT: Portsmouth (h). FORM: WDWDW

Shots on target: (h) 6 (a) 6. Fouls: (h) 15 (a) 14. Offsides: (h) 3 (a) 2

Referee: D Gallagher 5. Attendance: 34,305