Is it too early to start dreaming....?

Yes would be the answer. Me and my big mouth. The final line of my previous post dared to believe that the mess in accounts would finally be sorted on Friday, and for better or worse, we would have ownership sorted and be able to move on.

Instead, typical for Leeds at the moment, we can't even do this right. Bates did get enough support at the creditors meeting for his bid....by 0.02%! So, we have to have a rec-count. What I want to know, is if he doesn't get enough support, and neither does anyone else, then WTF happens?

Anyone here an expert in insolvency proceedings?

Creditors meeting.

Today is D-Day folks. The BBC has announced that five different groups have lodged bids in the creditors meeting. Count 'em, thats five. Bates, one. Morris, two. Revie, three. Now it gets tricky. Supporters Trust (maybe), four. God knows who else.

The YEP reports that the man behind Revie's bid is the WORLD'S 5th richest man, ruler of Dubai and all round good egg, Shiek Maktoum. He owns loads of other stuff (thorugh D.I.C) and nearly bought Liverpool if you're interested. The theory goes that Bates buys Leeds with loads of debt. Option 1 is to get back in premiership, clear debts and sell club for healthy profit and retire to Monaco for good. Option 2 (which is now being played out) is Bates buys Leeds, they fail to get promoted (and in this case relegated), go into administration, clear all the debts, look like a promising investment (good facilities, one club city etc) and Bates sells club for healthy profit and retires to Monaco for good.



Sounds reasonable. Bates is no spring chicken and is money orientated. A good offer and he would probably sell as he has no real connection with the club. Basically he did the same at Chelsea over a longer period. Bought them when they were penniless, restructured the finances, did the ground up a bit and sold it on when he got a good offer. Although it is worth noting that Chelsea were very much still in debt when he sold up.



I've no idea how genuine Revie's (and possibly the mystery Sheik's) bid is but if, and it's a BIG if, panned out like it's rumoured to, then we would be laughing all the way back to the Premiership.



Is it too early to start dreaming again?

Book Review

What's this you say, a Leeds fan able to read? Surely not?! But, alas, it is true. I greatly enjoy reading and so it is somewhat strange that it has taken me this long to get around to purchasing and reading the critically aclaimed novel The Damned United by David Peace.

It tells the story of the tumultuous 44 days that Brian Clough managed Leeds United. I've yet to finish it having only started on the train this morning but I'm already engrossed. I've listed other Leeds books I own below and a brief summary. If any readers would like to recommend other books, oh hell and VHS or DVDs, then please do so in the comments.

The Unforgiven - A dark tale of how one of England's greatest teams became the most despised in the country. A classic expose of the Revie era.

Leeds United: Player by Player - A good insight into the greats and not-so-greats that have pulled on the famous white (and not so famous blue and gold) jersey since the year dot.

And, er....that's it I'm afraid. Like I said, please recommend others for my education and I promise to give them and you a mention.

No news is...?

Good news or bad news? There has not been a lot to blog about over the last week but today sees some press coverage. Pappa Smurf was on the radio yesterday and has laid down the law as he sees it. "Vote for me or kiss goodbye to your football club" seems to be the message. It is not hard to understand why when you read an excellent article in today's Guardian which highlights the ever more labyrinthine financial plight of the club. I urge you to read it and then leave any thoughts you might have in the comments section.

For Bates to not be in control of the club after June 1st's meeting of the clubs creditors will take nothing short of a miracle. Faceless off-shore bank accounts and consortiums with unknown directors control enough of the clubs debt to veto anyone else other than Bates despite his derisory offer of just 1p in the £1. Why will they do this? No-one really knows - my hunch is they have links to Bates but so far no-one has been able to find them.

Highlights of the report sent to creditors outlining the money owed make interesting, if not downright frightening, reading. We owe everyone from Leeds Met Uni to a mobile disco company to St Johns Ambulance to, god only knows why, Danny Mills. I liked Danny, decent lad, decent player and seemed to be in the "Leeds mould" but he hasn't played for us since 2003 and we still owe him money. How did Bates not sort this out? There are more questions to ask than I have time to think of, let alone write. I have no idea how long this will take to sort out and the more I learn the more uncomfortable I begin to feel about Bates and his shadowy dealings. There are not many people who have good things to say about the man. He saved Chelsea only to nearly ruin them again before Roman stepped in with his roubles. I pray the same does not happen here.

Gang of 4

According to the club website, 32 of the 36 squad players have agreed to defer their wages until June 1st in order to facilitate administration. The remaining four will have their wages paid by the creditors in the meantime.

I, for one, would like to know who they are.

Updated: Squad for next season

On the proviso we don't get taken over by some oil-rich Sheik who buys us Lionel Messi, who do you think will be in our squad for next season? I've given my list below but I'd love to hear others thoughts on the matter.

Sullivan - Gone

Ankeren - Would like to see him stay: young and decent

Stack - Back to Reading

Lund - Stay please, back up.

Crainey - Gone

Kishishev - Buy from Charlton

Gray - Buy from Blackburn

Richardson - Stay

Heath - Go

Derry - Stay

Marques - Not sure, don't think he'd survive the lower leagues

Sa - Gone

Madden - Stay

Delph - Stay

Douglas - Think he'll go. Won't want to play in League One

Thompson - Return to Celtic, signs for Championship team

Westlake - Could be useful if he makes the effort - Stay

Lewis - Too old. Go.

Einarsson - Stay

Nicholls - Hahaha....GO!

Bayly - Stay, try not to get sent off.

Rose - Intoduce to first team gently.

Carole - Stay

Flo - Go.

Healy - Sell. He won't play for us in League 1. Sanchez will buy him for Fulham for a couple of million.

Johnson - Back to Wolves.

Cresswell - Please stay. Pleeeeaaaassssse

Kandol - Might be the lad's year to shine. Stay

Beckford - Ditto.

Blake - Dunno, maybe stay.

Howson - Stay

Elliot - Stay

So, by my calculation we still need a few players to shore up the defence, one or two decent mifielders and maybe one more striker. Oh well, one can dream.

Update: Those in bold. Sully, Crainey and Sa are all released along with youngster Hird who had not made a senior appearance. Clearly judged not to be up to scratch. I think Sa should have stayed but otherwise I'm content. Just make sure wwe bring in some half-decent players to replace those going.

All time XI....sort of

I need a bit of light relief. Everyone has done all-time best XIs before and it would be pointless to repeat them. I got thinking about a different sort of XI though. Initially it was one of players who turned out to be great only after we had sold them. Then it moved to players who had been great but ceased to be so as soon as we bought them. I couldn't quite decide between the two so ended up with an amalgamation. The team we had to sell post O'Leary/Risdale obviously has some candidates for quality players being sold off early but wierdly when I thought about it, loads of them have, in fact, never been as good since (Viduka, Bowyer, Woodgate, Kewell, Smith, Robinson etc etc) so they don't feature. I do need help though. In my 4-4-2 I'm missing a central midfielder. Suggestions and corrections in the comments please.

Goalkeeper - David Seaman. Started as a schoolboy at Leeds as understudy to Lukic. Sold to QPR for almost nothing. Went on to be one of the best keepers England have ever had.

Rightback - Dennis Irwin. Promising youth team player judged to lack experience to pull us out of the old Div2. Sold to Oldham and became a ManUtd legend earning 70 Champions League appearances.

Leftback - Jim Beglin. Amazing at Liverpool. Solid defender who basically got crippled by a freak tackle. Ended career at Leeds. Was never the same after injury.

Centreback - RoqueJunior!!! World cup winner. ACMilan regular. Came to Elland Road during a rather tumultuous period and was, without mincing my words, shit.

Centreback - David O'Leary. Often forgotten that he played for Leeds as well as managing them. Not surprising really. A rock at Arsenal for nearly a decade but was an ageing, injury prone donkey by the time he arrived under Wilkinson.

Rightmidfield - David Rocastle. Another Arsenal reject. Was an supreme passer and intelligent player until he put on a white shirt when he became a perennial sub. Never showed as much talent as hoped for.

Leftmidfield - Lee Sharpe. Narrowly overtaken at ManUtd by Giggs for the left midfield spot but had looked uperb in his youth. England caps. Came to Elland Road and was appalling. Got slow and fat. Now appears on Celebrity Love Island.

Centremidfield - Thomas Brolin. Easily wins the worst player ever award. Swedish star, Parma legend and destroyer of England in Euro'92. Sulking fatso at Leeds. Always remebered for wearing a giant bandage when playing for Crystal Palace against Leeds and being even worse than when we had him!

Centremidfield - ?????

Striker - Ian Rush. Liverpool legend. Scored for fun at Anfield and at Juventus. At 35 was too slow to make any difference. Should never have come to Leeds

Striker - Tore Andre Flo. Excellent at Chelsea. Good at Rangers. Bought by Wise to keep us up at the expense of Leeds-based band the Kaiser Chiefs. Got injured and never played. Therefore, rubbish.

That was quite cathartic. If all of those players played for Leeds in their prime, that would have been a bloody good team.

Players out, buyers in...

Wise and Poyet are having a belated spring clean and are clearing out some of the dead wood and some still living, healthy wood (if youa llow me to continue the metaphor). Hayden Foxe and Robbie Elliot are off and few tears will be shed. Foxe was useless and Elliot was mostly injured. Ian Moore is also leaving. I have no idea why. He expressed an interest in staying and as I have previously mentioned (and some commentators too) he played like he actually gave a damn. He would have been a decent player quality-wise in League One and I think Wise has made a big mistake. We shall see.

More finance news - is there any other type at Elland Road these days? Two new bids have emerged to rival Bates. As I mentioned before, both the creditors and the FA have to approve his purchase (sorry, re-purchase) of the club. Ex-director Simon Morris has launched a £10m bid on the promise of a £400m leisure complex and a new 50000 seater stadium. Don Revie's son, Duncan, has also put his name into the hat saying he has "middle-east" investors and that his only problem would be finding a manager good enough to take control of the team. Blimey. Now, don't call me a cynic, but in both cases - I'll believe it when I see the green, as the Americans would say.

Will the real Leeds United please stand up?!

Where to begin? It's not so much sport but finance that takes precedent I suppose.

Well, we are owned by Bates again. Sort of. I think. Some company, headed by Bates, bought us from KPMG. We have filed a Company Voluntary Act which absolves us of paying most of our debts and filed for administration with the FA. We are deducted ten points this season and start next year in League One with 0 points, just like everyone else. Now, and I say this as a loyal supporter, this makes a mockery of football.

The ten point penalty was introduced to prevent clubs being mis-managed and reneging on debts, and yet this is precisely what has happened. Not only that, but this is costing me money, and you for that matter. By not coughing up unpaid tax to the HMRC the taxpayer foots the bill. Bates is a disgrace and the FA should reject his takeover, but they won't. Wise is useless and should be replaced, but he won't. I am not optimistic about next year.

On an aside, we lost to Derby on the last day of the season. The fans behaved themselves, thankfully, by young Mr Bayly did not and marked his debut with a red card for a head butt. Twit. Can someone post in the comments what players we will have for next year (i.e. which are on loan and will go back, which will leave for pastures new etc) as quite frankly the extent of transfers and loans this year leaves me baffled.

Creative Accounting

BREAKING NEWS

BBC Radio Leeds are reporting that the club has this afternoon been placed into administration, effective immediately.

They further report that the club has then been re-purchased by a company associated with Ken "Pappa Smurf" Bates. The club suffers a ten-point deduction this season and begins anew in August, free of debt.

I association with this, the Leeds United Supporters Trust have also apparently announced that have the finances to make an offer for control of the club.

More when the dust settles.....I'm listening to my radio under the desk for more news!

And so the fat lady sings...

I wanted a couple of days to think about things before I posted. I wanted the dust to settle so to speak.

Firstly, I would to address directly the people who went onto the pitch on Saturday. You are not fans of this club. We don't want or need you. I completely despise your behaviour which does nothing but bring the standing of our club down further. You wonder why everyone finds it funny we've been relegated? Because of people like you. I cannot do anything but hope the police find as many of you as possible from CCTV footage and you are banned for life. Good riddance.

Right, now I've got that off my chest I can say something thoughtful and insightful about what happened on Saturday in footballing terms and its repercussions. The match was fairly decent. We played well for the first half but whatever Wise said at half time it clearly did wonders for the opposition because after the break we were dreadful. Instead of continuing to hit dangerous cross field balls we retreated into our shell and let Ipswich come at us. It felt like Southampton all over again. And inevitably, with minutes remaining, we succumbed to the pressure and they equalised. News had by now filtered through that Hull were winning at Cardiff (oh, the Risdale connection just bites a bit more doesn't it!) and we were relegated when the whistle finally blew.

I still feel slightly numb. Analysis at this stage is difficult. So is looking forward to next season. A board meeting today is set to discuss the clubs future with rumours of Bates wanting out. I don't think that'll happen. He's invested too much time and, I hope, money to walk now. Wise has also said he wants to stay. I'm less sure this is what I want. At times he seems to know what he's doing, gets the players working hard and over the past couple of months has put together some decent results. But. And it's a big but, at other times (including Saturday) he has been dire. No better than Blackwell - a decision that is looking shakier by the day. If Luton finish above us next season we'll all be eating humble pie.

Are there any positives? Well, by all accounts we will finish all the ex gratia payments to ex-players over the summer and begin anew. We have a good crop of young players but blooding them in the war-zone of Tier 3/Division 2/League 1 (what a crock of shit that name is by the way) is a dangerous experiment. Apparently Blackpool is quite nice this time of year for an away trip but we'll probably end up there in mid-January knowing our luck!

I suspect I may comment further as and when. I hope our "fans" behave ourselves next weekend in Derby.

Finally, I would like to thank Gary Kelly. After Saturdays debacle and the humbling prospect of relegation now a reality it was a bitter note to end a wonderful career on. In his first season, Gary was in the squad that won the Championship. He played in European Cup campaigns all over Europe and battled back from injuries to remain a stalwart of the club. He was a bloody good player in his prime and will be missed. I wish him all the best in whatever his future holds. Thanks Gary.

On the brink....

Apologies once again for a somewhat prolonged absence. My work continue to employ IT nazis who refuse to believe my rambling monologues about my beloved football team are relevant to my job?!?

Back to business. When I left you last time, I had begun to believe we could escape relegation. We scraped a win against Burnley at home thanks to Matty Heath. I don't want to sound callous but he's been useless most of this season so it's about time he did something useful. We have played like a League One team for too long this season and in the end that will bite. It did against Southampton on Saturday.

Thommo's sending off was harsh and is to be reviewed on Wednesday but with only ten men a draw was the best result we were ever going to get. Unfortunately, Bradley Wright-Phillips popped up six minutes from time and made our situation grim.

There are endless conotations as to who can go up or down and how. Find them yourselves if your interested. All I know is that short of victories against Ipswich at home (possible) and Derby away (errr....probably not) we are heading down. Hull have easier games and they look in better form. Leicester and Barnsley have to play each other.

Leeds have never played in the third tier before and contrary to opinions, it is not easy. We made the mistake of being that arrogant when we got relegated from the Premiership. Pray people - pray I tell you, I've been told the Lord dresses in all white!!

Apologies for absence (and that's not our defence)

Hello, and many apologies for not posting over the last week or so. I've been off on holiday and seeing as most of my bloggin is done whilst at work (in my lunch hour of course) I haven't been as diligent as I should have been.

It appears I am not the only one. Our defence went walkabout yesterday for ten minutes and it cost us the game. I can't complain though. Look at our last two wins and it's much the same story. However, just when hopes had been raised, two wins in a row and Lewis giving us a good start those upstarts from Essex steal the show and dump us back into the bottom three.

Wise says more defensive training is needed. In April!! What the f**k have they been doing all season. Pop quiz folks: you are bottom of the league with the worst defensive record. What do you focus training on to remedy the situtation? Is it a) defence; b) defence; or c) DEFENCE?

The results against Southend and Plymouth were excellent news (and I can't help but have a wry smile at Luton and Blackwell's plight) but they were not spectacular performances. The loss to Colchester should bring us back down to earth ready for a tough match against Burnley. Jabba at LeedsFans.org put it precisely when he said the last thing we need is to go to Derby on the last day of the season needing anything to stay up.

Hopefully, normal service shall now resume. That's me and the lads.

Healy Hat-Trick Hero

Well, without wishing to gloat....I told you so. In the previous post I pointed out that Healy seems to score for fun for Northern Ireland and yet struggles to replicate that form for Leeds on a regular basis. Occasionally you see the flashes of brilliance but the rest of the time he appears somewhat miserable. And what does he do on Saturday? Scores another hat-trick. OK, so it was against Lichtenstein but they can't be much worse than some of the teams we are playing now, can they?

An anonymous commenter on the last post said that during warm-ups he appears lonely and often grumpy during matches and yet was the first to run and congratulate Ankergren when he saved a penalty against Luton. What's the quote? Something about a mystery wrapped in a riddle inside an enigma. Well, he's not quite that complicated but if anyone has thoughts as to why this happens, how we can get Healy scoring for us like this and what Healy's future is at Leeds I would be interested to hear from you.

For my own opinion....well NI played 4-5-1 at the weekend with Healy as a lone striker. That's not going to work for Leeds with Cresswell fit. Does Healy need an arm around him to get the best out of him (a la Heskey) rather than a bollocking? Which does Wise go for? I don't think he'll be with us one way or another next year. Everyone thought he would leave in the Summer and he stayed but after such a miserable year for his club combined with scoring freely at international level I think there will be good money to be made from his sale.

Southend 1 - 1 Leeds United

We were lucky. And unlucky. For much of the game we looked second best. Southend could have scored two or three more. Eastwood hit the post. We should have had a last minute penailty but to win here would have been unjust.

I must, however, speak out against Dennis Wise for the first time publicly. There were some morons chanting for his head before the match started due to him signing autographs for local kids and this I want to distance myself from. They called for his head again when, in the 64th minute, with us losing 1-0 and needing a spark of inspiration up front, Wise substituted Eddie Lewis for Ian Moore. On this point, some clarifications need to be made:

1) You are losing 1-0. You need to score. You do not take off one of our more creative players capable of crossing with aplomb and dangerous at free kicks.

2) You do not replace him with Ian Moore. I like Moore. He tries hard and I have praised him in this blog for his publicly aired, forthright opinions on the state of the club - but he is not the man to bring on to win a match. Healy is.

3) Healy comes on with eight minutes to go and scores after six. Lesson learnt.

Dennis, if I may address you so informally, that was a big mistake. Healy is a lazy little sh*t at times and whilst he scores for fun for Northern Ireland seems to have trouble replicating those performances week-in, week-out for Leeds. But he is gifted and a proven goal-scorer. He wins matches. Play him from the start for pity's sake. Together with Cresswell he is one ofd the few players who can rescue us from this mess.

I don't condone openly chanting for your manager to be sacked during a match. I think this is a time for unity. But Dennis, don't make the same mistake again. You don't have many chances left.

Mortgage Madness

The BBC is reporting that the club are to ask Leeds City Council for a mortgage to buy back Elland Road and Thorpe Arch training facilities. They are currently owned by a shadowy British Virgin Islands' based company that no-one has a clue about. Bates has made the re-acquisition of the ground a priority and I can only applaud him on this. For a club not to own their own ground and training facilities is not only ridiculous from a ideological standpoint but bloody expensive as well.

It appears we pay £1.5million each year just to have a ground to play in! WTF is going on. Sometimes the mind boggles as to how we ever got into this mess. I'm sure if the FSA got involved half a dozen people would end being charged with financial malpractice.

However, the buy back cost for Elland Road is £13 and Thorpe Arch is £5. This will be secured by the "verbal guarantee" of a prominent Leeds businessman. Eh? Did I miss something? Can I go to Howard from the Halfax and ask for a massive mortgage 'coz my mate says he thinks I'll pay when my financial prudence in the past has been shoddy to say the least. Will keep you posted on any developments but really this blog is for commentary rather than breaking news so don't blame me if I'm not first to print the ink.

Leicester City 1 - 1 Leeds United

A draw. Not bad. Not good either. If at the start of the season you offered me a draw away at Leicester in March I would have taken it. They are a decent team and draws away from home are good results against all but the weakest teams in the division. This is no longer the case. We need wins. Others around us are doing well. Hull and Southend managed good results last night. Southend are out of the bottom three. We play them on Saturday in the hope of reversing our respective postions.

The match was, as I predicted, not pretty. I wish Jemal Johnson well as he was taken off with a nasty looking injury after a heavy tackle. The resulting free-kick led to our goal and then we promptly squandered our lead within 30 seconds. Dennis Wise copped a load of abuse from the Leicester fans all evening (can't blame them really) and that's about it. Oh, Thompson and Elliot made the bench but when the former came on in the second half he went off injured with twenty minutes - so don't expect to see him for a while.

All told, I'm happy....ish. A win on Saturday will do wonders. Come on the mighty whites.

Leicester City vs Leeds - March 13th

A trip down to Leicester is never easy and the home defat earlier in the season proves that they are a decent mid-table team. Killgallon was sent off early in the second-half that night and we had five booked in an ugly game. I'm expecting more of the same tonight.

Same squad from Saturday with no new injuries, thank god, and news that Flo, Thompson and Elliot are close to being fit again.

LondonLeeds prediction: Leicester 1 - 2 Leeds (Cresswell and 'The Kish' to score)

Come on the lads.

Back from the brink...

Firstly, apologies to any readers (and I'm pleased to say I have some - quite a surprise) for not posting anything sooner. Over the weekend a combination of personal reasons and the discovery that my girlfriend's laptop will not load Blogger 2.0 meant that I was unable to comment on any of this weekend's happenings. So may I try and repair any damage:

Hurrah. A win. Just. At this stage of the season though, I'm not complaining about style. To be honest, we deserved about four in the first half as we ran Luton ragged. How we didn't score is beyond me and is no doubt a cause of fustration to all involved. On the training pitch I expect those chances fly into the back of the net. Cresswell put us ahead and I think he is definitely the key to our survival. If only he had been fit all season! The inevitable Luton fight-back came in the final twenty minutes and for once Lady Luck smiled on us when despite Matt Heath conceding a late, late penalty, the recalled Casper Ankergren earned his money by saving what was, admittedly, a wretched shot. Now, same again on Tuesday against Leicester please boys. Can someone let me know how the new loan signings performed? On a side note, I am not a huge fan of Dennis Wise, but anyone doubting the man's conviction only had to see his reaction to the win to see how much he wants to do well here. I can just see a glimmer of light and the end of the tunnel. The only downside was the results of those around us in the bottom six which were also good (or should that be bad).

I couldn't make the game and thus have not seen the infamous programme with KGB-style blacked-out paragraphs obscuring libellous remarks from the great bearded-one. Apparently it was Levi's phone number - tantamount to asking fans to harass the man's home. Not cool. And yes, financial stuff was published. And no, no-one still has a bloody clue who really owns us, how, and who benefits. Or how much money we might have for new players over the summer.

If only Manchester United had lost as well, it would have been close to a perfect weekend!

Marching on Together!

All the news that's fit to print

The club website really does post some dross sometimes. Endless advertisements and requests to stump up yet more cash for LUTV or some other gimmick. I already pay to see games, I'm buggered if I'm paying again to watch other teams score against us!

It does however carry club news that is, at least, ahead of the main media and more in depth. I don't just want ot regurgitate everything they report as any supporter worth his salt will check the website throughout their day at work. A quick round up and the odd half-formulated opinion is not out of the question though:

New loan - Yet another loan signing. Lubomir Michalik (he's Slovakian) from Bolton. Central defender. International. Hasn't played for the Trotters since he signed in January. Will be in Saturday's squad. Looks promising but only on loan till April 9th.

Financial shenanigans - In Saturday's programme all will be revealed about the timeline of ownership and where all the money went and who we owe what to etc etc. It will no doubt be as clear as mud afterwards.

Youngsters - Some of the YTS boys are in line for England caps (that's the Under 17s). Danny Rose is in the squad and four others on standby. All sounds rosy for the future but then look at the youth squad we had in 1992/3 and what happened to all of them. Please let these ones develop into first team players and please let us hold onto them for a change.

Saturday team news coming soon.

(Bad) Luck of the Irish

According to today's Daily Mirror, Dennis Wise has told long-serving right-back, Gary Kelly, that his career is effectively over as he is now 4th(!) choice right-back for the team, will not play again this season and his contract will not be renewed at the end of the year.

Now I cannot be the only one to think there is something just a little bit fishy about this. Kelly is old at 34, but age hasn't stopped Wise signing other players and giving them prominence in the side. He hasn't played brilliantly this season but neither have enough others who are week-in, week-out regulars. I'm also suspicious about him being 4th choice. I'm guessing Richardson and Sa are ahead of him but who else? Foxe? God help us.

There was speculation amongst Leeds fans as to the size of Kelly's contract after a Times article with Ken Bates. It quoted the bearded-one saying that Kelly was on 40k+ a week. Bates had worked out that all the all the prize money and revenue from the Champions League run had gone on Kelly's wages over the last few years. Many slandered Kelly with the charge that far from being loyal to the only club he has ever played for he was merely sitting on a nice little earner. The articel in the Mirror suggests he earns half that and waives appearance fees. Which one is correct?

I wonder if there is a correlation to be had here. No-one really knows how much Kelly is on except for him, Bates and an accountant (maybe Wise) so speculation is fairly pointless. But why not eh? I think it may be that Kelly is due some sort of extra payment based on appearances (a la Seth Johnson) and Bates is unwilling to stump up the cash. Which, all-in-all, is a shame because I genuinely believe Gary has been a loyal servant to this club, can't be blamed for taking his pay cheque each month and would still bust a gut for us if he was on the pitch.

If and when he does leave at the end of this year I wish him all the best, thanks a million and have a bloody good testimonial.

Leeds Cult Heroes Pt. 1

This is hopefully the first in an occasional series of posts. Every club has them - those players who become something different in the minds of fans. They may play for years without ever getting recognition from the media and their peers or they may be a shooting star that passes through the club leaving a trail of light and brilliance in their wake only to disappear from pitch and memory all too quickly. The cult icon. The fans’ favourite.

I remember Grandstand did a similar poll for lots of clubs a couple of years ago. Leeds fans voted in their droves overwhelmingly for Billy Bremner. This is not what I had in mind. Bremner was awesome. But everyone knows that. He was a Scottish international who served the club as player and manager for many years and I think is given much credit outside of Leeds. I want those players who no-one else has even heard of. I want those players that some Leeds fans even scratch their heads to remember. Nominations are more than welcome via comments.

Leeds United Cult Icon No.1 - Carl Shutt

Carl Shutt's was a late starter in professional football. Howard Wilkinson picked him from obscurity at Spalding United to bring him Sheffield Wednesday at 23. After a couple of seasons with the Owls he moved down to Bristol City before Wilko arranged to swap him to Leeds.

Shutty, as he was know, became a fan favourite with a hat-trick on his debut and endeared himself to the Yorkshire locals with his tireless running and unwillingness to give up any cause - however hopeless. Never a first-team regular he would often pop up as a sub and just as often manage to get on the score sheet at important times. Shutt is perhaps best known for one moment in 1992. In a controversial replay against Stuggart at the neutral Nou Camp in a European Cup match. He had come on late in the game with Leeds needing a win. Within a couple of minutes had played a long one-two with Tony Dorigo and scored the winner that enshrined him to cult legend status.

After leaving Leeds in 1993 with over 100 appearances and 25 goals, he played for Birmingham City and had a very brief spell at Manchester City before settling at Bradford City in 1994. In three seasons with the Bantams, Shutt scored 15 goals before moving on to Darlington FC where again he spent three seasons, scoring nine goals.

He became manager at non-league Kettering, leading them back to the Conference at the first attempt. In 2002/03 he had to manage on a shoestring with the club up for sale. Despite the odd win relegation was inevitable from an early stage, and when it was finally confirmed the club decided to terminate his contract before the end of the season. In March 2004 he pitched up as the new manager of Bradford Park Avenue in the Unibond League and managed to steer them through the play-offs and into the new Conference North league. In 2004/05, a serious player shortage meant that he once again pulled on his boots for the team, and even managed to get on the scoresheet again.

I haven’t heard what he’s up to these days (apparently he left Bradford Park) so any info would be more than welcome. And if you know Carl, give him my best.

Leeds vs Luton (March 11th)

Big game. They all are at this stage, in our position. Luton have been shocking this season. Their away record is appalling and we have had some success at home. But they bloody well mullered us earlier this year. 5-1. Not something we wish to see a repeat of please.

What do you think the chances are of Nicholls appearing against his old (or should that be future) club. About as much chance of Hell having a mild frost I should think. The mere mention of his name should get the blood boiling and it would be nice to see the lads stick a few past Luton just to spite Nicholls.

Leave any team news updates in the comments section and I'll hazard a guess at the ever-changing team sheet on Friday afternoon.

Kandol scores?!

Is this true? Has anyone actually seen it? I know it's on the Leeds website but still....

...but still we didn't win. Kandol hat-trick no less and it's three-all against bloody Barnsley. Obviously I didn't see the match but the report suggests Kandol and Gardner had good games. Now, if only Gardener were a left back and Kandol could do this in the first team we might get somewhere.

Captain quits shocker!!

Err, not really. Has anyone actually watched Nicholls play this season. Granted, he was injured at the beginning of the season but on his return he played with about as much conviction as a QVC presenter. He hasn't wanted to be on the pitch and now has admitted as much.

I haven't previously stated my opinions on Dennis Wise (I'll no doubt come to that later) but I think he's made the right move here. You have to feel a bit sorry for old Den' really. First, he's had a plague of injuries this year, the there was the leak saga and now his captain says he doesn't like playing here and wants to go back to his old team. Wise, quite rightly, told Nicholls and Luton to go f**k themselves. You don't give a club 700k only to give them the player back again. Nicholls won't play again for Leeds (if he knows what's good for him) and can take his 30 pieces of silver and crawl back into his hole.

Ian Moore on the other hand has come out and said the unsayable. That Leeds are "in the shit" (well paraphrasing anyway). He's not had a bad season compared to most and we need a new captain. Someone with balls and courage and guts. There are worse choices than Moore.

In the beginning was the shirt...and it was good.

Actually it was a bloody awful shirt. Let me explain.

You may wonder what a born and bred Londoner is doing supporting Leeds United. A good question and to be honest one that I have had to face all my life. Sometimes I have lied and said something along the lines of, "'cos' my Dad does", or somesuch. This is a lie and I wish to confess.

When I was seven, like many little boys (and infact grown men) I was obsessed with football. I did not yet have a team to support with any conviction. I had first supported, if memory serves me correctly, Norwich City because I completed their page in my Panini sticker album. Then, maybe, Crystal Palace or Wimbledon as they were my closest professional team. But one hot summers day, all this changed.

My aunt had been to a charity shop and knowing how much I loved football, bought me a football shirt. Now what type of shirt do you think you get in charity shops? Old, polyester, skin-tight numbers that's what. But it was a Leeds' shirt and I loved it. Regaled by my father of tales from the 60s and 70s when Leeds reigned supreme I studied the results in the newspapers every week and learnt all about the players. Names like Day, Sterland, Strachan, Snodin and Davidson were mystical giants.

From that day forth, I was a Leeds fan. Stupid reason I know. But now, looking back on it, it seems as good as any. Marching on together....

Why now?

My first post. Why now? Leeds United, my team and the focus of this blog, have just lost for the third time in succession and are now bottom of the Championship. We are, in all likelyhood, going to be playing third tier football next season. I'm only 23 and so have not seen anything this bad before. I started on an up. The first season I remember with any clarity, we were Champions of the old Division Two. Two seasons later we were champions of Division One - the best team in the country. Ups and downs have come and gone since then but nothing like this. This is bad. Real bad. And I had to talk about it. Hopefully over the coming months I can analyse what is going wrong (and right) and have a winge and moan. Next year, the only way is up!

....isn't it?