Sorry Leeds Utd

So what the hells going on at Elland Road, besides the usual Bates bluster about players walking over broken glass to play for the club. He's now got Grayson spouting the same rudey poo, but its now obvious that Bates has no intention of giving his manager some cash, so I'm expecting a mid-table position at best, this coming season.

We were top 6 all season and even 2nd in December, but finished the season like a dray horse. Yes a good first step back in a slightly higher league and adequate reward for some Leeds fans, but the truth is we should have done better as Norwich did with a back to back promotion campaign. Last seasons league was average at best, and the relegated prem sides all had issues. This season will see the toughest league for a while, with relegated teams West Ham favourites to bounce back, along with Blackpool who now have plenty of cash from the prem, as well as multi millions in parachute payments and of course even more cash from the Adams sale. Not sure about the finances at Birmingham and their money laundering operation, but Leicester have got a great chance of doing it, and have almost got a prem squad already. Paul Jewell will do a job at Ipswich, Hull will do great and have some fantastic kids, Southampton another club who invested well and don't forget Brighton under Gus who is being backed by his board to the extent that C M-Smith chose the seagulls over QPR. Seems everyone knows its going to be tough, so have invested, well almost everyone.

So far leeds have released players by the bus load, and sold both keepers and don't have anyone in yet. The squad is weaker than last terms and the manager knows the fans are frustrated, but if he can't afford player wages, what chance does he have. he's giving Bessone another chance ffs. The leagues top scorers and 3rd worst defence will be battered unless something's done. We can only hope that paddy is fit and back to his best, and players who were out of the picture actually get a chance. Players like White, Lees, Nunez, Parker, Clayton could live up to expectations and be like new players, well we live in hope unlike one person who lives in Monaco and looks after his bank account.

Leeds have made a shed load of cash this last few seasons, but only £450k spent on transfers in the same period. All our players were freebies or loan signings, which shows that the Chairman is more interested in his own financial ambitions than that of the club.

Largely agreed.

I was happy with last season on the whole. If someone had said to me we'd finish 7th before a ball was kicked i'd have taken it without a shadow of a doubt, but after the 1st half of the season playoffs and even promotion were a very realistic goal.

This upcoming season, i think it will be nothing short of a miracle if we manage to repeat or better that performance. The league isn't going to be any easier than last year - arguably it will be alot harder - and we seem to be the only club who are reluctant to invest in stregthening the squad.

I'm afraid the optimism from the turn of the year has been lost, and now i fear that mid table is the best we can hope for.

weeman Yes it's frustrating times for our once great club, and I really think that the bates bubble will burst this year, as fans who were sat on the fence, jump down onto the Bates out side.

Ever since he took us into administration the first time and then fiddled the club back he's talked big with out substance. Remember the 'If you want premiership football, then you need to pay Premiership prices'. This was years ago and we're still playing in 3rd and 2nd division football, but paying higher prices than most premiership clubs.

I really understand that we football clubs need to be frugal with the cash, but Bates is far from frugal and huge holes are visible in the published accounts year on year. Wheres all the money gone, because according to the latest accounts we got no money for Delph. The Delph cash was supposed to be £8m, which was the same money Bates turned down from Newcastle, when he said they couldn't have him on the cheap. So wheres the cash. Then there was Milner sell-on fees, Everton cash for Garbutt, Man City cash for the 2-kids they poached. TV money, FA Cup money and best of all our chairmans statement about a break even budget of 20,000 gates, which we smash every home game.

Lets face it, nobody will invest while Bates is around - would you? so we can only hope that he finishes raping us soon, so he can sell to someone who understands that a city like leeds with only 1 team should be back in the Premiership.

I'm extremely frustrated by our lack of ambition. I'm glad Johnson has gone, but I'm a bit puzzled by the Kasper sale when we don't have anyone at all to replace him.

We desperately need a defensive midfielder and a pair of centre-backs. I really don't think Paddy will be anywhere near his former self after spending a whole season on the sidelines.

What's most frustrating is that we don't even seem to be getting linked with any good players! Leicester are mopping up talent and I have an overwhelming fear that we will just pick up moer old, sorry freebies.

Pr4wn: so why do you think that is? because i can only think of one thing, and thats wages. last January when we were in pole position to go up, we had Bates and Grayson both in the media saying things like; 'we have identified our targets and expect to see new faces shortly'. Nothing happened, just like it didn't happen last summer when the same rhetoric was used. Last season with the championship not being that strong, we had a chance of earning promotion. This season we will struggle and the only rumours the YEP can talk about is Bowyer, Woodgate and Smith. Well Bowyer's on his way to the tractor boys, and Stoke are chasing Woody ....

Our club cannot compete against small clubs like Wigan, Stoke, Brighton, Blackpool, Ipswich, Huddersfield etc, etc in the transfer stakes. We used to have a production line of talent coming through Thorp Arch, but the place has been decimated and is now getting tired. The medical, education and coaching staff have been depleted and the best academy in the country which was the envy of everyone has collapsed. Bates now charges parents for coaching, whilst our ex academy director went to Man City to take over there. His No2 went with him along with all his contacts from the yorkshire schools and clubs. No kids means no future, and all to save money. The last kids to come through the ranks were sold to Everton ,Chelsea, Villa, Man City, and the others who could have made it were let go at the end of the season.

Yet some fans still say that Bates saved us

Leicester signing everyone in the bbc gossip column seems to have shaken everyone. With regards to Kasper, yeah he was a decent keeper, but with a year left on his deal and no indications he wanted to resign you have to cash in. Besides regardless of who was in front of him, he was a part of one of the worst defenses in the Championship.

So far my team's only signed Andy Reid in a free, and we've lost Earnshaw, Kelvin Wilson, Adebola and McKenna. No need to panic yet, still just under 2 months to go.

"We are in serious discussions with a number of players, we are looking to sign four players," Bates told the radio station he owns, Yorkshire Radio.

Bates also insisted the club would not sell any more key players.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/14049277.stm

GSC: Whilst you may have to cash in on a player you have until the end of August to do so, if a player is good enough there will always be a demand for him, you can at least keep him at your club while you attempt to find a replacement. Also they didn't offer Schmeichel a contract and he didn't ask to leave.

Yeah, but the sooner you get the cash, the sooner you can spend it also.

And I think you have to take the cash when you get an acceptable offer. Leicester could've just as easily moved onto someone else instead of waiting, and you don't know anyone else would've paid £1m for a player who'll be free in 5 months time.

I heard Schmeichel indicated via his agent he didn't want a new contract. (Open to interpretation, he didn't technically ask to leave I guess, but he didn't ask to stay).

Graeme Swann's Cat wrote:Yeah, but the sooner you get the cash, the sooner you can spend it also.

The problem at leeds is that anyone and everyone will be sold if we get a decent offer. Plus we never see the cash as it vanishes into Bates offshore accounts, as was proved recently. Someone on another thread stated that leeds are serious contenders as they have plenty of cash. Yes that's a decent perception, but we have actually posted a loss for the last 2-years if you take out transfer trading. I would say its impssible for Leeds to post a loss for the following reasons:

1) We have huge gates which are well above budget numbers.
2) We dont budget for cup runs and we've had 2 great runs over the last couple of seasons - Spurs, Arsenal, Liverpool and all televised with huge gates.
3) We've spent a grand total of £450k over the last 3 seasons on transfers, but accept that loan players and freebies still need paying wages, but still nothing spent.
4) We obviously pay average wages as we can't attract decent players anymore.
5) We've made a shed load of cash from transfers out totalling some £12m but .......

Who was the £450k spent on?

Personally, I think Kapser is overrated. He made some absolute howlers last season and if it wasn't for his surname, he wouldn't be held in such high regard.

He did make some cracking saves but his distribution and organisation were poor.

It's quite frustrating being a Leeds fan,no players and losing your keeper with no one lined up to replace him. Although it is good that Snoddy and Gradel have been kept there is still a chance that they could leave. A defensive midfielder and a centre back and possibly a striker is what's needed.

You do have a keeper, Paul Rachubka and your youth keeper Alex Cairns.

Oh that's fine then, we're sorted....

Let's be honest you've got over a month left until you need to sign yourself a first team keeper, though Rachubka shouldn't be too bad an option.

Derbyblue wrote:You do have a keeper, Paul Rachubka and your youth keeper Alex Cairns.

A bit of a difference from our recent past, when we had keepers coming off our own production line at no cost. The likes of Robinson and Carson for example who were sold in the fire sale and went on to play for England. There is no production line for any position anymore, as the academy has been left to rust. Lennon, Rose, Smith, Woodgate, Milner, Kewell, Batty, Speed, kelly, Harte, Kilgallon, Howson, Delph, Whelan, Sellars etc, etc.

The natives are getting restless now. Just cut these comments from the YEP:

DamianT
Wednesday, July 6, 2011 at 11:17 PM
After reading today's YEP interview with Simon Grayson, where he confirmed that League 1 Preston keeper Lonergan's proposed signing would end the search for new keepers (so that's a Blackpool reserve and a stopper that shipped more goals than we did last term, in for a £1.3m departure in Schmeichel - and we're supposed to believe that we're now stronger in that position!) there was a couple of comments made that has seriously made me doubt the extent of the club's ambitions for the season ahead. SG said "The players we want will be available for money or on a free soon...as they're getting to a stage where they have to make a decision about where they want to go." So, by the sound of that these are players who don't see Leeds as their first choice but are waiting to see if anything better comes along - well that fills me with confidence about who will come in and how committed they'll be to the cause. Don't get me wrong - I'm not green enough to think that every player that pulls on the white shirt sweats blood for LU, but surely it should be at least a bench-mark the club should look for in potential signings! Also, SG said "It's going to be hard to beat seventh place..." That sounds to me like a manager who is realistic enough to realise there are at least seven or eight clubs better equipped to finish higher than us next term. But why is that the case? I know it's hard to compete with clubs who have the Prem parachute payment to play with, but why are clubs like Southampton and Brighton (both who have been at the Receiver's door in recent years but both who have new stadiums to play in) looking in better shape than us? We all saw how Norwich steamed through the division last year, so it wouldn't surprise me if the Saints and Seagulls both finish in the top six next season. Add into the mix the usual Championship suspects (Cardiff, Hull, Leicester, Forest etc) in addition to West Ham, Brum and Blackpool, and I can't see beyond mid-table for us - and neither can Simon Grayson, by the sound of it. The problem is, for a club that has the best crowds outside the top flight and one of the Top Ten in the country, it simply isn't good enough - and it's all down to the man at the top not investing into the club. I don't blame Bates, but I just wish he'd admit that the only money that gets put into the club is money the club generates itself, and then we'll all know that we'll never compete with the Russian, Chinese and American money that other clubs survive on. All we want is honesty, not spin - at least that way we can all get used to the reality of aiming for a Play-off Place at best and playing a top-flight club in the Cup (to give Mr Bates a wind-fall) being the limit to our realistic ambitions to keep us going through a long winter.


jjlaca
Wednesday, July 6, 2011 at 10:33 PM
Seems to me that for Leeds United fans there are two courses of action: 1) Blindly follow the current leadership at Elland Road and believe the same noise we have heard the last couple of transfer windows, or 2) Be afraid, very afraid that we are in for a season that will make last year's anguish and disappointment with our central midfield and defense seem like a tranquil boat ride in the lake. Like everyone else, I would love to see Leeds United succesful on the pitch but just cannot see it with the current leadership. "Marching on Together" with other fans of this great club but without Bates and Mates!


coastalwhite
Wednesday, July 6, 2011 at 02:45 PM
This just been annouced....made me laugh...he believes this rubbish that is what is scary!!!!! ...Leeds United chairman Ken Bates has confirmed the club are holding 'serious' transfer discussions with a number of transfer targets. It has been a quiet summer so far for The Whites with free signing Paul Rachubka manager Simon Grayson's only close-season acquisition. Leeds have sold keeper Kasper Schmeichel to rivals Leicester City while the futures of both Robert Snodgrass and Max Gradel continue to grab the headlines. Bates has confirmed a bid for a player has been rejected, an offer believed to have been tabled by newly-promoted Norwich for Snodgrass. However, Leeds' supremo insists no player will be leaving on the cheap as the West Yorkshire outfit remain determined to win promotion back to the Premier League. Leeds were also tracking three other players, but they opted to join Premier League clubs rather than make the switch to Elland Road. Discussions "I can confirm we are in serious discussions with a number of players," Bates told Yorkshire Radio. "We are looking to sign four players. "There are three that we failed to get because they signed for Premier League clubs, but that shows the quality we are trying to get it, and you can't blame the players. "I'm not going into too much detail because it's stupid to comment on what you are doing when all you do is alert the competition. "There are rumours you read in the papers, that this club is going to offer x for someone and y for someone else. It's all newspaper talk or agents trying to stimulate interest. "I can assure fans that we have no intentions of selling our top players unless the offer is so ridiculous that it will enable Simon to strengthen his team in other ways. "Our aim this year is to get in the Premier League and not be a breeding ground for others." You couldnt make it up!!!!! No wonder they signed for Premiership clubs as we couldnt pay their wages,why were we tracking them if we couldnt afford them?

Derbyblue wrote:Let's be honest you've got over a month left until you need to sign yourself a first team keeper, though Rachubka shouldn't be too bad an option.

Preston fan in peace, all the reports coming from Deepdale and the local papers is that Andy Lonergan's going to you for around £200,000, in pretty much a done deal. Absolute snip, he's lost a lot of confidence this season (probably shell shock with our defence) but we were turning down bids of around £2/£2.5m from West Brom this time last year

Leeds tried for Westwood iirc, but can hardly blame him for choosing the PL.

Its times like these I thank God we have Lee Camp a.k.a best GK in the Championship.

Swans Cat, just shows you the depths we've fallen as it's just been announced that the Preston keeper we had agreed a transfer with, has fallen through. The YEP have said it fell through because wages offered were miles away from what he expected. In other words he was paid more at Preston and hes hardly a big name. It now seems he'll be off elsewhere to bench warm, rather than get regular first team football. Wages offered must be shocking so at this rate we may as well keep Grella and put him between the sticks

With Cpt Birdseye running the ship at Leeds you will never do anything other than tread water, he doesnt really care whether you are mid table or near the playoffs he still wont spend anything substantial. Bates is only in it for the profit he will make when he sells you to a proper owner with some ambition. No fan of Leeds but no football club deserves Bates.

34 year old Michael Brown the big signing so far

Anyone else see the sorry shower on Saturday?

I'm a big Leeds fan and that was the worst I've seen us play in a very long time. Southampton weren't even very good, we were just terrible!

O'Brien is a donket, Brown was shocking, O'Dea was playing like a schoolboy and Paynter is just awful.

The lack of investment is starting to show already.

Sorry Pr4wn, but Saints played well, you were awful.

You also cost me £10.

I don't know why people on this board think Leeds will get promoted .They haven't spent any money and their defence is still awful. I would expect midtable or so,I don't see Becchio doing as good this year. Leeds were pathetic on Saturday. Don't see us challenging at all lads.

Saints didn't play well at all. They gave the ball away almost as many times as we did. All three goals were a result of poor defending, not unstoppable attack.

Max Gradel also seemed to have the first touch of an elephant.

At least we won last night...

I believe the best Leeds are going to do this season is finish mid-table, and maybe have goods runs in the cup competitions. I can't see them challenging for promotion, simply because the other teams are stronger.

I'd be happy with a mid-table finish this year, and agree that its the best we can hope for.

This has definitely been a pre-season to forget, and i get the feeling there will be plenty more weekends like the one we've just had over the coming months.

Another vintage Leeds United performance on Saturday, two sent off as we went down 1-0 at home. Just terrible.

We've also loaned in Andy Keogh (remember him?) until January as Ross McCormack is our only available striker for tomorrow night's game.

Long season ahead for us, boys. Let's get used to this feeling.

Pr4wn wrote:Another vintage Leeds United performance on Saturday, two sent off as we went down 1-0 at home. Just terrible.

We've also loaned in Andy Keogh (remember him?) until January as Ross McCormack is our only available striker for tomorrow night's game.

Long season ahead for us, boys. Let's get used to this feeling.

I don't think either side was that great, Pr4wn. It was a generally scrappy game, though I think Boro just shaded it in terms of quality and attacking play. It might have been better if the ref hadn't been so card-happy. After seeing the highlights, I would say none of the red cards were warranted and maybe only half the yellow cards.

I wouldn't be too critical of the result - it was just one of those games that started poorly and just got worse as the ref got more ridiculous. We simply took advantage of having an extra man on the pitch. That said Boro can play a lot better and Leeds probably can too.

First 3 points on the board!

We've got you boys coming to Upton Park Sunday. Should be a cracking match -- even if we never get much change out of Leeds!

Can see you absolutely hammering us mate.

I don't reckon so to be honest. We can be pretty hit and miss at home, and it probably comes down to who scores first. God help us there, we're relying on Parker and Nolan to pop up I reckon!

Relying on two Premiership-calibur players, how do you manage?

Ha! The eternal struggle, I am afraid.

I do feel for Leeds, reading today regarding Bates and the failure to build the squad from last season. Still think you're top half and possibly top six if you hit your stride (after Sunday, please).

The biggest problem Leeds have is the chairman, if he didn't spout BS every time he opened his mouth most fans wouldn't be too upset at the state the club is currently in, knowing the financial turmoil you had just a few of years ago.

Flip sh|tty Leeds let me down for £8K today!

Who is Whyte?!?!?!?!

Soldier_Of_Fortune wrote:Flip sh|tty Leeds let me down for £8K today!

Who is Whyte?!?!?!?!

Thats karma for you.

Man Utd at home in the Carling Cup
We'll give them a harder game than Arsenal did - Bring it

dyrewolfe wrote:

Soldier_Of_Fortune wrote:Flip sh|tty Leeds let me down for £8K today!

Who is Whyte?!?!?!?!

Thats karma for you.

How?

well yet another low-point to this season today. The player Bates and Grayson told us wouldn't be sold has gone for £3m.Nobody to replace our best player but the Bates Hotel and Beeston leisure enterprise gets more funds in. I've already stated elsewhere that I will not be visiting ER again until the old fooker dies or sells. He's raping this club and before long he'll be ran out of town.

How do you guys think Tom Lees has done for you this year? He was easily our best player at Bury last season when we had him on loan and was hoping we could have got him again this year. Seems to have established himself in your fuirst team now?

No players in. The best players have left. Does anyone agree we will probably have a fight to avoid relegation this season?

I might be wrong but I think this was the final year that Leeds had during their administration. If Leeds were promoted to the prem by next season they had to pay their creditors in full. Any chance Ken knows what he is doing with the lack of investment? Discipline is a big issue,guys like Snodgrass and Howson aren't having the best of seasons either.

Thomond wrote:I might be wrong but I think this was the final year that Leeds had during their administration. If Leeds were promoted to the prem by next season they had to pay their creditors in full. Any chance Ken knows what he is doing with the lack of investment? Discipline is a big issue,guys like Snodgrass and Howson aren't having the best of seasons either.

The creditors issue is a non-starter as we would have to pay £5m which is chicken feed compared to the £90m benefit gained by getting promotion. No theres something a lot deeper and darker going on here. Last january we needed a couple of quality additions to ensure we got promoted. We were 2nd in the league at the time and had been in the top 6 all season, so odds-on for promotion. Both Bates and Grayson told us new faces were arriving just before the Swansea game. They didn't and we saw Swansea rip us apart. We have not been able to get any decent players in which is down to the rubbish contracts and wages on offer. A little bit of investment would have got us out of this league, and I would have even accepted not been able to compete properly and get relegated back down this season. The parachute payments however would have ensured we bounced straight back up and then consolidate. History now and then we see bates spouting about getting promotion this season and Grayson telling us we should be better than last season, which means a play-off spot at worst. All we've seen so far is a lack of ambition, a weaker squad, plenty of players going and no replacements coming in.

Tom Lees has been brilliant and deserves a chance to play in his preffered position, because he's not a right back, but has the look of a young Woodgate. Clayton has also exceeded expectations, so Grayson has been lucky, but the squad is weak and after Gradel even worse. I'm starting to think that Grayson is being set-up for a fall and bates has another manager lined up. We know Bates was upset that we didn't get promoted last season, but could hardly sack Grayson after getting promoted from L1 and then finishing 7th in the championship. But by not giving him enough funds to bring in players, selling his keeper without having a replacement etc, etc, etc. We're 19th at the moment, conceded more goals per game than last season in the first 5 and if that carried on we're relegated.
A couple of weks ago I was at a function with 2 ex premier league players who are nbow TV pundits. Both told me they had leeds down as bankers for promotion, until they saw the lack of activity and wondered what the hell was going on. They both said Leeds were now cash rich, or should be, so something isn't right. The club is either being raped or a new manager is being lined up ....