Leeds United Louth Supporters Club - Always Leeds, Always Loyal

Home Louth Branch Contact Us Photos Fixtures/ results Leeds Rants Membership Details Leeds Shop Junior Section Louth Branch Magazine articles Quiz time 06/07 Season Louth Branch Archives Louth Branch History	This is the Louth Branch website. Always Leeds always loyal ! Edited by Gerry Cunningham. Leeds United's fixtures for season 2011/12 click here Fixture dates will be changed to suit Sky and BBC.Our prayers and thoughts are with the Martin family who lost Adrian in a tragic accident recently. Adrian was from Carrickmacross and his brother Paul and nephew Alan are both members of the Louth Branch. May Adrian RIP. Our AGM took place in Peadars on Monday night and thanks to all who turned up. The same committee was elected for another year. Our first official trip comes down to one of two games : Portsmouth on Oct 1st or Barnsley on Nov 26th. Both are Saturday games and we will be flying into Leeds/Bradford on the Friday morning and returning from Leeds/Bradford on Sunday at lunchtime. We will make a decision on Monday 5th of September so please e-mail or text me your interest or preference. Logistically it wouldn't be possible to organise a trip for the September games. Weds 31st of August. Two strikers left Leeds. Grella and Gradel gone. West Ham (David Bentley from Spurs and Henri Lansbury from Arsenal and Guy Demal Ivory Coast international from Hamburg)and Leicester (Jermaine Beckford plus half of the Championship's top players) were busy bringing in top quality but bargain bucket Leeds were invisible. A new low for even Bates not to spend any of the £4M recouped for Gradel and Schmeichel except the £200K for Lonergan. Leede fans are absolutely disgusted by the inaction of Leeds United. Tues August 30th 2100 Hrs - Gradel departs. As per usual the Bates/Grayson partnership go back on their word to Leeds United fans. Max Gradel "is staying at the club and is key to our promotion aspirations" they both said. Lies, lies and more lies. Despite the spin that will come out of Elland Road, United didn't offer him an improved contract offer and were frotting at the mouth for the £2.5M that he was sold for. Sochaux had an earlier bid of £2M turned down for the 23 year old Ivorian who scored 18 Championship goals for the Whites last season. "The player submitted a transfer request earlier on Tuesday stating his desire to return to his native France (He's actually from a different continent called Africa, lads) and play at the highest level for his player development. There is extensive interest in the player who is out of contract at the end of the season from both clubs in England and in France, however we were reluctant to agree a domestic fee that would potentially harm our promotion prospects (what about Schmeichel to Leicester, lads.) The player is to undertake a medical on Wednesday and the fee will remain undisclosed. " I have to say I'm not in the least surprised and would have been astonished if he was still a Leeds player after Wednesday. One other thing. If Leeds received an offer of £5M for Snodgrass, he would also be going. Make no bones about it. We will listen now to the same old shite like : "we couldn't let him run down his contract (even though he wasn't offered an improved contract) and we have a ready made replacement in Nunez". Lies, lies, lies. Just like Schmeichel, Gradel was squeezed into a corner and forced out. If you get a pig and send it all around the world and then bring it back. It's sill a pig. For pig read Bates and an ignorant one at that. Bates is a leach and is sucking the life and revenue out of Leeds United and Larry is a co-conspirator either blind to or in full agreement of his chairman's selfish and money hungry actions. I hope and pray that we use the £2.5M and the £1.5M from Scmeichel to address the areas of the team that need most attention, but I don't hold out too much hope. Norman Bates will call some of the suites in his new hotels the Gradel Rooms or the Schmeichel Arena. It's now 2300 on Tuesday night. By this time tomorrow we should have some idea of the answers. Tues Aug 30th 12 Noon. Sky Sports are reporting that Newcastle are in talks with Leeds over Max Gradel. It looks like Sochaux or Newcastle or Leeds or maybe all three are telling porkies. Bates/Grayson insist that he is staying at Elland Road. Sochaux are saying he is going to France and Newcastle are saying he going to Tyneside. Personally I'll be surprised if he is a Leeds player after Wednesday. I can almost hear Grayson/Bates saying "we couldn't afford to let him go for nothing at a later date" adn we'll try and get a 35 year old cart horse to replace him. Tues Aug 30th. Just two days to go until the transfer window shuts and once again Max Gradel is linked with an exit from Elland Road. This time Sochaux claim that "a deal is at an advanced stage" for the Ivorian. This is subject to their highly rated winger, Maiga joins Newcastle in an £8M deal. Tues Aug 30th. Leeds v Man United on live. Leeds' Carling Cup home date with Manchester United has been scheduled for Tuesday, September 20 and will be screened live on Sky Sports. The glamour tie at Elland Road was the pick of the third-round draw which took place on Saturday – with the meeting between the two foes the first in West Yorkshire for almost eight years. The game will kick off at 7.45pm, with United keen for another famous night to follow on from their stunning 1-0 victory in the third round of the FA Cup back in January 2010, when Jermaine Beckford’s strike gave the Whites their first victory at Old Trafford since February 1981. The Red Devils triumphed 3-2 after extra-time in the club’s last meeting at Leeds in October 2003, with the visitors narrowly prevailing following a close-fought Carling Cup clash, thanks to a last-gasp strike from midfielder Eric Djemba-Djemba. Leeds have lost all their previous four matches in the League Cup’s various guises against their opponents from across the Pennines. Sun August 28th. Deadline day approaches. The deadline for permanent transfers is on Wednesday night 11PM. The loan window for Championship clubs opens the following week. What areas of the side do Leeds need to strengthen, and who should they offload ? These are the questions on all Leeds fans lips currently. United look well served in the goalkeeping areas with 1 Lonergan and 12 Rachubka well up to the task. Grayson may have to loan out or sell before he is able to add to his squad. United are heavy in defenders, and mostly bad ones at that. The ones at risk are : 4 Bruce (who has yet to feature) 02 O'Brien (who has become the fans boo boy) 19 Parker (who can't stay fit) 21 Bessone (who is just pure awful) 2 Connolly (who is poor)and possibly even 21 Bromby who is the pick of the above. Bruce can look really useful at times buy always seems to have a daft error in him which either results in a goal or a red card for himself. 3 Kisnorbo has in my view been poor to average so far but will retain his position and 48 O'Dea is more of a centre half (albeit an average one) than a left back. Aidy White apart from Saturday's game has done well and young Tom Lees has been a revelation, doing well at right full even though longer term he will be our first choice centre back. All of the above (apart from Parker) were signed by Grayson and most are in the £10K to £12K a week bracket. This prohibits many Championship or League One clubs from taking them on loan, unless Leeds were to contribute substantially to their wages. You reap what you sow, but Leeds could do with losing up to five of the above - all signed by Grayson. We need a quality centre half and arguably cover for both full back positions. It's decision time. Let's look at midfield and the wide areas. Leeds have the following : 7 Gradel, 23 Snodgrass, 14 Howson, 8 Brown, 15 Clayton, 20 Nunez, and Lloyd Sam. Clayton has been a revelation beside Howson in the middle and Snodgrass and Gradel are the best wingers in the Championship. Sam is peripheral but Nunez has scored consistently when he has come in. Brown has been hugely disappointing. I still feel that Gradel may be sold on Wednesday which will be a huge loss, but Leeds can't afford to have him walk away for nothing either. If he does go Leeds need to spend the money immediately on quality and not quantity. Grayson chose the latter last season and mostly got it wrong. What he did get right was loaning out Lees, White, Clayton and Nunez, all of whom returned better and more confident players. Up front the selfless 38 Keohe has been a godsend to 44 McCormack, and Becchio should be available for the C Palace game after the international break. Somma is long term injured, and 9 Paynter is just not good enough and hopefully he will join Grella with his P45. If we receive an offer for Paynter he has to go. Keohe, McCormack and Becchio are still available and Gradel, Snodgrass and Nunez can all play up front. We have eight or nine really decent players. The balance can do a job, but another three in could make the difference. Central defence is the priority but a capable full back and possibly another striker would be really useful. It is good to see the young players get their chance. Players such as Clayton, White, Lees and even Thompson, Turner and Taylor. This is a marked change from Larry's previous use of younger payers. It should be an interesting week watching who is coming in and going out at LS11 and Larry has no room for error. Sat Aug 27th. The view from the East Anglian Times : Ipswich boss Paul Jewell admitted his Ipswich side were lucky to come from behind and beat Leeds. Town went behind to a Ross McCormack goal but hit back with strikes from Keith Andrews and Jason Scotland after Leeds had defender Aidy White sent off. After shipping five and seven goals in their previous two npower Championship games the Ipswich boss was relieved to get a win, however undeserved. “Let us be honest, Leeds are a good team and outplayed us first half,” said Jewell. “After losing seven the players are edgy and we were on the back foot, which was understandable. “We got a couple of decisions that went our way and a deflected goal. “Thank Christ for that, sometimes you have to just take the victory. We needed a victory and however we got it – we will take it. “Larry (Grayson) seems to think it might have been a nudge but a nudge ain’t a foul. One’s 6ft 3in (Jay Emmanuel-Thomas), the other kid (White) is 5ft 7in. He lives just around the corner from me in Leeds actually, he’s a friend of my kids, a lovely kid as well. “I was more interested in trying to get a penalty rather than getting the lad sent off. Once he’s last man and brings him down though he had to go. “Their penalty appeal looked a penalty to me though I have to say, I didn’t have a great view but it looked a penalty to me even though Carlos claims it was 50/50. “They’ll feel a bit hard done, but last week we had three or four decisions which went against us and today we’ve had a couple that went our way and a deflection. “We know it’s not all rosy in the garden and we’ve got a bit of work to do but I think tonight is not a night to analyse. It’s a night just to think ‘phew, thank Christ for that’. “If it says in the paper that we were lucky we won’t care! Leeds-born David Stockdale thwarted McCormack twice in the opening 20 minutes, first saving with his feet and then a block from a point-blank header. But McCormack was not to be denied in the 34th minute when he found space in the six-yard box and steered his header from a Robert Snodgrass cross past the keeper. Sat Aug 27th Dick Turpin at Portman Road. Team : 01 Lonergan, 03 Kisnorbo, 22 Lees (Sam 90+1) 28 White red card, 48 O'Dea, 07 Gradel, 14 Howson, 15 Clayton yellow card, 23 Snodgrass (Nunez 90+1) 38 Keogh, 44 McCormack (O'Brien 51 yellow card). Unused Subs : Rachubka and Thompson. Att - 19,758. Leeds hadn't defeated Ipswich in their last eight encounters. If it had been a cricket match Leeds would have declared at half time. In real terms five or six nil at half time would not have flattered the Whites as they created chance after chance. Stockdale was having a blinder and McCormack (mostly) couldn't find a way past him. McCormack did manage to head one in on 34 minutes and the Whites went into the break 1-0 up with boos for the home team ringing in their ears. But Aidy White's dismissal for a professional foul on Jay Emmanuel-Thomas changed the balance of the game. Simon Grayson was unhappy with the decision claiming the young full back was fouled first. Having watched the incident on TV there is no doubt that White was fouled first but his lack of experience lead him to stay on his feet until he pulled at the Ipswich player who wisely fell down. Even if hadn't dragged him down the worst that could have happened was an Ipswich equaliser, which United could have turned around again. United held out until the 77th minute, but they were powerless to prevent Scotland firing his side level with a sweetly-struck effort, five minutes after he had entered the fray .Gradel saw a penalty appeal turned down for the visitors and, with a point apiece looking the likely outcome, up stepped Andrews to drill a deflected effort into the net in the last minute to send fans at Portman Road wild and consign Leeds to their worst start to a league campaign in 14 years. It was harsh on Leeds who look a threat offensively but better teams than Ipswich will find us a soft touch at the back. Larry needs to get the cheque book out before next Thursday, but the fringe players who are not good enough to wear a Leeds shirt need to be farmed out also. "Let us be honest, Leeds are a good team and outplayed us first half," said Jewell the Ipswich manager. “After losing seven the players are edgy and we were on the back foot, which was understandable. We got a couple of decisions that went our way and a deflected goal. Thank Christ for that, sometimes you have to just take the victory. We needed a victory and however we got it - we will take it." Leeds boss Simon Grayson said: "First half we were outstanding against a team that has been put together with a lot of money and internationals and they created nothing. "They never created a chance against us. We could have been two or three up and the game would have been put to bed. "Ross McCormack's header hit David tockdale and he knows nothing about it. It wasn't a worldy save, I could have accepted that, but we could have had the game won. "When the home crowd boo their team off you know you have done a good job."Three minutes after the break Leeds defender White was shown a straight red card for dragging down Jay Emmanuel-Thomas a yard outside the box - a decision Grayson insists made all the difference. "The whole game changed on the sending-off decision," he said. "It's a free-kick on Aidy White for a start. As he and Thomas are running through Thomas has nudged him in the back and that has made them both go down. "We were in no danger of losing that game until that decision." Sat Aug 27th 2011. Bring on the Red Devils ! Manchester United have been drawn away to old rivals Leeds in the third round of the Carling Cup. Alex Ferguson will be looking to avenge the 1-0 FA Cup defeat to the same side two years ago at Old Trafford when the Championship team were in League One. Sat Aug 27th. Leeds fees to Agents. Payments made by Leeds United to agents more than doubled last season, new figures released by the Football League show. A total of £788,630 was paid by the club to players’ representatives during the 2010-11 campaign, a rise of almost half-a-million pounds on the previous year’s figure of £335,723. The increase at Elland Road mirrored climbing fees throughout the Football League, with agents pulling in almost £16.7million through deals with sides in the Championship, League One and League Two. The payments made by United arose from 56 different deals, including permanent transfers, loan signings and negotiations to improve or cancel players’ contracts. It is understood that the extension of Luciano Becchio’s deal last December generated the biggest single outlay, a sum which ran into six figures. The highly-rated striker was at risk of becoming a free agent this summer before he agreed a new three-year contract with Leeds. Five Championship clubs spent more on agents’ fees than United last season -Hull City, Leicester City, Middlesbrough, Queens Park Rangers and Reading - and only eight Football League teams paid no money to agents at all. United chief executive Shaun Harvey said: “The club committed to these payments because we believed it was good value in the context of securing players’ services. “It needs to be remembered that some of the payments were made on behalf of players and could therefore be seen as their liability and part of their overall salary package. “We’ll continue to work with agents and make payments that we think are necessary as part of our overall objectives.” Reflecting on the latest Football League figures, the governing body’s chairman, Greg Clarke, said: “These figures show that a considerable amount of money continues to leave the game through payments to agents.”United, meanwhile, have been hit by another rearrangement to their calendar following the postponement of their visit to Birmingham City on Tuesday, September 27. Birmingham’s involvement in the group stages of Europa League will prevent the fixture at St Andrews from going ahead as planned. A new date is yet to be announced. Friday Aug 26th. Grella departs. American forward Mike Grella, who turned down an opportunity to join Toronto FC in 2009 to try his luck in England, has left Leeds United and signed a new contract with Brentford FC. Grella, 24, joined Leeds in '09 and spent time there and on loan at Carlisle United and Swindon Town. According to Brentford, Grella and Leeds “reached a mutual termination agreement” to allow the former Duke Blue Devil to join the Bees. Brentford, located in West London, plays in the English third division, one tier lower than Leeds. Grella grew up on Long Island, N.Y., and was called up to junior U.S. national teams but never has represented his country at the senior level. He spent the 2010-11 season on loan at Carlisle and Swindon, scoring a combined four goals. Brentford said Grella would be available to play in Saturday’s game against Tranmere Rovers Thurs Aug 25th. Okuonghae link. Leeds United are reported to be interested in signing Colchester United central defender Magnus Okuonghae. However, Colchester United boss John Ward revealed this afternoon that the club had received no official interest from any club for Okuonghae, or indeed any other of his players. The ex-Dagenham & Redbridge 25-year-old will be a free agent next summer, when his current contract expires, unless the U’s can tempt him to sign a new deal. “We have had no enquiries concerning Magnus,” insisted Ward. “We haven’t yet had any talks with our players about contracts. So there is nothing happening.” Okuonghae is fighting fit again at the start of this season, after missing more than half of last term with a serious ankle injury that required surgery. Leeds are believed to be leading the chase to sign Okuonghae, with fellow Championship side Hull City also in the hunt. Weds Aug 24th. Gradel to stay or go ? United manager Simon Grayson is confident that they can hold on to the Ivory Coast international. Gradel has been linked with a whole host of clubs throughout the summer with Leeds already reportedly turning down an offer from West Ham United. Fellow championship side West Ham are still being linked with a move for Gradel as are Premier League side Fulham. Gradel is moving into the final year of his contract following his signing from Leicester City in January 2010. Leeds have seen players leave for free at the end of their contracts in the last two summers and boss Grayson is confident of holding onto last season`s player of the year, who netted 18 times in his first season in the championship. Speaking on Yorkshire Radio, Grayson said, "We are very confident, we have turned down bids. He`s a good player and we want to keep our good players. We would like to think we can fulfil the ambitions of our players here by getting to the next level." Tues Aug 23rd. Taken from Yorkshire Radio’s interview with Leeds United owner Ken Bates today…The Goebbels (pic below) weekly progoganda interview : ‘Mr Chairman’ speaks to Ben Fry about the matches against West Ham and Doncaster. He praises the young ones and the academy as well as goal machine Ramon Nunez. Ken promises that Max Gradel will not be sold by the club before the end of the transfer window despite a failed bid from a ‘skint’ West Ham this summer. He expects some more new faces to come into the club but if we don’t sign anyone it’ll be because of those pesky agents – obviously. Finally, he talks about the international break and Ramon’s decision to temporarily retire from playing for Honduras. And apparently “the fans have been great,” which is nice. Ben Fry: We’ll start with the Carling Cup game against Doncaster. Leeds went behind early on, but a a Ramon Nunez brace sees Leedsinto round three. Are you pleased to progress seen as though so many teams seem to have fallen at the second hurdle? Ken Bates: In football and cup matches especially, the important thing is the result, whether you win 1-0 or 10-0, the result is the same and in the cup matches, it’s the same. The important thing is, we’re now in third round draw. There are just 32 clubs left in the competition and with a bit of luck we’ll get a big one in Saturday’s draw, which will again give us a chance of measuring our progress. BF: Simon said afterwards that he took a bit of a chance by having the game on a Tuesday night after the West Ham game on the Sunday but it has paid off. The players did well with such a quick turnaround. KB: Well they did. And of course what we have to be pleased about is the number of youngsters that played last night. I know Tom Lees didn’t play last night but he has obviously played his way into the side now. Aidy White is looking good and of course young Clayton is also getting better every game and becoming more and more outstanding. We also had Zac Thompson last night. But what’s looking good is that our academy has started rolling again and on a fairly regular basis, which is very encouraging. Credit to the guys at Thorp Arch and our scouts and it’s looking good for the future. *BF: And there seems to be almost a strong nucleus of players who can take the club forward for 5-10 years.* KB: Well we hope so anyway. We’ve got a few more, I think, in the pot and coming along as well. So that youth policy is a long-term project as Alex Ferguson has demonstrated at Manchester United but it’s working. We beginning to see the first fruits of all the hard work. I’m delighted for everybody. BF: Also last night, another two goals from Ramon Nunez. He has been in fantastic form this season. He seems to be another gem that the club have managed to unearth. KB; Well yes, isn’t it a pity we didn’t spend any money on him and got him on a free transfer. But there you are. I’ve got a very good relationship with an Italian agent who lives in Monaco and we’re great friends. He’s very strong in South America for some reason. He produced us Nunez. I think there might be one or two more on the way from there too as well. So yes, I keep repeating myself but we are going well in all directions. *BF: Now before the Carling Cup win, it was a dramatic game at Upton Park. Did that late equaliser almost make it feel like a win?* KB: Well due to the fact we missed a penalty, Kisnorbo proved what a good centre forward he would be with that brilliant strike into the back of the net, I thought we deserved to win. Of course, it could have been 3-1. But it wasn’t, we got a draw against a very strong West Ham team and they are still virtually a Premiership club and they haven’t got rid of some of the players they want to get rid of and they have got a very big, strong squad. We more than held our own and I feel very pleased about that. We’ve had a very tough start to the season. If you think about it, Southampton, Middlesbrough and now West Ham are all contenders for promotion and we haven’t done too badly. West Ham, as you say, we were worth a win, Middlesbrough game was a travesty of justice and we should have won that one. The only bad performance, I thought, was against Southampton when we didn’t get our act together. I’m quietly confident for the future. BF: Now for the Doncaster game, Simon made six changes from the team against West Ham. With all these young players coming through, do you feel that now gives more strength in depth than people maybe realised? KB: Yes I do. And what’s really encouraging is that when these kids are given their chance, they’re taking it. And of course we have still got Ben Parker struggling with his injury and when he gets back he will be another new player. So it’s looking alright. Simon is quietly confident. *BF: Seven days left in the transfer window, do you expect there to be a flurry of activity?* KB: Well, I think I’ve said for some time now that, again, quoting Simon that these last few days before the transfer window closes there are a lot of clubs who have been wanting to sell players, if they are not prepare to lend then, or have been asking too much for their players and have now had to lower their sights. So I do anticipate some activity but as I have said before, for a transfer to take place, the player has to want to come, current club has to be prepared to release him and you’ve always got the bloody agents who do their best to… in the old days we used to say lawyers messed up deals, not it’s the agents being too greedy and spoiling it. I mean there were two players who could have signed over the weekend but having agreed everything with the player, in principle, and the selling club or loaning club as the case may be, the agent comes in and tries to pull a fast one. He thinks he’s being clever for his client but in the end his client gets nowhere and moves nowhere and stays where he is so he doesn’t benefit at all. Some players should be asking themselves a) do they need an agent and b) if I do, is this the right one for me? BF: After the game last night, Simon was asked about speculation surrounding Max Gradel and says the best way to deal with it is just to turn his phone off. Is that the best thing to do – just ignore it? KB: Well yes because, look, well, it’s like trying to get investors in a football club. There’s a lot of talk and not a lot happens. Max isn’t going anywhere and that’s the end of the matter. We already had one offer and that was from West Ham. I think Max will have finished his career by the time they would’ve finished paying it. They haven’t got any money. So, Max is a very big part of our squad and he will continue to be so. *BF: Now next up, it’s Ipswich who spent some money themselves during the summer. Are you surprised they have had, well, an indifferent start to say the least?* KB: I am rather. We mustn’t get too carried away with the Peterborough defeat because of course they we down to nine men. I didn’t see the circumstances of the sendings off because I switched on rather late. Towards the end it was like a turkey shoot and the Peterborough players were just standing around the edge of the penalty area having potshots. There might of course be a reaction to that performance when we play them on Saturday. On the other hand, we have our tails up. They’ll be in front of a crowd who will be a bit nervous and apprehensive and it’s up to Simon and the boys to take full advantage of Ipswich’s attitude if it’s a poor one. BF: Now after that it’s an international break already before back-to-back home games. Whilst it seems to disrupt the flow of the season, are you pleased it’ll give Simon a chance to get some players back fighting fit? KB: Internationals, internationals… the sooner all the European leagues leave FIFA and UEFA the better I think. But in the meantime we’ll have to live with what we have got. The pre-season friendly in the Premiership’s case, in our case it was between the first two games of the season, was a meaningless friendly. Absolutely ridiculous. Now we’ve got another one. It does disturb the players but on the other hand we have got a few players already with knocks and niggles. It’ll give them another fortnight to prepare. Hopefully Luciano Becchio will be in contention for the Crystal Palace game so that’s going to be another bonus. BF: And of course I suppose it gives people plenty of time for people look forward to getting back to Elland Road and boosting ticket sales for those two games. KB: Well, I’m quite pleased with the ticket sales so far this season. I think the fans have been great, particularly the musical ones. I think the latest song following our new away kit is ‘we’re Leeds United and we glow in the dark’. But yes, once again you see, we haven’t played a home game for nearly a month and we get two. Not fair on the fans. I keep on about it but the fixtures design is a disgrace. If we are using an outside agency then maybe we should change the agency. It’s not fair on the fans, it’s not fair on the players. BF: And while we’re talking about international football, Ramon Nunez, who obviously missed a lot of time away with Honduras has said he is putting his international career on hold to concentrate on getting in the Leeds United first team. You must praise his attitude. KB: Well I do indeed and I’m very grateful for it. He came here on trial, we gave him his chance and now he wants to repay the opportunity we gave him and consolidate his position and prove what a good player he is. Well we know that and we’ll now see him on a regular basis and I’m sure we will. The fans must be very pleased too how well he has come on. As I said earlier, what a pity he was a free transfer, not £10million we had to pay. Aug1st to Aug 23rd July 2011Update June 11th update May 11 Update April 11 Update March 11 Update Feb 11 Update Jan 11 Update Dec 10 Update Nov 10 Update Oct 10 Update Sept 10 Update Aug 10 Update July 10 Update June 10 Update May 10 Update April 10 Update March 10 Update Feb 10 Update Jan 10 Update Dec 09 Update Nov 09 Update Oct 09 Update Sept 09 Update June 09 to Aug 09 Feb to May 09 Index January 09 Index Nov 14th 08 to Dec 31st 08 Index June 08 to Nov 11th 08 Index Jan 08 to May 25th 08 For Archived Files for December 07 click here For Archived Files from October to November 07 click here For Archived Files from August to September 07 click here For previous news stories, please click here. For what you think of Leeds, click here to send in your rants and I'll include them in the "Rants" page.

Home

Louth Branch

Contact Us

Photos

Fixtures/ results

Leeds Rants

Membership Details

Leeds Shop

Junior Section

Louth Branch Magazine articles

Quiz time

06/07 Season

Louth Branch Archives

Louth Branch History

This is the Louth Branch website. Always Leeds always loyal ! Edited by Gerry Cunningham.

Leeds United's fixtures for season 2011/12 click here Fixture dates will be changed to suit Sky and BBC.Our prayers and thoughts are with the Martin family who lost Adrian in a tragic accident recently. Adrian was from Carrickmacross and his brother Paul and nephew Alan are both members of the Louth Branch. May Adrian RIP. Our AGM took place in Peadars on Monday night and thanks to all who turned up. The same committee was elected for another year. Our first official trip comes down to one of two games : Portsmouth on Oct 1st or Barnsley on Nov 26th. Both are Saturday games and we will be flying into Leeds/Bradford on the Friday morning and returning from Leeds/Bradford on Sunday at lunchtime. We will make a decision on Monday 5th of September so please e-mail or text me your interest or preference. Logistically it wouldn't be possible to organise a trip for the September games.

Weds 31st of August. Two strikers left Leeds. Grella and Gradel gone. West Ham (David Bentley from Spurs and Henri Lansbury from Arsenal and Guy Demal Ivory Coast international from Hamburg)and Leicester (Jermaine Beckford plus half of the Championship's top players) were busy bringing in top quality but bargain bucket Leeds were invisible. A new low for even Bates not to spend any of the £4M recouped for Gradel and Schmeichel except the £200K for Lonergan. Leede fans are absolutely disgusted by the inaction of Leeds United.

Tues August 30th 2100 Hrs - Gradel departs. As per usual the Bates/Grayson partnership go back on their word to Leeds United fans. Max Gradel "is staying at the club and is key to our promotion aspirations" they both said. Lies, lies and more lies. Despite the spin that will come out of Elland Road, United didn't offer him an improved contract offer and were frotting at the mouth for the £2.5M that he was sold for. Sochaux had an earlier bid of £2M turned down for the 23 year old Ivorian who scored 18 Championship goals for the Whites last season. "The player submitted a transfer request earlier on Tuesday stating his desire to return to his native France (He's actually from a different continent called Africa, lads) and play at the highest level for his player development. There is extensive interest in the player who is out of contract at the end of the season from both clubs in England and in France, however we were reluctant to agree a domestic fee that would potentially harm our promotion prospects (what about Schmeichel to Leicester, lads.) The player is to undertake a medical on Wednesday and the fee will remain undisclosed. " I have to say I'm not in the least surprised and would have been astonished if he was still a Leeds player after Wednesday. One other thing. If Leeds received an offer of £5M for Snodgrass, he would also be going. Make no bones about it. We will listen now to the same old shite like : "we couldn't let him run down his contract (even though he wasn't offered an improved contract) and we have a ready made replacement in Nunez". Lies, lies, lies. Just like Schmeichel, Gradel was squeezed into a corner and forced out. If you get a pig and send it all around the world and then bring it back. It's sill a pig. For pig read Bates and an ignorant one at that. Bates is a leach and is sucking the life and revenue out of Leeds United and Larry is a co-conspirator either blind to or in full agreement of his chairman's selfish and money hungry actions. I hope and pray that we use the £2.5M and the £1.5M from Scmeichel to address the areas of the team that need most attention, but I don't hold out too much hope. Norman Bates will call some of the suites in his new hotels the Gradel Rooms or the Schmeichel Arena. It's now 2300 on Tuesday night. By this time tomorrow we should have some idea of the answers.

Tues Aug 30th 12 Noon. Sky Sports are reporting that Newcastle are in talks with Leeds over Max Gradel. It looks like Sochaux or Newcastle or Leeds or maybe all three are telling porkies. Bates/Grayson insist that he is staying at Elland Road. Sochaux are saying he is going to France and Newcastle are saying he going to Tyneside. Personally I'll be surprised if he is a Leeds player after Wednesday. I can almost hear Grayson/Bates saying "we couldn't afford to let him go for nothing at a later date" adn we'll try and get a 35 year old cart horse to replace him.

Tues Aug 30th. Just two days to go until the transfer window shuts and once again Max Gradel is linked with an exit from Elland Road. This time Sochaux claim that "a deal is at an advanced stage" for the Ivorian. This is subject to their highly rated winger, Maiga joins Newcastle in an £8M deal.

Tues Aug 30th. Leeds v Man United on live. Leeds' Carling Cup home date with Manchester United has been scheduled for Tuesday, September 20 and will be screened live on Sky Sports. The glamour tie at Elland Road was the pick of the third-round draw which took place on Saturday – with the meeting between the two foes the first in West Yorkshire for almost eight years. The game will kick off at 7.45pm, with United keen for another famous night to follow on from their stunning 1-0 victory in the third round of the FA Cup back in January 2010, when Jermaine Beckford’s strike gave the Whites their first victory at Old Trafford since February 1981. The Red Devils triumphed 3-2 after extra-time in the club’s last meeting at Leeds in October 2003, with the visitors narrowly prevailing following a close-fought Carling Cup clash, thanks to a last-gasp strike from midfielder Eric Djemba-Djemba. Leeds have lost all their previous four matches in the League Cup’s various guises against their opponents from across the Pennines.

Sun August 28th. Deadline day approaches. The deadline for permanent transfers is on Wednesday night 11PM. The loan window for Championship clubs opens the following week. What areas of the side do Leeds need to strengthen, and who should they offload ? These are the questions on all Leeds fans lips currently. United look well served in the goalkeeping areas with 1 Lonergan and 12 Rachubka well up to the task. Grayson may have to loan out or sell before he is able to add to his squad. United are heavy in defenders, and mostly bad ones at that. The ones at risk are : 4 Bruce (who has yet to feature) 02 O'Brien (who has become the fans boo boy) 19 Parker (who can't stay fit) 21 Bessone (who is just pure awful) 2 Connolly (who is poor)and possibly even 21 Bromby who is the pick of the above. Bruce can look really useful at times buy always seems to have a daft error in him which either results in a goal or a red card for himself. 3 Kisnorbo has in my view been poor to average so far but will retain his position and 48 O'Dea is more of a centre half (albeit an average one) than a left back. Aidy White apart from Saturday's game has done well and young Tom Lees has been a revelation, doing well at right full even though longer term he will be our first choice centre back. All of the above (apart from Parker) were signed by Grayson and most are in the £10K to £12K a week bracket. This prohibits many Championship or League One clubs from taking them on loan, unless Leeds were to contribute substantially to their wages. You reap what you sow, but Leeds could do with losing up to five of the above - all signed by Grayson. We need a quality centre half and arguably cover for both full back positions. It's decision time. Let's look at midfield and the wide areas. Leeds have the following : 7 Gradel, 23 Snodgrass, 14 Howson, 8 Brown, 15 Clayton, 20 Nunez, and Lloyd Sam. Clayton has been a revelation beside Howson in the middle and Snodgrass and Gradel are the best wingers in the Championship. Sam is peripheral but Nunez has scored consistently when he has come in. Brown has been hugely disappointing. I still feel that Gradel may be sold on Wednesday which will be a huge loss, but Leeds can't afford to have him walk away for nothing either. If he does go Leeds need to spend the money immediately on quality and not quantity. Grayson chose the latter last season and mostly got it wrong. What he did get right was loaning out Lees, White, Clayton and Nunez, all of whom returned better and more confident players. Up front the selfless 38 Keohe has been a godsend to 44 McCormack, and Becchio should be available for the C Palace game after the international break. Somma is long term injured, and 9 Paynter is just not good enough and hopefully he will join Grella with his P45. If we receive an offer for Paynter he has to go. Keohe, McCormack and Becchio are still available and Gradel, Snodgrass and Nunez can all play up front. We have eight or nine really decent players. The balance can do a job, but another three in could make the difference. Central defence is the priority but a capable full back and possibly another striker would be really useful. It is good to see the young players get their chance. Players such as Clayton, White, Lees and even Thompson, Turner and Taylor. This is a marked change from Larry's previous use of younger payers. It should be an interesting week watching who is coming in and going out at LS11 and Larry has no room for error.

Sat Aug 27th. The view from the East Anglian Times : Ipswich boss Paul Jewell admitted his Ipswich side were lucky to come from behind and beat Leeds. Town went behind to a Ross McCormack goal but hit back with strikes from Keith Andrews and Jason Scotland after Leeds had defender Aidy White sent off. After shipping five and seven goals in their previous two npower Championship games the Ipswich boss was relieved to get a win, however undeserved. “Let us be honest, Leeds are a good team and outplayed us first half,” said Jewell. “After losing seven the players are edgy and we were on the back foot, which was understandable. “We got a couple of decisions that went our way and a deflected goal. “Thank Christ for that, sometimes you have to just take the victory. We needed a victory and however we got it – we will take it. “Larry (Grayson) seems to think it might have been a nudge but a nudge ain’t a foul. One’s 6ft 3in (Jay Emmanuel-Thomas), the other kid (White) is 5ft 7in. He lives just around the corner from me in Leeds actually, he’s a friend of my kids, a lovely kid as well. “I was more interested in trying to get a penalty rather than getting the lad sent off. Once he’s last man and brings him down though he had to go. “Their penalty appeal looked a penalty to me though I have to say, I didn’t have a great view but it looked a penalty to me even though Carlos claims it was 50/50. “They’ll feel a bit hard done, but last week we had three or four decisions which went against us and today we’ve had a couple that went our way and a deflection. “We know it’s not all rosy in the garden and we’ve got a bit of work to do but I think tonight is not a night to analyse. It’s a night just to think ‘phew, thank Christ for that’. “If it says in the paper that we were lucky we won’t care! Leeds-born David Stockdale thwarted McCormack twice in the opening 20 minutes, first saving with his feet and then a block from a point-blank header. But McCormack was not to be denied in the 34th minute when he found space in the six-yard box and steered his header from a Robert Snodgrass cross past the keeper.

Sat Aug 27th Dick Turpin at Portman Road. Team : 01 Lonergan, 03 Kisnorbo, 22 Lees (Sam 90+1) 28 White red card, 48 O'Dea, 07 Gradel, 14 Howson, 15 Clayton yellow card, 23 Snodgrass (Nunez 90+1) 38 Keogh, 44 McCormack (O'Brien 51 yellow card). Unused Subs : Rachubka and Thompson. Att - 19,758. Leeds hadn't defeated Ipswich in their last eight encounters. If it had been a cricket match Leeds would have declared at half time. In real terms five or six nil at half time would not have flattered the Whites as they created chance after chance. Stockdale was having a blinder and McCormack (mostly) couldn't find a way past him. McCormack did manage to head one in on 34 minutes and the Whites went into the break 1-0 up with boos for the home team ringing in their ears. But Aidy White's dismissal for a professional foul on Jay Emmanuel-Thomas changed the balance of the game. Simon Grayson was unhappy with the decision claiming the young full back was fouled first. Having watched the incident on TV there is no doubt that White was fouled first but his lack of experience lead him to stay on his feet until he pulled at the Ipswich player who wisely fell down. Even if hadn't dragged him down the worst that could have happened was an Ipswich equaliser, which United could have turned around again. United held out until the 77th minute, but they were powerless to prevent Scotland firing his side level with a sweetly-struck effort, five minutes after he had entered the fray .Gradel saw a penalty appeal turned down for the visitors and, with a point apiece looking the likely outcome, up stepped Andrews to drill a deflected effort into the net in the last minute to send fans at Portman Road wild and consign Leeds to their worst start to a league campaign in 14 years. It was harsh on Leeds who look a threat offensively but better teams than Ipswich will find us a soft touch at the back. Larry needs to get the cheque book out before next Thursday, but the fringe players who are not good enough to wear a Leeds shirt need to be farmed out also. "Let us be honest, Leeds are a good team and outplayed us first half," said Jewell the Ipswich manager. “After losing seven the players are edgy and we were on the back foot, which was understandable. We got a couple of decisions that went our way and a deflected goal. Thank Christ for that, sometimes you have to just take the victory. We needed a victory and however we got it - we will take it." Leeds boss Simon Grayson said: "First half we were outstanding against a team that has been put together with a lot of money and internationals and they created nothing. "They never created a chance against us. We could have been two or three up and the game would have been put to bed. "Ross McCormack's header hit David tockdale and he knows nothing about it. It wasn't a worldy save, I could have accepted that, but we could have had the game won. "When the home crowd boo their team off you know you have done a good job."Three minutes after the break Leeds defender White was shown a straight red card for dragging down Jay Emmanuel-Thomas a yard outside the box - a decision Grayson insists made all the difference. "The whole game changed on the sending-off decision," he said. "It's a free-kick on Aidy White for a start. As he and Thomas are running through Thomas has nudged him in the back and that has made them both go down. "We were in no danger of losing that game until that decision."

Sat Aug 27th 2011. Bring on the Red Devils ! Manchester United have been drawn away to old rivals Leeds in the third round of the Carling Cup. Alex Ferguson will be looking to avenge the 1-0 FA Cup defeat to the same side two years ago at Old Trafford when the Championship team were in League One.

Sat Aug 27th. Leeds fees to Agents. Payments made by Leeds United to agents more than doubled last season, new figures released by the Football League show. A total of £788,630 was paid by the club to players’ representatives during the 2010-11 campaign, a rise of almost half-a-million pounds on the previous year’s figure of £335,723. The increase at Elland Road mirrored climbing fees throughout the Football League, with agents pulling in almost £16.7million through deals with sides in the Championship, League One and League Two. The payments made by United arose from 56 different deals, including permanent transfers, loan signings and negotiations to improve or cancel players’ contracts. It is understood that the extension of Luciano Becchio’s deal last December generated the biggest single outlay, a sum which ran into six figures. The highly-rated striker was at risk of becoming a free agent this summer before he agreed a new three-year contract with Leeds. Five Championship clubs spent more on agents’ fees than United last season -Hull City, Leicester City, Middlesbrough, Queens Park Rangers and Reading - and only eight Football League teams paid no money to agents at all. United chief executive Shaun Harvey said: “The club committed to these payments because we believed it was good value in the context of securing players’ services. “It needs to be remembered that some of the payments were made on behalf of players and could therefore be seen as their liability and part of their overall salary package. “We’ll continue to work with agents and make payments that we think are necessary as part of our overall objectives.” Reflecting on the latest Football League figures, the governing body’s chairman, Greg Clarke, said: “These figures show that a considerable amount of money continues to leave the game through payments to agents.”United, meanwhile, have been hit by another rearrangement to their calendar following the postponement of their visit to Birmingham City on Tuesday, September 27. Birmingham’s involvement in the group stages of Europa League will prevent the fixture at St Andrews from going ahead as planned. A new date is yet to be announced.

Friday Aug 26th. Grella departs. American forward Mike Grella, who turned down an opportunity to join Toronto FC in 2009 to try his luck in England, has left Leeds United and signed a new contract with Brentford FC. Grella, 24, joined Leeds in '09 and spent time there and on loan at Carlisle United and Swindon Town. According to Brentford, Grella and Leeds “reached a mutual termination agreement” to allow the former Duke Blue Devil to join the Bees. Brentford, located in West London, plays in the English third division, one tier lower than Leeds. Grella grew up on Long Island, N.Y., and was called up to junior U.S. national teams but never has represented his country at the senior level. He spent the 2010-11 season on loan at Carlisle and Swindon, scoring a combined four goals. Brentford said Grella would be available to play in Saturday’s game against Tranmere Rovers

Thurs Aug 25th. Okuonghae link. Leeds United are reported to be interested in signing Colchester United central defender Magnus Okuonghae. However, Colchester United boss John Ward revealed this afternoon that the club had received no official interest from any club for Okuonghae, or indeed any other of his players. The ex-Dagenham & Redbridge 25-year-old will be a free agent next summer, when his current contract expires, unless the U’s can tempt him to sign a new deal. “We have had no enquiries concerning Magnus,” insisted Ward. “We haven’t yet had any talks with our players about contracts. So there is nothing happening.” Okuonghae is fighting fit again at the start of this season, after missing more than half of last term with a serious ankle injury that required surgery. Leeds are believed to be leading the chase to sign Okuonghae, with fellow Championship side Hull City also in the hunt.

Weds Aug 24th. Gradel to stay or go ? United manager Simon Grayson is confident that they can hold on to the Ivory Coast international. Gradel has been linked with a whole host of clubs throughout the summer with Leeds already reportedly turning down an offer from West Ham United. Fellow championship side West Ham are still being linked with a move for Gradel as are Premier League side Fulham. Gradel is moving into the final year of his contract following his signing from Leicester City in January 2010. Leeds have seen players leave for free at the end of their contracts in the last two summers and boss Grayson is confident of holding onto last season`s player of the year, who netted 18 times in his first season in the championship. Speaking on Yorkshire Radio, Grayson said, "We are very confident, we have turned down bids. He`s a good player and we want to keep our good players. We would like to think we can fulfil the ambitions of our players here by getting to the next level."

Tues Aug 23rd. Taken from Yorkshire Radio’s interview with Leeds United owner Ken Bates today…The Goebbels (pic below) weekly progoganda interview : ‘Mr Chairman’ speaks to Ben Fry about the matches against West Ham and Doncaster. He praises the young ones and the academy as well as goal machine Ramon Nunez. Ken promises that Max Gradel will not be sold by the club before the end of the transfer window despite a failed bid from a ‘skint’ West Ham this summer. He expects some more new faces to come into the club but if we don’t sign anyone it’ll be because of those pesky agents – obviously. Finally, he talks about the international break and Ramon’s decision to temporarily retire from playing for Honduras. And apparently “the fans have been great,” which is nice. Ben Fry: We’ll start with the Carling Cup game against Doncaster. Leeds went behind early on, but a a Ramon Nunez brace sees Leedsinto round three. Are you pleased to progress seen as though so many teams seem to have fallen at the second hurdle? Ken Bates: In football and cup matches especially, the important thing is the result, whether you win 1-0 or 10-0, the result is the same and in the cup matches, it’s the same. The important thing is, we’re now in third round draw. There are just 32 clubs left in the competition and with a bit of luck we’ll get a big one in Saturday’s draw, which will again give us a chance of measuring our progress. BF: Simon said afterwards that he took a bit of a chance by having the game on a Tuesday night after the West Ham game on the Sunday but it has paid off. The players did well with such a quick turnaround. KB: Well they did. And of course what we have to be pleased about is the number of youngsters that played last night. I know Tom Lees didn’t play last night but he has obviously played his way into the side now. Aidy White is looking good and of course young Clayton is also getting better every game and becoming more and more outstanding. We also had Zac Thompson last night. But what’s looking good is that our academy has started rolling again and on a fairly regular basis, which is very encouraging. Credit to the guys at Thorp Arch and our scouts and it’s looking good for the future. BF: And there seems to be almost a strong nucleus of players who can take the club forward for 5-10 years. KB: Well we hope so anyway. We’ve got a few more, I think, in the pot and coming along as well. So that youth policy is a long-term project as Alex Ferguson has demonstrated at Manchester United but it’s working. We beginning to see the first fruits of all the hard work. I’m delighted for everybody. BF: Also last night, another two goals from Ramon Nunez. He has been in fantastic form this season. He seems to be another gem that the club have managed to unearth. KB; Well yes, isn’t it a pity we didn’t spend any money on him and got him on a free transfer. But there you are. I’ve got a very good relationship with an Italian agent who lives in Monaco and we’re great friends. He’s very strong in South America for some reason. He produced us Nunez. I think there might be one or two more on the way from there too as well. So yes, I keep repeating myself but we are going well in all directions. BF: Now before the Carling Cup win, it was a dramatic game at Upton Park. Did that late equaliser almost make it feel like a win? KB: Well due to the fact we missed a penalty, Kisnorbo proved what a good centre forward he would be with that brilliant strike into the back of the net, I thought we deserved to win. Of course, it could have been 3-1. But it wasn’t, we got a draw against a very strong West Ham team and they are still virtually a Premiership club and they haven’t got rid of some of the players they want to get rid of and they have got a very big, strong squad. We more than held our own and I feel very pleased about that. We’ve had a very tough start to the season. If you think about it, Southampton, Middlesbrough and now West Ham are all contenders for promotion and we haven’t done too badly. West Ham, as you say, we were worth a win, Middlesbrough game was a travesty of justice and we should have won that one. The only bad performance, I thought, was against Southampton when we didn’t get our act together. I’m quietly confident for the future. BF: Now for the Doncaster game, Simon made six changes from the team against West Ham. With all these young players coming through, do you feel that now gives more strength in depth than people maybe realised? KB: Yes I do. And what’s really encouraging is that when these kids are given their chance, they’re taking it. And of course we have still got Ben Parker struggling with his injury and when he gets back he will be another new player. So it’s looking alright. Simon is quietly confident. BF: Seven days left in the transfer window, do you expect there to be a flurry of activity? KB: Well, I think I’ve said for some time now that, again, quoting Simon that these last few days before the transfer window closes there are a lot of clubs who have been wanting to sell players, if they are not prepare to lend then, or have been asking too much for their players and have now had to lower their sights. So I do anticipate some activity but as I have said before, for a transfer to take place, the player has to want to come, current club has to be prepared to release him and you’ve always got the bloody agents who do their best to… in the old days we used to say lawyers messed up deals, not it’s the agents being too greedy and spoiling it. I mean there were two players who could have signed over the weekend but having agreed everything with the player, in principle, and the selling club or loaning club as the case may be, the agent comes in and tries to pull a fast one. He thinks he’s being clever for his client but in the end his client gets nowhere and moves nowhere and stays where he is so he doesn’t benefit at all. Some players should be asking themselves a) do they need an agent and b) if I do, is this the right one for me? BF: After the game last night, Simon was asked about speculation surrounding Max Gradel and says the best way to deal with it is just to turn his phone off. Is that the best thing to do – just ignore it? KB: Well yes because, look, well, it’s like trying to get investors in a football club. There’s a lot of talk and not a lot happens. Max isn’t going anywhere and that’s the end of the matter. We already had one offer and that was from West Ham. I think Max will have finished his career by the time they would’ve finished paying it. They haven’t got any money. So, Max is a very big part of our squad and he will continue to be so. BF: Now next up, it’s Ipswich who spent some money themselves during the summer. Are you surprised they have had, well, an indifferent start to say the least? KB: I am rather. We mustn’t get too carried away with the Peterborough defeat because of course they we down to nine men. I didn’t see the circumstances of the sendings off because I switched on rather late. Towards the end it was like a turkey shoot and the Peterborough players were just standing around the edge of the penalty area having potshots. There might of course be a reaction to that performance when we play them on Saturday. On the other hand, we have our tails up. They’ll be in front of a crowd who will be a bit nervous and apprehensive and it’s up to Simon and the boys to take full advantage of Ipswich’s attitude if it’s a poor one. BF: Now after that it’s an international break already before back-to-back home games. Whilst it seems to disrupt the flow of the season, are you pleased it’ll give Simon a chance to get some players back fighting fit? KB: Internationals, internationals… the sooner all the European leagues leave FIFA and UEFA the better I think. But in the meantime we’ll have to live with what we have got. The pre-season friendly in the Premiership’s case, in our case it was between the first two games of the season, was a meaningless friendly. Absolutely ridiculous. Now we’ve got another one. It does disturb the players but on the other hand we have got a few players already with knocks and niggles. It’ll give them another fortnight to prepare. Hopefully Luciano Becchio will be in contention for the Crystal Palace game so that’s going to be another bonus. BF: And of course I suppose it gives people plenty of time for people look forward to getting back to Elland Road and boosting ticket sales for those two games. KB: Well, I’m quite pleased with the ticket sales so far this season. I think the fans have been great, particularly the musical ones. I think the latest song following our new away kit is ‘we’re Leeds United and we glow in the dark’. But yes, once again you see, we haven’t played a home game for nearly a month and we get two. Not fair on the fans. I keep on about it but the fixtures design is a disgrace. If we are using an outside agency then maybe we should change the agency. It’s not fair on the fans, it’s not fair on the players. BF: And while we’re talking about international football, Ramon Nunez, who obviously missed a lot of time away with Honduras has said he is putting his international career on hold to concentrate on getting in the Leeds United first team. You must praise his attitude. KB: Well I do indeed and I’m very grateful for it. He came here on trial, we gave him his chance and now he wants to repay the opportunity we gave him and consolidate his position and prove what a good player he is. Well we know that and we’ll now see him on a regular basis and I’m sure we will. The fans must be very pleased too how well he has come on. As I said earlier, what a pity he was a free transfer, not £10million we had to pay.