This is the Louth Branch website. Always Leeds always loyal ! Edited by Gerry Cunningham. Please be be advised that we only attain match tickets for paid up members.  Happy new year to  all of our members and their families. I'm looking for members to contribute opinions anything re Leeds United so it can be posted on our website.

Monday Jan 16th 2012. Lancashire News. According to reports Leeds United are chasing Blackburn Rovers midfielder Keith Andrews. The Yorkshire Post claims Leeds boss Simon Grayson is eyeing the Rovers who has recently been with Ipswich Town. It is understood that Grayson tried to sign him last summer but lost out to Ipswich. His loan spell at Portman Road has now come to an end and it is believed that Andrews does not see his future at Ewood Park. It seems unlikely that United will nab Andrews. The player is seeking a Premiership move and his current boss wants him to fight for a first team place. The longer in January he leaves it the more his demands will diminish because he needs to be playing regularly to keep his slot in the Irish midfield in Euro 2012. 

Monday January 16th 2012. Snods on appendix op. Leeds United winger Robert Snodgrass has revealed he was in 'agony' before undergoing an operation to remove his appendix. The Scotland international missed Leeds' games against Barnsley, Burnley and Arsenal after suffering severe stabbing pain in his stomach. Snodgrass came off the bench in Saturday's draw at Crystal Palace and played a key role in Simon Grayson's side claiming a point after slotting home the equaliser. The 24-year-old knew his health comes first and foremost and he did fear he could miss over a month of action and not the two weeks he to come back quickly."

Sun January 15th 2012. What's the news re our competitors ? Southampton have had two bids turned down for 17 goal Gary Hooper. The second bid is thought to have been in the £6M range. Neil Lennon has had this to say : 'Gary is happy here. He has good feet and is a good finisher. 'Southampton have been in for him but I don’t want to sell any of my top players. It would have to be top dollar for guys such as Gary, Ki Sung-Yeung, Beram Kayal, Emilio Izaguirre and James Forrest. 'But if I had to put a price on Gary’s head then it would be £35million. Even if we did receive a knock-out price for Gary, would we be able to replace him. Trust me, goalscorers of his calibre are not easy to find. 'We’re top of the league and that brings its own pressure. But I hope we can keep all our good players. 'I don’t want to see Gary, Kris Commons or Joe Ledley leave the club.' It just shows the level of ambition the Saints have compared to  Loanee United who have taken more players on trial than the Old Bailey. Meanwhile Reading's Brian McDermott has raided the League of Ireland again after securing the services of 20 year old striker Karl Sheppard who was out of contract at Shamrock Rovers. He has already had huge success with LOI players such as Doyle and Long. There are other nuggets to be had like Lafferty (a superb left back at Derry City) and Mark Griffin at Dundalk. 

Sunday Jan 16th 2012. Latest links. The usually unreliable Tribal Football has Leeds linked with a move for Neil Warnock to replace Larry. Warnock has won a record six promotions, more than any other manager. QPR fans are still dancing in the streest after his departure. The fire fighter seemingly has an similar record for bringing sides back down. The perennial Leeds born Nick Montgomery is linked with a move (again) from Sheff United. Lichaj and Delph have been linked with a double move to Leeds from Villa, but there could be some truth in Lichaj who is coming back to fitness after a lengthy period out. He needs games though, and United need somebody at right full now. 

Sat Jan 15th 2012. C Palace 1-1 Leeds United. Report from BBC. 01 Lonergan, 22 Lees, 28 White (Snodgrass 56) 29 Thompson, 48 O'Dea, 08 Brown15 Clayton, 16 Pugh, 17 Townsend, 10 Becchio (Forssell 79) 44 McCormack – Unused Subs : 24 Taylor, 04 Bruce, 20 Nunez.  Substitute Robert Snodgrass rescued a point for Leeds as a close-range finish on his return from injury pegged back 10-man Crystal Palace. Chris Martin gave the Eagles an early lead as he cut in and fired into the bottom corner of Andy Lonergan's goal. But Sean Scannell got a second yellow card for a clumsy challenge on Danny Pugh to leave the hosts a man down. Snodgrass tucked away Ross McCormack's pass before Julian Speroni's save denied Mikael Forssell a Leeds winner. Snodgrass was a surprise inclusion in the Leeds squad after having surgery on his appendix just two weeks ago and the Scotland international justified his place on the bench by netting the equaliser within seven minutes of his introduction. Palace were victorious in the first leg of the Carling Cup semi-final against Cardiff on Tuesday night but they have been inconsistent in the Championship of late. They began the stronger of the two sides, with Martin finding the net after just six minutes. Leeds responded well, with Pugh blasting Adam Clayton's corner over the bar from six yards, before Speroni was called upon to save well from Clayton and Tom Lees to preserve Palace's lead. Scannell had already been cautioned for a foul on Andros Townsend when he clattered into Pugh to earn his marching orders on the stroke of half-time. Leeds pressed forward after the break and McCormack and Lees both went close before Snodgrass levelled. The visitors could have departed Selhurst Park with all three points as Snodgrass, Pugh and Clayton threatened from distance before Speroni blocked Forssell from close range. What the managers/Coaches thought : Dougie Freedman hailed his Crystal Palace players after they drew 1-1 with Leeds despite playing the majority of the match with 10 men. Sean Scannell was sent off in the first half for collecting two yellow cards by referee David Coote after Chris Martin had given the Eagles a sixth minute lead. But despite having the extra man, the Whites struggled to overcome a resilient Palace side until substitute Robert Snodgrass drew them level in the 63rd minute. Palace manager Freedman said: "A manager is always going to be disappointed with any sending off. The way it came about was also disappointing. "I felt the decision was made too quickly and looking back, (it was) probably not a sending off. "But the referee has to make these decisions in real time and the game is quick today. I think that's why the few seconds after the referee blows the whistle, is very crucial to them. "It is unfortunate but we don't look for excuses. We got on with it and got a good point. "We played well in the first half and controlled the majority of the match and we had a deserved lead at half-time. "Unfortunately, the goal set us back because we had to adjust mentally and physically because when you are down to 10 men, they could havegone on and won the game. "But we had great energy levels and I am happy with that point. Leeds assistant manager Glyn Snodin had no complaints despite failing to make their extra man advantage count. He added: "We thought we did well. We tried to get the ball out wide and make the extra man count. "We got the goal in the second half and thought we could push on and go and win the game. "But Palace are good on the break, even with 10 men, and when Wilfried [Zaha] came on. "They came out in the first half and put us on the back foot. They had a few early shots and then went 1-0 up after six minutes, like they did last season, so it was a good point for us. "They started the second half well, but they also had men behind the ball and sometimes it is hard to break them down. "We had the game plan - to make sure we kept on getting the ball wide and not to go central and hopefully we would get the result." Before the game I would have happily taken a point but against ten men we were disappointing. Townsend was wasteful with plenty of the ball and I just don't know what has happened Luciano Becchio. He seems a shadow of the player we had last season. We are down to 11th whilst teams around us all did well. Better players are needed but the ones occupying their positions must do better. 

Kewell goes home "to give something back". Harry Kewell was officially unveiled as Melbourne Victory’s newest signing today and he says he is ready for the challenge. The 32-year old former Leeds United, Liverpool and Galatasary star said : I’m up for the challenge. “You’re not going to get nothing from me but professionalism and showing everyone how to play football.”

Thurs Jan 12th. One going and one wanting to come. Will Hatfield has agreed to the mutual termination of his contract at Leeds, allowing him to start looking for a new club. The Whites announced on Thursday that the youngster has left Elland Road after accepting that his career would be better served elsewhere. The 20-year-old is a product of Leeds' academy system and was tipped for a bright future as he made his way through the youth ranks. Having made the step up into the reserve side, he captained the second string to title success in 2010. The first-team door remained locked, though, and he was unable to make that breakthrough. He was able to take in senior action during a loan spell at York last season, before going on to spend time with Accrington this term. Hatfield is now hoping to find a new employer as quickly as possible, allowing him to enjoy a productive second half to the 2011/12 campaign. Leeds United’s bid to sign USA international Robbie Rogers will be decided in the next fortnight, with manager Simon Grayson pushing to blood him at the earliest opportunity. The 24-year-old, who has made more than 100 appearances MLS side Columbus Crew, had been on trial with the Whites. Simon Grayson, told the club’s official website: “He’s been playing in the MLS where he has done well, he wants to continue his career in Europe, and we believe he will make an impact here. “As soon as the work permit business is complete he will be an immediate part of our plans and have an opportunity with the first team".  See Robbie Rogers goal for USA v Mexico - the first of Klinsmann era. Two decent fee, I'll give him that and certainly some attitude. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZBLKrzseiA    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0crhc-5ous   

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNkdvl2oVMc   

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZBLKrzseiA a

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcVFxoRQ0QM&feature=related     (Interview)

Thursday Jan 12th. O'Dea wants to stay at Leeds. Darren O'Dea wants to join Leeds on a permanent basis, preferably before the end of the transfer window. The Dubliner is on a season-long loan from Celtic and would be happy to formalise the agreement if all parties could agree. "If something could be done in January, it certainly would appeal to me to move," O'Dea told the Irish Independent. "I'm at the stage of my life, and career, where I need to settle. "I have been on loan three times now - this my third year in a row - and with a wife and kid, I want to get a permanent base. You want to get a home, not a house that you rent. Staying with Leeds is certainly attractive because they, like Celtic, are a massive club. Hopefully something will happen, if not now then in the summer." O'Dea, who has also enjoyed loan spells at Ipswich and Reading in the last three years, was handed his first international cap by Giovanni Trapattoni in 2009. O'Dea probably played his best game in a Leeds shirt against Arsenal. Both Leeds and O'Dea are the pick of the centre halves we have, and O'Dea knows that he must keep playing if he wants to go to Poland. Leeds still need a decent central defender. It will be interesting to see what happens regarding Alex Bruce and Andy O'Brien. 

Weds Jan 11th 2012. Extract from the weekly chairman's rant from South Africa. Thanks to The Square Ball for the following extract. I listened to his rant as I do each week and words just don’t convey how much Bates has his head up his arse and the sheer contempt he has for anyone who doesn’t share his views. I know Grayson gets stick and rightly so in many circumstances but I think I would eat my own liver rather than work for this lying, deceitful excuse for a human being.  If you are at Elland Road on match day, The Square Ball is really good value @ £2 and probably the best fanzine out there.  Taken from Yorkshire Radio’s interview with Leeds United owner Ken Bates today…‘Mr Chairman’ speaks to Ben Fry from somewhere in Southern Africa where he watched the Arsenal match on Monday (I assume he got lost on the way to the Emirates). He tells Ben his thoughts on the team’s performance and ESPN’s performance. There’s also his thoughts on Snoddy’s return, the transfer window, season ticket renewals, the East Stand, the Palace game and he reveals the squad’s travel arrangements for the week ahead. Ben Fry: Chairman, a battling display at the Emirates. You must be quite proud of how the team performed on Monday night. Ken Bates: Yes, I thought they did very well indeed. It was just the fact they had grit and determination but the fact that they fought for every ball, put their bodies in the way. I think it’s significant that our goalkeeper, Lonergan, didn’t have a save to make in the first half. I know Arsenal had plenty of territorial possession but that’s no good if you don’t put it away. I must say, I was pleasantly surprised. I was asked in my hotel because there are a lot of English people down here, a lot of them Arsenal fans and that sort of thing and I actually said, well, thinking of all our injuries, I was thinking it won’t be a surprise if we lost by more than three goals. In the event, we nearly snatched a draw. We had five youngsters in the team and I just thought it was tremendous. BF: You mentioned the youngsters, particularly in the back line I’m thinking of Zac Thompson, Aidy White, Tom Lees and Darren O’Dea who is no veteran himself. I thought they performed particularly well. They were heroic, particularly the pace Arsenal had. KB: They did and Clayton and Pugh were outstanding I thought. They certainly weren’t disgraced. If I only had one criticism, I thought that when we fell back towards the end, we should have kept two players up front because whenever the defence got the ball out, it came straight back again. There’s no one to get the ball. Then of course we did attack towards the end and we could have nicked a draw or even a win but we didn’t. It was a great night. I thought everybody played well and good luck to all of them. The only criticism I will make is ESPN. I watched the game live out here in South Africa and I thought the filming was absolutely appalling. I spent more time looking at David Beckham, Thierry Henry sitting on his seat, Thierry Henry sitting talking to the man next door to him, Thierry Henry standing up, Thierry Henry sitting down, Thierry Henry running up and down the touchline and Thierry Henry coming on the pitch and then watching Thierry Henry standing there when the ball was on the goal line at the other end and so it went on. There were constant replays and interruptions so you didn’t see the full flow at all. And I don’t know who ESPN employed to do it, but I thought they were a bunch of amateurs and they have a lot to learn from Sky, BBC and ITV. BF: And you touched on Mr Henry. In the end the script was written I suppose. It was a headline makers dream in the end wasn’t it? KB: Oh yes it was. In fact the commentary put on by the South Africans here was all about Henry. In fact, Susannah said at one time “are Leeds playing tonight? I haven’t heard them mentioned once.” So we weren’t until the 44th minute. This was food for thought. BF: Now when I spoke to you about the game last week and talked about the chances of a replay you said you wanted to focus on the Championship and get on with the task in hand. I suppose that’s now what lays in front of Leeds? KB: Someone made a crack about “Oh Ken Bates will be looking for a replay to get another wad of money”. Seems my reputation is spreading even to South Africa. But in fact no, we wanted to get it out of the way and I wouldn’t have minded nicking a win like we did against Manchester United but it was not to be. We are one point behind the play-offs, we have 21 games left. If we played every game the way we played against Arsenal and maybe up the field a bit more, we will get promotion. BF: No obviously to aid that Championship challenge, Robert Snodgrass is going to be a key man. And some great news, he’s back training. Could he be touch and go for Palace? KB: Well I don’t know, I’m not the medical man but he had keyhole surgery on his appendix. We were chatting to hum before he came away and he was feeling very good in himself. He just has to be careful he doesn’t strain or tear any little tissues around the wound otherwise it puts him back another month. So they’re not going to take any risks with him. Hopefully he’ll be back for Palace. He’ll definitely be there for Ipswich. BF: We’re in January so I’ve got to ask you the question; how are things progressing behind the scenes with transfers? KB: Well they are progressing behind the scenes. I think a lot of clubs weren’t too busy before the third round of the FA Cup but now I think clubs will be reassessing their squads. There was one player (Jason Puncheon) who agreed to join us in August. We were waiting at 7.30pm on deadline day, waiting for him to come up and sign the papers… sign the papers by fax. And I’m sat here watching Sky Sports News and I see him walking into another club’s ground at 11pm at night to sign for them. It hasn’t worked out and now I’ve had the club back on the phone yesterday asking whether we would like to take him this time. I said “No, you can stick him up your jumper.” The way he behaved towards Leeds United in August is not the kind of person we want at Elland Road. So it’s the usual thing. Everyone is circling around like vultures or asking questions. We had one player we thought was leaving this week. He was leaving on the contingent that his new club were getting rid of another player. Their deal fell through so our deal fell through. It’s very frustrating but there’s nothing you can do about it. I keep telling all the fans, you have to get the player to want to come, the selling or loaning club wanting to sell or loan and being reasonable in doing so. That is where there will be a bit of bluff and poker over the next couple of weeks. Also, we’ve got a big squad. Some of them don’t figure in Simon’s plans so we’ll move them on as well. Otherwise we’ll need the Town Hall as the dressing room and Roundhay Park as the training ground. BF: So as the work continues then. Let’s move it back to club matters then and season ticket renewals are underway. I know they’re available online at the moment. How are they going? KB: They’re coming on well. The paper renewals are out by post and they have all been dispatched we’ve noticed that has accelerated the numbers already so we’re quite pleased with that. I think the special offer off freezing prices until the end of January is definitely an incentive and the letters I’ve been getting from the fans appreciate that fact. BF: And of course, I suppose, all the options available at this time. The 0% finance with Zebra or the Mastercard, make it an attractive option the moment.  KB: Well it does indeed. We get our money up front, which all football clubs want. Fans get the benefit of the early discount yet they don’t have to pay early. So it’s a win-win situation all-round. BF: And whilst I’m sat looking at the East Stand, work’s already underway today. How’s the stand progressing? is there any final date for when it’ll be finished? KB: Well apart from the museum, where quite a bit of work needs to be done yet because of structural work because it was a late add on to the original scheme, it’s virtually finished now. We expect for the Ipswich game that the main entrance will be open and all the lifts will be working so the exec members will at last will be entering a fully clear exec area. Once again, compliments to the Caddicks for the work they have done. I know they’re a bit behind but the weather has been absolutely appalling as people know. Not just the rain but the gales. That really has held us back because you have to be so careful up in those cranes and mini hoists in high winds and the guys have done a marvellous job working around it. Getting, doing, switching their plans and their programme around to accommodate that fact. They’ve done a great job. BF: On the playing side, it’s back to the capital to face Palace. Do you hope they are going to be distracted by the fact they have got one foot in Wembley with that 1-0 win against Cardiff last night? KB: Well again, I watched it last night. It was certainly no quarter asked or given. So and er, a lot of people being knocked about so and they have got a virus at the moment so long may their bad fortune continue at least until Sunday afternoon. But they’re a good team. Dougie Freedman has done a good job there. And it’s interesting reading up about Crystal Palace and Cardiff City, and all those people who say spend, spend, spend. Malky Mackay took over Cardiff City in the summer. He had just 10 players. He spent just £100,000 (TSB – Not true. Joe Mason £250k, Kenny Miller £870k, Ben Turner £750k = £1.87m, plus Gunnarson, Earnshaw & Cowie who’ll be on decent wages & big signing-on fees). They’re third in the league and still got one foot in the League Cup semi-final. So it makes you ask if money is the solution or just the route of all evil. BF: And talking of the Palace trip, the away fans have already taken 3,300 tickets. An extra 1,300 are being made available. It’s a magnificent effort after being down in London on Monday night with that level of support. KB: It is indeed. And our exec away club is sold out for this away fixture (TSB-the rest of his answer was edited out by Yorkshire Radio) BF: And whilst being a lot of travelling for the fans, a lot of travelling for Simon and his squad.  KB: What we’re trying to do is ease the strain on the players because otherwise they get travel weary. It’s the equivalent of jet lag. We kept them down after the Arsenal game in the hotel that night so they had a proper night’s sleep. They did a warm down in London and came back yesterday at midday. But then they have got to get down to Palace again, so we’re flying them down on the Friday so there’s only an hour’s flight and they’ll be in their hotel in good time on Friday night then they’re coming back afterwards, which means the jet lag aspect of the two trips will be minimised. So the players should be as fresh as they can possibly be and as I said before, if they put on the kind of performance they did against Arsenal then we’ll be back in business. 21 games to go. 63 points to play for". Gobshite !

Weds Jan 11th. Kris Boyd linked. According to reports Leeds, Reading and Wigan Athletic are interested in former Rangers striker Kris Boyd. The Daily Star claims Latics boss Roberto Martinez is eyeing the Scotland marksman. However, it is understood that the Spaniard will face competition from Leeds United and Reading. The forward is a free agent after terminating his contract at Turkish side Eskisehirspor and is also attracting interest from clubs in the US, Qatar and China. This looks to be another strange one. The SPL's most prolific ever goal scorer has lead a  nomadic existence since leaving Ibrox and hasn't been a success anywhere. Is he any better or offer us anything different than Becchio, McCormack or Forssell and is he one to beat a couple of players with pace and rattle one into the top corner ? No I don't think so.

Weds Jan 11th 2012. Buck Rogers flies in. Leeds United have signed 24 year old American International Robbie Rogers subject to the player receiving a work permit. Rogers becomes Grayson’s second signing and also the second winger through the doors at Thorp Arch this January transfer window. Capped eighteen times for the USA, winger Rogers was with the squad at the Emirates on Monday night to get a feel for the squad after being on trial at Thorp Arch. Leeds boss Simon Grayson told the club’s official site: “He has been playing in the MLS where he has done well, he wants to continue his career in Europe, and we believe he will make an impact here. As soon as the work permit business is complete he will be an immediate part of our plans and have an opportunity with the first team”. Since 2007, Rogers has been plying his trade at Columbus Crew in the MLS, making over a 100 appearances for them and scoring eight goals in the process. The wing-man has also notched two goals in his International career and will now compete with Robert Snodgrass, Andros Townsend, Lloyd Sam and Ramon Nunez for two places on United’s wing. The manager and chairman promised us the players that come in will be challenging for the  first team .Without any disrespect to anyone, I'm sure Robbie Rogers is a decent lad, but is he a battling midfielder, a striker, a centre half or a right full ? We seem to be heavy in wingers already but what do I know?

Tuesday January 10th 2012. Runners and movers in the Championship.  Whilst former Leeds loanee, Alex McCarthy was joining Ipswich Town for three months, big spending Ipswich were also bringing in Sean St Ledger from Leicester City. Leeds boss Simon Grayson  welcomed back Robert Snodgrass for the weekend's trip to Crystal Palace and has not ruled out making a couple of new signings in time for them to play too. Snodgrass is close to a return after having his appendix removed last month, but the Leeds manager feels he needs a couple of players to help the club push for promotion. Grayson believes his side are capable of a promotion push with some added firepower and said: "There is a lot of work still to be done, but we have made contact with clubs and representatives so hopefully something can be down very quickly. "We know we need players because it is a long season and we need to supplement what we've already got." Meanwhile, Jason Puncheon (remember him, he's the guy Leeds though was coming to Elland Road in the August window, only to join QPR) is thought to be joining Blackpool from parent club, Southampton in a £750K deal. Nick Barmby has retired from playing to concentrate on cementing a Play-off spot as manager of Hull City. Leeds target, Sammy Clingan, has made a return to Coventry City reserves after fracturing a tow in early December. Will United return with an offer for the N Ireland international ?

Tuesday January 10th. Ten things Ken Bates has said in the past week :Re Grayson getting the sack : 1. “His record over the last three years is in the first year we got to the play off semi-final, the second year he got us promotion and in the third year we finished seventh. “He is the manager. Don’t start putting pressure on him. “Don’t forget they (supporters) were talking of sacking (Sir Alex) Ferguson when he lost 6-1 (to Manchester City) earlier in the season. Then, they were talking of sacking Wenger. Who else are you going to sack?”2. Being Chairman :  “If you are chairman, you have to live with pressure. If you win on Saturday, it’s, ‘Yeah, we’re going to win the league’. But if we lose, it’s ‘We’re getting relegated’ and they shout ‘sack the board’. “When they chant your name and cheer, thanks very much. But (remember to) take it with a pinch of salt. And when you get the reverse, take it with a pinch of salt and get on with it. As Harry S Truman once said: ‘if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen’.”3. The Leeds Business plan.  “We have 17 cost/profit centres and everything is okay. We have 220 full-time staff, 700-800 part-time staff and I think we also employ half the police in West Yorkshire – or that is what it looks like when I see the bill coming in. “We do our budgets. I add up all the income, deduct all the expenditure, use it as a credit balance, take off a sum for contingencies and then say to the manager, ‘That’s how much we have to spend, wages and transfer fees’. And one still can’t get a breakfast in Billy’s Bar on match day. 4. The fans who disagree with his plan : “The people with intellect respect what we are doing to the club. “The mob, which is a very small number, wants results. I can understand that”. It looks like we are all lacking in the same intelligence as our illustrious chairman.  5. Taking his wife’s advice.  “We were at a wedding reception in Monaco, and this guy comes up to me, going ‘grrrrrrr, how can you be Leeds United? You’re Chelsea’. Susannah, the really brilliant woman that she is [and rather patient wife], says to him: ‘Can I ask you a question?’ ‘Yeah, what is it?’ ‘Are you married?’‘Yeah.’ ‘How many kids do you have?’ ‘Four.’ ‘So when Nos two, three and four came along, did you stop loving No 1?’ ‘Oh, ---- off,’ he said and disappeared into the night.’’ A metaphor that is about as relevant as Cantona's quote re trawlers and seagulls. 6. Taking his son’s advice : “I remember my son saying to me 20 years ago: ‘Daddy, you must remember most people lead boring lives, retire and then die.’ The only thing around them is pub and club. I remember the old saying of ‘when Coventry City lose never buy a Triumph built on a Monday’. It wouldn’t have been made properly”. 7. His brilliant football career.  "I played for Arsenal juniors in the days when you weren’t allowed to have youth teams, so they got round it by adopting teams. “I was fantastic! I wasn’t the most skilful of players but they didn’t call me ‘Killer’ Bates for nothing. It wasn’t my fault I got there late but I got the ball. "I was born with a club foot, had seven operations, and even now my right foot is two inches shorter than my left. So I didn’t do too badly.” 7. Not being loved : If we lose, it’s ‘we’re getting relegated’. When they chant your name and cheer, thanks very much, take it with a pinch of salt. And when you get the reverse, take it with a pinch of salt.  As Christine Keeler said: ‘the ---- stops here’.” 8. Liverpool and Suarez. "If Liverpool want the FA to respect them, they have to respect the FA. I don’t think the Liverpool performance was one of their greatest moments. "I’m not sure Mr Shankly would have approved. Get on with it”. 9. Fielding weakened teams in the FA Cup “The FA Cup is the prestigious competition of English football and should be respected as such by the participants. For clubs who do not respect the FA Cup, there are a number of sanctions the FA could do. Fine them. Deduct points. The ultimate sanction would be not to nominate them for Europe. "Don’t forget: every club that plays in Europe is nominated by the FA. Normally it’s a rubber-stamp job but it doesn’t have to be. The FA are too weak, though”. 10. Players being capped for England. “The awarding of caps is a disgrace. The cap is a privilege, an honour, not on a par with the Victoria Cross but up with a DSO. When Eriksson was manager, I proposed to the International Committee that caps should only be awarded for competitive matches to players who play at least 45 minutes of the game. "The International Committee said: ‘We will leave it to the manager’. But of course he was as weak as dishwater. Eriksson was just a transient employee. Such an important decision should have been made by the FA. It wasn’t. They chickened out.” Yes folks that our "well respected" football chairman. Doesn't it make you proud to be a Leeds fan.....Not!

Monday January 9th 2012.Arsenal 1-0 Leeds. 01Lonergan , 22 Lees , 28 White, 29 Thompson, 48 O'Dea YC,07 Vayrynen Brown 60) 15 Clayton, 16 Pugh, 17 Townsend YC, 20 Nunez (Forssell 81) . 10 Becchio (McCormack 74) Unused Subs : 24 Taylor, 04 Bruce, 19 Parker, 08 Brown, 11 Sam. United went to the Emirates and put up a decent rear guard performance against a reshuffled Gunners team. All the talk afterwards was of Henry’s triumphant return when he netted the only goal of the game with just 12 minutes left on the clock. The fact that he was offside and kicked a Leeds players off the ball afterwards unfortunately would have ruined a good story. Most of the Leeds team emerged with great credit, although Nunez offered nothing on the wing and McCormack really should have equalized when he came on. Did United want a replay ? Most definitely yes, but fixtures clogging up with a limited panel would not be in out long term best interest. Palace are up next and they play in the CC Semi-Final tonight with many players suffering from a virus. Let’s hope they don’t recover by Saturday in what has been a very poor hunting ground for Leeds United down through the years. With Parker and Bruce both on the bench, Simon Grayson looks to be getting some defenders back from injury. See Matin  Keown get rap on head from Leeds shooting before the game. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/mediamonkeyblog/2012/jan/10/keown-kod-emirates 

Mon Jan 9th. An Arsenal viewpoint on Leeds in the FA Cup. Jesus, and I thought some of our supporters were negative. This is taken from Arsenal “The Truth” fan blog. Tonight Arsenal play Leeds in the FA Cup third round. I’m still undecided as to whether to watch it. What time is Eastenders on?Wenger is taking a big risk by dropping Van Persie and not even putting him on the bench, because statistics show that without Van Persie Arsenal hardly ever beat anyone. Van Persie has failed to score in 14 of the games he has played this season, and Arsenal have only won 2 of those games. That’s why Arsenal have been labelled – by some - as a one-man team. Without Van Persie, Arsenal would be worse than mid-table fodder, they'd be in perpetual crisis and Wenger's job would surely be on the line. Tonight, Arsenal can at least call on 34-year-old Thierry Henry to come off the bench, and perhaps that’s a good enough reason to watch the game – out of curiosity. We might need him as well. I don’t have a problem with Henry rejoining Arsenal, and I also reckon that he will quickly become more than a sub and Wenger will become reliant on him. 34 is not THAT old for a player of his technique and intelligence, and Henry can doubtless do a better job than Walcott, Gervinho or any of the other mugs Wenger calls attacking midfielders these days. At the end of the day, however, Henry is just another sticking plaster solution like Lehmann and Campbell before him, so you have to ask why Wenger is always putting Arsenal in that position. Could Leeds beat Arsenal and cause an upset? It’s feasible. They almost did last season when Fabregas had to save Arsenal with a late penalty. Arsenal have degraded more since then.  Meanwhile, there are rumours afoot that Wenger will bring another striker in this month, Chelsea’s Salomon Kalou. His contract expires in the summer so Arsenal might only have to pay £3m. Wenger has long-admired the player, which is why I give the story credence. Kalou is a typical Wenger signing. Dirt cheap, quick, technical, but an average finisher with 36 goals in five years for Chelsea – about the same as Bendtner. Kalou would be just more of the same; he couldn’t play up front to replace Van Persie and Wenger has his pecking order, so Kalou would just suck another £60k off the wage bill while rotating with Gervinho, Walcott, Arshavin, Oxlade-Chamberlain, etc. He’d also be off to the ACN with Ivory Coast every other year. The only way the move is logical is if Arshavin is also dumped this month. 

Mon Jan 9th 2012. The winners of tonight's tie play against Aston Villa at Villa Park in round 4 and will take place on the weekend of the 27th and 28th of January.

Monday Jan 9th 2012. Paul Martin - Carrickmacross -  Louth Branch Post - Hopefully 2012 will be a better year for our beloved Leeds and Happy New Year to everyone.  We had a desperate run of form after my last post, depressing to say the least. I’m delighted that we got Townsend. As I said before, we needed to replace Mad Max. Now that we are short  on centre halves with Paddy, Bromby and Bruce out injured, we need to bring in a good replacement to play along with young Tommy Lees who in my opinion is going to be a class act having seen him in the flesh. Also I believe Connolly’s played his last game for the club. Hopefully ZacThompson could be the answer at right back. He showed up well against Burnley and showed plenty of potential in reserve games that I had seen on LUTV last season. We need to strengthen up midfield. There is a young guy with St Mirren called Kenny McLean with bags of potential and he is  a good passer of the ball.  I would like it if we could sign him. Hopefully Snoddy will be  back soon and that we don't lose him for the whole of this month. Looking at us in the last few games up front, we don't look dangerous when we have the ball. We have nobody that can take the defenders on in front of goal with ball at feet and stick it in the net. A Beckford type player, how about him back on loan? I still believe if we strengthen all of the above areas with a little bit of experience and quality we could finish in the top four. The next few weeks in January are vital for that to happen. When the window closes I will come back with a prediction of where I think we will finish. I’m heading over to the Ipswich game on Saturday week and  hopefully we will have a few players in by then and get three points as well. Thanks for that well thought out post, Paul. Please keep them coming. 

Sat Jan 7th 2012. Arsenal v Leeds preview. Thierry Henry is likely to feature for Arsenal after re-signing, with Robin Van Persie expected to be rested and Gervinho on Africa Cup of Nations duty. The Gunners are struggling for fit defenders and will also be without the suspended Johan Djourou. Leeds defender Paddy Kisnorbo has been ruled out for the season with a knee injury, with Tom Lees and Alex Bruce also doubtful for Simon Grayson's side. Leeds were knocked out by Arsenal last season in a third-round replay. After taking the lead, the Yorkshire side were denied by a last-minute Cesc Fabrigas penalty at the Emirates, and the Gunners ran out 3-1 winners in the replay at Elland Road. Leeds's hopes of an upset this campaign are hampered by a long injury list which includes the influential Robert Snodgrass and captain Jonny Howson. But Arsenal have injury worries of their own, especially at the back, where Thomas Vermaelen, Bacary Sagna, Carl Jenkinson and Andre Santos remain unavailable. However, the home side will be buoyed by the presence of record goalscorer Henry, and manager Arsene Wenger will also be able to call on striker Marouane Chamakh, after he delayed his departure to join up with the Morocco squad. The Cup history - 1949/50 Arsenal 1-0 Leeds - 1971/72 Leeds 1-0 Arsenal FA Cup final - 1982/83 Arsenal 1-1 Leeds - 1982/83 Leeds 1-1 Arsenal aet - 1982/83 Arsenal 2-1 Leeds - 1990/91 Arsenal 0-0 Leeds - 1990/91 Leeds 1-1 Arsenal aet - 1990/91 Arsenal 0-0 Leeds aet - 1990/91 Leeds 1-2 Arsenal - 1992/93 Arsenal 2-2 Leeds - 1992/93 Leeds 2-3 Arsenal aet - 1996/97 Arsenal 0-1 Leeds - 2003/04 Leeds 1-4 Arsenal - 2010/11 Arsenal 1-1 Leeds - 2010/11 Leeds 1-3 Arsenal. Betting as follows : 3/10 Arsenal (Draw9/2) Leeds United 8/1. Leeds win HT and FT 22/1. 1st goal Becchio or McCormack 1st goal 11/1 each. 

Paul Martin Louth SC (bear in mind this was Dec 31st) Looking at our squad at the start of the season with the lack of decent transfers, injuries and the sale of Max Grade I suppose I would have taken 6th at Xmas. We played some good football early on in the season without getting the results our play deserved, but this last few games we are playing like S***e. We really miss Max on the wing. Our team lacks pace and we need to try and solve this problem in January. In my opinion two decent defenders is a must, a creative midfielder to cover for Jonny Howson. also. I think we should look at our striker department . We never replaced Beckford. The strikers we have at present don't score enough. Who we get in January is anybody's guess with uncle Ken in charge probably a few loans and a few freebies, maybe he will surprise us. Has Ken helped or hindered our club ? I would be 50/50 on this one, the club is in a good financial position at present but the old hot chestnut for us supporters is he won't spend money on players or wages, I would like to see us spend a bit more on some quality not quantity. Money doesn't always buy success as Leicester and a few others have found out. Where we finish at the end of the season depends on what players come in January. My guess would be 4th. I think West Ham and Middlesboro will get automatic with Southampton 3rd. Thanks for the comments Paul. 

Bates gives Larry the Chairman's curse. Leeds United chairman Ken Bates insists that he has no plan to sack manager Simon Grayson. The Whites have been struggling of late, losing three games on the trot before grabbing a late 2-1 home win against Burnley in a Championship fixture on Monday. That victory has placed Leeds in eighth place in the table on 38 points from 25 matches, just a point off the final play-off slot. Grayson, who has been the Leeds manager since 2008, has come under pressure with suggestions rife that he could be axed by Bates, but the club's chief has now refuted those rumours. "I knew you would bring that up," Bates told The Yorkshire Post when asked about his confidence in Grayson. "He is now probably the longest-serving manager in the Football League. "His record over the last three years is in the first year we got to the play-off semi-final, the second year he got us promotion and in the third year we finished seventh. "This year, despite the fact we have had our blip early, we are one point off the play-offs. We are also ravaged by injuries. "He is the manager. Don't start putting pressure on him. "Don't forget they (supporters) were talking of sacking (Sir Alex) Ferguson when he lost 6-1 (to Manchester City) earlier in the season. Then, they were talking of sacking Wenger. Who else are you going to sack?"  Bates added: "If you are chairman, you have to live with pressure. If you win on Saturday, it's, 'Yeah, we're going to win the league'. But if we lose, it's 'We're getting relegated' and they shout 'sack the board'. "When they chant your name and cheer, thanks very much. But (remember to) take it with a pinch of salt. And when you get the reverse, take it with a pinch of salt and get on with it. "As Harry S Truman once said: 'if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen'." Bates also remained coy on any signing during the January transfer window and stated that Grayson will have the final say on which players to sell and buy. "With our manager, the reason why Leeds are successful financially is that we do our budgets," he explained. "We have 17 cost/profit centres and everything is okay. We have 220 full-time staff, 700-800 part-time staff and I think we also employ half the police in West Yorkshire - or that is what it looks like when I see the bill coming in. "We do our budgets. I add up all the income, deduct all the expenditure, use it as a credit balance, take off a sum for contingencies and then say to the manager, 'That's how much we have to spend, wages and transfer fees'. "I then say to him, 'If you sell any players that money comes into the pot. If you spot any players that money comes out of the pot. You are the manager, you will stand or fall by your decisions, therefore they are your decisions'."

Friday Jan 6th 2012. Taylor to cover for rest of season. Maik Taylor has signed on for the rest of the season as cover for Andy Lonergan

Friday Jan 6th 2012. Snods on way back. Robert Snodgrass has given United a huge boost by returning to full training next week. The Scotland international is bidding to make his comeback against Crystal Palace in eight days’ time – just a fortnight after undergoing emergency surgery to remove his appendix. Snodgrass was taken ill ahead of last weekend’s defeat to Barnsley and looked likely to miss most of the five fixtures awaiting Leeds in January. Grayson will not include him in his squad for Monday night’s FA Cup third-round tie against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium but Snodgrass’ swift return would ease the growing injury list troubling his manager. “He’s coming on but obviously the operation will rule him out of Arsenal,” Grayson said. “We’re hopeful that he might be back training in the middle of next week with the possibility of being involved in the Crystal Palace game but that will be on doctor’s orders depending on how the injury’s cleared up.” Grayson, who revealed yesterday that defender Patrick Kisnorbo will miss the rest of the Championship campaign with knee ligament damage, has seen the squad at Elland Road depleted by a series of injuries stretching back to pre-season. Club captain Jonathan Howson is likely to be missing until March with a knee problem sustained in last month’s 2-0 win over Millwall, and striker Davide Somma has not played this term after injuring cruciate ligaments in July. But Snodgrass looks set to make a prompt return, and Grayson said: “It’s nice to have your best players available. “When you look at who we’ve had out recently, it’s not been easy – Snodgrass and Howson are two of our best players and Somma’s not kicked a ball all season. “We’ve had that to deal with but one or two bodies in (new signings) and one or two bodies back would be good.” Winger Andros Townsend – signed by Leeds on a half-season loan from Tottenham Hotspur last week – has been given permission by his parent club to play in Monday’s tie against Arsenal. 

Thursday Jan 5th  2012. Paddy out for season. Leeds United defender Paddy Kisnorbo is set to miss the rest of the season after suffering a knee injury during Monday’s clash with Burnley. The Australian fell awkwardly during the opening 20 minutes of the game and was immediately withdrawn from the action. It’s the second blow to hit Paddy in less than two years after an Achilles injury sidelined him for 14 months, from March 2010. United manager Simon Grayson told the club website: “We’ve had the unfortunate news that Paddy has suffered ligament damage and has been ruled out for the rest of the season. “It’s a big blow for the club, but more so for Paddy after the long-term injury he has just recovered from.” I don't think he's good enough for Leeds United in the Championship but it would take a heart of stone not to feel for a player who has been through an injury hell. He may have played his last game for Leeds. 

Weds 4th of Jan 2012. Bates weekly rant on YR from sunny tax free Monte Carlo. Bates says that anyone that arrives at the club in January must be good enough to help Leeds towards promotion and also be ready to go straight into the side. Speaking on Yorkshire Radio : Bates said in an undisguised dig at Grayson : "Whomever we sign in January, whether it is purchase or loan, we have got to get it right because they are going to take us through to the end of the season" Bates feels this will give them time to assess the market before adding to the squad. "It is a fortnight until our next league game, so it means we can think carefully and not rush in," continued Bates. The Leeds chairman stated recently that players would have to leave to free up some wages. Re Promotion.  "Hopefully  the right players can get us in the play offs and hopefully win us promotion. "We want players who have been playing regularly, we don`t want to sign them and then take a month to get them fit because they haven`t been playing any matches". With Leeds in cup action at Arsenal next Monday, they are now without a league game until January 14th when they travel to Crystal Palace. Bates feels this will give them time to assess the market before adding to the squad. "It is a fortnight until our next league game, so it means we can think carefully and not rush in," continued Bates. The Leeds chairman stated recently that players would have to leave to free up some wages. Andy Keogh and Alex McCarthy have both left Elland Road this week after coming to the end of their loans at the club, whilst Paul Rachubka has extended his loan at Tranmere Rovers for a further month having moved to Prenton Park on loan in November. Bates says the clubs around them have failed to take advantage of their poor form.  Bates said, "We have been extraordinarily lucky during our bad spell. "All the clubs around us have had similar bad spells. Southampton looked impregnable and they are only nine points ahead of us. Same with West Ham, they have had a rocky spell. Middlesbrough have been sweeping up the table and they have had a couple of bad results. I think they have picked up one point from their last six."  The championship does continue to be as wide open as ever. The top two sides Southampton and West Ham both won just one of their three games over the festive period. Of the other four sides currently in the top six, who all played three games over the festive period, Cardiff picked up seven points, Reading six and Middlesbrough four, whilst Hull failed to pick up a single point. With that in mind, Bates is hoping Leeds have turned a corner with the win over Burnley having not lost too much ground on those above them in the table. "What has happened, the sides below us have caught up a bit but the fact of the matter is, we are one point behind sixth place and fifth for that matter. "If we have got this lapse out of the way, the players are geared up, the injuries coming back, we are looking good," continued Bates. Re Max Gradel going there is an ironic spin from Bates. "Nobody has replaced Max Gradel. We need something different but Snodgrass has been flat  lately and now we know why. Townsend is in and he has given us that something different". Priming Leeds fans for no early arrivals. "There will be panic buying at the beginning but at the end the good players will be available. We simply can’t afford the premiership wages that some of the players are on. We were offered somebody last week who was on £35,000 pounds a week and the club said they would make a contribution. We said how about £30,000 pounds contribution? We had a good laugh about it and that’s the end of that. But then sometimes what happens is we agree a deal with the club but then some of the agents look for extra payments for their player and that’s the end of that. There are some players that feel they are worth more than they are. We have 29 senior players. It’s 27 players now with McCarthy and Keogh gone back. Most senior clubs gave 23. You try and keep them happy which is difficult. It breeds discontent and spreads through the dressing room like a virus. Re Danny Pugh's two and a half year deal.  Pugh is versatile and industrious. He's a good lad and he has done a good job for us. Danny Pugh’s deal with Stoke was done months ago. Blackwell sold him for £50,000 pounds but it cost us a lot more than that to get him back. I wonder why Blackwell let him go and then again he let Keogh go also."People ask where does the money go ? It goes in players, wages or transfer fees or both". This is from the man who presided over sales of Delph, Gradel, Schmeichel, Taiwo, Woods and Garbutt whilst putting sweet FA back into the club in transfer funds. 

Weds Jan 4th. Lack of cover at back for Arsenal ? Leeds are battling a defensive injury crisis ahead of their FA Cup third-round trip to Arsenal. Patrick Kisnorbo was forced off in the first half of Monday's 2-1 victory over Burnley having sustained a knee injury while Alex Bruce completed the latter stages of the Championship encounter with a hamstring problem. United were already missing fellow defenders Leigh Bromby (calf) and Tom Lees (concussion), not ideal preparation for next Monday's cup clash at the Emirates which could see the return of Gunners legend Thierry Henry on a short-term loan deal. Also, Andy O'Brien refuses to play.  "We were down to the bare bones on Monday (against Burnley)," manager Simon Grayson told the club's official website. "Alex came back into the team and got a hamstring injury, Paddy got an injury, Leigh's injured and Tom was injured. "We'll have to wait and see where we are with Paddy and Alex over the next few days. We'll speak with the doctor about Tom and see if he can join in training at the end of the week. "It's an area we might have to look to strengthen. We tried to bring a couple in before the Burnley game and it didn't quite happen. The priority now is the Crystal Palace game (Saturday, January 14), if it happens before Arsenal it's a bonus but it's not massively important for us in terms of new faces."

Weds Jan 4th. Townsend gunning for Arsenal.  Latest signing Andros Townsend says he could not turn down the opportunity to join Leeds United this week. Townsend has signed a loan deal from Tottenham Hotspur, keeping him at Elland Road for the remainder of the season. The youngster turned down the opportunity of a move to a number of other clubs in favour of joining Leeds. Speaking on Yorkshire Radio, Townsend said, "There were a few options, but Leeds United is a massive club and I couldn`t turn it down. "I`ve played here before and the fans are amazing so it was a no-brainer to come here really. "Townsend made an instant impact on his Leeds debut on Monday against Burnley. He was a constant threat to the Burnley rear-guard and he put in a man of the match performance as he helped Leeds secure their first win in five games. Arsenal have given Leeds clearance to allow Townsend to play in the FA Cup. The game will see him come up against his parent clubs North London rivals Arsenal and Townsend says he can become a very popular man around White Hart Lane if he can help Leeds spring a surprise. Speaking on Yorkshire Radio, Townsend said, "I can really make myself a hero at Spurs. "I`m looking forward to it and I will be trying my hardest to put one over on them." 

Weds Jan 4th. Memorial game for Gary Speed. Wales have announced that they will play Costa Rica in a memorial game for former manager and Leeds United midfielder Gary Speed, who died in November. The game will take place at the Cardiff City stadium on Wednesday February 29th and will be their first international since his death. 42-year-old Speed was the current Wales manager when he was found dead at his home on November 27th. The game against Costa Rica has been arranged after Speed made his international debut for Wales against the Central American side in 1990, before going on to represent his country on 85 occasions. Speed, a product of the Leeds United youth set up, was part of the side that won the Second Division title in 1990 and the League Championship two years later. He was part of one of the finest quartets ever to play across the Leeds midfield, alongside David Batty, Gordon Strachan and Gary McAllister. Speed went on to play 312 times for Leeds, scoring 57 times in an eight-year spell at Elland Road. Tickets for the game are priced at £10 for adults and £5 for juniors and senior citizens. They will go on sale on January 11th and are available from the Cardiff City ticket office. 

Weds Jan 4th. Bruce finally gets his chance and grabs it. Forgotten man Alex Bruce intends to grasp his shock Leeds United lifeline with both hands after being brought in from the cold at Elland Road. Bruce, pictured left, was handed his first start for the Whites in over 10 months in Monday’s massive 2-1 Championship home victory over Burnley after being recalled early from a loan spell at Huddersfield Town. The defender, aiming to shrug off a hamstring niggle in time for Monday’s blue-riband FA Cup clash at Arsenal, has set his sights on re-establishing himself in the first-team line-up after acknowledging his days at the club looked numbered earlier this season. Bruce said: “If someone had asked me three or four months ago if I’d be playing again I’d have had to say I don’t know because things were looking bleak for me.  “Getting back playing for Leeds is something I’m proud to do and hopefully my future will be carrying on playing here. “Since I played my last game, against Swansea, it’s been the most frustrating time of my career without a shadow of a doubt. “I’ve had some low days and to get back out there on the pitch in front of the magnificent supporters that we’ve got was very pleasing. Thankfully, we got the right result as well.” On his hopes of resurrecting his Whites career Bruce, who is out of contract this summer, added: “That’s what I want to do. “I nicked my hamstring towards the end but hopefully it’s not too serious and I want to stay on the scene and kick on now. I’m proud to wear the shirt and if I can kick-start my career here, I’ll be delighted.” After some truly dark days in the old calendar year, if anyone was entitled to enjoy his night on Monday and toast the new year, it was Alex Bruce. Expect his famous father to have raised a glass or two as well. In first-team exile since Leeds United’s comprehensive dismantling at the hands of a free-flowing Swansea City side at the Liberty Stadium on February 26, the 27-year-old defender had seen his Elland Road career slip off the radar in spectacular fashion in 2011, a year the Bruce footballing family won’t look back at with any particular fondness. Bruce Snr was relieved of his duties as Sunderland boss on December 1 – the first Premiership manager to lose his job this season – and both father-and-son likely to have resembled bears with sore heads in the first half of the 2011-12 campaign. A loan move to neighbours Huddersfield Town did hand Bruce Jnr – totally frozen out of the first-team picture at Leeds – a lifeline of sorts in late November, but not a preferred scenario of regular Championship football at United. Yet an unlikely road to redemption at LS11 arrived amid the debris of United’s Boxing Day loss at Derby County, with a head injury to Tom Lees prompting a recall for Bruce, who found himself on the bench for the New Years’ Eve clash at Barnsley. A desperate Oakwell showing by his team-mates cleared a first-team path for the Bank Holiday Monday home clash with Burnley and while the dramatic late events led to ecstatic scenes among most of the 27,000-plus Elland Road crowd, Bruce’s ‘old man’ was also jumping up and down at the family home – in support of his son. Bruce, who fitted in seamlessly at the back against the Clarets and turned in a composed display at both right-back and centre-back, said: “It was good to play and be able to enjoy my night again. It had been a long time in coming. “It’s a new year and a new start for me. It’s been so frustrating sitting on the sidelines of course. But, hopefully, with it being a new year, I can play my part in the games coming up. “My dad’s a Leeds United supporter now and he’s following me because he’s out of work at the minute and he’s delighted we won. I believe he had the radio on for the game (on Monday) and was jumping up and down when we scored! “The dressing room emotion was relief. Everyone felt the pain after the Barnsley game. Playing in a big derby game and to get a bad result, and the manner we got beat, I don’t think anyone was happy.”It’s a toss up as to whether Saturday’s X-rated Oakwell showing or the disastrous home display against Blackpool in early November represented United’s on-pitch nadir in 2011. But while both were undeniably dismal days to forget, Bruce has had cause to rue months upon months of footballing penance, with his low points not exactly limited to a couple of crazy episodes. An established professional approaching his peak age as a defender in his late twenties, being on the sidelines has hurt him deeply, with the frustration borne not just by himself, but his family as well. And while his father had enough on his plate in terms of troubles on Wearside in the second half of 2011, his extolling of the virtues of patience to his lad have ultimately proved wise and having got his foot in the first-team door again Bruce is determined to make up for lost time. Bruce, reflecting on a fraught 2011, said: “It’s the worst time as a footballer, when you don’t play and you are training on your own on a Saturday morning and the lads are getting ready for an away or a home game. “There’s nothing worse than being out of the picture; it’s the worst possible time you can have. There have been days when I’ve gone home and ‘kicked the cat’ and took it out on my missus and my family. “It doesn’t matter who your dad is. When you go through a time like I did, it’s tough for any footballer. They will all tell you the same; they are only happy when they are playing. “Now I’m back involved and hopefully those days are gone and I can stay in there and be around and about it for the rest of the season.” He added: “Last season, when I was in the team before the Swansea game, we were fourth and I’d not played a game since (until Burnley). “But I’ve always had faith in my own ability from where we were when I was in the team and I always clung to it. If I can keep playing, I’ll keep the faith as it is and see what happens. “I don’t think you can be surprised with anything in football, to be honest. You’ve got to expect the unexpected all the time and things change very quickly. “That’s the one thing my dad did tell me throughout the past months and he’s right. You never know what’s around the corner.”The only downer for Bruce on a potentially milestone Monday was a slight hamstring niggle he picked up late in the game, potentially threatening his participation in next Monday’s glamorous FA Cup third-round assignment at Premiership big guns Arsenal. Having performed with aplomb in north London in the same fixture last January, Bruce is desperate to feature again 12 months on, although he is the first to accept that the bread-and-butter for United remains very much Championship business with cup considerations a distraction, if a nice one. Bruce said: “I’d love to play. When we went to the Emirates last year, it was a fantastic occasion and it’s a game the supporters, players and everyone will look forward to, but the main focus for us is the league. “We’ll be trying to do as well as we can, but the main focus is the league form. “We’ve got a good squad in there. Although we’ve had some dodgy results recently, we’ve some good players at this club and good ones who didn’t play (against Burnley). “We’ve got to stick together and I’m sure if we do that we’ll be there or thereabouts at the end of the season.” I have to say if there is one player at Leeds who deserved a chance it's certainly Alex Bruce. From the outside it looks like he received a real raw deal and made the fall guy for universal defensive frailties. It's hard to believe he hasn't been considered since the Swansea 3-0 defeat last season when few Leeds players if any left with plaudits. Kisnorbo, O'Brien, Connolly, and O'Dea have all had defensive horror shows in recent months but Bruce was still left out in the cold. We aren't privy to what happens on the training ground or behind closed doors but it feels like Bruce has never had a fair shake. It would be harsh luck if injury was to deny him a return to the Emirates on Monday night after doing so well there last season, but failing that hopefully he will be in contention for Palace the following week. 

Tuesday January 3rd. Pugh signs permanently and Townsend rejected Hammers deal. Danny Pugh has spoken of the sense of dressing-room relief following Leeds United’s priceless last-gasp victory over Burnley. The utility man, 29, insists Monday’s sweet triumph was massive for everyone connected with the club after a shambolic New Year’s Eve display at Barnsley, with the frowns of Oakwell replaced by smiles after the final whistle against the Clarets. Pugh, whose full-time transfer to United was completed yesterday for a fee believed to be in the region of £500,000, said: “It was a massive relief and everyone was buzzing in the dressing room. “We’d had a difficult few weeks and some bad results and we’d not played well enough and it was a result we needed. “The result was the main thing, but I thought the performance was better as well. “We didn’t create a lot, but played a lot better than we have been and I think we deserved a win. “I’m delighted for the gaffer and the staff. It’s the players who have to respond at the end of the day and it’s up to us to put it right and I think we did that. “The lads and staff and fans were gutted after Barnsley and everyone had to have a look at themselves. “The performance wasn’t good enough, we know that, and it was about how we reacted. “But Monday was just the start now and we can’t slip back again. We’ve got to push on and let Barnsley be the low point of the season. “We can now look forward to the Arsenal game. “We will be testing ourselves against some of the best players in the country – in the world maybe. “Thierry Henry or no Thierry Henry, they are a top team. “We’ve not really talked about it much yet, the Burnley game was the big one for us, but it’s going to be a good challenge that we can all look forward to.” On securing his long-term future at the club, he added: “I’m absolutely buzzing and delighted. It’s settled now and I’m looking to the future here at the club.” Meanwhile, West Ham boss Sam Allardyce has revealed that the Hammers tried – and failed – to hijack United’s move for 20-year-old winger Andros Townsend, inset above, on loan from Tottenham for the rest of the season. Allardyce, speaking after the Bank Holiday victory over Coventry, confirmed: “We did try to get Andros Townsend, but he ended up at Leeds rather than us.”

Tues Jan 3rd. One stays away longer and two go back. Alex McCarthy has returned to Reading. Andy Keogh no longer features in Leeds plans as returns to Wolves and Paul Rachubka has extended his loan spell with Tranmere Rvs. 

Monday January 2nd. Leeds 2-1 Burnley. 01 Lonergan, 03 Kisnorbo (Sam 17) 04 Bruce, 28 White, 48 O'Dea, 15 Clayton, 16 Pugh, (YC) 17 Townsend 29 Thompson, 10 Becchio (Forssell 70)20 Nunez (McCormack 74) Unused Subs :21 McCarthy, 08 Brown. Ref: BrownAtt: 27,295. Ross McCormack may have done for Simon Grayson what Mark Robbins did for Alex Ferguson - save his job (at least for now). Grayson made five changes from the side that capitulated at Oakwell. He said after the match he would have made more changes had other players been available to him. Certainly Kisnorbo, O'Dea and Clayton were lucky to start. Grayson was forced to make another change after just 17 minutes when Kisnorbo limped off. Sam came on in his place. Thompson moved from midfield back to right full and Bruce moved into the centre of defence along side O'Dea.  Burnley should have gone ahead in the first ten minutes when Charlie Austin missed when one on one with Lonergan after a poor mistake by Kisnorbo. With less than 30 minutes gone, Trippier saw red after two consecutive bookable offences on the lively Townsend. Leeds finally got a break. United started to put pressure on Burnley with most of the good work coming from Townsend on his debut. The second half saw Leeds put pressure after pressure on the Clarets but so often the final pass or cross was poor. Leeds forced corner after corner but perhaps the closest they came was when O'Dea hit the crossbar. Thompson, Nunez and Townsend all went close also. Burnley were looking dangerous on the break, and with 21 minutes left on the clock Charlie Austin put the away side ahead with a fine finish after a poor clearance by O'Dea. Grayson reacted by surprisingly taking off Becchio for Forssell who hadn't featured in weeks. Leeds couldn't score so Burnley did them a favour with two minutes remaining when Easton deflected a Clayton corner into his own goal. By this stage Bruce was all but a passenger when his hamstring went. The atmosphere raised two notches when the fourth official held up the board for five additional minutes. The crowd roared Leeds forward and Thompson went close when a fizzing shot went just wide. Minutes later Sam also came near  when his drive went wide in the 94th minute. And the winner came in the 96th minute when the keeper failed to hold on to a Townsend strike and McCormack tapped home for his 11th goal of the season. Most of the 27,000 within Elland Road went crazy. McCormack notably didn't run to the bench to celebrate. Instead he pointed to the number 44 on his back perhaps demonstrating that he felt he should have started. Simon Grayson after the match speaking to Yorkshire Radio : "Happy new year to you and all the supporters. Unbelievable day. We didn’t deserve to be at the end of a defeat today. Obviously with five minutes left today it looked like that would be the case. We peppered their goal .Our work rate was really good. They had one shot on goal. It’s a massive result. The players worked their socks off. We had a long meeting and we watched the DVD from the Barnsley game which wasn’t good viewing. We highlighted to the players what they had to do better. You could sense the nervousness in the first 15 minutes with the players.  We kept going right ‘til the end. Nobody likes to lose 4 on the trot. The players showed immense character. We had players who came into the team today and did  excellent. Young Zac Thompson and Andros Townsend were brilliant. Townsend gave us something different that we’ve not had for a long time. He’s a player who could run and beat players. Alex Bruce came in because it was a needs must and he did very well for us. We didn’t have the personnel to make all the changes we wanted. One or two who kept their places were fortunate. But we felt we had characters in there who showed that they could put in a performance for us.We tried to get one or two players in during the last 48 hours. Lee Bromby is out for two or three weeks with a calf injury, the doctor wouldn’t let Lees play, Paddy’s out  with his knee, and Alex has done his hamstring today so all are out for a while. We are down to the bare bones. Obviously we have got some money to try and do some business.Our priorities change every week. It’s important to get the right players in. I’m not going to put a figure on what we have to spend. Well try and spread the money wisely that we have available. Premiership players are on big wages. We are trying to get one or two out to pastures new.  It’s a strange division. Look at the results today. Barnsley and Southampton have gotten beat. We have lots to do on the training pitch and hopefully we’ll kick on from here. If we want to bring in the quality players, they are on big money whether that’s on loan or permanent deals. The players we are looking to bring in will be affecting the first team. Nobody likes the defeats we have had over the past few weeks, me more than anybody.The fans were fantastic. You could sense the atmosphere and we look forward to Arsenal which is a bonus for us until the bread and butter of Palace. People have to be patient. It might not be over the next few days that we bring in players because players won’t be allowed to play in the Arsenal game. It’s been an emotional roller coaster over the past few days but we’ll enjoy tonight. We don’t necessarily have to get new players in for the Arsenal game but we’ll be aiming to get one or two in for the Palace game.  We will enjoy tonight more than New Years Eve that’s for sure".  Leeds got the breaks today. The effort was certainly better and Thompson, Townsend and Bruce were certainly deserving of their places. Simon Grayson will be aware that he certainly had Lady luck on his side in the two matches against a decent Burnley side this season.  Burnley are to Leeds what Leeds are to Barnsley - a major bogey team. The Clarets came into today's fixture having won at Brighton, West Ham and Hull City in their last three away matches. Leeds haven't become a great team over night but they dug out a vital win for Simon Grayson and more importantly ...on home soil. The character that was missing in recent matches was certainly there to see, although the quality needed all over the park is missing. The win keeps Leeds one point off the play off places. Ken Bates may or may not have put his axe away for now. My gut feeling is that Bates will give Larry until the end of January to turn things around. The phone in after the match was mostly complimentary to the Leeds manager but there were still one or two dissenters suggesting that Grayson should still go. What would have happened had Leeds not won today ? Grayson has got to bring in the right players in January. His track record for doing so is very poor.  He may find it difficult moving a number of of players on. Bruce, Kisnorbo and Bromby all look to be out for the rest of the month and possibly two out of these three may have been moving on. O'Brien certainly will be leaving and the fact that Keogh didn't make the 16 today means he will be going back to Wolves. Connolly again was dropped and Lichaj may be available on loan again. The spine of our team needs a major make over. Snodgrass should be back for the Palace game if not even the Arsenal match. Townsend and Snodgrass on either flank are big threats.  We need a centre half, a right back, a central midfield player and another forward......and we need to hold on to Snodgrass. There doesn't seem to be good harmony in the dressing room and the way he changes teams from one game to the next certainly strikes more of panic than tactical astuteness. We have a large squad of players, many of whom are not good enough to wear the shirt. They are nearly all Simon Grayson's signings. Many of these need to be shipped out. If he is allowed time he will have to bring in the right quality. The likes of Livermore, Lowry, McSheffrey, Faye, Bannan and more recently Brown, Rachubka and Varynen are simply not good enough. Grayson will know that he may be in last chance saloon during January 2012.

Sun Jan 1st 2011. Allan Quigley's view. "Leeds are more or less where we could have expected them to be at the start of the season. The relative inactivity in the summer transfer market did not bode well and just after the halfway stage of the season we are woefully lacking in depth in all areas. Frustratingly on a number of occasions we looked set for a good run at the automatic places only to show an alarming lack of consistency.
Replacing Schmeichel with Lonergan looked like a good piece of business but he hasn't convinced indeed it was surprising to me that McCarthy wasn't back in goal after the Reading game.We are very poor at full back. White is a decent attacking option but he has absolutely no positional sense defensively and while his pace gets him out of trouble his lack of physical strength also causes problems. Tom Lees looks like he could be one for the future and maybe a partnership with Kisnorbo can be solid. In the middle of the park we are well served by Clayton,Snoddie,Pugh and Howson (who would have thought we'd miss him that much) after that Sam can do a stint but Brown and Vayrynen offer nothing. Nunez can obviously play and has an eye for goal but doesn't have the physicality for English football. Up front we are all of a sudden a mess and Grayson is chopping and changing without any real thought. McCormack started the season on fire and you could really see his confidence soar now nothing is going for him. Keogh works hard and causes defenders problems but his goalscoring ratio has always been atrocious and i won't be crying if he heads elsewhere at the end of his loan spell.Becchio has been hindered by injury but for me he is our best option and should start. I'm concerned by Grayson and knowing Bates I feel the leash is very short at this stage.Some of the Chairmans public statements have really put him under pressure and the response from the players has been disappointing. Looking at the league table a playoff place is still very possible but anything better is an impossibility which is a disgrace for a club of our supposed stature,The lack of aggression and ambition shown by the Chairman in the summer transfer window really dictated the kind of start to the season we have had. I expect a host of loan signings from Premiership clubs in January i read Andros Townsend from Spurs was one option we were looking at but after Livermore and Bannon last season i won't be holding high hopes.I can't see Bates springing the for the apparent £3m asking price for Billy Sharp who would be a good partner for Becchio and again we still need fullbacks.Whatever happened to that Fraser Richardson fellow?Anyway after another tanking at Barnsley surely it can't get any worse don't we have Arsenal in the cup to look forward to". Allan Quigley. Thanks for the comments Allan. 

Sunday January 1st. A new dawn brings a new player in but what of the ones before him. Andros Townsend isn't exactly a prolific goal scorer but he looks to have more quality about him than some of our recent signings, whether loanees or actual buys. In real terms, I make him Simon Grayson's 52nd signing. There is no doubt that Simon Grayson is scating on thin ice with Leeds United fans (and going by recent programmes notes and interviews) Ken Bates may be sharpening his well used axe. The hatred for Ken Bates may have saved Smon Grayson from more of a fan bashing. That said, I have noticed a considerable shift to the "Grayson Out" column after the St Stephen's Day's defeat at Derby and naturally more so after our meek and humiliating surrender to Barnsley. The Yorkshire Radio phone ins after each game has become an avenue for those unhappy fans to channel their displeasure with Grayson's management and Bates stewardship of our club. I have always tried to be balanced in my view of Leeds United managers, particularly so with Grayson. We have been short on longevity in recent years. Grayson is our 6th longest serving manager. Not only has he to work for one of football's least likeable chairman, but he must according to our chairman, win promotion this season. In Christmas 2011, Simon Grayson  reached his third anniversary as Leeds United manager. He steered United to the play offs in his first half season at the helm, and perhaps should have done better than lose to Millwall in the play off semi finals. It wasn't his team and time was properly allowed to him. He recovered the following season to bring Leeds United back to the Championship at his second attempt. January 2010 saw Leeds, a third division side knock out the mighty Manchester United at Old Trafford in the FA Cup third round. Ferguson said that he "didn't see that coming" and probably many Leeds United fans didn't see it either. United were 11 points clear of Norwich City at Christmas but Leeds just about scraped across the line to 2nd place on that fateful last day at home to Bristol Rovers. The Leeds side that day showed character to come from behind with twenty minutes to go, and did it the hard way with just ten men on the park. I'll come back to that word character in due course. Leeds were like spring chickens in their first year back in the Championship and at one stage were in second place. Having lost talisman, Jermaine Beckford on a free at the start of the season, many Leeds fans would have been happy with a top ten finish. In the end Leeds finished a creditable seventh, just three points off the play offs. However, it is the way United faded at the final hurdle that caused many Leeds fans to question if Simon Grayson was the right man to take us back to the Premiership. Was it faulty tactics ? Was it a dependence on too many untrustworthy loan players coming in ? Was Simon Grayson signing the right quality of player ? Was Bates giving him enough money to spend or was he making the most out of the resources he had to play with ? Simon Grayosn's third full season at the helm was always going to be his toughest. He can argue convincingly that Leeds had always made progress in his previous two and a half seasons at the helm. A very shaky and confusing summer saw Schmeichel and Gradel (our best player) leave for around £3.5M. Leeds fans were disgruntled. There were no champagne signings and Leeds continually lost out to lesser clubs for better players. United started the campaign poorly, and were as low as 19th position at the end of August. However from October to the middle of December Leeds were always within play-off positions. There were decent displays at Forest and at Doncaster. United picked up fortunate wins at Peterboro and  Burnley and a lucky point at Watford. The confidence has gone and the frail midfield (without Howson and Snodgrass) and continually mistake driven defence has been picked apart.We lack pace. The goal scorers have stopped scoring whilst the defence is conceding more.  Simon Grayson has argued that we were in the play-off positions and sides like Leicester and Ipswich who have spent a lot of money would happily swop with Leeds. We are now in 9th and falling like a stone. Barnsley have taken six points off us again and the hammering at Oakwell was to a team that lacked character. It is Simon Grayson's team. They are either not good enough or he has lost the dressing room. "One or two may have played their last game for Leeds" were his comments. I don't like that talk and I didn't like his claim that we played well at Derby and had no luck, despite everyone else arguing to contrary. Simon is becoming like the emperor with no clothes. I think it his time to go and afford someone else the opportunity to take over and bring their won players in January. I suspect if we lose or have a poor performance against Burnley on Tuesday, he will be out of a job. Unfortunately I have little faith in the boss he works for. Simon says there is little he can do "when players cross that white line"but it is his record in the transfer market which will ultimately be his Dunkirk. For the record these are his signings and my view of same. Apologies if I missed any. Blue is regarded as a hit signing. Green is regarded as limited signing between hit and miss. Purple is regarded as not enough games if any to warrant a mark and red is a complete miss. 

2008-09
Richard Naylor - Originally on loan, Mike Grella - Joined originally on trial, Carl Dickinson - loan
Lee Trundle – loan, Sam Sodje – loan, Liam Dickinson – loan, Darryl Flahavan – loan.
2009-10
Shane Higgs, Jason Crowe, Patrick Kisnorbo, Mike Doyle - Season long loan, Leigh Bromby, Davide Somma - Joined originally on trial, Max Gradel -Joined originally on loan, Sam Vokes – loan, David Martin – loan, Hogan Ephraim – loan, Tony Capaldi – loan, Shane Lowry – loan, Gary McSheffrey – loan, Neil Collins - Joined originally on loan, Sanchez Watt - loan (joined again for season long loan 2010-11) Paul Dickov - short-term deal.
2010-11
Kasper Schmeichel, Billy Paynter, Federico Bessone, Paul Connolly, Alex Bruce (no real chance allowed), Lloyd Sam
Adam Clayton - Originally on loan, Ross McCormack, Jason Brown – loan, Amdy Faye -short-term deal, George McCartney – loan, Ramon Nunez - Joined originally on trial, Ben Alnwick loan - never played, Andy O'Brien - Originally on loan, Eric Lichaj – loan, David Gonzalez loan - never played
Barry Bannan – loan, Jake Livermore – loan.
2011-12
Paul Rachubka, Michael Brown, Andy Lonergan, Alex McCarthy short term loan, Maik Traylor short term out of contract signing, Darren O’Dea (season long loan), Mikael Forssell (short term out of contract signing), Andy Keogh (loan signing), Danny Pugh (loan signing to complete £500L permanent move) Mika Varynen (out of contract)

I make that 51 players. One can argue that money was never available to buy quality at a higher price but what isn’t in doubt is the quantitive figure of successful acquisitions is quite low. Out of the 51 players acquired, 5 were ruled null and void, mainly goalkeepers who never played, so the real figure is 46. One can argue that 11 players had limited success, eg Kisnorbo a fine League One player but out of his depth in the Championship, where his lack of pace is badly exposed. Others like Pugh, Clayton etc maye prove to be  decent acquisitions but at this time the jury is out. 23 players were poor loan signings or poor contract signings. The balance were hits -  ie 11 players. That’s 24% and that may be the final nail in Simon Grayson’s coffin. He has assembled a big squad on half decent wages but has gone for quantity over quality. One can rightly argue that last year's squad is of better quality then our current squad. Some like Andy O'Brien are clearly not happy. Has this affected the dressing room ?  It’s the lack of quality especially at the back and in central midfield that has become our Achilles heel. Can we or better still Bates afford him time in January to acquire good enough players to make the first team at Leeds United ? There's also the slight problem of moving on players who clearly wont figure in Simon Grayson's squad. That's not an easy task. Here's one final point. If we are to sack Grayson it is vital that we have somebody better lined up to take over. Leicester sacked Sven but but Pearson has yet to improve the Foxes league position. Who except an ex Chelsea player would work for Bates ? It's going to be an interesting January in Yorkshire this year. 

Sunday January 1st 2012. Grayson's first or last arrival in January ? Leeds have completed the signing of Tottenham winger Andros Townsend on loan until the end of the season. The 20-year-old will go straight into manager Simon Grayson's squad for Monday's home clash with Burnley. Grayson told the club's official website: "Andros is a quality young player with proven experience at this level and we're delighted to be able to bring him to Leeds." London-born Townsend, who joined the Tottenham academy as a nine-year-old, has represented England at Under-16, U17 and U19 level and has had previous loan spells at Yeovil, Orient, MK Dons, Ipswich, Watford and most recently at Millwall, for whom he made 11 appearances at the end of last season. Townsend has featured for Spurs six times in the Europa League this season and also against Stoke in the Carling Cup. Leeds teenager Charlie Taylor has joined City on a one-month loan after they decided not to offer a permanent deal to Jack Compton. The left-sided 18-year-old, who made his senior debut as a sub against the Bantams in the Carling Cup, comes straight into consideration for tomorrow's clash with Rotherham. Phil Parkinson said: "I've watched Charlie a few times for Leeds reserves and he's a good addition. (See some of his goals on Youtube)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHlWwlbH0TY&feature=related 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eydJAqGjQxE

Wilkapedia on Townsend. Townsend is a product of the Tottenham Hotspur academy, joined Spurs at the age of nine.^[1] In March 2009, he went on loan to Yeovil Town ^[2] and made his football league debut against Milton Keynes Dons alongside fellow Spurs academy player Jonathan Obika.^[3] He scored one goal in ten games to help save Yeovil from relegation.^[4] Then in August 2009, he went on a month's loan to Leyton Orient.^[5] On 22 August he scored a wonder goal, having run 70 yards past three Yeovil players and side-stepping another before blasting past the goalkeeper.^[6] At the end of August, Townsend's loan at Orient was extended until 31 December, and he then returned to White Hart Lane.^[7] On 14 January 2010, Townsend was signed on loan to the Milton Keynes Dons until the end of the season. Since then Townsend has been recalled by Tottenham due to injuries.^[8]  On 12 August 2010, Townsend signed on a season-long loan for Ipswich Town.^[9] He made his debut for Ipswich against Burnley on 14 August, scoring his first goal with a header against Swansea on 4 December. The loan spell was ended weeks later when Harry Redknapp recalled Townsend for Spurs.^[10] On 9 January 2011, Townsend made his Spurs debut, and marked his debut by scoring and being voted Man of the Match in a third round FA Cup tie at White Hart Lane against Charlton Athletic.^[11] On 20 January 2011, Watford confirmed Townsend had joined them on loan until the end of the season.^[12] On 22 January 2011, Townsend made his Watford debut away at Cardiff City. Watford terminated the loan on 23 February 2011 just one month into the season long loan.^[13] On 7 March 2011, Townsend signed a loan deal to take him to Millwall until the end of the season.^[14] He scored a crucial goal against Coventry City from 20 yards out, to equalise the game to 1–1. The game was later lost 2–1. In April, Townsend gained two assists in Millwall's 3–2 victory over Leeds United, after the game he expressed he would be happy to stay at Millwall beyond his loan spell.^[15] His form for Milwall resulted in an upturn of form for the side who narrowly missed out on the playoffs. In the 2011–12 season, Townsend was a regular in the Spurs first team for their UEFA Europa League campaign making six appearances for Spurs in Europe during the campaign. On 15 December 2011, Townsend scored his second goal for Spurs against Shamrock Rovers, curling in a shot from outside the box.^[16] In December 2011, Townsend was linked with a loan move to rivals Queens Park Rangers.^[17] On 23 December 2011, he signed a new five-year deal at Spurs taking him up until the end of the 2016 season.^{[18] [19]} On 1 January 2012, Townsend joined Leeds United on loan until the end of the season.^[20] Townsend has represented England at international level, he has played for England under 16s, England under 17s and England under 19s. Townsend played three times for the England Under-16's between 2006 and 2007, making his debut in a 1–1 draw away with Wales Under-16's on the 20 October 2006. His last appearance for the Under-16's came in a 2–0 away loss to Germany Under-16 on 9 April 2007. Townsend made his Under-17 debut in a 6–0 win over Northern Ireland Under-17's on 29 August 2007 scoring twice. He went on to make 6 appearances for the under-17's between 2007 and 2008. His last appearance came in a 0–0 draw with Portugal Under-17's on 5 February 2008

December 2011 

November 2011

October 2011

September 2011

Aug 24th to Aug 31st 2011

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

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For Archived Files from August to September 07 click here

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