Corporal punishment

After some questionable displays and disappointing form lately, the lads were sent to Strensall Barracks today so the brave men who serve for the Armed Forces could administer some corporal punishment.

OK, so it wasn’t quite corporal punishment (despite Ken Bates’ best efforts). Instead, what it was, was a team-building exercise that could be just the thing the lads needed. The Leeds coaching staff were there too and it really seems to have hit home the kind of pressures the Army face compared to the lads in white, with Miller saying ‘These guys put their life on the line, we play 90 minutes of football.’

It seems the opportunity to rid ourselves of some of the less necessary players that our wage budget consists of was missed on the shooting range (Ken Bates still not getting his own way), but Leeds United saw the day as a massive success overall. They point to a strong relationship between the club and the Armed Forces and will undoubtedly be happy with some positive PR after the ticketing farce earlier in the season.

Jermaine Beckford wins player of the year

Jermaine Beckford was voted Football League One’s player of the year for the second time at the Football League Awards, which incorporates FourFourTwo’s Top 50 Football League players list.

Grayson subs in for Becks

Of course, this will undoubtedly ruffle a few feathers in the anti-Beckford camp who will see it as an absolute travesty and insist the award should have gone to another team, failing to recognise that any award received by the Leeds United team is good for the football club.

Jermaine Beckford couldn’t make the dinner as he had a pre-arranged manicure that conflicted with the event, but Simon Grayson was on-hand to pick up the award in his place.

I think Beckford is thoroughly deserving of the award. Regardless of whatever others think, he has the pressures of an entire fanbase on his shoulders as they blame him for everything they see as wrong within the side. His goals have been invaluable to the club. His recent performance against Tranmere where he netted two, including a cheeky lob for the fourth and also setup Luciano Becchio showed just how good he can be when the team performs well. Oh, and let’s not forget the goal against Scum. For that alone, he deserves it in my book.

Ralph Ineson gives nod to LFR

During a recent appearence on ESPN’s Talk of the Terrace (14/03/10) Ralph Ineson gave a big plug to the fundraising efforts of Leeds Fans Remembrance by passing on one of the event t-shirts you may have seen on sale around Elland Road to former Chelsea player Frank Lebouf.

A Leeds fan himself, it’s great to see Ralph giving this fundraising effort a publicity boost and I’m sure the guys at LFR will be extremely pleased.

The Grand Finale Evening takes place at Elland Road on the 3rd of April which marks 10 years since the sad deaths of Christopher Loftus and Kevin Speight. Don’t forget you can still make a donation on the LFR website with all the fundraising proceeds going to the childrens cancer charity, Candlelighters.

http://www.leedsfansremembrance.com/