The Scratching Shed

With World Cup hysteria sweeping the… erm… World, Leeds United has taken a bit of a back seat here on TSS, mainly because – like everyone else – I’ve been busy watching the World Cup. There’s also been very little news for us to dig our teeth into, with the papers too busy concentrating on Capello’s tactics to invent rumours for us to debate. As I say, there’s very little of it, but here’s the news from the last couple of days…

Gary Speed MBE

Gary Speed back in the day

We start with the news that former Leeds United midfielder, Gary Speed, has been awarded a MBE for his contribution to the game.

Speed made his début for Leeds United in 1989 and went on to make 312 appearances for the club, scoring 57 goals in the process. He also boasts a record of 85 caps for Wales, the most capped outfield player ever.

Speaking of the advice which guided him through his impressive career, Speed said;

“The best advice I was given was to try your best, and remember you never stop learning. I was still learning about the game when I retired from playing.” Read the rest of this entry →

Barnard snubs Leeds for Saints

Leeds United did go in for Lee Barnard, but were beaten to his signature by Southampton.  Apparently, the reason he chose Southampton over Elland Road is because he didn’t want to move north, which would make sense. Clearly, this was never about climbing the ladder for Lee, or he’d have definitely chose Leeds. No disrespect at all meant to Southampton, who I fully expect to make the play-offs, but promotion is still a dot on the horizon for them. The play-offs are a bit of a lottery that everyone wants to avoid (especially us).

£10m bids for Beckford?

This mornings papers are claiming that Leeds may now receive offers in the region of £10,000,000 for Jermaine Beckford! I was willing to help him pack and drive him where ever when people were quoting £3m, but for £10m I’ll carry him to the next club on my shoulders. Whilst I don’t doubt the FA Cup games have turned a few heads, football will have gone to a whole new level of crazy if we get £10m for Jermaine.

Maximum impact

Max Gradel should become our first permanent signing of the January transfer window today as he undertakes the necessary medical at Elland Road. The Ivorian youngster impressed Leeds United fans immediately after arriving on loan three months ago and there’s been calls for Grayson to ‘sign him up’ ever since.

Max has clearly enjoyed his time at Leeds United and spurred on by the overwhelming love he’s received from the clubs supporters, he almost immediately handed in a transfer request on his return to Leicester.

Return of Rose?

According to The People, Leeds are preparing to make a move for former academy starlet Danny Rose, who currently plays for FA Cup opponents, Tottenham Hotspur.

Rose met his former club in Saturday’s clash and gave a pretty impressive performance throughout. However, the appearence was a rare treat for the youngster who has spent most of his time so far out on loan. It’s believed Bolton (who are coincidentally our opponents in round 5, should we beat Tottenham) are also hoping to get Danny in on loan. Rose is believed to prefer a move to another Premier League club so the chances of him returning to Leeds are slim.

Snoddy here to stay

They say always end on a high and today, that particular high is provided by Robert Snodgrass who hit all the right notes after our draw with Tottenham telling The Times that he didn’t want to leave Leeds United;

“If they don’t want to sell me, I don’t want to leave, there’s no point. This team will be there at some point in the next two years.

“Everything is set up to go right back to the top.

“There’s no point being here if you think it stops when we get to the Championship.”

Reading between the lines, that statement could be taken as a bit of a dig at Jermaine Beckford, but in another interview Snoddy defended our “lazy” wantaway striker;

“Becks is just a clinical finisher and he’s rapid. Sometimes people say he doesn’t work too hard but you have to pick and choose.

“What do you want? Do you want the goals or do you want a striker who works hard? I think I prefer the goals, to be fair.”

Goals vs work rate? Where have I heard that argument before…

Well, if the morning rags are to be believed then I’ve been way off the mark in my thinking that Jermaine Beckford’s move to Newcastle United was simply a case of crossing the i’s and dotting the t’s.

Although it’s hard not to be a little sceptical of these rumours, it’s hard to ignore them when so many teams are being linked. Over the summer there was plenty of teams linked too, but with everything quiet in Newcastle, this would seem an obvious explanation as to why. Ken Bates may have started a bidding war.

The major difference between now and six months ago would be price. In the summer, Leeds had Jermaine tied down for another twelve months so could afford to wait for a good offer. With Jermaine requesting a transfer and Leeds pressed for time, a cut price deal could now be struck by one of these clubs.

You have to also consider the teams current positions. Six months ago, Bolton, Hull and Wolves didn’t know they’d be fighting for survival with a lack of strength upfront. Sunderland meanwhile are probably just in it to annoy Newcastle, but if Jermaine could produce the goods at the highest level, it could make the difference between a top half or bottom half finish for them.

I’m a bit overwhelmed by the amount of links this morning has spawned so I really don’t know what to make of any of them. I remain unconvinced as to whether Jermaine could cut it at the highest level, but if the scouts think so then you have to trust their better judgement.

January is a crazy time when clubs have just 31 days to strengthen their squad for the final push each season. With that in mind, I honestly think anythings possible. Some of these clubs could have only just noticed Beckford from his goal at Old Trafford and figure he could produce that week in, week out in the Prem.

I still think the lads hearts set on Newcastle. Over the last few days it’s seemed like both he and his agent have been trying to engineer the move, so it would seem inevitable. If Bates thinks he could get more money by Jermaine going elsewhere though, he could be in for a battle.

The easiest rumour to dismiss is that of Wolves. It’s claimed that a deal involving Sam Vokes plus cash has already been rejected by Leeds. For me, that’s an easy link and lazy journalism at it’s best. Seems like this is going to run and run either way.

Jermaine Beckford’s agent has confirmed on Five Live that the striker has handed a transfer request into the club just days after making himself a hero with his winning goal at Old Trafford.

"Not Leeds United's, that's for sure!"

After a year of speculation surrounding the strikers future, things began to look ominous in January when Newcastle were linked to the striker and their manager confirmed he was interested.

As well as Newcastle, other clubs can’t be ruled out with Aston Villa allegedly interested too and the bookies offering odds of 2/1 with him moving there, although these are likely to change in light of current news.

The striker, who won the Leeds United fans hearts when he dismissed initial transfer speculation a couple of years ago with the famous line ‘What shirt am I wearin’ bruv?’ has had a turbulent time since he refused to sign a contract in the summer, with the fans unhappy with his lack of commitment.

After a tough time leading up to Christmas, Beckford answered his critics in style by hitting five goals in three games, culminating in the famous goal that knocked Manchester United out of the FA Cup and gave Leeds their first win at Old Trafford for 29 years. 

UPDATE: Leeds United have confirmed Jermaine Beckford’s transfer request and issued a statement saying that although Beckford has handed a transfer request in, he will only be allowed to move if it is in the best interests of the club. Explaining that;

“The best interests of Leeds United involve receiving both an acceptable transfer fee and securing a suitable replacement to ensure his departure does not have an adverse effect on the club’s overall aim of securing promotion back to the Coca-Cola Championship”

It’s also worth nothing that Beckford’s transfer request was handed in on December the 30th, before our historic FA Cup win at Old Trafford.

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At 5pm* tomorrow the speculation surrounding Jermaine Beckford’s future will finally come to an end as the English transfer window closes. The rumours linking the striker with Bolton Wanderers persist as the Premier League side search for a goalscorer.

Jermaine Beckford has had an impressive start to the season scoring five times already and with no new contract signed, he still remains at the centre of much speculation.

Much of the speculation is coming from Bolton’s local rag who claim Gary Megson will make a £3m move for Jermaine should his bid for Nantes forward Ivan Klasnic fail. It now appears this move has failed so it’ll be a worrying 24 hours for Leeds fans.

Should Jermaine remain a Leeds United player after the deadline tomorrow, and should Leeds fail to secure a new contract with him, the next danger will be the January window where he’ll be allowed to sign a pre-contract with another club. Simon Grayson and Ken Bates have repeatedly said they’ll happily see him leave on a free at the end of the season if he can score the goals that get us promoted in this one. I suspect that they’ll try again to extend Jermaine’s contract before the January window and his decision will depend on current league standings.

Meanwhile, Leeds have signed former Sheffield United defender Leigh Bromby for £250,000. Bromby joins a four year deal and is the first transfer of the summer where Leeds have spent money. 

With Rui and Kisnorbo away on international duty this weekend it’s likely he’ll make his debut against Stockport. I had wondered why Grayson felt we needed another defender but it appears Bromby is adaptable and can play at left and right back so provides more options.

*Edited from midnight to 5pm. Transfer deadline is usually 12pm on the final day of August but has been altered to 5pm on the 1st of September due to the bank holiday.

As the transfer window nears it’s close, the rumours linking Jermaine Beckford with a move elsewhere get increasingly more ridiculous. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t be suprised to see Bates cash in on our star-striker, who has already scored three in three this season, but I’m struggling to believe the two stories that have emerged in the last 48 hours or so.

The first comes from the London Informer and claims Ken Bates has demanded £10m from Queen’s Park Rangers for Jermaine. Although struggling Championship side, QPR would probably be the right level for Becks, the story could have been written by Dan Brown for all the credibility it deserves. They back up their claim by quoting the ever-reliable “unnamed source.”

The next one is the link with Bolton Wanderers and a £2.5m deal. This one could have some truth to it but I’m struggling to see what Bolton see in him. I’m a big fan of Becks, but really can’t see him making it in the Premier League, so for me, this would be a gamble at best. Bolton’s manager, Megson is refusing to say much over the rumour so there could be some truth to it, but I remain unconvinced.

The first rumour can be totally written off. Throughout the entire transfer window that has to be the most laughable thing I’ve heard. The second one I can’t see being true either. Beckford is not a Premier League striker by any stretch of the imagination. He hasn’t got the first touch for the top flight or the finishing ability. He gets a lot more chances at Leeds than he will in the Premiership and his conversion rate simply isn’t high enough. Having said that, maybe Megson is seeing something I’m not?

The closure of the transfer window can’t come soon enough. Hopefully Becks will still be a Leeds player by that point and we can focus on the season without all these distractions. Having said that, if he is still a Leeds player and hasn’t signed a new contract by January we’ll have to go through this all again as he’ll be able to sign a pre-contract with any other club at that point.