The Scratching Shed

19-year-old, Nile Ranger

Newcastle United’s 19-year-old striker, Nile Ranger could be called in to ease our strikers worries with Billy Paynter expected to miss the start of the season, Tribal Football reports.

The Geordies are expected to loan Ranger out this season so he can get some first team experience elsewhere, and after promotion to the Championship, Leeds United could be the ideal choice.

Newcastle will be in no hurry to make a decision however, with more than one Championship club interested, they’ll want to consider their options first and ensure he gets as much first team action as possible. Crystal Palace boss, George Burley confirmed he’d like to take the youngster on loan earlier this week;

“I have spoken to Newcastle about Ranger and he is one we’re looking at”

Whilst Nile Ranger is clearly a talented youngster who would be a good player to have on loan at Elland Road, you have to wonder what this means for the likes of Mike Grella and Davide Somma.

Mike Grella has already found himself lacking in first team options, with Simon Grayson electing to bring in ineffective loan signings rather than give the American youngster a chance last season. It seems a shame that injury to one of our main strikers doesn’t present an opportunity to one of the youngsters waiting on the sidelines.

Leeds United 2010/12 away kit

Fresh off the back of the positive new home shirt reviews, Macron have got adventurous with the new away kit and gone with a blue and yellow number as modelled right, by Bradley Johnson, and a slightly chubby-looking Billy Paynter.

The new kit features the giant, happy Macron man with outstretched arms on both sleeves that looks like it may have been drawn by children.

Despite the over-the-top logos of sportswear providers that most of us have now become accustomed to, I don’t think the new shirt looks all that bad.

It goes on sale this Saturday from the Elland Road superstore priced at £40 for adults, and an extortionate £35 for those of you with kids to buy for.

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Alex Bruce is believed to be having a medical at Elland Road this morning, before he completes the switch from Ipswich Town. The defender/midfielder, will become Simon Grayson’s seventh signing of the summer after a last second bid snatched him from the grasp of Sheffield United.

The news of Bruce’s departure drew mixed comments from Ipswich fans on their fan-site, TWTD.co.uk. Of the more positive comments, Ipswich fans said that;

“Losing a good defender here, leeds are going to be strong next season.”

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Whites bound defender?

The Daily Mail claims Alex Bruce is on his way to Elland Road after Sheffield United and Ipswich Town failed to agree terms on how a £200,000 transfer fee should be paid.

The same paper who this morning claimed Luciano Becchio was on his way out of Elland Road after contract talks broke down, is now claiming that a £300,000 offer has been lodged from Simon Grayson in an attempt to hijack the 25 year olds move to Yorkshire rivals, Sheffield United.

Whilst the Becchio claims were easy to dismiss, this particular rumour could have substance. Following yesterdays 3-1 friendly victory over Norwegian side, SK Brann, Simon Grayson told Leeds United fans they could expect a new arrival by Friday. With the Mail claiming that Bruce is set to undertake a medical tomorrow, the timing all seems to line up well.

Alex Bruce has made 115 league appearances in the last four years for Leicester. Despite being born in England, Alex has also played for the Republic of Ireland, qualifying for the team through his grandfather.

With Billy Paynter missing the friendly games against Bury and Hartlepool, there had been reports that our new summer signing was set to be out for a lengthy spell, leading to further concerns about the strength of our striking options.

Despite the reports however, Simon Grayson insists Billy Paynter’s absence was nothing more than a precaution after picking a knock up in Slovakia.

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With just a couple of weeks remaining before the season gets under way, Leeds United still haven’t signed the long-awaited replacement for Jermaine Beckford.

Whilst it’s always difficult to judge the state of affairs based on friendlies, one goal in three doesn’t suggest Paynter, Grella, Becchio or Somma are going to live up to their predecessors goal-scoring prowess.

The summer has been rife with rumours linking everyone from Leroy Lita to the highly rated Gary Hooper, but with time running out, the noises coming from Elland Road don’t suggest anyone will be joining us soon. With Grayson hinting at a lack of funds, it seems our current list of strikers may be the final line-up.

With all the above in mind, the new TSS poll asks whether you think a new striker will be joining the ranks, or if Billy Paynter will be the only centre-forward we sign this year?

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Not quite the pre-season showing of strength we’d all hoped for last night as Leeds United crumbled away to Bury and left with an embarrassing scoreline of 4-0.

With just one seemingly disastrous result, any optimism the Leeds faithful may have had ahead of the 2010/11 season has vanished and it’s back to the drawing board as the “inadequate” defence, midfield and forwards are scrutinised.

But should we really be all that concerned? After all, this was only a friendly and on display was a team who still aren’t 100% after a lazy summer celebrating promotion. It’s only natural that it’ll take  a few games for Leeds United to get back into gear. We’ve had extremely poor friendly results in seasons past, and it’s had no effect once the real stuff got under way.

Anyone wanting further proof that friendlies give no indication as to how good the team are needs only to look at Newcastle United’s faltering pre-season campaign last year. Most of the country were writing Newcastle off after some terrible pre-season results, including a 6-1 hammering at the hands of Leyton Orient. But the Geordies turned it on when it mattered and stormed back into the Premier League as champions, as the friendly results were quickly forgotten.

To sum up, a 4-0 hammering to Bury wasn’t ideal, but at the same time it means absolutely nothing. Friendlies are for the sole purpose of gaining fitness and working the kinks out. It does seem that Leeds United have plenty of kinks to work out at the moment, but it’s better to find that out now with time to heal before Derby visit Elland Road on opening day.

Keep the faith!

Somma prolific at Lincoln

An article in the Nottingham Evening Post reveals that Simon Grayson has done a complete U-turn on his plans for Davide Somma next season.

According to the Nottingham newspaper, Lincoln City had requested to continue Davide’s loan into 2011, after the South African striker impressed on loan there last season. They claim Simon Grayson was happy for Somma to return to Lincoln to gain further experience. However, it seems Larry has gone full circle with his plans and now wishes to keep Somma at Leeds – presumably after his performances on tour in Slovakia.

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Hallelujah!

After finally guiding Leeds United out of third tier hell, and despite ‘enticing offers from other clubs’ (Ken Bates’ words, not mine), Simon Grayson has finally put an end to speculation over his future by agreeing a new three year deal with the Whites.

Larry has experienced the same rollercoaster of ups and downs as every Leeds United manager must inevitably face, but in the 18 months he’s been here so far, he’s come out of it smelling like roses almost every time.

Save for a dodgy season end as Leeds United insisted on doing it the hard way, Simon Grayson has got pretty much everything right. Aside from a few ineffective loan signings, his often controversial dealings in the transfer market have plugged all the right holes, allowing Leeds United to finally move forward after almost a decade of demise. Signings like Patrick Kisnorbo and Max Gradel have brought much needed strength and excitement to a team previously void of ideas, with gaping holes in key areas.

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Leroy Lita

Bookmakers Betfair have stumbled across (or ‘invented’ for the more cynical/realistic amongst us) some more Leeds United rumours to keep our attention firmly focused on their company. Only a couple of days ago, Betfair linked Leeds United with a move for Chelski youngster, Scott Sinclair, and eager to keep the attention on the firing line after Jermaine Beckford’s exit, the betting firm has highlighted two more strikers we’re allegedly interested in.

It seems the team everyone wants to be linked with in the Championship is newly-promoted Leeds United, and reports today suggest that Simon Grayson is looking at two strikers. Middlesbrough’s Leroy Lita could be the target of a £500,000 bid from the Whites, while the United gaffer is also pondering a move to take Aston Villa’s England Under-21 international Nathan Delfouneso on a season-long loan.

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