Firstly, Gus Poyet and Paulo Di Canio have both ruled themselves out but bookies still offer odds as low as 6/1 on Di Canio (Coral) and 12/1 on Poyet (Stan James).

Neil Redfearn 

Picking up the pieces at Thorp Arch is Neil Redfearn. No compensation and cheap wages makes him a strong contender for the job in my opinion and is probably the wisest bet for those who fancy a flutter with odds as long as 12/1 with Ladbrokes, Paddy Power and Sky Bet. 

It’s already been made clear that Redfearn will be in charge for the game against Bristol this weekend and he has stated publicly that he’d like the job. Ken Bates has given the chance to caretaker managers in the past, most recently Kevin Blackwell, and Redfearn has built a strong reputation for himself after overseeing the successful progression of several youth players from Thorp Arch. He’s also being backed by captain Andy Lonergan.

Neil Warnock 

The early favourite Neil Warnock refused to rule out a return to management at Elland Road this morning, speaking positively about the club and their chances this season.

A controversial figure who hasn’t recorded a higher win percentage than Simon Grayson did at Leeds (49.7%) in over three decades of management. His longest spell was at Sheffield United where his win percentage was 42.53% in 388 games.

Warnock will divide opinion amongst fans. He’s well-known to be a hoofball specialist and hasn’t achieved all that much considering the length of his career. That shouldn’t matter too much anyway as it seems highly unlikely considering the large wages and transfer budget he’ll be demanding. With odds of 5/2 at Sky Bet the bookies clearly disagree.

Lee Clark (F) 

Current favourite Lee Clark has seen his odds slashed dramatically over the last 24 hours, with all the major bookies making him favourite and William Hill offering only evens.

In four years with well-funded Huddersfield Town, Clark has been unable to get them out of League One. A win percentage of 49.34% is marginally lower than Simon Grayson’s and worse still if you consider Simon Grayson’s League One record alone. He’s also very young. At just 39 years of age, he’s another manager lacking in experience.

Other candidates

Odds on Franchise MK manager Karl Robinson taking the Leeds job are falling sharply with Bet365 offering the shortest odds at 10/1. At the time of writing, the best odds available were 20/1 with William Hill. 

Ladbrokes are offering only 6/1 on Steve Bruce, although you can get 12/1 with Bet365 and 14/1 with Sky Bet. Odds on Gordon Strachan being next in line are as low as 8/1 with William Hill with the best odds courtesy of Stan James at 14/1. Another name flying around is Dave Jones whose odds are around the 14/1 mark with most bookmakers.

The ridiculous 

• Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink – 20/1 with Stan James 
• Alan Shearer – 18/1 with Sky Bet 
• Gary Kelly – 10/1 with Paddy Power
• Darren Ferguson – 33/1 with Paddy Power
• Eric Cantona – 150/1 with Paddy Power and 33/1 with Stan James
• Dominic Matteo – 33/1 with Sky Bet 
• Lucas Radebe – 33/1 with various
• Vinnie Jones – 100/1 with Sky Bet 

Billy Paynter is set to leave Leeds United on a emergency loan deal, teaming up with Leeds’ former assistant manager Gus Poyet at Brighton & Hove Albion.

The former Swindon Town striker has failed to find his feet at Elland Road, scoring just once in 26 appearances.

After a strong start to the season, The Seagulls form has dropped off dramatically in recent weeks and Poyet will be hoping that Panyter can rediscover his scoring boots and help fire Brighton back up the table.

Meanwhile, Newcastle United’s announcement that Alan Smith will be released on loan has reignited rumours of his return. For those of you not keeping count, this is Alan Smith return rumour 4,547.

Thanks to Mark Potter from We Are Brighton for taking part.

You’ve got off to flying start this season, what have you made of life Championship so far and do you believe Brighton’s good start can continue?

You’re right, it’s been a great start, better than anyone could realistically expect! Our defeat at Leicester last weekend shows we do have some weaknesses though, a reminder to some supporters that we’re not quite the finished article. But it’s promising stuff, and as long as Gus hangs around, there’s no reason we can’t keep it up and finish the season challenging for play-offs at the very least.

What were your hopes/expectations for this season? Have they changed considering your good start?

Most of us would have been happy with survival (especially if we beat Palace on the way!), although some optimists spoke of replicating Norwich last year. After our start though, most supporters are hopeful of at least a top half finish, and if things continue as they have been, then a promotion push certainly looks a possibility. Again though, this entirely depends on Gus staying with us!

It will be Leeds’ first visit to the new Amex Stadium on Friday, what can we expect from it?

Well, at the moment there’s a few teething problems getting supporters to and from the stadium. We’d advise you take the train, but don’t expect to get out straight away – hang around for a beer afterwards if you can. The ground itself though is fantastic. Away concourses are lit up to match the colour your team wears, and real ale and locally made pies are available too. We highly recommend the pies. The stadium is noisy, and a million times better than Withdean. Fans might notice a few gaps in the stadium that we hope to fill in at a later date to make the stadium even bigger. Some away fans have complained that the view from the away end is too low however. Clearly, they never made it to Withdean! Oh, and you can expect a powerpoint presentation of Leeds United legends on the concourse walls as well!

Leeds fans will be familiar with Casper Ankergren in goal for Brighton, what have you made of his time at Brighton and who else should we be keeping an eye out for on Friday night?

After dropping a clanger on his home debut, most Albion fans have warmed to Casper now. He’s a big part of our pass and move play as he’s so comfortable with the ball at his feet. The facts don’t lie, our defense has looked superb with him between the sticks, both last season and this season. Having said that, he doesn’t look too confident coming from crosses, and when he does have to play it long his kicking isn’t the greatest. But it does seem strange that Leeds didn’t think he’d be up to The Championship.

Other players to look out for? Craig Noone is our tricky winger who has been on fire this season, while Mackail-Smith’s energy and LuaLua’s pace are capable of terrorising any defence

Gus Poyet is another familiar face after his time as assistant manager at Elland Road. He’s obviously done exceptionally well in his time so far at Brighton, what do you personally make of him as a manager?

There’s not an Albion fan who doesn’t love the man. The whole club revolves around Gus, and his philosophy of pass and move football. It took supporters a while to get use to all the short passing around our defence, but after the success of last season nobody could criticise it now. He’s been a total revelation. The only worry is that it’s surely only a matter of time before a big club come in for him.

If you could sign one current Leeds player for Brighton, who would it be?

We still haven’t forgotten the way Snodgrass tore us a new one at Withdean a couple of years ago. Yep, probably him, although obviously any club in the league would want Becchio up front.

Finally, what’s your prediction for the game? I’ll take a point!

I think we’d take a point also, as long as we don’t have any injuries for the match against arch rivals Crystal Palace next week. We might be a little tired after facing Liverpool on Wednesday as well, so 2-2 doesn’t sound an unlikely scoreline!

Thanks to Mark Potter for answering the questions this week, you can read a reciprocal interview with David (TSS) answering the questions here.

This was another below par performance from Leeds and the result is no more than they deserved. Although there was an improvement on Tuesday’s performance, there’s still several issues that need to be addressed;

“What the **** is going on?”

Formation

We’ll start with the ever changing line-up, which yesterday was as below at kick-off.

Ankergren

Hughes, Naylor, Kisnorbo, Lowry

Howson, Doyle, Kilkenny, Johnson, McSheffrey

Beckford

The midfield is in no particular order as it was hard to make sense of who was playing where to be totally honest, such was the lack of order it seemed to possess. The key thing to note here however is that Beckford is upfront on his own, whilst our bench harboured the likes of Becchio, Gradel and Snoddy.

More to the point, on the pitch was McSheffrey, who I was led to believe was a forward. Clearly not a natural midfielder, would probably benefit from playing alongside Beckford as he’d be a much better targetman for the long-ball Leeds are insisting on playing at the minute and can also hold the ball up and create chances, which is what Beckford needs to be of any benefit to the team.

Much like when Luciano Becchio was playing alone upfront, Beckford was massively ineffective as a lone striker with poor support from the midfield. Leeds’ final ball was so poor that the Brighton keeper could have probably taken the day off and the scoreline wouldn’t have changed too much. Beckford and Becchio need each other to produce the goods. They both bring something to the party and neither can play alone.

I’m starting to think we’re dropping a striker in order to accomodate McSheffrey who must have been promised first team football. I don’t mind that as McSheffrey is a good player, but he needs to be playing alongside Beckford to keep the balance of the team and give us any real threat going forward.

The penalty

It was never a penalty in a million years, but these things happen. The referee was totally useless throughout and both teams had to cope with him so no sour grapes from me in that respect. Leeds had all the possession and really should have walked it against a pathetically weak Brighton side who we battered 3-0 in the reverse fixture.

The long ball

It’s becoming really annoying seeing balls pumped long to players who can’t bring them down. The supporters were once again whinging at Beckford for failure to move and fight for the ball, but he’s so useless in the air there was probably little point. The team plays better when we have some sort of flow and pass about a bit, but they just don’t seem to have the confidence to try and play football at the minute.

The celebration

The players goading Gus Poyet after we scored was totally unacceptable in my mind. Whether it was deliberate or has been taken out of context, I aren’t entirely sure. Maybe they were intending to celebrate with their own bench? I know Grayson wasn’t pleased anyway and nor was Gus by the sounds of things and it’s hardly surprising really.

The positives

The substitutions

Once we’d made our three changes we were back to our normal shape with Luci and Becks upfront and four in midfield. Snoddy, who started on the bench for some reason, came on and had an instant impact and it was no surprise he got the goal. After falling one down, it was the only time we looked threatening, but since this coincided with going back to basics in terms of line-up and formation, I’d suggest this played more of a part than anything else.

The defence

A million times better than on Tuesday. Doyle and Howson in midfield were nullifying attacks before they became a threat, leaving Brighton with nothing but the long ball option and Paddy was there everytime to head clear. We look so much better with them three in the team from a defensive aspect that if the formation remains the same, I think the clean sheets will return soon.

Max Gradel

Max was the victim of an absolute horror challenge that saw Brighton reduced to ten men late on. I honestly couldn’t believe he got up and played on afterwards as he must have been in some pain, so credit to the youngster for his determination.

The fans

Unlike midweek, it was a good turn-out with 24,000 there to cheer the Whites on. Good to see such a sizable crowd despite things not going our way at the minute. That said, the patience is growing thin and the growing sighs around the ground reflects the times. Most notable chant of the day was a chorus of “What the …. is going on?” when Brighton scored. No booing at the end though thankfully.

Overall

Better but still with flaws. It didn’t surprise me at all to see us improve massively when we went back to 4-4-2 and got the regulars back on the field. I hope we start the next match with the line-up that’s served us well all season and if we are going to play McSheffrey, then hopefully it’ll be alongside Beckford rather than out of place in midfield.

Defensively we looked a different team from Tuesday night, but upfront we’re lacking in ideas, despite the vast array of attacking players at our disposal. Back to basics for me. The worrying thing is that the gap to the play-offs has closed massively so whatever the reasons behind the current slump, they need sorting sharpish.

Can’t deny I’m worried at the minute, but not entirely surprised. Years of supporting Leeds tells me that we never do things the easy way and this season looks to be no exception. I have full faith in Grayson’s ability to turn things round, but the longer this goes on, the more the fans will lose confidence and the more the morale of the support drops, the harder it will become.

Let’s get the bad one out of the way first. We get slaughtered. In such a case, we could point out that we are now a mere third division side playing one of the strongest teams in Europe and we all thought that this could happen anyway. Our greatest fear would be that it could derail our promotion hopes. But this isn’t going to happen on two counts: Firstly, I wouldn’t want to be Wycombe (our next opponents) because they will be the team to take the brunt of our resolve to prove that the Man U game was just an unfortunate inevitability. But secondly, Leeds are just not that kind of team. Even if the Yanks win by six goals, this team will battle to the end and I’m certain we’ll see a performance to be proud of.

The next case is that we narrowly lose. Well, it’ll certainly make a statement. For too long, other supporters have justifiably been able to smirk at us. Most of the last seven seasons have been part of a massive downward spiral. A battling display is going to send out a clear message that we are coming back because we want to be back. I’ve thought that we have played some really good football in patches such as under McAllister and Poyet that never got the end result that we deserved. Both times, it was like observing flawed genius. Poor defence, points deduction, something always spoiled the party. Each time we have reverted to long ball, ‘kick your way to promotion’ style football because that is how you get out of this league. But on our day, we can play against a side that will let us. Like Liverpool, this could be one of those days.

A draw would be a pretty good outcome too. That means getting the Red Drivel back on home soil at Elland Road. Maybe slumming it in a third division stadium might upset the form of their multi millionaire superstars just enough for an upset.

Finally, of course what if we win? Well I’m not even going there because surely it can’t happen. Or can it…?

Other consequences? Every Beckford goal puts another half a million on his price tag or else, if he fails to show up for the big game (again) we keep him until the end of the season, because nobody wants him anymore. No lose. If as we expect, Snoddy and Becchio play to their usual standard, I hope that there are no talent spotters waiting to buy them off Uncle Ken. I believe he’s already sold his own grandmother, so a few more million might not go amiss.

So, I leave you with a prediction. Whatever the outcome, I think the pubs in Leeds are going to have their best start to a January for a long time because anything associated with Leeds simply can not lose today.

Right, time to put the crystal away…

For much of the first half Leyton Orient had the better chances. Leeds probably had more of the ball, but the end product just wasn’t there. Orient meanwhile were carving out more chances than most teams manage in 90 minutes at Elland Road.

Maybe it was complacency from Leeds, afterall tonight would provide us with the opportunity to go twenty games unbeaten at home and in the last three games we’d scored eleven, with no reply. Whatever the case, the Leeds United that so effortlessly cast aside Brighton on Saturday had been replaced with a much scrappier side that seemed to have lost their flair.

It’s not that we were bad, far from it, but in the first half Orient were definitely the better team. We’d had the better of the possession, but a few stray passes – most notably from Robert Snodgrass – were making the team frustrated and we just didn’t do enough with the ball. The best chances from a Leeds point of view in the first half were a shot from range by Kilkenny and a skied effort from Sam Vokes. Neither troubling the Leyton keeper.

The second half started slowly, but Grayson made a couple of impact substitutions that proved decisive. Aidy White replaced Andy Hughes shortly after half-time, but it was Grayson’s next change that would prove the difference when Max Gradel replaced Sam Vokes.

It took half the second half for anything of interest to happen, but Leyton had definitely been pinned back by this point and were finding chances to break far more scarce than the first half. Gradel meanwhile was starting to make a real nuisance of himself in Leyton’s half, putting in a couple of good crosses and striking the first real chance of the half with his back to goal. The shot ultimately went over, but Gradel had once again sparked a resurgence in Leeds.

Although the frustration was evident in the faces of the fans and players alike, Leeds continued to try and work an opening. Two penalty appeals were denied by the ref (again) although one was admittedly a bit soft, but the other looked like a clear handball to me.

Grella was the next player to come on in place of Howson as Simon Grayson continued to look for options. Interestingly, Davide Somma was the other striker on the bench with Tresor Kandol nowhere to be seen, despite his return from suspension. Maybe the sending off was one chance too far for the frontman?

Both Max Gradel and Mike Grella forced saves from the Leyton keeper as Leeds continued to pile on the pressure in desperate search of all three points. News from Charlton was that they were in the lead and we certainly didn’t want to give them a chance to close the gap.

The ball was forced forward again and again with pretty much everyone in White in the opposition half at times, whilst Orient’s entire squad were back defending. It just didn’t look like the goal was going to come and the game was beginning to feel like a lost cause.

This Leeds United however is a different breed from ones in the past. This Leeds United doesn’t give up until the fat lady has sang and we’ve developed a bit of a reputation for snatching late winners over the last couple of years, so why change such a profitable habit? Since Gradel had come on, he’d changed the game and it seemed somewhat inevitable that if anyone was going to change the score, it would be him.

The youngster didn’t disappoint. With just a minute of normal time remaining, he picked the ball up inside the box, created a nice angle and fired home to give Leeds a 1-0 win. With only injury time remaining, it would have been easy for Leeds to run the clock down, but with Leyton still pinned back, they carried on and went for another with Snoddy hitting the side of the net.

Overall and despite Leyton’s early dominance, Leeds deserved the win. Credit where it’s due to Leyton, they put us under the kosh at times in the first half, but they never kept the momentum going and eventually Leeds punished them for it.

As for Leeds, it wasn’t the most inspired performance but job done and another three points. Hard to complain when you’ve just gone twenty matches unbeaten at home, but Snoddy was off his game tonight and the jury is definitely still out on Vokes who contributed nothing. Aidy White deserves a mention as he gave a very good performance in the second half.

Elsewhere in the top six
Charlton and Colchester both won so no change in the top three. MK Dons lost 4-3 at home to Carlisle whilst Huddersfield lost away to Swindon. Norwich were the big movers of the night who capitalised on those defeats thrashing Brighton 4-1. Honeymoon period well and truly over now then for Gus.

On Sunday we play Kettering Town (29/11) in the FA Cup, followed by a trip to Oldham Atheltic in the League (01/12). That’s followed by the local derby at Elland Road against Huddersfield next Saturday as the heptic Christmas fixture list gets underway.

After another one of those international breaks that left myself and countless other Leeds United fans with a weekend to scratch our heads and wonder how to spend the time, the Whites returned fresh and hungry. The Leeds United faithful were all too aware of Gus Poyet’s managerial talent and with two wins in his two games so far – including a 3-1 victory over in-form Southampton – there was some cautious predictiors, including myself. I thought we’d do well to leave with a draw!

The teams were a class apart however and the gulf between Leeds and Brighton in the standings is not by fluke. Brighton simply couldn’t contend with Leeds United despite the fact we’d lost two key players to injury. Bradley Johnson and Richard Naylor were sidelined with Lubomir Michalik and Neil Kilkenny in as replacements, whilst Jonny Howson picked up the captaincy.

In years past, the loss of key players often resulted in clueless below-par performances, but credit to Simon Grayson and Leeds United. We have enough depth in this team now to ride out even the most disastrous injury crisis. Lubo looks like a man transformed and gave a very solid display whilst Neil Kilkenny continued to impress everyone.

Brighton had given Leeds a pathetically poor allocation of 900, which is probably just in-line with the minimum of 10% that the FA demands. Brighton has one of the most ramshackle stadiums/huts you’ll ever visit, so it’s hardly suprising. You’ll see better attempts of a football ground at your local park. Many of my fellow fans that had managed to get tickets had donned some cheap and tacky plastic rain-coats/bin-liners that made them look like the Leeds branch of the KKK. Either way, if you hadn’t come prepared, they’ll have been welcomed as the Whites faithful settled in for a cold, wet and blustery afternoon.

Luckily, the on-pitch activites kept us all warm as we sang our hearts out for the lads. After a shockingly bad penalty shout was missed by another outstanding referee (not that we’d have scored it anyway) Robert Snodgrass fired the Whites into the lead just before the half hour mark. A great strike from some range swerved into the net to leave the Brighton keeper stranded and send Leeds United 1-0 up.

Beckford hit the post, Brighton had a couple of half chances, but overall Leeds were by far the better team and controlled the game throughout. We were rewarded for our dominance just before half-time when a beautiful long range pass from Neil Kilkenny found Jermaine Beckford who had all the time in the world to calmly slot home and give Leeds a 2-0 lead.

The second half continued in much the same style with Leeds clearly on top. Brighton tried to get into the game but never really gave Leeds too much to worry about. The referee continued his impressive display by failing to award another clear-cut penalty to Leeds when Robert Snodgrass was the victim of a WWE-style challenge from the Brighton defence.

Brighton simply never had the opportunity to play. Leeds pressed them whenever they were in possession and gave them no time or space to create anything. Leeds looked much more comfortable on the ball and the result was never really in doubt.

As the final seconds of the game ticked away David Prutton linked well with Neil Kilkenny who smashed a shot beyond the Brighton keeper to give Leeds a 3-0 win, which was no less than they deserved. Kilkenny had a very good game and should definitely be giving Grayson a bit of a selection headache when Johnson returns.

It was just too easy for the Whites today. Brighton simply weren’t up to the challenge and Leeds out-classed them in every area. I think overall, Brighton will be happy with 3-0 when you consider the two clear penalty decisions Leeds were denied and Beckford’s unfortunate shot that came back off the post.

TSS man of the match
I’m going to go with Neil Kilkenny, although in fairness, all the midfielders were contendors. None of them did much wrong all game and the fixture was definitely won in the centre of the park. Brighton were closed down quickly, given no space at all and Leeds commanded respect throughout.

Elsewhere in League One
Charlton came back from 1-0 down to earn a draw at Yeovil, whilst Colchester failed to take their chance and could only manage a 2-2 draw at Oldham. Huddersfield move up to third after beating Hartlepool 2-1 and Norwich also drew away to Southampton.

Leeds now sit nine points clear of third place Huddersfield and six clear of Charlton with a game in hand. We’ve still conceeded just eight goals in the League, which is still the best in the country alongside Chelsea who are easing towards the Premier League title with a 4-0 win. It’s still early doors, but the title is definitely ours to lose.

Stephen McPhail
Just like to send my best wishes to former Leeds United player, Stephen McPhail who has been diagnosed with stage one matt lymphoma – a type of cancer. He’s set to receive treatment for the disease shortly and is hoping to be back in action for Cardiff by January. Best wishes, Stephen.

For me, the one to watch this weekend was Southampton vs Gus Poyet’s new team, Brighton & Hove Albion. A first half brace from Glenn Murray gave Gus the perfect start, but Southampton got a penalty just before half-time. Rickie Lambert stepped up and converted for his 12th of the season, sending him above Jermaine Beckford (11) in the top-scorers chart.

Without wanting to stray too far off subject Rickie Lambert is definitely a man Leeds should be targeting if Jermaine Beckford leaves in January. His goal-scoring record is incredible and he’ll no doubt want a chance to play higher. Southampton are very unlikely to achieve promotion, so I think we’d have a good chance of capturing him.

The BBC are reporting that Southampton’s problems stemmed from a “very shaky defence” and Brighton took full advantage adding a third shortly before full-time. The new manager effect seems to have worked well at Brighton who we’ll meet next Saturday. Let’s hope it was a one-off fluke.

Meanwhile, in London, Charlton returned to winning ways emphatically beating fourth place MK Dons 5-1. Although they’ve lowered the gap from us to four, MK Dons occupy the third to sixth place area, which is where we really need to move away from so this isn’t necessarily a bad result. So long as we go up automatically, I really couldn’t care less who wins the title.

The next stand out result in a free-scoring weekend has to be Huddersfield who battered Wycombe 6-0. Norwich also won, but Colchester could only manage a draw so without playing Leeds United are still seven points clear of the play-off positions. A game in hand means nothing unless you win it, but the chance to move ten clear so early on is a nice thought.

So the only change this weekend (in the top six) is Colchester United jumping MK Dons to take third spot. Charlton gained a bit of ground and the impressive scoreline will do wonders for their confidence. Huddersfield will be disappointed to remain sixth after the 6-0 demolition job, but they have opened up a little breathing room on Millwall who now trail them by two points.

I think things are really starting to take shape as we head towards Christmas. Was never convinced by Bristol and didn’t expect them to stay near the top for long. Southampton have such an impressive attack that they’ll climb steadily. Whether they can reach the top six or not though is debatable.

Would also expect Colchester to fizzle out eventually as I aren’t sure they have the depth. Millwall will most likely end in the top six, so come May I’d expect it to be pretty much as you are, but with Millwall possibly replacing Colchester running out of steam. If Southampton can keep hold of their key players, they may turn a few heads yet though.

It’s a prediction that will probably be as accurate as my football coupon this weekend. League One is simply too unpredictable for anyone to really know for sure, but it should be an interesting few months either way. On and on.