Despite a severe injury crisis threatening to end any hope of a Leeds United play-off push, a team desperately in need of strengthening is attracting little attention from the daily rag fuelled rumour mill.

Not since the days of George Graham, when Leeds United were so incredibly boring that the tabloids couldn’t bear commenting on us have their pages been so lacking in Leeds United rumour/scandal/myth.

Perhaps that’s a good thing however? After all, the rumours serve only to heighten expectations which invariably leads to a massive fall when the transfer window closes and Michael Brown is as close as we’ve got to an exciting new recruit.

Generally speaking of course, when we do sign players they usually come out of the blue, so maybe we should be encouraged by the absence of Leeds United rumour?

I suspect there may be an alternative explanation however. All the warning signs are there that this could be another forgettable transfer window for The Whites, despite the promising start made by signing the sensational Andros Townsend on a season end loan deal.

1. The Excuses Start Early 

Before the window had even opened our beloved chairman was firing the warning shots, insisting that “we” wouldn’t spend recklessly and gamble on our financial security – basically a rehashed version of his summer warnings where Leeds United spent pretty much nothing.

This invariably leads to questions about the pointless £7m vanity project bolted on to the East Stand and finished in a lovely cream colour.

Pre-empting such a response, the chairman explained that banks won’t lend football clubs money in this economy to spend on luxuries (such as their core business – ie. a squad), but they will lend money to a man with a series of financial disasters under his belt to add value to a stadium of which no one knows the owners – prudent business there from the banks, aren’t you glad we bailed them out?

“Yes Mr Bates, what can we do for you today?”

“I’d like a £7m loan to build an extension onto the stadium I lease”

“Hmmm… Any financial troubles in the past Mr. Bates?”

“Well, in the interests of full disclosure…” unlikely, I know “…there was a small matter of an Irish savers bank that may have gone bust after I loaned all their cash to some shady businessmen… oh, and there was a couple of financial glitches when I owned Chelsea, but some Russian gangster bailed me out there… does an administration with Leeds count? Because, in my defence, I totally screwed the system there and managed to con my way back in debt free…”

2. Wage Budgets 

It doesn’t matter that your chairman won’t splash the cash for players when you have an ‘extremely competitive wage budget’ that your manager can do what he likes with – except we haven’t, and he most certainly cannot.

A quick flick through the accounts of Championship teams should be enough to end this fallacy once and for all. In reality, Leeds’ wage budget is distinctly average – neither relegation or promotion worthy, kind of in the middle. You know, mid-tableish.

There’s an old saying that ‘you get what you pay for’ and that’s generally true of football. Ken Bates isn’t lying when he says “money doesn’t guarantee success” but he’s papering over the fact it’s impossible without it.

When was the last time Everton won the Premier League I ask you?

No one takes the top flight title without considerable investment and the same is true of the Championship – money does not guarantee success, but spending nothing at all guarantees the Championship trophy won’t be paraded in front of your fans come May – unless of course, a team that did invest happens to be your final game of the season. Then you get to look on enviously.

3. The Convincer

While we’re putting an end to fallacies, let’s address the notion that it is Grayson who picks the players and he alone who is responsible for the team we go to watch each week.

I know we’re all trying to forget it ever happened, but let’s circle back to summer 2011. Remember those joyful hours spent listening to the barely coherent ramblings of our chairman blasting the likes of Keith Andrews and Lee Bowyer for being unrealistically greedy? For demanding extortionate wages impossible for Championship clubs to meet?

Remember them both signing for the mighty Ipswich Town?

Perhaps Keith Andrews demands were too much – I’m in no position to dispute that – but wages are relative to the division and the quality of player you’re chasing. If you want the divisions best, then you better be prepared to compete with the other teams ready to cough up. Alternatively, you could slag them off in the press and settle for Michael Brown – depends on your aspirations I suppose…

This is just one example of Simon Grayson highlighting the player he wants before Shaun Harvey failed to negotiate a contract with them and Ken Bates subsequently slated them in his weekly address to the nation.

So yes, Simon Grayson does pick the players, but consider this – when Shaun Harvey has failed in negotiations because Ken Bates’ budget doesn’t stretch far enough, where do you go from there?

Well, you move from Keith Andrews to Lee Bowyer of course, and fail again. Somewhere in this failed search for a central midfielder was Alan Smith who decided he’d rather warm Newcastle United’s bench than take a paycut at Leeds. Further failure followed with attempts to sign Sammy Clingan and Nick Montgomery.

Five (probably more) down and by this point, the rest of the Championship have snapped up most of the quality leaving Simon Grayson desperate for a central midfield and only the runt of the litter remaining. Step forward Michael Brown.

Doesn’t strike you as a transfer policy that’s going to win you the league, does it?

4. B-b-but Ridsdale

Of course, no transfer window would be complete without a cursory nod to our former chairman, to whom Ken Bates owes a thousand and one thankyou cards for the numerous times he’s provided a perfect scapegoat when anyone dare question the owners ambition.

The excuse has worn thinner than Don Revie’s lucky suit. Two takeovers and an administration have passed since then and any remaining problems can not be attributed to him – nor can he be used as a go-to excuse every time someone dares to suggest we should be seeing some return on our investment.

It’s all very black and white when the Ridsdale excuses come in to play. There’s Ridsdale’s way of spending money and Ken Bates’ way of not spending anything at all. The grey area in the middle that many a team have secured promotion from is non-existent. Don’t even bother mentioning it, you’ll be blasted for your failure to understand football finances, morons.

I thought I had a handle on it once. My general understanding was that you had a total income (X) and an expenditure (Y) and that X minus Y equals Z, or available funds in this case. Turns out, I was in the right area, but I failed to mention Peter Ridsdale which, by all accounts, is the first rule of Leeds United finances.

For those of you as naive as I once was, the Peter Ridsdale rule means no matter how high the ticket prices, no matter how much you make from selling your star players and no matter how many money-spinning cup ties you have, available funds become zero – because of Ridsdale, naturally.

“But we do have funds, Simon Grayson spends them all on wages” I hear the posse of angry Bateswashed… I mean brainwashed… apologists scream. I refer you to point 2.

The latest greedy, unappreciative footballer to turn down one of Ken Bates’ incredibly generous contract offers is rising star Aidy White.

The 2o-year old Leeds-born left back has joined Jermaine Beckford, Bradley Johnson, Neil Kilkenny and captain Jonny Howson in a disturbingly long list of first team players to reject the clubs extended contract offers it has emerged.

Whilst encouraging to see the club being proactive in their contract negotiations by starting them now – as opposed to next season when there would be real cause for concern – it’s worrying that another player has found Leeds’ offer to be unacceptable.

Unfortunately, contract negotiations seem less important to Leeds United than pointless executive boxes and conference facilities, and we know from past experience that The Whites aren’t afraid to play hard ball when it comes to a players demands, regardless of the consequences.

Leeds United’s approach isn’t all bad in fairness. A lack of sentiment is important when it comes to money, there has to be an element of ruthlessness involved if you wish to run any successful business without hemorrhaging funds. But it’s hard for the supporters to see it that way when they’re paying through the nose to support the club, only to see the best players walk away whilst the funds that could have secured contract extensions are funnelled into a pointless cream-coloured vanity project on the side of our East Stand.

Chances are, this is just the start of another long-running contract saga, that should give us all reason to moan for the next 12-18 months. Or, we could all be dealt a shocking blow by news that the club have reached an agreement sooner rather than later. Stranger things have happened – Peter Ridsdale for example is still managing to find work!

The majority of fans in attendance at Elland Road tomorrow will struggle to remember the last time we beat Cardiff City, which is hardly surprising when you discover the last time was 1984 – some of our fans won’t have been alive!

The Welsh side are Leeds’ ultimate bogey team. Since 1984, the side have met eleven times, ten of which were in the league, with Leeds collecting just 3 points. Cardiff City meanwhile collected 24 points from the same ten fixtures, and knocked a Leeds side featuring Mark Viduka, Jonathan Woodgate, Rio Ferdinand and Lee Bowyer out of the 2001/02 FA Cup.

The strange thing is, that before Cardiff’s unbeaten run against us began in the 1984/85 season, Leeds were on an unbeaten run of their own having remained undefeated in nine previous meetings with City – six wins, and three draws.

It’s almost like someone decided enough was enough back in 1984, placing a curse on Leeds United that would make them incapable of beating Cardiff City ever again. Either that or they’ve simply wanted it more ever since.

That’s always the case with Leeds’ bogey teams. They are, without exception, teams who seem to believe the game is a huge rivalry, only they’ve forgot to tell anyone in Leeds and we turn up wondering what the hell is going on.

In turn, that gives the players of our faux-rivals a huge lift. Leeds United’s players meanwhile share bemused looks with the crowd. “We don’t get paid enough to work hard every week!” a frustrated Mark Viduka was heard muttering in January 2002.

Perhaps the hooligan problem of the 80′s caused the shift in attitudes, and developed another largely one-sided rivalry. In fairness to Cardiff, they’re not my most liked team, and I took great pleasure in watching Peter Ridsdale teach them financial savvy, but I’ve never considered them actual rivals – just minor irritants with annoying accents.

As you can see from the below video, Cardiff City most definitely hate us. Perhaps we need to acknowledge them as huge rivals – or at least feign rivalry for the sake of victory?

When Shaun Harvey was elected to the board of the Football League, I couldn’t help but think it was the most ridiculous move since they named a physicist by the name of Mahwinney as Chairman.

Following administration in 2007 Leeds were unable to obtain the CVA required by the Football League to regain our league share so the Football League – chaired by Mahwinney at the time – decided we could exit administration but an additional punishment was to be voted on by our rivals.

Quite how he expected them to vote without bias was anyone’s guess? Many suspect that was the entire point; that he was so bitter about Ken Bates cleverly dodging the consequences of entering administration (by doing so when it wouldn’t effect how we finished the season), that he needed a way to get revenge whilst also distancing himself from it by having other clubs make the final call.

It may be deadlocked at Ken Bates 1-1 The Football League, but the Leeds United chairman isn’t the kind of guy who forgives and forgets what he and most Whites fans saw as a major injustice.

Whilst Shaun Harvey may be the one sat in the chair at the Football League, it would be foolish for anyone to think he isn’t pushing Bates’ agenda. For us, that’s probably a good thing – after all, if Leeds United prosper, then so too do Bates and Harvey. For all those teams and chairman that voted us against us however, the slightest chance to exact our revenge and you can bet your house that Bates will be instructing Harvey to take it. Quite right too. I don’t mean to sound bitter, but I am, so that’s how it comes across.

OK, so it’s not the greatest way to make friends I grant you, but Leeds United and Ken Bates share one common theme in that they are universally disliked and have few friends in the world of football to lose – far too late to change that now.

The first act of revenge should be taken out on Peter Ridsdale by blocking his plans to takeover Plymouth Argyle. Back in 2007, Ridsdale was busy trying to make amends for destroying Leeds United by ruining Cardiff City and whilst I sincerely doubt he was one of those that voted for Leeds to have additional points deducted, his comments that ‘seeing Leeds United in the third tier was deeply saddening’, but he felt ‘in no way responsible’ for that outcome still grates on me a little… well, a lot actually. The level of self-delusion this man exhibits is astonishing.

For those bygone-be-bygone types reading this who aren’t big on the whole revenge thing, maybe you could support a block of his takeover not to p**s him off, but to stop him ruining yet another football club with his wild narcissistic fantasies. Whatever helps you sleep better at night.

The Scratching Shed welcomes Editor of The 1-2-7 Formation, Gary Hartley to the team for an alternative take on life as a Leeds United fan in a new feature called The Mangle (named in honour of Ken Bates’ famous rant). Enjoy… 

Fellow fans, I share what you’re feeling inside. But fellow fans, I’m sick to the back teeth and beyond of the droning conjecture-feed of doom.

I’ve swept an eye over the message boards and howling tweets, I’ve read the near-tears on grown men’s faces, and I’ve tapped your phones – and my advice is as follows: come on, Man (or Woman) Up – get some sort of side project hobby to take your mind off it all, perhaps interpretive dance or bee-keeping, whatever it takes. You can’t pile everything into this club; you just can’t. Surely you’ve noticed LUFC aren’t a feel-good lifestyle choice already?

But more than that, it’s more than evident we’ve all become blinded by lack of investment in playing matters, sanity-insulting ticket prices, momentously crap in-house broadcast media, scaffolding on the East Stand, tax havens and Rod Stewart concerts.

Thinking that all this means a season of doom ahead is oh so very literal – and that’s quite literally the opposite of the way you ought to be framing your LUFC experience right now.

While I’m not compelling anyone to ‘flip that frown around’ or any such tedious rubbish, I would suggest trying to think exactly the opposite of what you’re thinking. We’ve forgotten that our beloved club are partly so compelling because they’re the undisputed kings of the counterintuitive.

You want examples, do you? Come on, this is not a toughie.

Think Sterland-Whyte-Fairclough-Dorigo is a top division-winning defence? Think we’d get to the Semis after being thoroughly shellacked by Barcelona in our Champions League baptism? Think we were just too good not to win all of those Revie finals? Think it would’ve been sensible to regain ownership of our training ground when we had the capital to do so? Think we’d carry the momentum from the Preston playoff semi into the final?

I’m not stopping there, oh no.

Think we’ve got a few positions in our current squad that could use filling? Think it couldn’t possibly get worse after losing the Premier League berth? Think that our first season back in the Championship was going to be a struggle against the drop? Think we had a better side than Histon? Think if you wanted more corporates watching games you might want to build the success before the boxes? Think we could never ever have a more punchable, generally odious cretin in charge of the club than Peter Ridsdale?

At the point when you’ve given up all hope – that’s probably round about……now – that is the point to begin believing, comrades.

So if the Welsh choke-fanatics are suggesting Jlloyd Samuel was an abomination for them, he’s going to be the finest left-sider we’ve had since Cooper. If you’re seeing us scrapping it out with Donny, Palace, Barnsley et al at the foot of the table, then start thinking hanging with the Hammers. And if you think Paynter’s a useless lump of non-footballing flesh, then get ready for the hottest striking property outside the Prem to show himself as he truly is…no, actually that really is extending a point way too far.

But let that poor choice of final reference point not detract from my thrust, and that is this: open your heart and tweet the true word, let not your keyboard warrior sword spout bile and rage, take a deep breath – we’ve got some singing in exultation to start up. We’re going up as f***ing champions and you can absolutely, categorically not quote me on that.

Snoddy foaming with rage at Bell-end-amy

It was a dinner time start for most Leeds United fans as we made our way towards Wales hoping the new Cardiff City bowl would bring us more luck than their old ground.

With the form table showing a struggling Cardiff and an undefeated-in-twelve, Leeds United, most Whites fans seemed optimistic ahead of this one. There were also those of us that pointed to our record against the Welsh side however and would have snatched your hand off for a fourth consecutive draw. Seven times we’d met Cardiff since relegation, losing five, drawing two and winning none of them. Before that, the last time we beat them was 1984 when Eddie Gray was manager.

After what seemed like a very long journey, we arrived at a service station where a pointless exercise to hand tickets out took place (creating absolute chaos) before the Leeds fans were monitored en-route to the stadium by the caring boys in blue. Bit like being a celebrity really – arrive in a foreign land and watch the foreigners tax money carefully wasted on your visit. Not too shabby.

By this point, the team news was starting to come through and there was a couple of surprises in store as Simon Grayson decided to flirt with 4-4-2 again and partner Ross McCormack and Billy Paynter up front. There was also a much welcomed return for Ben Parker at left-back, which prompted me to start taking bets on how many minutes he would last – sorry, but he’s made of glass (although my 30 minute prediction was somewhat wide of the mark).

Once safely inside the Peter Ridsdale identi-kit bowl with the rain lashing down on Wales, the game got under way and a pattern of sustained pressure from Cardiff began. Craig Bellamy was fit to start contrary to reports earlier in the week and it was himself and England striker, Michael Chopra causing the most problems for Leeds. Andy Keogh – remember him? – was also a particular nuisance as the Whites struggled to settle into the game.

The best Leeds United saw of the early exchanges was a curled shot wide from Robert Snodgrass, before Craig Bellamy went up the other end and made it 1-0 with just eleven minutes played. Dreadful defending from Leeds, who held off the Man City striker allowing him to stab the ball through Leeds’ defence and the legs of Kasper Schmeichel to open the scoring.

The frustration amongst those in White was quickly becoming evident as Robert Snodgrass and Paul Connolly were lured into handbag contests with the thuggish Craig Bellamy. Whilst Snoddy giving him a black eye would have been somewhat satisfying for the travelling fans, this is exactly what the Man City man does to his markers and Connelly and Snods should have known better.

The remainder of the first half is one the travelling Leeds fans will quickly want to forget. Kasper Schmeichel made a series of saves and clearances to keep the score respectable as Cardiff completely dominated the tie. But Cardiff failed to capitalise on their almost total dominance and the game remained 1-0 at the break.

Talking on Twitter at half time, I’d made an exaggerated guess that Cardiff must have had 29 corners to Leeds’ 1. Numerous replies came in and it turned out the actual stat was Cardiff 9-2 Leeds United, and that pretty much summed up the amount of this game we’d seen so far. If Leeds were going to end a record of forgettable score-lines against Cardiff, something had to give.

The second half began much the same as the first ended and Kasper Schmeichel remained Leeds United’s most productive player.

With less than 15 minutes of the second half played, Simon Grayson made the changes needed to give Leeds United some kind of attacking threat and width in the game. Lloyd Sam and Sanchez Watt were the players brought on in place of Gradel and McCormack. It would prove to be an inspired change that would make an immediate impact.

Only two minutes Sanchez Watt was on the pitch before he made a pacey run down the wing and played Lloyd Sam in who turned two players before seeing his shot denied by the keeper. As Leeds looked to maintain the pressure from the attempted clearance, Robert Snodgrass picked the ball up on the edge of the area and fired a stunning curling shot into the top corner to level the game. 1-1

No sooner had Lloyd Sam come on, than he was taken off again as he pulled up in noticeable discomfort and signalled to the bench to make the change. As Sam was taken away with the 1,900 Leeds fans watching in concern, Luciano Becchio came on as his replacement and there was a moment of expectancy as Cardiff’s fans grew restless from failing to shut Leeds out earlier.

Cardiff responded though but Andy Keogh’s shot was weak, allowing Schmeichel to make an easy save before Leeds countered again and Ben Parker saw a rare opportunity to shoot sail wide. A game that Cardiff should have won with ease was suddenly wide open.

However, any momentum Leeds had built up seemed to dissipate when Sanchez Watt and Paul Quinn clashed heads with around fifteen minutes remaining. Cardiff players clearly aren’t built as tough as Leeds United ones, because Quinn had to be subbed off whilst the spirited Watt was bandaged up and bouncing back on in minutes. He later revealed on Twitter that he had to have stitches after the game, so the youngster deserves a massive amount of credit for his bravery.

With another former Leeds United player, Stephen McPhail now on the pitch and Quinn taking his Calpol in the dressing room – it did look quite bad in fairness, and unlike us, they still had subs left – Michael Chopra was gifted an opportunity from nothing and with the Leeds defenders seemingly taking a break after a tough day at the office, the England striker was left happily surprised with the ease at which he drifted into a shooting position to put Cardiff back ahead.

If you don’t get to see much of Leeds United and wonder what it is that prompts my unrelenting attacks on our playdough-like defence, here are the highlights. I used the analogy that ‘our defence parted easier than Jordan’s legs’ a couple of games back, but here we take it one step further and arrive in Jodie Marsh territory.

There was an admirable attempt from Leeds to level the scores after that with Howson and Becchio both having good chances, but the scoreline was a fair reflection on the game and the lads can have no complaints. Whilst I’m sure the Leeds players would argue that they did enough in the second half to take something from the tie, you can’t start playing football after 45 minutes and expect to maintain an undefeated run. There’s just nothing to blame it on I’m afraid – even the referee (Andy D’Urso) had a good game!

The worst thing about going to Cardiff is the long trip home – especially when we always leave defeated. The Police never help matters either, and the rescheduling of this game was an absolute nonsense, that has left us long-suffering Leeds fans fumbling our way through work, massively deprived of sleep. Still, onwards and upwards…

TSS man of the match

Always hard work in defeat. Kasper Schmeichel did well to keep what could have been an absolute hammering down to 2-1. Sanchez Watt also did well when he came on, but not enough time on the pitch for MOTM and Snoddy had moments of brilliance in between his cat-fights with Bellamy. However, the only person worthy of man of the match is myself and every other Leeds United fan for their fantastic support at a night time fixture that has probably left many surviving today on a diet of coffee, Red Bull and Pro Plus.

Bulletproof

With the news that our favourite fish-loving freak, Peter Ridsdale has been hired as the (and I quote) “financial stability advisor” to Plymouth Argyle, here at The Scratching Shed we’ve been pondering the possibility of even more ridiculous possible appointments for celebrities and sports-people.

Jeremy Clarkson as Environment Minister

The G20 summit’s in faraway paradises would be infinitely more entertaining with the Top Gear loud-mouth’s views on tarmacking Iceland and installing V12 engines in blenders.

Pete Doherty as the anti-drug advisor to sport

With the infamous rocker advising sports stars on drugs, the likes of Robbie Fowler could rest easily knowing he’s got the kind of contact you need to get your hands on Columbia’s finest marching powder.

Tomas Brolin as Minister for Healthy Eating

With all these fat kids clogging up Britain at the moment, Tomas Brolin is just what we need. With all the food it’d take to keep him and Prezza content in London, the rest of the country will have to survive on a diet of vegetables and fruit.

Nick Clegg as the Minister for Highways

No one loves a good U-turn quite as much as the Liberal Democrats leader, so we feel he would be the perfect candidate for such a demanding job. Alternatively, we could be really ridiculous and hire him as Deputy PM.

George Bush as the UN Peace Envoy to the Middle East

Speaks for itself really. Maybe Tony Blair could fill a similar role…

John Higgins as the Minister for Corruption in Sport

If you’re going to get caught in compromising video footage negotiating bungs with Arab’s, you have to have a good excuse ready. A quick call to John Higgins will get you all the advice you need to prepare your PR campaign. Alternatively, you could buy Shaggy’s single “It wasn’t me” as a similarly effective self-help guide to deal with such situations.

Josef Fritzl as Family Planning Officer

Planning on bringing new life into this world, but your 3 bedroom semi is a little short on space? Never fear, the Family Planning Department’s finest adviser can give you all the guidance you need to plan the perfect extension.

Ken Bates as Head of PR for FIFA

Nobody keeps a secret quite like Ken Bates, and when you’re taking sizeable back-handers from Qatar and Russia he’s the ideal man to advise on how all that money can be safely shuffled around whilst the outside world remain oblivious. Also a master of propaganda and controlling the press.

Gary Glitter – Child Protection Officer

We think you’ll agree that our final one really has a ring to it? Sounds like something plucked straight out of the cinema listings…

Thanks to the #TwitterWhites for their help with this one and feel free to add your own ideas for ridiculous job appointments below.

The devil wears Primark

Quite what Plymouth Argyle were thinking when they brought Peter Ridsdale in to advise on their financial problems is anyone’s guess? Maybe they fancied a few headlines and knew Ridsdale would be able to escalate their financial problems ten fold within an hour? Or maybe I’m not giving them enough credit – maybe their problems are already irreversible, so they attempted to bring Ridsdale in as a scapegoat?

Whatever the reasoning behind Argyle’s apparent moment of madness, Peter Ridsdale did what Peter Ridsdale does best and milked every second of PR he possibly could from the opportunity. It was during this media blitz that Ridsdale gave his enlightened opinions to the BBC.

I did question the BBC’s spending when I heard they were interviewing an over-publicised former chairman, turned adviser to a League One club but in an interview centred around football financial lunacy, I suppose Ridsdale is the best first hand experience one could possibly hope for.

Particular highlights from the interview include Ridsdale revealing that he and his group of mercenaries… I mean investors… have recently had an offer for a Championship club turned down (if that was you Ken, all is forgiven!). The fact that this man is still allowed within 100 feet of any professional football club, let alone try to buy them, gets closer to the route cause of the problems with football finance than the rest of his interview combined.

That shouldn’t deter you however, because there are still plenty of other little gems of wisdom. My particular favourite is the revelation that a club “can’t budget for relegation!”

Now, I didn’t know this, but apparently it’s absolutely impossible. You can budget for finishing fourth in the Premier League, but any attempt to put 18th or lower into a calculator results in mechanical failure, which could potentially have a butterfly effect and send the rest of the world spinning out of it’s own orbit.

Lucky Ridsdale is such a shrewd operator then…

Ryan - Cardiff have got off to a fantastic start, but are you looking forward to Monday nights game at Elland Road?

Matthew – We always look forward to our games at Elland Road since that infamous FA Cup game back in 2002 which has created a bit of, lets say “spice”, between both sets of fans. Leeds form has stuttered slightly recently though which has given us a bit more optimism for this game.

Ryan – Sky decided to change the game to a Monday evening just 4 weeks before the match and I know plenty of Leeds fans weren’t too pleased about this. How has this gone down with the Cardiff fans? How badly do you think it will affect the number of fans you bring?

Matthew – Nearly all Cardiff fans planning on traveling up weren’t happy with this. Since the 2002 game this game has always had heavy restrictions in place where fans have to meet at certain places before the games to collect tickets and such matches have seen away support numbers dwindle over the seasons as fans wont put up with it any more so support was always going to be low for this one. Moving it to a Monday night as well as having the restrictions has meant even fewer will travel now. I’ve heard we sold 800 as of Monday this week so it may rise to near 1000.

Ryan – Despite his absence through injury in recent weeks, the arrival of Craig Bellamy has obviously created a lot of interest around Cardiff City. How did you feel when you first found out he might be signing for Cardiff? Do you believe his love for Cardiff is genuine?

Matthew – The Bellamy rumors had been going for a couple of years now as he’s always stated he’d like to play for us with him being a local lad and with his family based here so we always knew it was likely to happen one day. When the rumours got stronger the majority still didn’t think it possible with him still having so much to offer at a higher level. Obviously when it was all announced there was a huge buzz about the club and it’s been the most exciting transfer of my +20 years as a supporter. I think he is a genuine fan, maybe not as big as some Cardiff fans like to think but he has a lot of family and friends who are big Cardiff fans so he’s been close to the club all his life really.

Ryan – Last season you missed out on promotion through the play-off final at Wembley, something us Leeds fans know all too well! Do you think this is the season Cardiff finally go up? Where do you expect to finish in the league?

Matthew – I do get a bit uneasy talking of promotion. This comes from many years of being let down by Cardiff City so over the years we’ve become a pessimistic lot, more so than most football fans I’d say. Recent years though the FA Cup run and the play off final have seen a sense of belief and optimism installed into fans. This season has a different feel about it as we seem to be able to come from behind and win more often and play bad and get something. All this with the feeling that the team hasn’t really started playing to it’s full potential yet. Whilst wincing typing this I’ll predict we will finish 2nd this year and achieve our long awaited dream of promotion to the big time.

Ryan – If Cardiff were to go up, what would you say to anyone who questioned the notion of having a Welsh team in the English Premiership?

Matthew – It’s a question thrown in our faces all the time. We’ve played at the top level of the English system before and we’ve been in the English system for 100 years so why question it now? Besides all this though, a Welsh club in the Premiership would surely add some much needed fire in the Premiership. We could quickly become the most hated club up there which would suit us fine if it were to happen!

TSS – I think you’ll have a hard time displacing Manchester United, but good luck with that dream!

Ryan - Stephen McPhail was part of our Champions League squad back in the day and we all know what Craig Bellamy’s capable of. Who else in your team should we be looking out for?

Matthew – This current team is pretty much all about our front 5 players who are extremely attacking and all capable of getting goals. Jay Bothroyd is without doubt our most influential player, more so than Bellamy, so he is the one I’d say to look out for. But around the big man there is Chopra who is a very clever player and support from Whittingham and Burke in midfield who are very different players to each other but both very capable of creating and netting goals. Oh and Bellamy of course, lets not forget Craig Bellamy!

The devil wears Primark

Ryan – If it wasnt for the naiveity and wreckless-ness of both our clubs ex-chairman, Peter Ridsdale, we probably wouldnt be where we are today. What do you make of him after his time at Cardiff?

Matthew – Ridsdale isn’t a popular man down here. In fairness, he inherited a mess at Cardiff and the bare facts state that he turned that mess into an established Championship club with a new stadium built. Underneath those facts he did here what he did to you but on a smaller scale. He over spent with money that wasn’t there and he really did take us to the brink with many court appearances due to unpaid taxes. Luckily for us we were saved by a bunch of wealthy Malaysian’s who have since ousted him from the club all together and look to have put us on a more stable footing. Towards the end of his tenure here there were protests and marches taking place to get him out.

Ryan – In the summer we signed Ross McCormack from you for an undisclosed fee. We havent seen too much of him yet, but what can we expect from him? Do Cardiff fans hold him in high regards?

Matthew – Myself and many others were sad to see Ross go. At the same time though we can see why we let him go and doing so is probably the best move for everybody. His first season here was superb and he went close to being the divisions highest scorer albeit mainly thanks to scoring something like 12 pens. He’s a great little player who doesn’t stop running and has some great tricks to beat players. He’s always been a bit of a misfit though as he doesn’t seem to be a striker and he was often used on the wing. He does like his pop though and was often seen about town swigging in the early hours and he later got caught drink driving. If he can avoid all that and concentrate on his football you have a bargain on your hands there. He’ll still do the ayatollah on Monday though!

Ryan – If you could sign any current Leeds player for Cardiff, who would it be?

Matthew – I have to be honest and admit I know little about the current Leeds team. This is probably because of you not being in the same division as us for a while now. Davide Somma always seems to be in the goals but given our wealth of attacking options we probably wouldn’t need to sign him. We are desperate for at least one centre back as ours make too many costly mistakes and have no pace. David Batty still plays for you doesn’t he? I’ll take him.

TSS - Sadly, Batts retired six years ago, but even at the tender age of 41 I still reckon he could do a better job than at least half of our current midfield.

Ryan - Finally, what is your prediction for the match? I’m going to be realistic and go with a Cardiff win. I’m afraid to predict a scoreline!

Matthew – We’re hitting form again lately despite not playing to potential. I’m going to plumb for a draw here which I don’t see as being a bad result for us. 1-1, Whittingham (23), Somma (67).

Ryan – Thanks for taking part, enjoy the game!

Chopra at Cardiff

After starting the day with rumours that Nile Ranger could be joining Leeds on loan, the Elland Road rumour mill just keeps churning them out and has now put Cardiff City’s, Michael Chopra in the frame for a move to Leeds United.

Various sources are claiming that both Leeds United and Ipswich Town are preparing to move for the unsettled Cardiff striker, with a fee of £3,000,000 believed to be enough to tempt the cash-strapped Welsh side.

Undoubtedly capable of scoring goals at this level, Chopra is a player any Championship club would be happy to have in their team. Unfortunately for Leeds fans, £3,000,000 is more than the cumulative total of money spent so far by Bates, and he’s unlikely to change his stance for one player.

Bates would be right not to as well. £3,000,000 is a lot of money at Championship level, and the only reason Chopra is valued so highly is because of Peter Ridsdale’s Championship price-inflating regime. To put things into perspective, Gary Hooper cost Celtic £600,000 less than the reported cost for Chopra, and the highly-rated Simeone Jackson moved to Norwich for half that price.

Considering the players Simon Grayson has brought in with very little or no funds, I’m sure he could do a lot more with £3,000,000. With that in mind, I can’t see there being any truth in this rumour whatsoever.