Contrary to what Peter Lorimer told the Whitby Whites at their recent Leeds United On The Road event, it seems Jonathan Howson is close to signing a new deal with the club and is not stalling to see how we finish the season.

Interviewed at Elland Road by TeamTalk yesterday. Howson had this to say about his current contract negotiations;

“We’ve been in talks for the past month or so and although it’s taking a bit of time, I’m not in a massive rush. That’s always the way with negotiations but I’m sure they’ll be finalised and I’ll sign soon.”

Howson was also asked about fellow team-mates, past and present, saying Neil Kilkenny was the biggest girl’s blouse he’d ever worked with but also the hardest working player in training.

He was also asked who was the hardest player he’d ever played alongside,

“I’d have to say ‘Nails’ (Richard Naylor). Last season he cracked a rib, which is as painful as you can get, just five minutes before half-time. During the interval, he had a painkilling injection and still finished the game. Solid!”

Speaking as someone who has cracked a rib before (twice actually), I have absolutely no idea how any amount of pain medication got Richard Naylor back on the pitch. “Solid” was a major understatement.

You can read Jonathan Howson’s full interview with TeamTalk here. 

You know what I said in my first column about us going up as f***ing champions? Well yeah, it’s still pretty ridiculous, but, well, you know…

What’s for certain is we’re certainly doing the good side of ok; definitely better than most since management realised that left backs perform well at left back, right backs at right, and so on.

But all the while, I’ve noticed an odd trend creeping in amongst various strands of LUFC fan-to-fan communication: we’re getting into the habit of seriously over-rating our upcoming opposition.

It’s not just the Leicesters and Brightons of the world we’re viewing as world-beaters, as we stew in economic jealousies, oh no. There was plenty of noise last week along the lines of Doncaster’s potential to give us more than a game – and it’s cropping ahead of games with other blatant inferiors too.

This is not the kind of inverse logic that goes ‘they’re sh**, they’re nonentities, so knowing Leeds, we’ll probably lose.’ This would be reasonable – the Herefords of yore laying solid precedent for such pessimism. We’ve actually moved on to suggesting that sides we should be routinely beating have weapons that could do us serious damage.

To use Donny as a case study, quite a few of us, and I admit to falling into this trap a bit myself, found ourselves citing such reasons as Dean Saunders’ inspired nouveau hoofing regime and a few loan signings as reason enough that we could find ourselves getting a turning over at the Keepmoat.

But let’s analyse this logic: Herita Ilunga is rubbish. Chris Kirkland is rubbish. Dean Saunders is Dean Saunders. And as my QPR-supporting mate wisely summed up, Pascal Chimbonda is “the only man who cites family reasons for not training or being good at football anymore.”

And then there’s the fact that Richard Naylor makes their starting XI. Sorry Richard, you were totally ace for a time, but now is by no means that time.

One of the prime reasons our club still gains column inches these days – aside from the love life of our manager of course – is that we’re known to be a pig-headed arrogant bunch with a superiority complex unaffected by what level we happen to be playing at. Let’s be honest – this is something we can and do embrace to our collective bosom.

It does seem that we need to cling to it a fair bit harder though, and stop suggesting that [insert average-to-poor outfit] might be ripe to smash us up. They could, of course. But let’s be rational leaning towards cocky in these matters, yeah?

Let’s take an upcoming fixture as a worked example. Peterborough – do we rate them? Are we citing a raft of father/son ribbon-wrapped loans as evidence that they’ll run us ragged? The 7-1 against Ipswich perhaps?

The reality: we’re better than Peterborough. Darren Ferguson is still the guy who plummeted previously stable Preston out of the Championship. Youngsters on loan, no matter what ‘giant’ they call their real home, can be systematically stifled by hardy pros of the Danny Pugh/ Andy Keogh ilk, if the pressure of playing in front of more than your youth coach and 30 fanatics isn’t enough.

There’s obviously no problem with having a good look at the strengths of who we’re up against – but perhaps we’ve been recently veering towards not seeing them as comparative to our own. For all our righteous grumbling the squad is more than half-decent, and if you were to look extremely selectively (and by that I mean probably at our striking options alone), it could be viewed as absolutely epic for the level we’re at.

It’s ok to be negative – it’s a Yorkshire thing we’ve got going. But hell, let’s stop giving so much advance credit to so much of the dross that makes up the numbers in our slightly odd league.

One thing we surely don’t want is for people to start viewing us as magnanimous, even-handed and modest to excess. Where’s the fun, and more to the point, the Leeds in that?

Still with no real news to speak of, we resort to the national rags for a daily injection of controversy and scandal as they speculate on who we’ll sign and who will rob our prized assets, starting with a little known midfielder from Newcastle United who will cost us just £15,000 per week!

Newcastle offer sweetener to Leeds – The Sun

It’s the never-ending tale of the homegrown lad who deserted his team for their bitter rivals during a financial meltdown that saw his beloved Whites sink to the third tier of English football.

Calum Myth – as we’ve resorted to calling him because we’re sick of hearing his name – does seem to be a genuine target for Leeds boss Simon Grayson who has told of his admiration for the player and refused to rule out a move.

The stumbling block – as is always the case with Ken Bates led Leeds United – is money. For once, you can understand the concerns of our tight-fisted chairman however when you learn Myth is on a ridiculous £60,000 per week at the Looney Toons.

The Sun claim the Barcodes will stump up half of that for the final year of his contract and that Myth will accept a measly £15,000 a week from Leeds to join the club he loves. That’s £780,000 divided by the 6-7 injury-free games we’ll get from him – Deal!

Dudek in line to replace Schmeichel – The Mirror

Former Liverpool stopper Jersey Dudek is believed to be a target for Simon Grayson as he looks to replace Kasper Schmeichel following his £1.5m move to Leicester City.

Despite his credentials as a former Champions League winner who has played for Liverpool, Feyenoord and Real Madrid, you have to laugh this one away when you consider he’s 38 years old and managed just 12 appearances in the last four seasons – it’s also in The Mirror who haven’t got a Leeds rumour right in about 10 years so you can sleep easily tonight.

Max Gradel to West Ham – Various

Like all good stories, this one has picked up an extra twist today as various news outlets claim Leeds United have held unsuccessful talks with Max’s representatives and are now open to offers for their star winger.

His 18 goal contribution last season was always going to make him a target for Premier League clubs and when you add to that the fact he has just a year remaining on his contract this becomes an easily spinnable news story for anyone short of a headline.

Leeds have already rejected a superior offer for Max so the reported £2.5m from West Ham seems unlikely. However, with Ken Bates more focused on the development of the East Stand than he is the first team squad, the likelihood of him cashing in on players like Max increases – especially if the club can’t agree a contract extension with the Ivorian.

Other bits and bobs…

Mike Grella returned to training at Thorp Arch today but revealed on Twitter he is 99% sure he won’t start the season at Elland Road and is simply awaiting the right move. Elsewhere, Richard Naylor is on the brink of signing for Doncaster Rovers.

Amongst the list of players set to leave Elland Road when their contracts expire later this month is club captain and homegrown lad, Richard Naylor.

Now 34, Richard Naylor has spent the summer undertaking his UEFA B Coaching License leading many to suspect an announcement of his retirement was imminent as the centre-back looked towards life after football.

Today however, strong rumours have emerged linking the centre back with a move to Doncaster Rovers where he would try to help our Yorkshire rivals improve on a close relegation dodge last season.

Many Leeds United fans have been critical of Naylor’s performances over the last twelve months with the centre back looking fatigued and increasingly over-the-hill.

Arriving at the club on loan in 2009, Richard Naylor impressed the Elland Road faithful forming a formidable partnership with Sam Sodje. After signing permanently for the club at the end of the 2008-09 campaign, Naylor was appointed the new club captain.

It was a move universally welcomed by Leeds United fans as an old interview with Ian Westlake started to circulate revealing Naylor (or “Bam-Bam” as he was affectionately called) had a White Rose tattoo and regularly sang ‘Marching On Together’ in the showers during their time together at Ipswich.

Injuries were a common problem for the ageing defender, one of which forced him to miss the game in which Leeds United were promoted at the end of the 2009-10 season. Despite the injuries however, Naylor was a key figure in the promotion winning side and will always be remembered for his heroics at Old Trafford on the 3rd of January 2010 when Leeds knocked Manchester United out of the FA Cup in the third round.

His final season at the club was by far his most disappointing. Often sidelined through injury, on the rare occasion he was fully fit he looked a shadow of his former self and was unable to help plug the gaping holes in Leeds United’s dismal defence.

Whatever the future has in store for Richard Naylor, whether he manages another season or two at Donny or whether he simply hangs up the boots and uses his experience to coach the next generation he will leave Elland Road with the best wishes of all the fans. A White through and through, Naylor’s part in our revival should never be overlooked.

We announced earlier that Shane Higgs and Richard Naylor would be leaving the club at the end of their contracts and we revealed last week that Paddy Kisnorbo would be offered a new short term deal to prove his fitness. The deal isn’t yet finalised but the both parties are working towards a conclusion.

A similar thing is true for Bradley Johnson and Neil Kilkenny. The midfield pair’s future has been in doubt following difficulties in agreeing new deals. The club are looking to discuss options with both players and sort things out as quickly as possible.

Meanwhile some new blood is coming through from the academy. Zac Thompson recently signed a professional contract and he has now been joined by twins Nathan and Lewis Turner, a central midfielder and a defender respectively and goalkeeper, Alex Cairns. The players have featured in the under 18s and reserves this season and we look forward to hopefully seeing them pull on the white shirt for the first team. Not so fortunate are James Booker, James Baxendale and Jonny Birbeck who have not been offered deals.

Also exiting the club are this season’s loan men. They’ve been a mixed bag and, now they’ve left for a summer break before re-joining their respective parent clubs, it’s probably a good time to assess their performances for Leeds United.

Sanchez Watt

Unfortunate to be kept out of the side by injury and the form of Robert Snodgrass and Max Gradel, he showed a lot of promise. He was somewhat of a flair player, exciting to watch and lightning quick, only let down by some weak finishing. He has made 26 appearances this season, scoring one goal. It’s a shame to see him leave as he seems to have thrown himself enthusiastically into life at Leeds United. If he was ever to leave Arsenal, I’d gladly have him back at Elland Road. B

Eric Lichaj

The American full back arrived from Villa for the last stage of the season and was extremely impressive on the right and the left. Despite an own goal against Sheffield United, he often looked the most assured in a shaky defence. He had bags of stamina and a long throw enabling him to get up and down the flank to help out the attack. I’d happily see him in the white shirt again. A

Jake Livermore

Had just a few appearances in which he failed to do anything noteworthy apart from gift a goal or two and escape getting sent off. Within a couple of weeks fans were questioning his inclusion in the squad let alone the starting line-up. It’s good to see the back of him. D

George McCartney

Seemingly completely uninterested in playing for Leeds United from the beginning of his time at Elland Road, he quickly became the target for many fans’ frustration. He had far many more dismal performances than memorable ones and how he ever demanded the transfer fee or wages that have been reported is a mystery. Good riddance, I hope we never have to see him again. D

David Gonzalez

Who? N/A

What do you think of this season’s loanees and the future of Neil Kilkenny and Bradley Johnson?

It’s been announced today that captain Richard Naylor and goalkeeper Shane Higgs will leave Leeds United when their contracts expire in June.

Shane Higgs had the unenviable role of being an understudy for most of his Leeds career, notching up just 29 appearances in two years. Nevertheless he always remained professional and gave his best when called upon. The 33 year old is now free to find a new club and he goes with our best wishes and thanks for his service to the club.

Richard Naylor was manager Simon Grayson’s first signing at the club and has since made 76 appearances for the Whites.  His arrival rejuvenated the Leeds defence and though his form may have dipped this season, making just 15 appearances, he bowed out in style with some impressive displays when called back into the team. In a season where the downs came as frequently as the ups he was often singled out for criticism but it must be said how much of a loyal servant he has been in his two years at the club. Like Simon Grayson, he was a boyhood Leeds fan and the manager paid tribute to his captain:

“He’s been a great captain for the club, both on and off the field and I can’t speak highly enough of him and what he has done.

“There was no one prouder than Richard last May when we won promotion back to the Championship and he has played a big, big role in the turnaround of this football club.”

Grayson goes on to say how the club isn’t in a position to offer him a new deal and it is only fair to give him the opportunity to find football elsewhere. We’re thankful for his efforts in a role we would all dream about filling and he goes with our best wishes.

In other news, Ramon Nunez has had his contract extended by the club following a successful loan spell at Scunthorpe United. The 25 year old Honduran will now return to Leeds and look to make an impression in the summer. He had made just two substitute appearances for the Whites but looked impressive during his time on loan and on international duty.

Leeds missed out on the play-offs but did their bit to spoil the QPR promotion party after coming back from going a goal down early on to win 2-1.

The day started horribly for Leeds. The news that QPR were found guilty on two charges but would not be deducted any points was released almost exactly an hour before kick-off. It was bad timing from the FA and no doubt helped QPR fly out the traps the way they did.

Within thirty seconds QPR won the ball and blitzed forward. Tommy Smith received the ball in the box and shot at Schmeichel who spilled it into the path of Heidur Helguson to tap home. The Leeds defence was static and didn’t seem to know what had hit them. QPR started with pace and Leeds just weren’t ready for them.

After that the game took on the typical feel of the last game of the season. QPR didn’t really move up a gear, though Schmeichel was forced into action a couple of times. Slowly Leeds started to see more of the ball though chances were sparse. There was a brief glimmer of hope as Billy Paynter found himself through on goal only to be brought down by a flailing leg. Inexplicably referee, Mark Clattenburg, waved away the appeals. It would certainly have been a red card and a chance to equalise.

Leeds were starting to push QPR back and finally equalised through Max Gradel. A long ball from Richard Naylor deceived the QPR defence and Gradel’s excellent movement allowed him to flick the ball over the onrushing goalkeeper. The home crowd had been surprisingly muted up until then but that silenced them. The Leeds fans were in great voice as the team saw out the rest of the half reasonably comfortably to head in level.

The Whites started the second half much better than they started the first but QPR were still able to demonstrate their pace coming forward and frightened the Leeds defence on a couple of occasions. After initially flapping at a cross, Schmeichel made a great save from a header back at goal.

Bradley Johnson and Neil Kilkenny were playing very well in the middle of the park and were on hand to keep Adel Taarabt quiet once he was introduced. Leeds were creating chances but nothing clear cut while Paynter was having a nightmare up front and was replaced by Davide Somma who immediately looked sharper than Paynter had all game.

Leeds took the lead through a Ross McCormack deflected shot on 68 minutes. He showed good control on the edge of the box before looking to slide it into the corner, his shot came off QPR defender Kaspars Gorkss and ballooned over Radek Cerny and into the opposite side of the goal. McCormack, who also shaved the post with an ambitious drive later on, will be claiming the goal despite the massive deflection.

There was a huge ovation for the return of Paddy Kisnorbo, complete with head bandage who came on for Richard Naylor. It was great to see him back in action.

QPR threw on defender Danny Shittu up front to try and salvage something from the game but aside from one snap shot that Schmeichel saved comfortably he was ineffective and Leeds held out well to do their part in spoiling the QPR party.

The stand out performers were Kilkenny and Johnson, who passed and tackled superbly. Max Gradel was impressive in the first half but went quiet in the second and was replaced by Sanchez Watt. Eric Lichaj was typically tireless as he busted his guts getting up and down the left flank all game.

Securing a play-off place was always a tall order but Leeds can be happy with how they performed and it rounds off a fantastically entertaining season excellently. How much of this team runs out in August remains to be seen and today may well have been the last time we see some players in the Leeds shirt. It would be fair to say though, that despite our ups and downs this season, most of the players have been good servants for the club. For Leeds fans, all eyes turn to the summer transfer window and the start of a new season.

With just an outside chance of making the play-offs, Simon Grayson shuffled his pack as Ross McCormack fired the only goal in a 1-0 win against Burnley.

Grayson dropped Robert Snodgrass to the bench and started with a 4-4-2 formation with McCormack partnering Billy Paynter up front and Max Gradel and Bradley Johnson in wide positions. George McCartney came back in at left back with Eric Lichaj on the right. The central defensive partnership remained the same while Jake Livermore was dropped as Neil Kilkenny came back in to partner Jonny Howson in midfield.

After Billy Paynter had fired narrowly wide and had a header denied magnificently by Brian Jensen and Kasper Schmeichel took one for the team, blocking Michael Duff’s shot with his face, Leeds took the lead. Bradley Johnson played a through ball to Ross McCormack who timed his run to perfection, ran through on goal and slotted past Jensen for his first goal for Leeds. He celebrated with a Leeds salute in front of the Kop.

The Whites had spent the half looking remarkably assured, passing it well in midfield and coping well defensively. We held out to half time with the lead intact.

The second half started reasonably and there was a fair amount of positivity amongst the 31000 inside Elland Road who were urging Leeds on to extend their lead. Billy Paynter could have gone someway to improving his image with the fans but, after heading straight at Jensen with one chance, he then rounded the ‘keeper only to hit the side netting.

With Leeds dominating and Burnley struggling to get into the game it started to get feisty. Three high challenges in a matter of seconds ended with Gradel being kung-fu kicked at head height. A brawl broke out which somehow ended in two Leeds players, Kilkenny and Lichaj, being booked while only the original offender, McCann, was booked for Burnley when there may have been a case for a red card. Looking back at it, the only thing that Kilkenny and Lichaj did that the other fifteen or so players involved didn’t was get there first. Either way, it set Leeds up with a free-kick in a wide position.

Following the free-kick Leeds had an extended spell of pressure with a number of chances. Andy O’Brien connected well with a header from the initial free-kick but it was straight at Jensen, while not long after the ‘keeper was called on again, getting down to his bottom corner brilliantly to tip a deflected Ross McCormack shot round the post.

As the half wore on, Burnley were pressing us further back and for a while our passing game deserted us as we reverted to long balls to relieve some of the pressure. We were defending well and restricting the visitors to long efforts but they did come close on a couple of occasions. Youngster Jack Cork fired a 30 yard effort just wide of the top corner and then Schmeichel was forced to save acrobatically from a free-kick.

Simon Grayson made two late substitutions bringing Sanchez Watt on for Max Gradel and then, in the dying minutes, Leigh Bromby on for Ross McCormack to see the game out. Both departing players received deserved standing ovations. Watt could have wrapped up the win but, after good footwork around the area, fired over with one chance and then wide with another.

Overall it was a well-deserved win but it should have been by a greater margin. It was a really good performance, both defensively and going forward and it shows that there may be hope for the future of 4-4-2 at Leeds United.

It’s hard to pick out outstanding individuals from such a great team performance but Ross McCormack was impressive throughout, taking his goal well and working hard for the team while we saw yet more of the same high standard from Max Gradel. Kilkenny was a welcome addition to the midfield and performed very well while Aston Villa loan man, Eric Lichaj, continues to look solid and tireless in defence.

Despite the win there remains only the slimmest mathematical chance of clinching sixth place and it would require Leeds beating QPR and Nottingham Forest losing with a six goal swing. It’s looking extremely unlikely, leaving a bittersweet taste at the end of a good match. There’s also some sadness at the fact that this may have been the last time we see many of today’s side playing at Elland Road with loan players, Kilkenny and Johnson looking likely to depart and rumours of a cash-in on Schmeichel. Let’s just hope we can build a team that can push us just that little bit further next season.

With the end of the season drawing nearer nerves are tested and emotions run high. Amongst the Leeds loanees there’s been a mixture of successes and failures.

Ramon Nunez was unable to do a favour for Leeds as Scunthorpe United went down 2-1 to Millwall. Nunez was fairly lively and was keen to test the goalkeeper from distance.

Aidan White played ninety minutes for Oldham as the Latics drew. He really seems to have gone off the boil as the season has progressed which is really disappointing for someone with so much obvious potential. It seems the best thing for him now would be to get to the end of the season, have a decent rest and then come back and put in some real hard work during pre-season.

Elsewhere in League One, Adam Clayton played the last ten minutes for MK Dons and Fede Bessone played 86 minutes for Charlton, putting in a pretty average performance. The Charlton camp is still fairly undecided on Bessone but most would only have him signed in the summer if there were no other options. As far as Clayton is concerned, his signing still remains a bit of mystery. He looks likely to have a play-off to contend with as MK Dons currently sit 5^th in League One – hopefully he can have an impact giving him some confidence to take into next season.

Yet again though, this week’s big performer was Tom Lees. The central defender has been integral to Bury’s promotion push and on Monday he was on hand to help them secure promotion. He scored the opening goal – his fifth of the season and third in four games – to set Bury on their way to a 3-2 win over league leaders Chesterfield. It’s unknown how much contact he has had with Leeds over the course of the season but here’s hoping he has a good pre-season and is given his chance. While it may be harder for some of the other loan players to work their way into the team, considering the poor defensive record this season and the increasingly creaky legs of Richard Naylor and Andy O’Brien, there’s definitely reason to give Lees his shot.

Down in non-league, Will Hatfield was yet again an unused sub as York City’s play-off ambitions came to an end in a goalless draw at home to Cambridge United.

Leeds were in decent form at home against Reading but were denied three points by a fantastic performance from young Reading goalkeeper Alex McCarthy as the game finished goalless.

Simon Grayson recalled captain Richard Naylor for his first start since October. Paul Connolly started at right back while Eric Lichaj switched to the left. A midfield pairing of Jake Livermore and Bradley Johnson was chosen while Billy Paynter was given a chance up front. The match also saw the return of ex-White Ian Harte to Elland Road. Thankfully he had a quiet night.

The visitors probably edged the first half though it was Leeds who had the better chances. A great cross from Jake Livermore was met by Robert Snodgrass’ head, it was destined for the goal but for a terrific acrobatic save from McCarthy – the first of many.

The next best chance of the half came from Max Gradel as the Ivorian robbed Reading defender Khizanishvili before shooting a low, hard dipping drive at McCarthy who was able to make contact and watch as the ball squirmed agonisingly wide of the post.

The defence was holding up surprisingly well but we were looking a bit shaky in the centre of midfield. Jake Livermore was booked for a rash late challenge and, after dwelling on the ball too long and diving into another tackle, he could have seen red. In truth, it would have been a harsh dismissal. Livermore was replaced at half time by Neil Kilkenny.

Leeds started much brighter in the second half, putting in some good early crosses and passing it around better. We were beginning to put on more pressure and the fans were raising the volume inside Elland Road. Again though there were glimpses of poor defending from Leeds as a flashed cross went untouched and unchallenged six yards out and Gradel let their right back walk right past him and smash a shot wide. More worryingly, was the pace at which Johnson was moving – he was like a statue in the middle of the park but that could have been forgiven as he seemed to remember he had legs and set off cantering from the half way line with the ball and, getting a lucky bounce, found himself through on goal. His stabbed left foot shot crashed off the bar. The closest Leeds had come.

Reading began to get into the game a bit more but we were restricting them well. The defence were coping decently on the whole and Naylor, although yellow carded and occasionally troubled by Shane Long, played very well. It was our central midfield that was the problem; they were far too slow and didn’t provide enough cover for the defence. On one ocassion both Kilkenny and Johnson got dragged out to the left side, allowing Leigertwood to move unpressured and strike just wide from distance, much to Kasper Schmeichel’s anger.

On the whole, Leeds were looking the more likely to score and Simon Grayson reacted with two positive changes; bringing Davide Somma on for Paynter and Sanchez Watt on for Jonny Howson.

It was Snodgrass though who went close again. Somma fed a good ball to Gradel who crashed a shot at McCarthy before latching onto the rebound and crossing for Snodgrass whose free header was denied by the scrambling keeper. He really should have scored but the attempt was at a comfortable height for the keeper. Our final chance came as Kilkenny dinked a smart pass over the defence, leaving a 50-50 challenge between Watt and McCarthy. The ball bounced and Watt could have grabbed the winner but lost his footing attempting a flick when he really needed to show some composure.

It wasn’t to be for Leeds and the point sees us slip down to 7^th following Nottingham Forest’s win earlier in the day. On reflection it was a decent performance and result as we did all we could bar score and that was down to a magnificent display of goalkeeping. To practically dominate a match against high-flying Reading having made a number of changes to the team is reassuring yet there are still problems in the defensive part of midfield that need addressing.