The Scratching Shed

Remember all those frustrating afternoons at Elland Road where you had that irritating, fat, middle-aged bloke shouting abuse at everyone in White for the full duration of the game? Y’know the one – the one that said Beckford was rubbish (or words to that effect) and claimed it took him 6 chances to score. To listen to this man, you could only conclude he was the founder of Statto.

Well, TSS is here to silence the man, the myth, the legend that is ‘irritating bloke from the Kop’. Jermaine Beckford’s goal tally for 2009-10 was actually closer to 1 in 5 shots (which was better than Rickie Lambert), and is one of the many facts published as part of the Football League One’s 2009-10 in numbers feature. The ones concerning Leeds are highlighted for your convenience.

-60 – Stockport County fans will want to look away now, it’s their goal difference over 46 matches – the worst in the whole of The Football League.

0 – The number of games Gillingham won away from home – the only team in the whole of The Football League not to pick up three points on their travels all year.

1 – The number of times Millwall lost at the New Den on their way to a third placed finish and eventual promotion via the Play-Offs. Huddersfield Town, who they beat in the Play-Off semi-finals, can also boast the same record of home defeats.

3 – The number of wins Stockport County claimed away from home, one more than they managed at Edgeley Park.

10 – The number of red cards handed out to Brighton & Hove Albion, the only team to reach double figures across all three divisions.

14 – The number of games since Stockport County last won a match.

15 – The number of yellow cards handed out to the division’s bad boy, Yeovil Town’s Jean-Paul Kalala, during the campaign.

16 – The number of assists Jon-Paul McGovern provided for his Swindon Town team-mates, the most in the division.

19 – The number of clean sheets kept by League 1 champions Norwich City during the season.

22 – The number of times Swindon Town and Huddersfield Town hit the woodwork; possibly the difference between automatic promotion and Play-Off heart break.

24 – The fewest number of players used by a club in League 1 during the season, the record belonged to Huddersfield Town.

30 – The number of goals Rickie Lambert scored for Southampton to finish as the division’s top scorer.

40 – The number of players who appeared for MK Dons during the season, one more than Brighton & Hove Albion, Oldham Athletic and Wycombe Wanderers.

44 – The number of goals Leeds United and Millwall conceded during the season, the only teams to average less than a goal a game during the league campaign.

86 – The number of fouls given away by Norwich City striker Grant Holt during the season – the most in the division.

128 – The number of bookings handed out to Milton Keynes Dons over the course of the campaign, 46 more than Oldham Athletic who had the second worst record.

154 – The number of shots Rickie Lambert had to score his 30 goals, 14 more efforts than Leeds United’s Jermaine Beckford.

303 – The number of shots Leeds United had on target. They were the only team to break the 300 barrier for both shots on and shots off target.

23,041 – The smallest crowd to attend a match at Carrow Road during their title winning campaign. It was for Norwich City’s game with Walsall on 5th September 2009.

38,234 – The highest attendance in the division for Leeds United’s match with Bristol Rovers on the last day of the season.

First of all, let’s get one thing straight; I’m not anti-Beckford. Infact, regular readers of TSS will know I’ve been one of his biggest advocates. His record speaks for itself and the contribution the lad has made to Leeds over the last three years shouldn’t be undermined even if he does leave.

The fact of the matter is though; Beckford is just one of eleven. As a team we’ve performed well this season, as a team we lead the division and as a team, I think we’ll get promoted with or without Beckford, assuming Simon Grayson is given the necessary funds while the transfer window is open.

At League One level, Jermaine Beckford is an exceptional striker and I do believe he could do a job at a higher level. In the Championship he’d definitely provide goals. Whether or not he could do the same in the Premier League is questionable, but let’s not get into another debate about where his natural level is because quite frankly, no one is ever going to agree and it’s becoming tedious.

The thing is though, Beckford is not irreplaceable. There are plenty of strikers out there capable of scoring one in two. As the League One scorers charts currently show, even in this division there’s one striker with more goals to his name than Beckford (Lambert), one with the same amount (Holt) and another just one goal behind him in a much weaker team (Barnard). That’s three strikers that match/exceed him on stats in just one division, so Beckford is hardly a one off. 

What’s made this such a major issue is that the fans of Leeds United expect blind loyalty from anyone wearing the shirt. That all white strip means a lot to us and we expect it to mean the same to those wearing it. Unfortunately, that’s very rarely going to be the case. A football player, like a builder, a landlord or a lawyer is just a job and much like the builders, landlords and lawyers, the players will move when offered a better opportunity elsewhere. It’s that simple, and each and every one of us would do the same.

Take away the fans emotions from football and you’re left with a business like any other. If football is the oil business, then Leeds United would be Esso. Jermaine Beckford meanwhile would be one of the sandwiches you find in their petrol stations. Much like the sandwich, Beckford’s value depends on a date and his best before is the end of this transfer window. After that, should we keep him I have no doubts he’ll bag another 15 goals this season, but Leeds United would lose £1.5-2,000,000 and our most important striker.

But promotion is worth more than any £2,000,000 I hear you cry? I can’t argue with that, it’s a good point, but he still should be sold while he has a value and can make the business that is Leeds United football club money.

The main reason I stress he should be sold is because if he is, we arguably have £2,000,000 to play with. There are things to deduct from that figure such as the Wealdstone cut, but that’s beside the point. Whether Beckford leaves now or in the summer, he has to be replaced. If we can sell Beckford now and get a replacement in for £x,000,000 then you can deduct whatever we made from Beckford from that sum and the overall cost is not as much. Leave it ‘til the summer when he’s worth nothing to Leeds United and that £x,000,000 still has to be forked out, but none of it’s recouped from anything. We lose Beckford, we lose the money he was worth and we still have to replace him.

It all comes down to whether you want Leeds United to be run like a business, or dictated by fans emotions. The latter is how Peter Ridsdale ran it, whilst the former seems to have done us well so far. I know which I prefer.

Jermaine Beckford’s transfer out of Leeds now seems somewhat inevitable. For me, it’s simply a matter of time and a question of how much as Ken Bates digs his nails in and tries to ignite a bidding war.

So who do we get to replace him? TSS looks at our options.

Lee Barnard

Southend United, 25 years old.

As consistent as they come at League One level, Barnard has found the back of the net 35 times in his 73 appearances for Southend leaving him just short of the one in two mark.

Although there’s been no rumours linking Barnard to Leeds, he is a proven goal scorer and his contract expires in the summer, so it’s likely we could get him on the cheap (Ken Bates’ favourite word). Likelihood factor: 4 out of 10

Grant Holt

Norwich City, 28 years old.

A bit long in the tooth in comparison to other possible candidates, but Holt certainly has an eye for goal with 14 in the League and 20 in all competitions so far this season. No stranger to the transfer market after with Norwich being his eleventh professional club, Holt has seemingly never settled anywhere.

Only joined Norwich at the beginning of the season and is integral to their promotion push. Selling him would show a massive lack of ambition for a team chasing at our heels so this one for me, is extremely unlikely. Likelihood factor: 1 out of 10.

"You're the one that I want..." Gary Hooper

Gary Hooper

Scunthorpe United, 21 years old

At just 21 years old, Hooper has to be seen as a good signing given that he’s managed 31 goals in 62 games for Scunthorpe and could well develop and take the next step with Leeds United. Contracted until 2011, but with Scunthorpe a likely replacement for Leeds in League One next year, he may be interested in a move.

With his age and record to date, Hooper is my personal favourite, but any a sale would not go down well in Scunthorpe and do little to help their relegation battle. Likelihood factor: 5 out of 10

Billy Sharp

Sheffield United,  23 years old.

Out of favour at Sheffield United and currently on loan to Doncaster Rovers, where he’s found his form hitting 10 goals in 16 league appearances. Billy is from Yorkshire and proved himself to be a natural goal scoring talent at Scunthorpe where he knocked in 53 in 82 games, breaking club records in the process.

Sheffield United will undoubtedly be willing to sell, and I think Billy would be happy to stay local to his home town. At just 23 years of age he’s definitely in the right age group and should be able to take the next step up with Leeds United. Likelihood factor: 9 out of 10 (Heavy favourite)

What about Lambert?

I’m sure Rickie Lambert will be a talking point but we have absolutely no chance of getting him as far as I’m concerned. Southampton don’t need the money and are likely to make the play-offs, so there’s no reason for them to sell.

Anyway, I’ve opened a poll below for you to cast your vote.

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TSS has raised the question of how much is a silly money offer for Beckford? I have a formula to work it out below, but perhaps we should take this opportunity to look at the bigger picture, like should we really sell him at all, for example?  Transfer windows are times that give us, the supporters a rare chance to judge senior management by their actions, rather than by reputation or popularity. The January 2010 window could make or break Leeds United’s hopes of promotion from League One and I think deals need to be approached scientifically, especially the rumoured sale of Beckford to Newcastle United.

"Well I suppose technically I am a tax exile, yes." said Santa

We all know the results are coming good on the pitch and the table proves we’re doing something right. I have no idea what the current financial statements might be, but I should imagine that off the pitch, we should be doing quite well too. We can look to a few facts that we know to give us a clue. In Summer, we sold Delph. Surely we must have at least part of the transfer fee in our account by now and we didn’t buy anybody for significant money to reduce it. We have been on television or the internet (same fee,) more times than just about any club other than Newcastle. Linked to the TV appearances are our decent Cup runs, indeed the clash against Glazer brothers’ Manchester Disunited is worth about £750 000 alone according to our own chairman. I would guess the fact that the Boxing Day match was a home game must have been worth a few quid too. It certainly looked busy. Finally we might just have found the winning formula after so many years in a downward spiral. So why, oh why are we even considering letting our top scoring striker go? You don’t have to like him to see that he scores goals. Just read the statistics.

Logic dictates it’s not about money. The points above surely re-inforce this. I doubt even that it could be about disharmony in the team. I was quietly impressed that Beckford gave a Hartlepool player a shove when he clattered into Bradley Johnson. It’s the same principle as sticking up for your mates. Is it about attitude? The mark of disrespect when Simon Grayson subbed him isn’t a big deal. An apology and perhaps a bit of a grilling and things like that should be forgotten. I did a lot worse at his age and Simon Grayson is not Peter Reid. So for those fans that don’t like Beckford, I say enjoy the goals, just don’t invite him round for dinner. What about the Millwall penalty and other big occasions when he apparently fails to shine? Well I would just say that there are two teams on the pitch and Beckford has a reputation big enough to justify man-marking him. Even in this league, there are defenders good enough to keep him quiet.

Maybe this is a time when we the fans have been caught bang to rights. It’s us that could be the difference between our best striker staying or leaving. I’ve been reading blogs pointing out a fact that had escaped me, which is that if Beckford scores 100 goals he becomes one of our most prolific strikers relative to the time he’s been here. (Sorry I can’t find the exact details again, but you get the idea.) Surely this should make the lad a legend and yet a sizeable number of fans want him to leave because he throws his teddy out occasionally. It’s not our fault directly if Beckford leaves because we’re not the ones signing the paperwork but if our board thought that selling Becks would make gate receipts suffer, he would already have the most lucrative contract since Seth Johnson. We should be getting behind his performances because for every quiet patch or miss, he bounces back with goals at some point. I’ve even seen him work his socks off in a few games recently. But soon it seems it’s going to be too late to sing his name.

Personally, I wouldn’t be quite as bothered about Becks going if I thought there was a plan B. I’m sure Simon Grayson has got one, because he’s obviously a very smart fellow to have got us this far, but we just don’t know if he has one because nobody talks to the fans anymore. It’s fair to say that Leeds United’s PR is even worse than Eurostar. Over a hundred thousand fans worldwide have to wait for the South Shields Gazette to find out anything about the most important thing to happen to the team for two seasons. Grayson has already said that only a silly money offer would tempt the club, it’s true, but that was October. It’s now December and a hundred thousand people want to know if you have changed your mind.

So never mind Maria, how do you solve a problem like Beckford? Who could replace him? I think he’s irreplaceable at our kind of money. It won’t be Ricky Lambert, under contract to Southampton who have more financial clout than us with their new chairman. I can’t imagine our chairman making them an offer they can’t refuse so we can forget that idea straight away. If you were in charge of Norwich would you sell Holt either? A weakened Leeds United means a player like him could help them lift the title. They have a good enough team. We could look to higher leagues but then we have that problem of money. We would have to pay decent money for someone such as a Cresswell, Healy, Hulse or Blake like we used to have last time in the CCC and Healy’s best tally was only 14 goals in the 05-06 season. More money for fewer goals? That’s not good business. But the fact that Leeds have even talked to Newcastle speaks volumes. It’s probably now just a question of money and then I guess we unearth a stop-gap player from the loan market or lower leagues. So if he is going to go, how much is the right price?

If Chris Hughton is reading, let me save you some time. I can give you the mathematical equation for the correct transfer fee (F) to offer for Beckford:

F = (T*W)+P

To the rest of us, that’s the total of this years’ court costs (T), add 20% for Wealdstone’s sell on clause (W) and then add the cost of a private return jet flight to Monaco to sign the paperwork (P). Our board doesn’t factor in anything for the future good of the club (FA)

Happy New Year.

I said before todays game that I hoped Jermaine Beckford would be the one grabbing Sunday mornings headlines rather than Rickie Lambert. Whilst my wish came true, the reasons he’ll be grabbing the headlines aren’t quite what I had in mind.

When taken off as a substitute today in place of Max Gradel, Becks threw the kind of tantrum that makes him so hard to like for many Leeds United fans. Clearly annoyed at seeing his name go up, Beckford left the pitch as slowly as possible, which led to boo’s from the Kop and around Elland Road. Jonny Howson encouraged Beckford to come off with him (as he was also being substituted) but the strikers teddy had long since left the cot and he continued his snail-paced walk to the touchline. Once there, he decided to head straight for the tunnel rather than join his fellow team-mates on the bench, no doubt leaving Elland Road straight afterwards.

When Beckford’s number originally came up, it was met with a cheer from the Leeds fans, but also encouragement for the striker with his name being chanted from the stands. Once the fans had realised he’d thrown a strop however, the mood changed and the crowd turned totally against him.

Simon Grayson was right to remove the striker. He’d not had a bad game, but nothing had fallen for him throughout and he’d struggled for decent chances. In fairness to Becks, what he had done, he’d done well. He’d passed the ball, chased it a bit and worked much harder than he often does. However, he was clearly getting agitated at some of the referee’s decisions (as we all were) and it seemed obvious it wasn’t to be his day.

Regardless of how frustrated he may be lately, his attitude is inexcusable and shouldn’t be tolerated. The Leeds fans made their feelings known with a chorus of ‘there’s only one Simon Grayson’ as Becks sulked his way off down the tunnel. It’s a team game and these kind of selfish actions won’t win you any fans at Elland Road, no matter how many goals you contribute a season.

Beckford’s behaviour will no doubt grab the headlines in League One tomorrow morning, but it shouldn’t detract from what was a much improved performance from Leeds United. With Patrick Kisnorbo alongside Richard Naylor, Rickie Lambert and co. struggled for opportunities throughout. Aside from a few nervy moments in injury time, Kis was always on hand to clear the danger and Southampton were kept at bay throughout.

Attack-wise, Leeds were also good. There were some stray crosses and a few broken down moves with bad passing, but on the whole we dominated and looked good going forward. Becchio played a blinder, holding the ball up when needed, playing people in and fighting to win it back in the opposition half. Although he deserves all the criticism he’ll get over the coming days, Beckford played his part too. He had a couple of half-chances, but what did impress me was his willingness to chase the ball and play others in. He can be very lazy sometimes, but he wasn’t guilty of that today.

What Leeds did best today though was closing down all over the park. Southampton were very rarely given any time on the ball. Whether it was a striker on the edge of the area or the goal-keeper trying to kick it up field, there was always someone in a white shirt moving in to put pressure on or stick a foot in and ultimately, that’s what made the difference.

After Beckford had finally left the pitch and Grayson’s changes were put in place, you started to feel we were going to snatch a winner and Leeds didn’t disappoint. It was Robert Snodgrass who got us the three points with one of the most beautifully struck goals you’ll see this season. Twisting and turning to create space outside the area, Snoddy found an opening and let fly, curling it in to the top corner from distance. A wonderful goal from the Scot and a well deserved three points for the Whites.

TSS man of the match
A coin flip between Lucciano Becchio and Patrick Kisnorbo for me. Both players did exceptionally well today. Kis is like a rock in defence and the difference he makes is remarkable, whilst Becchio put in a fantastic shift, creating chances, holding the ball up and battling for everything.

Leeds have now reached the half-century mark in terms of points and extend their lead at the top to four after Charlton drew 4-4 with Millwall. We don’t play again now until Boxing Day which means we’ll be topping League One at Christmas. A great early present from the Whites. Whether Jermaine Beckford will play again in a Leeds shirt is the topic of TSS’ latest poll (below). After todays antics, I’m not convinced but let’s focus on the positives. Happy Christmas everyone.

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This weekend sees two of League One’s biggest teams go head-to-head as Southampton make the long journey north to take on Leeds United at Elland Road.

Southampton are another victim of the Football League’s ridiculous points deduction policy and started the 2009-10 campaign on minus ten. What annoys me about this rule is that when a club hits financial difficulty, the Football League should be helping teams overcome their troubles, not hindering them further. Afterall, without these member clubs, there wouldn’t be a Football League.

I’m not going to dwell on the ridiculous rules which teams are governed by though. I think we as Leeds United fans have suffered enough at the hands of Lord Mahwinney and co. and although I have nothing but sympathy for the Saints, I can’t help but think the idiots at FL head office have done us a favour this term (about time too!)

Had Southampton not began this season with the handicap they did, then I honestly think we’d be facing more competition than that of Norwich City and Charlton Athletic. Add the ten points back to the Saints’ current tally and they’d be right alongside Huddersfield Town in the play-off places. Not only that, but after their slow start to the season, Southampton have picked up the pace and are now picking points up at an ever-increasing rate. Maybe a little premature for predictions, but I’d be surprised if they didn’t make the play-offs.

A lot of the credit for Southampton’s defiant rise up the table has to go to League One’s star striker, Rickie Lambert. Whilst no one man makes a team, Southampton have successfully built around the hitman and his return of 17 goals so far puts him top of the scorers list – five ahead of our very own Jermaine Beckford.

Both players will attract a lot of press over the coming weeks as the transfer window opens. With struggling Premier League teams desperate to find a goalscorer and Championship clubs looking for an edge, many will turn to League One’s attention grabbing duo for answers. Whether both clubs can retain their key men, only time will tell, but this weekend is bound to bring out a few scouts.

It’s been over two years since we last played Southampton in our relegation season from the Championship. They bet us both home and away that season, reversing the results from the season before where Leeds United were victorious in both meetings.

For both sets of fans, the fixture will no doubt bring a reminder of how far the teams have fallen. Back in 2004, before our two seasons together in the Championship, Leeds and Southampton competed in the top flight. Neither team will have expected to be meeting in League One just over five years later, but that’s the unfortunate reality.

Regardless of how big both teams are, both have fallen from grace and both will be hoping to turn things round and head back towards the dizzy heights of the Premier League. This Saturday’s clash at Elland Road will no doubt draw a bumper crowd as the game shows all the hallmarks of a classic.

Jermaine Beckford vs Rickie Lambert. Simon Grayson vs Alan Pardew. Leeds United vs Southampton. It’s Simon Grayson’s 40th birthday today and he’ll also celebrate a year in charge of Leeds United this week. A win over the Saints will be the ideal present for him and a great early Christmas present for the Whites fans. It’s likely that Beckford or Lambert will be making the headlines Sunday morning. Let’s hope Jermaine can win the battle.

Warren Feeney may get a second chance to sign for Leeds after failing a medical back in August. Feeney currently plays for Cardiff City but has failed to force his way into the first team and is set to be released in January, allowing him to join up with Leeds United if they so wish.

Warren started his career at Elland Road but never made an appearence for the Whites. He was loaned out to Bournemouth and the move eventually became permanent. He spent three years at Bournemouth making over 100 appearences and scoring 36 goals.

In 2005 Stockport County signed the Irishman for £45,000. He scored 15 goals in 31 appearences for Stockport, but was sold to Luton Town for £150,000 after just one season. At Luton, Feeney struggled to make much of an impact. Despite appearing 77 times from 2005-07, he only managed to find the back of the net 8 times.

In 2007 Feeney joined Cardiff City, but has not enjoyed the best of times there either. He’s made just thirteen appearences for the side in total (some of which were as a sub) and never managed to find the back of the net in a competitive game. Warren has spent a lot of time out on loan to Swansea City and Dundee United where collectively he’s scored 12 in 37 games.

I have to admit, I wasn’t blown away by his record the first time round and nothings changed since. He’s made just one appearence for Cardiff this season as a sub, so will be massively lacking in match fitness and for me, we don’t need another average striker. We need someone like Rickie Lambert from Southampton who will keep the goals coming even if/when Jermaine does leave. Feeney simply doesn’t strike me as that kind of player.

However, in Grayson we trust. He’s made some good signings so far, so you have to give him the benefit of the doubt and hope he can get the best out of Warren Feeney if he does sign for Leeds. We’ve also got an Argentine centre-back on trial with the club. Not heard much about him in all honesty, but this seems like another position where we don’t need more bodies? Maybe Simon is planning to get rid of some deadwood in January too.

With Leeds United deciding to take the weekend off with our hundreds of international call-ups, League One continued without us and since I have no Leeds United match to report on, I thought I’d check out how the rest of the top six got on.

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.