LUFC: Ten things we've learnt this week #7 TSS November 5, 2010 Leeds United 9 Comments #01 – What a difference a week makes! A 4-1 victory away to Scunthorpe United gave Leeds their first win in three. It also gave Simon Grayson some much needed breathing space after several heavy defeats had resulted in calls for a new manager. #02 – Jonny Howson, the man, the God, the legend… Another man who has come in for considerable criticism of late was Jonny Howson, but the midfielder was given license to attack against Scunthorpe and repaid Simon Grayson’s faith with a first career hattrick. Never doubted him for a second… #03 – League One’s finest Mike Grella dominated The Scratching Shed’s loan watch feature for the second week as he scored again at Carlisle to earn the Cumbrian’s a point. Davide Somma mark II perhaps? #04 – McSheffrey unloved at Leeds Former Elland Road loanee McSheffrey has spent the week whining ahead of this weekend’s visit to the Ricoh. McSheffrey arrogantly believes he deserved a contract in the summer after failing to impress pretty much everyone during his time at Leeds. Now scoring for fun at Coventry, you can pretty much guarantee he’ll come back to haunt us this weekend. #05 – Hmmm… Former Leeds United first team coach and now Coventry City boss, Aidy Boothroyd is the latest victim of Simon Grayson’s cunning. A mix of heavy defeats and free-scoring victories prompted Aidy to admit he didn’t have a clue what to expect from Leeds… Nor do most of the fans Aidy! #06 – Bates: My cash cow is failing! The lack of million-pound youngsters emerging from Thorp Arch over recent years left Ken Bates with no choice but to sack academy boss, Neil Thompson. His time in charge of the academy has been one of mass exodus with the majority of talent exiting for the Premier League reserve teams. Ken Bates has never been the sympathetic type though, and Thompson’s failure to produce a Fabian Delph every year was his ultimate downfall. It’s believed Ken Bates’ restaurant and conference empire has been struggling without the aid of saleable youngsters to build new ones (on land we don’t own). #07 – Thorp Arch – The sugar-coated reason Of course, Ken Bates’ story is a little different from my own conclusions. The bearded maestro claims he wants to see a team of Yorkshire boys ruling the world and Thompson failed to produce the kind of talent he demanded. #08 – Jay Bothroyd joins the ‘blame it on Leeds’ club New president of the ‘blame everything on Leeds United society,’ Jay Bothroyd has been banned for the Cardiff and Swansea derby after receiving his fifth yellow card of the season. But it wasn’t his dangerous tackling or bad behaviour that earned him the ban – it was Leeds United. All the media attention following his horrendous lunge at Becchio forced the ref to book him! We’ve sent our sympathies. #09 – Johnson wants more cash We learnt this week that Bradley Johnson thinks he’s a superstar midfielder worthy of an over-inflated salary after talks for a three year contract extension broke down with the club. With only 29% of fans saying we should retain his services, it’s fair to say he won’t be missed. #10 – New team required – August 2011 start! If you’re one of the unfortunate people who has lost their job in these difficult financial times, you may be in luck. Leeds United will be looking for an entirely new team by August if they don’t agree new contracts soon with around a dozen players. All you need is a pair of football boots, a few years of spectating experience and a ‘he tries’ approach to the game. Crowd favourite guaranteed.