It only hurts when I laugh Matt BB May 8, 2012 Leeds United Whilst many eyebrows were raised at the transfer listing of Adam Clayton this week with cuts as swingeing as any Tory led budget review being made by our management team into the squad, it was some of the players left in which caused me more concern. Moreover players who wearily raised an eye from the treatment table as the retained lists were released. We all know that our defence has been our Achilles heel, and whilst you might question whether Andy O’Brien and Alex Bruce were managed well under Grayson, you’d struggle to make a footballing case for keeping either of them, ditto O’Dea, Connolly and even latterly Paul Robinson. In summary those particular ships have sailed. As Ken puts it in one of his wonderful extended metaphors, he wants no passengers. To extend that further then I guess we’re the HMS Bates, a ship it would be the equivalent of a Roman Galley, each man on board either an oarsman or someone cracking a whip, no space then on that galley for a reclining chaise longue at which Kennius Caesar could be fed grapes by one of his eunuchs. I dont suppose he’d want a rebellious Kirk Douglas a la Spartacus amongst those heavily yoked slaves either, or anyone who wants paying the going rate. Bizarrely of course that galley will be pulling alongside it an enormous set of buoyant corporate boxes (constructed at enormous cost).. so no passengers at all eh Ken?.. It leaves the question – Whither Patrick Kisnorbo? Crocked nearly continuously since our promotion from League One, Kisnorbo has seemed a shadow of his former self since the Injury sustained at Millwall nearly two years ago now. So why retain him? I’d expected fully to have seen us cut our losses here, much as we did with Richard Naylor, but Warnock has perhaps given us some insights as to his decision. He cites the fact he tried to sign him for Palace at the same time we first came in for him, so clearly a player he rates. He even thinks he may play a part in pre-season. Clearly he rates the player, but when you hear Ken Bates talking about the aforementioned `passenger free’ squad you have to wonder where exactly both he and Warnock consider Kisnorbo to be? A cheerleader a la Beckham at the 2010 World Cup? An inspirational figure in the dressing room on crutches? Personally I think he’s a real leader on the pitch, but if he is to be one of our now limited number of defenders I’d have to say I’d have preferred for those wages to be spent on a more `robust’ defender, but the transfer window is still young, and of course Jason Pearce has been unveiled, so some positive movement already – 1 out of the back 4 replaced anyway! For the above – ditto Leigh Bromby. A ruptured Patella tendon – ouch – to you and I the ligament connecting the kneecap to either your thigh or shin bone, one can fully understand how snapping such a major ligament required oxygen to be administered. He too though is not available until `the new year’ at the earliest, begging the question why he too remains in the squad, he too like Kisnorbo has hardly been a stellar performer when he has returned, solid enough – but why? We don’t all have to unanimously agree with the managers decisions but these seem the most baffling of all to me, I eagerly await the pro-Bates columnists take on these matters, no doubt Lorimer will tell us that they are like `new signings’ come next February when both are fit again.. He of course has already done a 180 degree switch from believing we had six capable centre backs – all quality – and some internationals, to telling us today that the squad was `too big’ and that a clearout was essential…I suppose unless you’re Simon Grayson eh? Do try to at least reference your own articles for some integrity Peter. The other issue causing some concern, (and again the jurys out until we see the calibre and volume of new signings) revolves around the deployment of our youth team. Thompson and Taylor are going to be loaned out Neil tells us. He also doesn’t feel our youth squad are on a par with say Palace in terms of kids ready to play in the first team, an alarming denouement, considering we were told our squad was to be a blend of new players and youth by Bates not long ago. One things for sure, leaving the squad in its current decimated state is not an option, so we simply must bring in those new players, something we haven’t necessarily been the best at doing in recent seasons. Again the right noises are being made, and we’ve indeed seen that first signing today (Friday) but actions do speak louder than words in this context, and there is much to do. Some tough decisions have already been made. But on balance it appears those are mainly the right ones, lets hope that level of decision making continues, and as for my particular whingeing, well you can’t please all of the people all of the time. Or, to put it another way there’s just no pleasing the `morons’.