Yorkshire Post 24/10/07
Kishishev returns for second loan spell at Leeds
By Richard Sutcliffe
RADOSTIN KISHISHEV has returned to Leeds United on loan.
The 33-year-old Leicester City midfielder has joined Leeds on an initial one-month loan deal after falling out of favour at the Walkers Stadium.
Kishishev's return is a huge coup for Leeds manager Dennis Wise, who today celebrates one year in charge at Elland Road, with injuries troubling several of his midfielders.
Alan Thompson and Andrew Hughes are among those who are doubtful for Saturday's meeting with Millwall and Kishishev could go straight into the side.
The Bulgarian international spent the final two months on loan at Elland Road from Charlton Athletic last season and made a huge impression despite United being relegated.
United wanted to sign the midfielder in the summer, but the lure of Championship football proved too great. Martin Allen's replacement by Gary Megson has, however, left Kishishev out of favour at the Walkers Stadium.
Gus Poyet has been fined £1,500 and warned about his future conduct by the Football Association after criticising the performance of referee Andy D'Urso.
The United assistant was upset with the handling of the 3-0 Carling Cup defeat at Portsmouth in September, suggesting afterwards it would be a good idea for the Essex official not to referee Leeds again.


Yorkshire Evening Post 21/10/07
Leeds United's Kandol lights up match
Brighton 0 Leeds United 1
Football's style council lives by the proverb that it aint what you do, it's the way that you do it. But not in League One.
England's third division is a pragmatic competition, and one where quantity is reigning over quality. Leeds United's have been told to gather points this season, and to worry less about how those points are fashioned. Saturday's victory in the southern reaches of England epitomised that attitude perfectly.
United's performance against Brighton was forgettable in the extreme, and so was the game as a whole. When the club come to reflect on the season in its entirety on May 3, they will not remember the Withdean Stadium as the scene of their most convincing victory. It is also unlikely, however, that any individual result will prove more telling than United's 1-0 win.
Leeds as a club have never warmed to the Withdean Stadium. Or not, that is, until Tresor Kandol settled Saturday's game with a goal in keeping with a fixture which lack animation from the first whistle.
Both of United's previous visits to Brighton's ground - a peculiar venue which struggles to scrape above non-league standards - had ended in defeat, and Albion's proposed move to the nearby site of Falmer seemed as much in the interest of Leeds as it will be in that of the Seagulls.
The Withdean Stadium is a location where capable teams are destined to toil, and the goalless draw that United were protecting with 11 minutes remaining could not have disappointed Dennis Wise. His club's history on the south coast is such that any result in Brighton other than a defeat is something to treasure. The victory that Kandol's goal yielded, therefore, may come to be incredibly valuable.
The striker will not score an easier effort this season, nor will a chance be presented to him as charitably as it was by Albion. Kandol positioned himself sensibly in anticipation of Frazer Richardson's cross, and when the full-back's weak delivery was sliced lazily by Adam El-Abd towards his own goal, Kandol made simple job of tapping the ball into Brighton's net.
Having missed a penalty against Leyton Orient seven days previously, it was precisely the source of rejuvenation that he required. Wise had spoken earlier in the week about the importance of protecting Kandol's confidence, and Brighton's defending did his job for him. There is apparently nothing capable of knocking United or their players from their stride.
Leeds' drab display was, in truth, a reflection of the quality offered by Albion. That has been the case on several occasions this season, and if Wise has learned nothing else about League One, he at least understands that few other clubs are valuing performances over points.
is pleasing to be promoted with style, but it is just as rewarding to be promoted without. United can play with panache when the mood takes them, but the outcome of their season is most likely to depend on the results produced at their lowest ebb. Saturday's game did not appear to be offering a victory to either side when Kandol struck. The fact that United travelled home with a 10th league victory suggests their prospects of promotion are more realistic than Brighton's.
Albion were on the fringes of the play-off positions before kick-off on Saturday, and Dean Wilkins, their inexperienced manager, believed his players were mugged. If by that he meant that Albion controlled the larger part of a poor game then he was right. But the irony of Brighton's sharper passing and more sustained dominance was that the better chances fell exclusively to Leeds.
Kandol could have given United the lead after only two minutes had he not allowed a cross from David Prutton to glance weakly off his head, and in between the spells of pressure exerted by Brighton, Wise's players made the most of the limited possession which came their way.
Sebastien Carole produced the best strike of the first half in the 31st minute, a fierce volley from Kandol's knockdown which Michel Kuipers parried with one hand, and El-Abd's hesitation force his goalkeeper to pluck the ball bravely from Kandol's feet inside his box 60 seconds before the interval. El-Abd would later discover that Kuipers' ability to bail him out was not a reliable service.
Brighton had shown their own hand on a number of occasion, and Wise's defenders were rarely left in peace in the first half.
Casper Ankergren, who remained largely untroubled for all Albion's impetus, pushed away a shot from Jake Robinson which appeared in any case to be fading beyond his goal, and David Martot scuffed a wasteful strike wide after Andrew Whing's cross reached the Frenchman at the far post.
Dean Hammond then scraped Ankergren's side-netting with a low effort three minutes before the break, but the respective potency of the teams suggested a goal was more likely to come from Wise's strikers, if at all.
Wise lost Andrew Hughes to injury in the 38th minute, and his midfield were unable to prevent Brighton from exerting themselves after half-time.
Ankergren's diving block repelled a shot from Alex Revell, and Martot's volley would have beaten United's keeper easily had it not skipped a foot wide of the post. But a header from Jermaine Beckford which skimmed the crossbar on the hour reminded Albion that Leeds have thrived on an impressive goalscoring record this season.
Kandol has been at the centre of that form, and after three games without a goal, the striker was invited to claim his sixth of the season by El-Abd's costly misjudgement 11 minutes from time.
Richardson's mis-hit cross presented no danger to Albion, but El-Abd's clearance sliced towards his own goal and forced Kuipers to claw the ball away from the far corner of the net. The Dutchman's reaction was excellent but it left him exposed, and Kandol stepped forward to slip the rebound into an unguarded net.
Games like Saturday's are easily forgotten but seasons can turn on such results, and the quietly-ecstatic reaction of Wise's players and staff said as much. Winning in Brighton may be a key moment for United. How they achieved it is, in reality, neither here nor there.


Yorkshire Post 20/10/07
Brighton Albion 0 Leeds United 1
Gus Poyet readily conceded Leeds were not at their best, but was none the less happy to reflect on a job well done as United extended their unbeaten League run to 12 games.
Leeds were forced to work hard for maximum points by an improving Brighton and a late goal from Tresor Kandol sent the Seagulls to their first defeat in six games before the biggest ever crowd at their temporary home.
Congolese striker Kandol settled the issue by seizing on a defensive mistake by Adam El-Abd to score his sixth goal in 11 League games this season.
"It was not the best game for our supporters but sometimes you have to grind out results.," said United assistant manager Poyet.
"I would have loved to have seen us play better, but we got another clean sheet by being solid at the back."
Poyet felt it was vitally important for Kandol's confidence that he bounced back quickly with a goal having missed a penalty against Leyton Orient the previous week.
He added: "We have to pick Tresor out for special praise. The goal might have come from a mistake, but he was there at the right time."
Kandol steered the ball home from close range 11 minutes from time after El-Abd failed to control a cross to the near post by Frazer Richardson.
Leeds could have been in front in only the second minute had Kandol not headed over, and a powerful shot from former Brighton winger Seb Carole was saved by keeper Michel Kuipers.
The well-placed Jermaine Beckford headed a Jamie Clapham cross over before Kandol's clincher and Poyet, delighted at his team's battling qualities, emphasised their success so far is due to a collective effort.
He added: "Everyone believes in each other, confidence is quite high and this was another great three points for us.
"We had some good fortune with the goal we scored but we have a very good group of lads and the togetherness of the team is carrying us through."
Brighton manager Dean Wilkins had no doubt his side were particularly hard done by not to have taken anything from the match, and moaned: "We were mugged. I feel we were very unlucky because we were undone by one slip."
Brighton: Kuipers; Whing, Elphick, El-Abd, Richards; Savage (Elder 80), Fraser (Loft 87), Hammond, Martot; Revell, Robinson (Forster 87). Unused substitutes: Butters, Sullivan.
Leeds United: Ankergren; Richardson, Marques, Heath, Clapham; Prutton, Hughes (Westlake 37), Douglas, Carole; Beckford (De Vries 90), Kandol. Unused substitutes: Huntington, Andrews, Lucas.
Referee: P Taylor (Hertfordshire).
Leeds man of the match: Jonathan Douglas.

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