Yorkshire Evening Post 18/1/09
Grayson's the loan arranger!
By Phil Hay
Leeds United manager Simon Grayson will continue to turn his hand to temporary transfers during the January window if loan opportunities offer his club more potential than permanent deals.
Grayson's first three signings as Leeds boss have all been agreed as initial loan moves, bringing Lee Trundle, Richard Naylor and Carl Dickinson to Elland Road, and the 39-year-old does not intend to overlook his preferred targets for the sake of securing long-term arrivals.United are bidding to fight their way into League One's play-off zone and, after a period of troubled form, are highly likely to make permanent additions to their squad before the transfer window closes on February 2.
But Grayson's willingness to use the loan market has already secured him two recruits from the Championship and one from the Premier League.Trundle and Naylor have arrived at Elland Road on one-month deals from Bristol City and Ipswich Town respectively, and Dickinson left Stoke City to agree the same length of temporary contract with Leeds on Thursday afternoon.
Trundle has strengthened Grayson's attacking options with Jermaine Beckford fighting to overcome a succession of hamstring strains and Enoch Showunmi unlikely to play in the near future after suffering a blood clot on one of his lungs, and Naylor and Dickinson have answered the more urgent call for new defenders at Leeds.
A 2-0 defeat to Carlisle United last weekend once again highlight the need for changes in United's porous backline and the successful bids for Naylor and Dickinson allowed Grayson to travel to Brighton yesterday with two new options to work with.
Grayson said: "It works both ways. Sometimes you don't want to go in too quickly and make permanent signings which turn out to be the wrong ones or are made for too long a period.
"There will be one or two permanent deals coming in, whether they're on free transfers or with transfer fees involved, but at this moment in time the task has been to get fresh faces in from the loan market to make us more solid and get us back on track.
"Some teams utilise the loan market and some teams don't and I just feel it's an option for us to do it that way.
"It can benefit us in the short term but also in the long term as well because if you get players in on season-long loans then you've got them for a decent length of time, and if you can turn loans into permanent deals then even better.
"I'm trying to bring players in whether it's on permanent deals or loans and it's simply to make sure that the club starts winning matches."
Trundle, who joined Leeds in time for their clash with Carlisle at Elland Road last weekend, has already indicated that his stay in Yorkshire may not run beyond a month, but Grayson revealed that United have the option to sign Naylor permanently from Ipswich before the end of the transfer window.
Naylor, 31, is a lifelong Leeds fans and an experienced centre-back who Grayson hopes will rectify the failings of a defence which had kept only five clean sheets before yesterday's League One game at Brighton.
The Ipswich club captain has made in excess of 300 appearances for his parent club during more than 13 seasons in Suffolk, while left-back Dickinson brought with him experience of winning promotion to the Premier League with Stoke last season.
The 21-year-old was involved with City's first team regularly during the 2007-08 term but has found a first-team place difficult to come by since the summer and has been allowed to depart the Britannia Stadium by Stoke manager Tony Pulis.
Dickinson and Grayson worked together briefly while United's boss was manager of Blackpool in 2006, and Dickinson is understood to have rejected offers from Blackpool and Charlton in order to move to Leeds.
Grayson said: "In the past things have worked out for me with transfers.
"I've managed to spot a player and I've hopefully turned lads into better players. I like to think I know enough about the division to be able to bring the right people in.
"I won't sign players for the sake of it and they need to fit into the framework of the footballing side here and also fit into the dressing room.
"You do a lot of work on this and spend a lot of time watching games, and by doing that you hopefully get the right players in more often than the wrong ones.
"I've been analysing the squad that was already here and I said from day one that they were all on an even keel.
"I've now got my opinion on certain players who I don't think will fit into the way I want to play so there will be one or two leaving before the window shuts and one or two more coming in."
Leeds have not sanctioned the departure of any of their existing first-team players during the first fortnight of the transfer window, though the club are willing to listen to offers for the likes of Tresor Kandol and Ian Westlake who are currently on loan away from Elland Road.
Grayson has a squad of over 25 senior players and is planning to trim down the number of professionals available to him and keep a grip on the wage bill.
The United boss said: "We've got a good-sized squad and I can't just keep bringing players in while keeping the existing squad because we've got far too many here.
"It's also unfair to keep players here who aren't going to feature."
Leeds have been linked with a host of other defenders this week, including Derby County centre-back Claude Davis and Cardiff City's Darren Purse, both of whom are out of favour with their present clubs.
The Elland Road club have rejected a chance to sign former Scunthorpe United captain Izzy Iriekpen – another central defender – who is available on a free transfer after cutting his ties with Glanford Park.
Yorkshire Evening Post 17/1/09
Whites down Seagulls
By Phil Hay
Brighton 0 Leeds United 2
Leeds United's season took a positive turn and a step in the direction that Simon Grayson wishes to head as Fabian Delph's magic sealed a 2-0 victory over Brighton.
The midfielder produced a lethal finish after running the full length of the field on 82 minutes to decide an even game at the Withdean Stadium and begin another attempt by Leeds to regain a play-off position in League One.
Delph's inspired goal consolidated an earlier effort from Lee Trundle, who had been a peripheral figure for the first hour of the match but showed his poaching instinct on 61 minutes to claim his first goal since signing for Leeds on a month's loan from Bristol City.
Trundle's close-range finish averted the goalless draw which had begun to look likely during a quiet start to the second half, and it also alleviated the impact of the penalty missed by his attacking partner, Luciano Becchio, in the 10th minute.
Becchio's weak effort was saved by the legs of Brighton goalkeeper John Sullivan, and United struggled to assert themselves after wasting that excellent chance to take a grip of the fixture.
A goalless first half was followed by a severe lull in the game after the break, but Trundle's opportunistic strike set up a victory which Delph rounded off in typically flamboyant fashion. They were, in truth, the game's only moments of true quality.
Beaten by Carlisle United last weekend, the margin between Leeds and League One's top six had stretched to seven points, and a draw on the south coast would have been of limited value to team who were 10th in the division before yesterday's match.
The confidence of Grayson's players swelled visibly after Trundle claimed the game's first goal, and the sight of Leeds closing out their victory with assurance will have pleased a manager who saw them bow feebly to the first defeat of his managerial reign seven days earlier.
A first clean sheet for 14 matches was an added bonus.Grayson was given a clear view of his team's defensive ineptitude during their 2-0 loss to Carlisle, and he responded to that result by naming recent signings Richard Naylor and Carl Dickinson in his starting line-up.
The defenders joined Leeds on loan this week – Naylor from Ipswich Town and Dickinson from Stoke City – and the alterations were two of four made by Grayson, Trundle included. It was inevitable after Carlisle's victory that certain players would find their places at risk.
The fourth of those players promoted to the first team was Bradley Johnson, the midfielder who returned to Leeds on January 3 after two months on loan at Brighton and boasted the unusual distinction yesterday of having played in both club's previous fixtures.
His place on the left wing became available after Robert Snodgrass succumbed to injury in training on Friday.
Johnson was directly involved in the incident which should have led to the opening goal after 10 minutes, albeit in controversial circumstances.
The 21-year-old caused havoc in Brighton's box with an inswinging corner, and referee Pat Miller pointed to the penalty spot after spotting a foul on Naylor by Adam El-Abd which few in the crowd at the Withdean Stadium had seen.
El-Abd was booked while Becchio lined up the set-piece but the Argentinian drove a weak strike too close to Sullivan, who blocked the penalty with his left leg and gathered the rebound.
United had produced a lively enough approach to deserve the opening goal, and Becchio's indecisive finish wasted the best possible chance for Leeds to gain control of their hosts. Albion's attitude might have been that justice was done by Sullivan's save.
The penalty was a rare moment of danger at either end of the field during a competitive first half, and Brighton did not threaten Casper Ankergren in United's goal until the 22nd minute when a pass from Tom Fraser gave Andrew Whing space to drive a shot wide of Ankergren's left-hand post.
The Leeds keeper was exposed more seriously three minutes later when a long goal-kick caught United's defence flat-footed and played Stuart Fleetwood into space behind their backline.
The striker had only Ankergren to beat but showed a lack of conviction 12 yards from goal, scuffing a shot which the Dane nudged away from his net. Fleetwood's chance, like that presented to Becchio 14 minutes earlier, was one he had no excuse for missing.
The nerves in Grayson's defence appeared momentarily when Ankergren's heavy touch knocked a backpass from Rui Marques straight to Fleetwood, who was crucially dispossessed six yards from goal by Ankergren's sliding challenge, and a corner from Kevin McLeod in the 35th minute provoked a goalmouth scramble in which Leeds were fortunate to avoid a concession.
Without the pace of the Jermaine Beckford up front – Grayson decided not to risk the striker's strained hamstring in Sussex yesterday – Leeds found Brighton's defence difficult to disrupt, the intensity of the game faded during a disappointingly flat start to the second half.
Chris Birchall's hopeful shot which hit the back of Fleetwood was as close as either side came until United produced a goal out of nowhere in the 61st minute.
Trundle, who far an hour had been almost anonymous up front, appeared inside Brighton's box after Becchio touched Naylor's free-kick towards goal, and his shot on the turn rolled inside Sullivan's left-hand post.
With that finish, United gathered the confidence to play out the remaining half-hour, and Grayson's heart-rate was kept steady by the absence of a clear chance for Brighton to claim an equaliser.
His feeling of security was improved further when Delph collected the loose ball from an Albion corner and ran possession through midfield and to the edge of Brighton's box, pausing only to curl a sublime left-foot strike beyond the reach of Sullivan.
Deep down, Grayson will hope that the consistent run Leeds so desperately require has been born at the Withdean Stadium.
Guardian 16/1/09
Grayson grabs chance to lead his boyhood club up promotion path
Simon Grayson explains to Daniel Taylor the lure of Elland Road and the dream of recapturing the glory days
· Daniel Taylor
Simon Grayson, the manager of Leeds United, takes his team to Brighton this afternoon. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/Public Domain
Drive through the picture-book village of Boston Spa, cross the River Wharfe and follow the signs for Thorp Arch and you eventually come to a long, winding driveway that could easily be missed were it not for the electronic barriers and intercom systems. It looks like something from a James Bond movie but this is actually Leeds United's practice ground; once you get buzzed through the gates and see all the modern office blocks, the neat lawns and perfectly trimmed hedgerows, it is difficult not to wonder why the group of players training on the far pitch are currently grubbing around for points in the old third division.
"You look at our facilities and you'd think they belonged to a Premier League club," says Simon Grayson, the latest man assigned to resurrecting the club. "You probably wouldn't think it possible that the club could go from playing in a Champions League semi-final to administration and two relegations. But it proves that no team has a God-given right to be in the Premier League. Manchester City, Sheffield Wednesday and Nottingham Forest have all been in this division. And now Manchester City are the richest club in the world. You look at them trying to sign Kaka [now]. At least it gives us hope."
Grayson is in his fourth week at Leeds, having left Blackpool to take over at the club he supported as a boy. To his disappointment, it has been an acrimonious switch, with his former employer threatening legal action and lodging an official protest with the Football League.
Leeds have been on their knees for longer than they will care to remember and Grayson's job will be to restore some honour. "That's the challenge," he says. "So many managers have tried to get the club back to where it deserves to be. Can I be the one to do it?"
The manner in which Grayson led Blackpool to their first spell of second-tier football since 1978 suggests that Ken Bates has appointed one of the brightest young managers around. Plus there was an emotional pull for Grayson, having grown up in Bedale, north Yorkshire, with posters of the Leeds team on his bedroom walls.
His father was the games teacher at the local school and despite showing enough potential in cricket to play for Yorkshire schools, the young Grayson dedicated himself to football. While his brother, Paul, pursued a career in cricket and is now head coach at Essex, the elder sibling started training with Leeds at the age of 10. At 14 he had signed schoolboy forms and, within three years, Billy Bremner had given him a first-team debut.
But things did not work out. Grayson drifted, playing once more in the next four years. Shortly after his 22nd birthday, they cut him adrift. "I remember the day as if it were yesterday," he says. "Howard Wilkinson had taken over from Billy and he told me straight, that the club had accepted an offer of £50,000 from Leicester City and that was it. I picked up my boots, left the ground and I remember thinking it would be my last time there as a Leeds player. It was heartbreaking, to be honest."
So there is unfinished business for Grayson even if, in hindsight, leaving Elland Road turned out fine. "Within 12 games of stepping out of Leeds United's reserves I was playing in a Wembley play-off final in front of 90,000 people. I thought, 'This is more like it'. But that was just the start. I still don't think people realise what good players we had at Leicester."
Under the management of Martin O'Neill, Grayson became an integral part of a side who won the club's first trophy since 1964. "How do you describe Martin O'Neill?" he ponders. "You can't. I've tried to pick up a few things from him but he was a one-off. He just had something special – an aura. When you saw him walking out for training, by God, the training levels would increase. He didn't always take training but then you'd see him in the distance. Action stations. He'd have a stopwatch in his hand and he'd say, 'Right, if you're not round that pitch, that tree and that goal in 30 seconds you're doing it again'. And we'd make sure we did it. He just had that aura. You could see a bit of Brian Clough in him."
Grayson was twice player of the year at Filbert Street, and O'Neill was horrified when he lost him to Aston Villa. "The day I left I rang him up to say thanks for everything," recalls Grayson. "His secretary basically told me to eff off. Martin had wanted me to stay and he felt I'd deserted him. But in my first six months at Villa he tried to buy me back three times. Which tells you something about the man. I know if I ever need anything I can always pick up the phone and ring him."
O'Neill, incidentally, once called Bates a "football cretin". Yet the Leeds chairman's appointment of the 39-year-old Grayson looks a shrewd piece of business given the way he has set about establishing himself since starting his coaching badges at Blackpool. Grayson was so dedicated that in his spare time he would help out with the youth academy at Blackburn, another of his former clubs. He was then asked to combine playing with coaching Blackpool's reserves and in November 2005, with the Seasiders in relegation trouble, he was invited to take over as caretaker. Grayson led them to safety, winning the job permanently.
"We lost the first three matches of the following season and everyone was suddenly thinking, 'Hmm, is he the right man after all?'" he recalls. "After 10 games we'd won only once and I was under pressure. But I always felt I was getting a team together that could do something if I was given the time. We started winning and once we got into that habit, what happened next was special for everyone."
It culminated with Blackpool winning the last 10 matches and sealing promotion in a playoff final against Yeovil. The pity for Grayson is that his time should end with bad feeling. "If I was going to leave Blackpool I wanted to do it in a good way, thank the fans and everybody at the club. I think I did a good job. But I couldn't turn down being the Leeds manager. Everyone in football – outside of Blackpool anyway – understands that this is a bigger club and that it's a step uphill in my career.
"You just have to look at the number of fans we take to every away game. It doesn't matter how big the allocation is, we will always sell out. There were 33,000 people at my first home game, which was more than the majority of Premier League clubs got that day. There's no other club that I would have dropped out of the Championship for. This is Leeds United."
Grayson's the loan arranger!
By Phil Hay
Leeds United manager Simon Grayson will continue to turn his hand to temporary transfers during the January window if loan opportunities offer his club more potential than permanent deals.
Grayson's first three signings as Leeds boss have all been agreed as initial loan moves, bringing Lee Trundle, Richard Naylor and Carl Dickinson to Elland Road, and the 39-year-old does not intend to overlook his preferred targets for the sake of securing long-term arrivals.United are bidding to fight their way into League One's play-off zone and, after a period of troubled form, are highly likely to make permanent additions to their squad before the transfer window closes on February 2.
But Grayson's willingness to use the loan market has already secured him two recruits from the Championship and one from the Premier League.Trundle and Naylor have arrived at Elland Road on one-month deals from Bristol City and Ipswich Town respectively, and Dickinson left Stoke City to agree the same length of temporary contract with Leeds on Thursday afternoon.
Trundle has strengthened Grayson's attacking options with Jermaine Beckford fighting to overcome a succession of hamstring strains and Enoch Showunmi unlikely to play in the near future after suffering a blood clot on one of his lungs, and Naylor and Dickinson have answered the more urgent call for new defenders at Leeds.
A 2-0 defeat to Carlisle United last weekend once again highlight the need for changes in United's porous backline and the successful bids for Naylor and Dickinson allowed Grayson to travel to Brighton yesterday with two new options to work with.
Grayson said: "It works both ways. Sometimes you don't want to go in too quickly and make permanent signings which turn out to be the wrong ones or are made for too long a period.
"There will be one or two permanent deals coming in, whether they're on free transfers or with transfer fees involved, but at this moment in time the task has been to get fresh faces in from the loan market to make us more solid and get us back on track.
"Some teams utilise the loan market and some teams don't and I just feel it's an option for us to do it that way.
"It can benefit us in the short term but also in the long term as well because if you get players in on season-long loans then you've got them for a decent length of time, and if you can turn loans into permanent deals then even better.
"I'm trying to bring players in whether it's on permanent deals or loans and it's simply to make sure that the club starts winning matches."
Trundle, who joined Leeds in time for their clash with Carlisle at Elland Road last weekend, has already indicated that his stay in Yorkshire may not run beyond a month, but Grayson revealed that United have the option to sign Naylor permanently from Ipswich before the end of the transfer window.
Naylor, 31, is a lifelong Leeds fans and an experienced centre-back who Grayson hopes will rectify the failings of a defence which had kept only five clean sheets before yesterday's League One game at Brighton.
The Ipswich club captain has made in excess of 300 appearances for his parent club during more than 13 seasons in Suffolk, while left-back Dickinson brought with him experience of winning promotion to the Premier League with Stoke last season.
The 21-year-old was involved with City's first team regularly during the 2007-08 term but has found a first-team place difficult to come by since the summer and has been allowed to depart the Britannia Stadium by Stoke manager Tony Pulis.
Dickinson and Grayson worked together briefly while United's boss was manager of Blackpool in 2006, and Dickinson is understood to have rejected offers from Blackpool and Charlton in order to move to Leeds.
Grayson said: "In the past things have worked out for me with transfers.
"I've managed to spot a player and I've hopefully turned lads into better players. I like to think I know enough about the division to be able to bring the right people in.
"I won't sign players for the sake of it and they need to fit into the framework of the footballing side here and also fit into the dressing room.
"You do a lot of work on this and spend a lot of time watching games, and by doing that you hopefully get the right players in more often than the wrong ones.
"I've been analysing the squad that was already here and I said from day one that they were all on an even keel.
"I've now got my opinion on certain players who I don't think will fit into the way I want to play so there will be one or two leaving before the window shuts and one or two more coming in."
Leeds have not sanctioned the departure of any of their existing first-team players during the first fortnight of the transfer window, though the club are willing to listen to offers for the likes of Tresor Kandol and Ian Westlake who are currently on loan away from Elland Road.
Grayson has a squad of over 25 senior players and is planning to trim down the number of professionals available to him and keep a grip on the wage bill.
The United boss said: "We've got a good-sized squad and I can't just keep bringing players in while keeping the existing squad because we've got far too many here.
"It's also unfair to keep players here who aren't going to feature."
Leeds have been linked with a host of other defenders this week, including Derby County centre-back Claude Davis and Cardiff City's Darren Purse, both of whom are out of favour with their present clubs.
The Elland Road club have rejected a chance to sign former Scunthorpe United captain Izzy Iriekpen – another central defender – who is available on a free transfer after cutting his ties with Glanford Park.
Yorkshire Evening Post 17/1/09
Whites down Seagulls
By Phil Hay
Brighton 0 Leeds United 2
Leeds United's season took a positive turn and a step in the direction that Simon Grayson wishes to head as Fabian Delph's magic sealed a 2-0 victory over Brighton.
The midfielder produced a lethal finish after running the full length of the field on 82 minutes to decide an even game at the Withdean Stadium and begin another attempt by Leeds to regain a play-off position in League One.
Delph's inspired goal consolidated an earlier effort from Lee Trundle, who had been a peripheral figure for the first hour of the match but showed his poaching instinct on 61 minutes to claim his first goal since signing for Leeds on a month's loan from Bristol City.
Trundle's close-range finish averted the goalless draw which had begun to look likely during a quiet start to the second half, and it also alleviated the impact of the penalty missed by his attacking partner, Luciano Becchio, in the 10th minute.
Becchio's weak effort was saved by the legs of Brighton goalkeeper John Sullivan, and United struggled to assert themselves after wasting that excellent chance to take a grip of the fixture.
A goalless first half was followed by a severe lull in the game after the break, but Trundle's opportunistic strike set up a victory which Delph rounded off in typically flamboyant fashion. They were, in truth, the game's only moments of true quality.
Beaten by Carlisle United last weekend, the margin between Leeds and League One's top six had stretched to seven points, and a draw on the south coast would have been of limited value to team who were 10th in the division before yesterday's match.
The confidence of Grayson's players swelled visibly after Trundle claimed the game's first goal, and the sight of Leeds closing out their victory with assurance will have pleased a manager who saw them bow feebly to the first defeat of his managerial reign seven days earlier.
A first clean sheet for 14 matches was an added bonus.Grayson was given a clear view of his team's defensive ineptitude during their 2-0 loss to Carlisle, and he responded to that result by naming recent signings Richard Naylor and Carl Dickinson in his starting line-up.
The defenders joined Leeds on loan this week – Naylor from Ipswich Town and Dickinson from Stoke City – and the alterations were two of four made by Grayson, Trundle included. It was inevitable after Carlisle's victory that certain players would find their places at risk.
The fourth of those players promoted to the first team was Bradley Johnson, the midfielder who returned to Leeds on January 3 after two months on loan at Brighton and boasted the unusual distinction yesterday of having played in both club's previous fixtures.
His place on the left wing became available after Robert Snodgrass succumbed to injury in training on Friday.
Johnson was directly involved in the incident which should have led to the opening goal after 10 minutes, albeit in controversial circumstances.
The 21-year-old caused havoc in Brighton's box with an inswinging corner, and referee Pat Miller pointed to the penalty spot after spotting a foul on Naylor by Adam El-Abd which few in the crowd at the Withdean Stadium had seen.
El-Abd was booked while Becchio lined up the set-piece but the Argentinian drove a weak strike too close to Sullivan, who blocked the penalty with his left leg and gathered the rebound.
United had produced a lively enough approach to deserve the opening goal, and Becchio's indecisive finish wasted the best possible chance for Leeds to gain control of their hosts. Albion's attitude might have been that justice was done by Sullivan's save.
The penalty was a rare moment of danger at either end of the field during a competitive first half, and Brighton did not threaten Casper Ankergren in United's goal until the 22nd minute when a pass from Tom Fraser gave Andrew Whing space to drive a shot wide of Ankergren's left-hand post.
The Leeds keeper was exposed more seriously three minutes later when a long goal-kick caught United's defence flat-footed and played Stuart Fleetwood into space behind their backline.
The striker had only Ankergren to beat but showed a lack of conviction 12 yards from goal, scuffing a shot which the Dane nudged away from his net. Fleetwood's chance, like that presented to Becchio 14 minutes earlier, was one he had no excuse for missing.
The nerves in Grayson's defence appeared momentarily when Ankergren's heavy touch knocked a backpass from Rui Marques straight to Fleetwood, who was crucially dispossessed six yards from goal by Ankergren's sliding challenge, and a corner from Kevin McLeod in the 35th minute provoked a goalmouth scramble in which Leeds were fortunate to avoid a concession.
Without the pace of the Jermaine Beckford up front – Grayson decided not to risk the striker's strained hamstring in Sussex yesterday – Leeds found Brighton's defence difficult to disrupt, the intensity of the game faded during a disappointingly flat start to the second half.
Chris Birchall's hopeful shot which hit the back of Fleetwood was as close as either side came until United produced a goal out of nowhere in the 61st minute.
Trundle, who far an hour had been almost anonymous up front, appeared inside Brighton's box after Becchio touched Naylor's free-kick towards goal, and his shot on the turn rolled inside Sullivan's left-hand post.
With that finish, United gathered the confidence to play out the remaining half-hour, and Grayson's heart-rate was kept steady by the absence of a clear chance for Brighton to claim an equaliser.
His feeling of security was improved further when Delph collected the loose ball from an Albion corner and ran possession through midfield and to the edge of Brighton's box, pausing only to curl a sublime left-foot strike beyond the reach of Sullivan.
Deep down, Grayson will hope that the consistent run Leeds so desperately require has been born at the Withdean Stadium.
Guardian 16/1/09
Grayson grabs chance to lead his boyhood club up promotion path
Simon Grayson explains to Daniel Taylor the lure of Elland Road and the dream of recapturing the glory days
· Daniel Taylor
Simon Grayson, the manager of Leeds United, takes his team to Brighton this afternoon. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/Public Domain
Drive through the picture-book village of Boston Spa, cross the River Wharfe and follow the signs for Thorp Arch and you eventually come to a long, winding driveway that could easily be missed were it not for the electronic barriers and intercom systems. It looks like something from a James Bond movie but this is actually Leeds United's practice ground; once you get buzzed through the gates and see all the modern office blocks, the neat lawns and perfectly trimmed hedgerows, it is difficult not to wonder why the group of players training on the far pitch are currently grubbing around for points in the old third division.
"You look at our facilities and you'd think they belonged to a Premier League club," says Simon Grayson, the latest man assigned to resurrecting the club. "You probably wouldn't think it possible that the club could go from playing in a Champions League semi-final to administration and two relegations. But it proves that no team has a God-given right to be in the Premier League. Manchester City, Sheffield Wednesday and Nottingham Forest have all been in this division. And now Manchester City are the richest club in the world. You look at them trying to sign Kaka [now]. At least it gives us hope."
Grayson is in his fourth week at Leeds, having left Blackpool to take over at the club he supported as a boy. To his disappointment, it has been an acrimonious switch, with his former employer threatening legal action and lodging an official protest with the Football League.
Leeds have been on their knees for longer than they will care to remember and Grayson's job will be to restore some honour. "That's the challenge," he says. "So many managers have tried to get the club back to where it deserves to be. Can I be the one to do it?"
The manner in which Grayson led Blackpool to their first spell of second-tier football since 1978 suggests that Ken Bates has appointed one of the brightest young managers around. Plus there was an emotional pull for Grayson, having grown up in Bedale, north Yorkshire, with posters of the Leeds team on his bedroom walls.
His father was the games teacher at the local school and despite showing enough potential in cricket to play for Yorkshire schools, the young Grayson dedicated himself to football. While his brother, Paul, pursued a career in cricket and is now head coach at Essex, the elder sibling started training with Leeds at the age of 10. At 14 he had signed schoolboy forms and, within three years, Billy Bremner had given him a first-team debut.
But things did not work out. Grayson drifted, playing once more in the next four years. Shortly after his 22nd birthday, they cut him adrift. "I remember the day as if it were yesterday," he says. "Howard Wilkinson had taken over from Billy and he told me straight, that the club had accepted an offer of £50,000 from Leicester City and that was it. I picked up my boots, left the ground and I remember thinking it would be my last time there as a Leeds player. It was heartbreaking, to be honest."
So there is unfinished business for Grayson even if, in hindsight, leaving Elland Road turned out fine. "Within 12 games of stepping out of Leeds United's reserves I was playing in a Wembley play-off final in front of 90,000 people. I thought, 'This is more like it'. But that was just the start. I still don't think people realise what good players we had at Leicester."
Under the management of Martin O'Neill, Grayson became an integral part of a side who won the club's first trophy since 1964. "How do you describe Martin O'Neill?" he ponders. "You can't. I've tried to pick up a few things from him but he was a one-off. He just had something special – an aura. When you saw him walking out for training, by God, the training levels would increase. He didn't always take training but then you'd see him in the distance. Action stations. He'd have a stopwatch in his hand and he'd say, 'Right, if you're not round that pitch, that tree and that goal in 30 seconds you're doing it again'. And we'd make sure we did it. He just had that aura. You could see a bit of Brian Clough in him."
Grayson was twice player of the year at Filbert Street, and O'Neill was horrified when he lost him to Aston Villa. "The day I left I rang him up to say thanks for everything," recalls Grayson. "His secretary basically told me to eff off. Martin had wanted me to stay and he felt I'd deserted him. But in my first six months at Villa he tried to buy me back three times. Which tells you something about the man. I know if I ever need anything I can always pick up the phone and ring him."
O'Neill, incidentally, once called Bates a "football cretin". Yet the Leeds chairman's appointment of the 39-year-old Grayson looks a shrewd piece of business given the way he has set about establishing himself since starting his coaching badges at Blackpool. Grayson was so dedicated that in his spare time he would help out with the youth academy at Blackburn, another of his former clubs. He was then asked to combine playing with coaching Blackpool's reserves and in November 2005, with the Seasiders in relegation trouble, he was invited to take over as caretaker. Grayson led them to safety, winning the job permanently.
"We lost the first three matches of the following season and everyone was suddenly thinking, 'Hmm, is he the right man after all?'" he recalls. "After 10 games we'd won only once and I was under pressure. But I always felt I was getting a team together that could do something if I was given the time. We started winning and once we got into that habit, what happened next was special for everyone."
It culminated with Blackpool winning the last 10 matches and sealing promotion in a playoff final against Yeovil. The pity for Grayson is that his time should end with bad feeling. "If I was going to leave Blackpool I wanted to do it in a good way, thank the fans and everybody at the club. I think I did a good job. But I couldn't turn down being the Leeds manager. Everyone in football – outside of Blackpool anyway – understands that this is a bigger club and that it's a step uphill in my career.
"You just have to look at the number of fans we take to every away game. It doesn't matter how big the allocation is, we will always sell out. There were 33,000 people at my first home game, which was more than the majority of Premier League clubs got that day. There's no other club that I would have dropped out of the Championship for. This is Leeds United."
