Leedsunited.com 5/2/11
SOMMA STRIKE SEALS SPOILS FOR LEEDS
UNITED 1 (Somma 55), COVENTRY CITY 0
United manager Simon Grayson named an unchanged side for the visit of Coventry City in the wake of the 2-2 draw at Hull in midweek.
Coventry arrived without a league win since early December, but they had the first chance when Richard Wood fired wide from close range after United failed to clear a corner.
There were a few lively early challenges with both Robert Snodgrass and Carl Baker being on the wrong end of a couple during the first 15 minutes.
It wasn't the most entertaining opening, but Leeds almost nicked the lead on 18 minutes. Snodgrass delivered a good cross from the right and Luciano Becchio stabbed his shot just wide of the mark.
Moments later, Max Gradel used his trickery to cut in from the left, easing past Jordon Clarke brilliantly, but his shot was just wide of the mark.
Within two minutes, Gradel tied Clarke in knots again before delivering another effort which was just wide.
Just before the half-hour, Gradel again instigated an attack that saw Becchio turn a George McCartney cross inches wide of the upright.
United continued to take the game to Coventry, Gradel and McCartney were linking up superbly, and Bradley Johnson felt he had claims for a penalty when a cross appeared to hit the hand of a visiting defender.
McCartney also made a timely clearance at the other end shortly before the break as Coventry mounted a rare raid forward.
But it was the visitors who were defending again at the end of half, first clearing a Snodgrass then blocking a Paul Connolly delivery.
United also started the second half on the front foot, and again Coventry had some early defending to do.
Coventry's rearguard was eventually broken on 55 minutes, courtesy of Somma. Gradel supplied the cross from the right, Jonny Howson knocked into back into the box, and Somma converted from close range.
Moments later, Snodgrass went close for Leeds when Keiren Westwood pulled off a great save, but Coventry did fashion a half-chance on 64 minutes when Aaron Gunnarsson went close.
Somma thought he had put the game beyond doubt on 72 minutes when he latched on to a flick-on to deliver a superb chipped finish - but he was denied a second goal by an offside flag.
Alex Bruce was next to go close when Coventry failed to clear a corner, and the central defender turned on the edge of the box with a great strike which went just wide.
Tempers flared with 10 minutes remaining when Clarke was booked for Coventry after a late challenge on Gradel.
Both Neil Kilkenny and Billy Paynter were brought on as the game headed towards its closing stages, and barring one great save from Schmeichel to deny Clive Platt, the visitors offered little in the way of trouble.
Snodgrass almost added a second goal in stoppage time, but one proved enough as United maintained the pressure on the leading pack in the Championship.
Yorkshire Evening Post 3/2/11
Grayson focusing in on loan market
By Phil Hay
Leeds United manager Simon Grayson insisted today that the signings he failed to secure in the January transfer window could yet materialise in the Football League's loan market after admitting to a "difficult" deadline day.
Grayson confirmed his intention to make improvements to his squad with the help of emergency loans after the final hours of the January window passed without significant activity at Elland Road.
United struck a deal to sign Colombian international goalkeeper David Gonzalez on a half-season loan from Manchester City but Grayson's attempts to bring outfield players to Leeds came to nothing on Monday as the transfer deadline passed at 11pm.
The club were widely expected to sign a central midfielder and defensive cover after selling centre-back Neill Collins to Sheffield United and allowing utility player Andrew Hughes to join Scunthorpe United.
The Leeds boss said the refusal of Premier League managers to release squad members on a long-term basis had hampered United's negotiations, and he defended his decision to step back from the market once it became clear that his chosen targets were beyond his reach.
Grayson, however, expects a number of those players to be made available for short-term loans when the Football League open their temporary market on Tuesday morning.
United are understood to have pursued Blackpool's Keith Southern as the January deadline approached, and the prospect of a deal with Manchester City's Michael Johnson – a player who expressed a firm interest in taking up a contract at Leeds – was diminished by a minor injury suffered by the 22-year-old last month.
Grayson will be able to sign players for a maximum of 93 days under Football League rules regarding emergency loans, but he reiterated his wish to avoid recruits who would be no more than "squad players" for the rest of the Championship season.
Grayson said: "I had many players offered to me and there are plenty who I'd be able to bring in on an emergency loan next week. It gives their clubs the option of taking them back after 28 days and I'll utilise that in a week's time or whenever I need to.
"The transfer window was difficult for us and for other teams because clubs are quite reluctant to let players out on loan until the end of the season unless they're sure that they're not going to need them.
"Sometimes the players who are on offer aren't right for you either. We weren't in the market for squad players – we were in it for top players.
"But I'd have thought that some of the players I was looking at will be available (on emergency loan).
"I've spoken to four or five managers about that, all of whom are in the Premier League. The players I'm looking at will definitely make us better as a team and I'd like to think they'll be available as and when I decide to get the business done."
Grayson completed his most significant dealings at the start of January, signing Andy O'Brien from Bolton Wanderers despite firm interest and a concrete offer from Cardiff City, another prominent Championship side.
United's boss was also able to negotiate a half-season loan for Sunderland left-back George McCartney, a deal which Leeds said was funded in part by their FA Cup third-round ties against Arsenal, but the end of the window was largely dominated by departures from Elland Road.
A bid for Collins from Sheffield United was accepted less than a year after Leeds signed him from Preston North End, the second time in quick succession that the defender has seen a transfer end in failure in a matter of months.
Grayson said Sheffield United's offer was "good for the club", and Collins' departure followed Federico Bessone's transfer on loan to Charlton Athletic.
Decisions were also taken to cancel the contracts held by defender Jason Crowe and two of the younger professionals at Leeds, goalkeeper Alan Martin and striker Tom Elliott.
Gonzalez's arrival from Eastlands broke the trend of exits and Leeds welcomed midfielder Neil Kilkenny back from the Asian Cup late on Monday afternoon. Club captain Richard Naylor was also in contention for Tuesday's draw at Hull City after recovering from knee surgery.
Grayson said: "We did a little bit of business early on in the window with Andy O'Brien and George McCartney and we've brought a keeper in from Manchester City.
"I was close to doing a couple of deals on Monday but at the last minute the clubs changed their minds.
"I could have brought in half a dozen other players quite easily they wouldn't have made us too much better. They'd only have been squad players and when I went into the market, I was going in for top-calibre players.
"Unfortunately it didn't quite happen for us but the level of player I was going at was very high. I said early on that people who come here have to be good enough to go straight into the team. We've already got good players here and it would be unfair to bring others in if they're not going to have much chance of playing.
"I'd still like to have a few more players, and you can see what we've got. But Kilkenny's back now and one or two others have recovered from injury.
"We do have a good squad but I always want to add to it because that's what made us successful in the past and that's what'll make us successful in the future."
Yorkshire Post 2/2/11
Hull City 2 Leeds United 2: Tigers are denied by United's stunning fightback
By Richard Sutcliffe at KC Stadium
AS the dust continues to settle on a transfer window when English football finally took leave of its senses courtesy of a jaw-dropping £225m outlay, a welcome semblance of normality was restored last night by a rip-roaring Yorkshire derby.
There may have been no £50m strikers on show at Hull City's KC Stadium, nor any player whose monthly wage packet touches seven figures.
But what the sell-out crowd were treated to on a cold night by the Humber was a good, old-fashioned blood-and-guts tussle between two teams who gave everything in the pursuit of victory.
Come the final whistle, honours had ended even thanks to a stunning fightback from Leeds United that saw first-half goals by Matty Fryatt and James Chester cancelled out by equally clinical strikes from Robert Snodgrass and Davide Somma.
For the Tigers, a point must have felt like scant reward for their efforts on a night when they created the better chances.
But, nevertheless, Nigel Pearson's side can seek solace in playing such a full part in a contest that in so many ways was the perfect antidote to the madness of the previous day when Andy Carroll had somehow become a £35m striker.
To the rest of the country, Hull versus Leeds may not be the most obvious of rivalries due to the two clubs being 60-odd miles apart and having spent much of the past half century residing in different divisions.
A sense of antipathy does, however, run deep between East and West, with Hull's recent two-year stint in the Premier League as Leeds floundered in the third tier going down as well at Elland Road as any success involving Leeds had done in the East Riding during the days when Hull was the biggest conurbation in Europe never to host top-flight football.
The role-reversal in recent seasons meant a first meeting between the two clubs at the KC in four years was always going to be a big draw, as proved by Hull being last night watched by their first sell-out crowd since being relegated back to the Football League.
At kick-off, there was an unmistakeable sense in the air of an era having come to an end following Tigers stalwart Ian Ashbee's departure to Preston North End the previous day – leaving only Caleb Folan, courtesy of a solitary appearance when on loan from Leeds in 2001, as the last playing link to the club's days at Boothferry Park.
This new dawn in Hull's history almost enjoyed the dream start with it taking just 30 seconds for the home side to create the game's first chance when Alex Bruce failed to cut out Fryatt's rolled pass from the right flank.
Aaron Mclean was the beneficiary but could not take advantage as the £1.3m signing from Peterborough United somehow shot wide despite being unmarked just three yards out.
The early carving open of the Leeds defence did, however, set the tone for much of what followed at breakneck speed during a hugely entertaining first half, at the end of which the visitors were just relieved to still be in the game at 2-1 down.
That United still sensed a way back at the halfway mark was down, largely, to the agility of Kasper Schmeichel.
He made three stunning saves to keep out the Tigers, the pick of which was arguably the one-handed effort that turned a dipping shot from Robert Koren over the crossbar.
Schmeichel was also on hand to keep out Anthony Gerrard's header and an attempted block by Andy O'Brien that was heading goalwards,
The Dane was, however, unable to do anything about the two stellar strikes that became City's reward for such an enterprising first half.
First, a slide-rule pass from Mclean on 33 minutes allowed Fryatt to race clear and shoot past the Leeds goalkeeper.
Then, as the visitors' defence failed once again to deal with a set-piece, Chester was able to power a header in from close range after being picked out by Andy Dawson's corner.
A two-goal lead was just reward for Hull's display at that stage but Leeds snatched a lifeline just before the break when Snodgrass marked his Scotland call-up earlier in the day with an exquisite curled free-kick beyond the despairing dive of Brad Guzan.
Parity was restored 11 minutes into the second half when Somma's shot bounced down over the line off the underside of the crossbar to set up a thrilling finale.
Leeds threatened when a searching cross from Jonny Howson was bravely cut out by Guzan at the feet of the on-rushing Luciano Becchio.
Hull's response was equally impressive with it taking a clearance off the line by Lloyd Sam to deny Fryatt a second goal of the night.
Sam then repeated the trick to keep out a goalbound header from Anthony Gerrard to ensure honours ended even with the only black spot on the night being the sight of Liam Rosenior being stretchered off in stoppage time.
SOMMA STRIKE SEALS SPOILS FOR LEEDS
UNITED 1 (Somma 55), COVENTRY CITY 0
United manager Simon Grayson named an unchanged side for the visit of Coventry City in the wake of the 2-2 draw at Hull in midweek.
Coventry arrived without a league win since early December, but they had the first chance when Richard Wood fired wide from close range after United failed to clear a corner.
There were a few lively early challenges with both Robert Snodgrass and Carl Baker being on the wrong end of a couple during the first 15 minutes.
It wasn't the most entertaining opening, but Leeds almost nicked the lead on 18 minutes. Snodgrass delivered a good cross from the right and Luciano Becchio stabbed his shot just wide of the mark.
Moments later, Max Gradel used his trickery to cut in from the left, easing past Jordon Clarke brilliantly, but his shot was just wide of the mark.
Within two minutes, Gradel tied Clarke in knots again before delivering another effort which was just wide.
Just before the half-hour, Gradel again instigated an attack that saw Becchio turn a George McCartney cross inches wide of the upright.
United continued to take the game to Coventry, Gradel and McCartney were linking up superbly, and Bradley Johnson felt he had claims for a penalty when a cross appeared to hit the hand of a visiting defender.
McCartney also made a timely clearance at the other end shortly before the break as Coventry mounted a rare raid forward.
But it was the visitors who were defending again at the end of half, first clearing a Snodgrass then blocking a Paul Connolly delivery.
United also started the second half on the front foot, and again Coventry had some early defending to do.
Coventry's rearguard was eventually broken on 55 minutes, courtesy of Somma. Gradel supplied the cross from the right, Jonny Howson knocked into back into the box, and Somma converted from close range.
Moments later, Snodgrass went close for Leeds when Keiren Westwood pulled off a great save, but Coventry did fashion a half-chance on 64 minutes when Aaron Gunnarsson went close.
Somma thought he had put the game beyond doubt on 72 minutes when he latched on to a flick-on to deliver a superb chipped finish - but he was denied a second goal by an offside flag.
Alex Bruce was next to go close when Coventry failed to clear a corner, and the central defender turned on the edge of the box with a great strike which went just wide.
Tempers flared with 10 minutes remaining when Clarke was booked for Coventry after a late challenge on Gradel.
Both Neil Kilkenny and Billy Paynter were brought on as the game headed towards its closing stages, and barring one great save from Schmeichel to deny Clive Platt, the visitors offered little in the way of trouble.
Snodgrass almost added a second goal in stoppage time, but one proved enough as United maintained the pressure on the leading pack in the Championship.
Yorkshire Evening Post 3/2/11
Grayson focusing in on loan market
By Phil Hay
Leeds United manager Simon Grayson insisted today that the signings he failed to secure in the January transfer window could yet materialise in the Football League's loan market after admitting to a "difficult" deadline day.
Grayson confirmed his intention to make improvements to his squad with the help of emergency loans after the final hours of the January window passed without significant activity at Elland Road.
United struck a deal to sign Colombian international goalkeeper David Gonzalez on a half-season loan from Manchester City but Grayson's attempts to bring outfield players to Leeds came to nothing on Monday as the transfer deadline passed at 11pm.
The club were widely expected to sign a central midfielder and defensive cover after selling centre-back Neill Collins to Sheffield United and allowing utility player Andrew Hughes to join Scunthorpe United.
The Leeds boss said the refusal of Premier League managers to release squad members on a long-term basis had hampered United's negotiations, and he defended his decision to step back from the market once it became clear that his chosen targets were beyond his reach.
Grayson, however, expects a number of those players to be made available for short-term loans when the Football League open their temporary market on Tuesday morning.
United are understood to have pursued Blackpool's Keith Southern as the January deadline approached, and the prospect of a deal with Manchester City's Michael Johnson – a player who expressed a firm interest in taking up a contract at Leeds – was diminished by a minor injury suffered by the 22-year-old last month.
Grayson will be able to sign players for a maximum of 93 days under Football League rules regarding emergency loans, but he reiterated his wish to avoid recruits who would be no more than "squad players" for the rest of the Championship season.
Grayson said: "I had many players offered to me and there are plenty who I'd be able to bring in on an emergency loan next week. It gives their clubs the option of taking them back after 28 days and I'll utilise that in a week's time or whenever I need to.
"The transfer window was difficult for us and for other teams because clubs are quite reluctant to let players out on loan until the end of the season unless they're sure that they're not going to need them.
"Sometimes the players who are on offer aren't right for you either. We weren't in the market for squad players – we were in it for top players.
"But I'd have thought that some of the players I was looking at will be available (on emergency loan).
"I've spoken to four or five managers about that, all of whom are in the Premier League. The players I'm looking at will definitely make us better as a team and I'd like to think they'll be available as and when I decide to get the business done."
Grayson completed his most significant dealings at the start of January, signing Andy O'Brien from Bolton Wanderers despite firm interest and a concrete offer from Cardiff City, another prominent Championship side.
United's boss was also able to negotiate a half-season loan for Sunderland left-back George McCartney, a deal which Leeds said was funded in part by their FA Cup third-round ties against Arsenal, but the end of the window was largely dominated by departures from Elland Road.
A bid for Collins from Sheffield United was accepted less than a year after Leeds signed him from Preston North End, the second time in quick succession that the defender has seen a transfer end in failure in a matter of months.
Grayson said Sheffield United's offer was "good for the club", and Collins' departure followed Federico Bessone's transfer on loan to Charlton Athletic.
Decisions were also taken to cancel the contracts held by defender Jason Crowe and two of the younger professionals at Leeds, goalkeeper Alan Martin and striker Tom Elliott.
Gonzalez's arrival from Eastlands broke the trend of exits and Leeds welcomed midfielder Neil Kilkenny back from the Asian Cup late on Monday afternoon. Club captain Richard Naylor was also in contention for Tuesday's draw at Hull City after recovering from knee surgery.
Grayson said: "We did a little bit of business early on in the window with Andy O'Brien and George McCartney and we've brought a keeper in from Manchester City.
"I was close to doing a couple of deals on Monday but at the last minute the clubs changed their minds.
"I could have brought in half a dozen other players quite easily they wouldn't have made us too much better. They'd only have been squad players and when I went into the market, I was going in for top-calibre players.
"Unfortunately it didn't quite happen for us but the level of player I was going at was very high. I said early on that people who come here have to be good enough to go straight into the team. We've already got good players here and it would be unfair to bring others in if they're not going to have much chance of playing.
"I'd still like to have a few more players, and you can see what we've got. But Kilkenny's back now and one or two others have recovered from injury.
"We do have a good squad but I always want to add to it because that's what made us successful in the past and that's what'll make us successful in the future."
Yorkshire Post 2/2/11
Hull City 2 Leeds United 2: Tigers are denied by United's stunning fightback
By Richard Sutcliffe at KC Stadium
AS the dust continues to settle on a transfer window when English football finally took leave of its senses courtesy of a jaw-dropping £225m outlay, a welcome semblance of normality was restored last night by a rip-roaring Yorkshire derby.
There may have been no £50m strikers on show at Hull City's KC Stadium, nor any player whose monthly wage packet touches seven figures.
But what the sell-out crowd were treated to on a cold night by the Humber was a good, old-fashioned blood-and-guts tussle between two teams who gave everything in the pursuit of victory.
Come the final whistle, honours had ended even thanks to a stunning fightback from Leeds United that saw first-half goals by Matty Fryatt and James Chester cancelled out by equally clinical strikes from Robert Snodgrass and Davide Somma.
For the Tigers, a point must have felt like scant reward for their efforts on a night when they created the better chances.
But, nevertheless, Nigel Pearson's side can seek solace in playing such a full part in a contest that in so many ways was the perfect antidote to the madness of the previous day when Andy Carroll had somehow become a £35m striker.
To the rest of the country, Hull versus Leeds may not be the most obvious of rivalries due to the two clubs being 60-odd miles apart and having spent much of the past half century residing in different divisions.
A sense of antipathy does, however, run deep between East and West, with Hull's recent two-year stint in the Premier League as Leeds floundered in the third tier going down as well at Elland Road as any success involving Leeds had done in the East Riding during the days when Hull was the biggest conurbation in Europe never to host top-flight football.
The role-reversal in recent seasons meant a first meeting between the two clubs at the KC in four years was always going to be a big draw, as proved by Hull being last night watched by their first sell-out crowd since being relegated back to the Football League.
At kick-off, there was an unmistakeable sense in the air of an era having come to an end following Tigers stalwart Ian Ashbee's departure to Preston North End the previous day – leaving only Caleb Folan, courtesy of a solitary appearance when on loan from Leeds in 2001, as the last playing link to the club's days at Boothferry Park.
This new dawn in Hull's history almost enjoyed the dream start with it taking just 30 seconds for the home side to create the game's first chance when Alex Bruce failed to cut out Fryatt's rolled pass from the right flank.
Aaron Mclean was the beneficiary but could not take advantage as the £1.3m signing from Peterborough United somehow shot wide despite being unmarked just three yards out.
The early carving open of the Leeds defence did, however, set the tone for much of what followed at breakneck speed during a hugely entertaining first half, at the end of which the visitors were just relieved to still be in the game at 2-1 down.
That United still sensed a way back at the halfway mark was down, largely, to the agility of Kasper Schmeichel.
He made three stunning saves to keep out the Tigers, the pick of which was arguably the one-handed effort that turned a dipping shot from Robert Koren over the crossbar.
Schmeichel was also on hand to keep out Anthony Gerrard's header and an attempted block by Andy O'Brien that was heading goalwards,
The Dane was, however, unable to do anything about the two stellar strikes that became City's reward for such an enterprising first half.
First, a slide-rule pass from Mclean on 33 minutes allowed Fryatt to race clear and shoot past the Leeds goalkeeper.
Then, as the visitors' defence failed once again to deal with a set-piece, Chester was able to power a header in from close range after being picked out by Andy Dawson's corner.
A two-goal lead was just reward for Hull's display at that stage but Leeds snatched a lifeline just before the break when Snodgrass marked his Scotland call-up earlier in the day with an exquisite curled free-kick beyond the despairing dive of Brad Guzan.
Parity was restored 11 minutes into the second half when Somma's shot bounced down over the line off the underside of the crossbar to set up a thrilling finale.
Leeds threatened when a searching cross from Jonny Howson was bravely cut out by Guzan at the feet of the on-rushing Luciano Becchio.
Hull's response was equally impressive with it taking a clearance off the line by Lloyd Sam to deny Fryatt a second goal of the night.
Sam then repeated the trick to keep out a goalbound header from Anthony Gerrard to ensure honours ended even with the only black spot on the night being the sight of Liam Rosenior being stretchered off in stoppage time.
