Mighty Leeds Weblog

Ricketts' Spark: United 2 Oldham 0 leedsunited.com Pre-Match United boss Kevin Blackwell promised he would be making changes for this Carling Cup game and he delivered on that promise, with two players on for their debuts and eight changes to the side that beat Wolves in all. Rui Marques came in for his first start, not at centre-half as had been expected, but replacing Gary Kelly at right back. The Portuguese defender had played only 90 minutes for the reserves previously. The other full home debut was given to Jonathon Douglas, the midfielder signed on loan from Blackburn for the season. He came on to good effect against Wolves at the weekend and was rewarded with his first start. There was a change in goal too where Neil Sullivan came in for Ian Bennett, whilst other changes at the back included Matthew Kilgallon in for the rested Paul Butler and Stephen Crainey played made his first start of the season at left-back. Asides from Douglas in midfield, there was one further change...

Warnock loses out on striker Yorkshire Post Cresswell chooses Leeds over Blades to spark renewed banter between cohorts Exclusive THE WAR of words between former comrades, Kevin Blackwell and Neil Warnock, intensified last night after Richard Cresswell agreed to join Leeds United ahead of Sheffield United. The 27-year-old striker has agreed a four-year deal at Elland Road, subject to passing a medical at Thorp Arch today, after the fierce Yorkshire rivals both had £1m-plus bids accepted by Preston North End. Warnock, who did receive some good news yesterday with Portsmouth's David Unsworth agreeing a three-year-deal at Bramall Lane, had been hoping to sign Cresswell as a replacement for Andy Gray, last season's top scorer recently having joined Sunderland for £1m. However, the Blades manager had clearly become resigned to missing out on his preferred target over the weekend, suggesting after Saturday's 2-1 victory over Preston that the Bridlington-born striker was intent on...

United Agree Terms With Cresswell leedsunited.com Leeds United have agreed personal terms with striker Richard Cresswell on a four year contract. The deal will be complete once the 27-year-old passes a medical at Thorp Arch, with Leeds having agreed to pay Preston North End £1.15m for his services. United Chairman Ken Bates spoke of the deal, saying:"We don't talk about what we're going to do, we just go out and do it. "This signing shows our commitment to the future of this club." Manager Kevin Blackwell likened Cresswell to another striker already at the club, Rob Hulse, and argued that the pair will ensure Leeds carry a physical presence upfront. "We have needed another striker in," said Blackwell. "Rob Hulse makes a difference by taking a lot of the weight off David Healy and Robbie Blake. To get a lad of Richard's quality in the club is just superb. "When Rob missed some games this season we have definitely missed a physical presence ...

Healy Key To Plans leedsunited.com United boss Kevin Blackwell insists David Healy remains very much part of his future plans at Elland Road. The Northern Ireland international was left out of the last two games with Blackwell opting to change things around tactically, and his absence prompted rumour and speculation that the striker was on his way out of the club. Claims of a bid from Championship rivals Sheffield United fuelled the speculation further, but Blackwell says any attempt to take him away would be turned down. At the same time he defended his decision to leave Healy on the bench. He said: "There is nothing to clarify about David Healy, I have had no bid for him and he's not going anywhere. "I made a decision to leave him out on the strength of him playing international football last week, we talked about it and it was my decision to do that. In both games I have been proven right." "This club is not about any individual player or person, it's ab...

Leeds 2 Wolves 0: Leeds finish Hoddle’s run Sunday Times Michael Harold at Elland Road THE Christmas turkey had barely been digested the last time Glenn Hoddle tasted a league defeat as Wolves manager. For the sake of his side’s promotion ambitions, he’ll hope this performance can be banished from their systems sooner rather than later. Records, as Leeds manager Kevin Blackwell had said before the game, are there to be broken, even when they arrive as impressively assembled as Wolves’ at Elland Road. The visitors’ last league loss was on January 4 — opening their finest unbeaten run for more than eight decades — but in finally kick-starting their Championship campaign yesterday Leeds always suggested they were up for puncturing Wolves’ inflated confidence. A goal in each half from Eddie Lewis and Rob Hulse delivered the Yorkshiremen’s most assured performance of the season so far, but Blackwell knows such an important scalp will only mean something if they avoid the kind of needless d...

Leeds 2 Wolves 0 leedsunited.com Leeds enjoyed a great morale boosting win over Championship rivals Wolves, with Rob Hulse finding the net on his return from injury and Eddie Lewis scoring his first goal for the club. Pre-Match United boss Kevin Blackwell made several changes to the side that drew 0-0 with Luton at Kenilworth Road last week. Frazer Richardson, fresh from signing a new contract that keeps him at the club until 2009, was rewarded with a place on the right wing in place of Jermaine Wright, whilst upfront the big surprise was the return of Rob Hulse. The striker replaced Michael Ricketts in what was his first game since recovering from an ankle ligament injury picked up in pre-season. Eirik Bakke's controversial decision to play for Norway in midweek backfired on him as he picked up an injury that saw him ruled out. His place in the centre of midfield was taken by Gylfi Einarsson. New season long loan signing Jonathon Douglas signed in time to be given a place on the ...

Blackwell Gets Douglas And Targets One Other leedsunited.com Leeds United have signed promising young Irish international midfielder Jonathan Douglas on a year long loan deal, whilst Kevin Blackwell is also targeting a permanent "significant signing." Blackwell would not divulge more details of the mystery signing, but it is understood to be a player with significant experience and who Blackwell insists will add quality to a squad which has already seen heavy investment in it over the past six months. The player would be signing a permanently contract at Elland Road if the deal goes through. Twice capped by the Republic of Ireland, former youth trainee Douglas made his debut for Blackburn in the League Cup against West Ham United in 2000. He has also spent time on loan with Chesterfield, Blackburn and last season was with Gillingham for two months. The 23-year-old will be included in the squad for tomorrow's Championship game against Wolves at Elland Road. Blackwell said:...

'Deano for England' - new pages uploaded at mightyleeds.co.uk I've just uploaded my review of the amazing Leeds-QPR game in November 2004. 'I see the donkey's playing up front again...' - a veteran enjoys an amazing swansong during his return to Elland Road and sparks cries of 'Deano for England' You can find it at http://www.mightyleeds.co.uk/matches/20041120.htm

Luton 0 Leeds 0 Leedsunited.com United came away from Kenilworth Road with a valuable point after holding a Luton side that had won their opening two games of the season. The match was far from being a classic, but Kevin Blackwell will have been delighted with the result all the same. Luton had not lost in nine game and after wins against Crystal Palace and Southampton, were definitely a dangerous proposition. As usual there were a few good chances for Leeds to take all three points, but yet again these were passed up. Pre-Match United boss Kevin Blackwell decided to make two changes for the trip to his hometown, one of them expected, the other a major surprise. In goal Neil Sullivan's fitness concerns saw him make way for Ian Bennett to make his first league start for the club, whilst upfront Blackwell decided to go for power and physical presence by playing Michael Ricketts at the expense of David Healy, whose double helped United to their opening win over Millwall a week ago. S...

Times 10/8/05 Purse ensures Leeds remain haunted by Ridsdale factor By Russell Kempson Cardiff City 2 Leeds United 1 IT IS a long way back to the Premiership and Leeds United were handed another reminder of how tortuous the trip may be when they were beaten by Cardiff City at Ninian Park last night. Slumming it in the Coca-Cola Championship is no fun for the top-flight leaders of only 3½ years ago and the throwing-away of a 1-0 half-time lead against a resilient Cardiff side did little for their self-respect, either. Still hamstrung by the debts accrued during the boom-and-almost-bust era of Peter Ridsdale, their former chairman, Leeds made little headway in their efforts to return to the Premiership at the first attempt last season. Although at one stage flirting with the play-offs, a closing run of one win in ten matches meant that they had to settle for fourteenth place. Leeds opened their 2005-06 account with a 2-1 home win against Millwall on Sunday, but it took an age for them to...

Healy double seals Leeds win by Alex Dunn - created on 7 Aug 2005 - Sky Sports Two sides with contrasting sum mers met at Elland Road and predictably, it was Leeds who came out on top as they beat troubled Millwall 2-1 at Elland Road. Whilst Ken Bates has dug deep to assemble a side that looks capable of delivering a play-off berth, Millwall have dispensed with two managers and several of their top players since the close of last season. In a game that will not live long in the memory, Leeds woke the home crowd on 27 minutes when David Healy swiveled to expose lacklustre Millwall defending but his effort was cancelled out in the second half as debutant Don Hutchison found a leveller on the hour mark. The first period was a largely sterile affair as both sides squandered possession all too readily - although on occasions Leeds did show sporadic moments of quality. American wide man Eddie Lewis could have marked his Leeds bow with a goal but screwed his shot wide before Healy's stoop...

Blackwell Sets The Target leedsunited.com Kevin Blackwell has confidently spelled out his target for this season - a top six finish. After a summer of heavy investment in the team Leeds are expected to do well this season and are tipped to challenge for the promotion places, and the Leeds boss believes it is an attainable target. It all starts against Millwall at Elland Road tomorrow (12.15pm KO) and Blackwell cannot wait. "I am excited with the players I have here now and I know time will prove me right when I say that this team will get better and better," he said. "It's not an arrogant confidence because we know as a club that arrogance comes before a fall and we have had a big fall. I am confident with the players I have got here. "Young Dan Harding has a big future ahead of him, there's Rob Hulse at 25, David Healy the same age, Gylfi only 24, Matthew Spring and Kilgallon are only young too and there is a lot of good youth there with some experienced pl...

Carlisle joins Watford from Leeds bbc.co.uk Watford have beaten off competition from Stoke to sign central defender Clarke Carlisle from Leeds. Leeds accepted £100,000 from both clubs, but the Hornets clinched a three-year deal for the 25-year-old. Watford manager Adrian Boothroyd told the club website: "He is exactly the type of defender I wanted." Carlisle joined Leeds on a free transfer from QPR last season and made 38 appearances before returning south after one season.

'Wealthy' Johnson exits United Richard Sutcliffe A LEADING symbol of the largesse that almost brought down Leeds United left Elland Road yesterday when Seth Johnson's contract was cancelled by mutual consent. The 26-year-old joined United from Derby County in 2001 for an initial £7m and was handed an extraordinarily generous five-year contract reputed to be around £38,000 per week. Johnson, who is believed to be keen on finding a new club in the north, has played just 59 games for Leeds and one more appearance would have triggered a £250,000 payment to the Rams under the terms of his transfer to Elland Road. Chairman Ken Bates last night told the Yorkshire Post: "There are a few people Kevin Blackwell inherited that are slowly being moved out and one of those is Seth Johnson, who we have paid off. "He had a good pre-season but went to Norway, played 45 minutes and then his knee swelled up. With the transfer window coming in this season, we could not take the risk ...

United ship is back on course With the big kick-off just four days away for Leeds United, YEP soccer writer PAUL DEWS talks exclusively to chairman Ken Bates about the progress made at Elland Road and his hopes for the future IF the Leeds United squad is in such sparkling form as chairman Ken Bates, they'll have the Coca-Cola Championship wrapped up by Christmas! Bates, a tax exile in Monaco, is itching for the big kick-off and from initial scepticism when he took over the club six months ago, he appears to be winning over the Leeds United faithful. "I think the initial suspicions of having a cockney down at Elland Road have passed now and people are coming around," says Bates."I tell people there is only a cockney at Elland Road because no-one from here was prepared to put their money in. One guy asked how much I was taking out of the club. I said 'not a penny, there's none there because all the other buggers have taken it!'." That's Bates all ...