Leedsunited.com 1/2/08
THE FIRST DAY
New United manager Gary McAllister immediately felt at home when he returned to Thorp Arch this week.
The Scot took his first training session on Thursday, ahead of the weekend clash with Tranmere, and says it was great to get back on familiar ground.
"I actually left the first week the club had moved up here," recalled the boss. "But I've been gobsmacked. The facilities are absolutely world class.
"I feel there's a big advantage because I feel so comfortable driving in. It's all so familiar again and it's great to be back.
"I asked the players for a freshness in training and I got a wonderful response. Training was nice and bright and sharp.
"It wasn't too tactical, it was about having fun and getting on the ball, and I think they enjoyed it.
"The experienced guys were very positive, and it was good."
The club moved quickly on deadline day to add three new faces - Lubo Michalik, Anthony Elding, and Alan Sheehan - and extended the stay of Darren Kenton until the end of the season.
Gary was delighted with the progress made and is confident in the ability of his squad.
"The club and Gwyn Williams have been tracking several players for a good length of time," he explained.
"I'm more than happy to trust that judgement - I know Gwyn well, he's very experienced.
"All the contact has been positive and we are signing players who will make a difference. There's a big job to be done here.
"As much as my contract is to the end of the season, I'm projecting forward and want to take the club forward.
"You have to set targets, and set them high, and we have a group of players who are capable."
Gary was a part of the last Leeds United team to win silverware, but the new manager firmly believes that the class of 2008 have a real chance of etching their name into the history books if they defy the odds - and the 15-point sanction - by clinching promotion.
"They've just got on with it here and got into a great position," said the new boss.
"They've fallen away in recent games, but I know they are capable of going seven or eight games...
"I've got a respect for Dennis Wise and I'm sure he has brought the players in with the right mentality. It's in their interest to get out of this division, but if we get out of this division with that deduction they could go down as one of the best.
"This club has a great history, but you have to say this would be one of the greatest achievements. Theres' nothing wrong with trying to emulate the good things of the past."
Gary also admits he is keen to see Leeds 'play' their way out of the division.
"The good thing about League One is the teams that try and play attractive football are the ones near the top," he said.
"I can't be hypocritical. I've spent all my life trying to play. The proper way is to win games, but if you can do that with style...
"The teams that buy themselves space to play earn that right. A lot of hard work goes into that."
The three new faces will all come into contention for Saturday's game against Tranmere Rovers.
Goalkeeper Casper Ankergren remains a doubt, while Neil Kilkenny and Frazer Richardson also picked up knocks during Tuesday's defeat at Southend.
"I don't envisage too many changes," added the boss. "There's a couple of signings, one of those will probably go straight into the side, but I'll be picking from the majority of players that Dennis had."
Yorkshire Post 1/2/08
McAllister wastes no time in freshening up Leeds's squad
By Richard Sutcliffe
LEEDS UNITED'S Gary McAllister continued his whirlwind week by being Yorkshire's busiest manager on the final day of the January transfer window.
The new Elland Road chief moved quickly following his appointment on Tuesday afternoon by adding Bolton Wanderers' defender Lubomir Michalik, Stockport County striker Anthony Elding and Leicester City left-back Alan Sheehan to his squad.
United also extended the stay of Darren Kenton until the end of the season after agreeing to take over his contract from Leicester City. The defender had initially signed on loan until the middle of this month.It is the arrival of Michalik, however, in a deal the Yorkshire Post understands to be worth £200,000 that will excite supporters the most with the Slovakian international having impressed when on loan at Elland Road last season.
The 24-year-old made seven appearances and finished on the losing side just once – quite a feat considering United lost 26 games en route to being relegated from the Championship.At 6ft 4in, the Bolton man was a towering influence at the back and his recall by Bolton with three games remaining to solve an injury crisis hit Dennis Wise hard with his side going on to claim just one more point.
Michalik played in Wanderers' final four games – scoring in a 2-2 draw at Chelsea – and has gone on to make 13 more appearances this season in the Premier League and UEFA Cup.
However, Gary Megson's capture of Birmingham City's Gary Cahill suddenly meant Michalik was surplus to requirements at the Reebok and able to leave.
Leeds, who initially approached Bolton late last year, have had to be patient and their approach was last night rewarded when he signed a three-and-a-half-year-deal.
With Kenton extending his stay until the end of the season, McAllister – who is yet to announce the identity of his assistant – now has plenty of options at the back with Paul Huntington and Matt Heath also competing for a starting place at home to Tranmere tomorrow.
Rui Marques – one of the club's standout performer this season – is away on African Cup of Nations Duty with Angola, but will return later this month to further bolster United's options.
Elding is an intriguing capture with the 25-year-old having been the subject of intense transfer speculation in recent weeks. Stockport had already rejected two bids from Hartlepool United and another from Gillingham when Leeds swooped yesterday morning by agreeing a fee. It was also believed Crewe Alexandra were preparing a bid in the region of £150,000 for the former Boston United striker.
Elding has been in fine form this season and has already bagged 15 goals to propel the Hatters to the fringes of the play-off places in League Two. He has scored in each of his last five League outings.The arrival of a forward who has also played for Stevenage Borough and Kettering Town will again give McAllister additional options with the United manager already having Jermaine Beckford, Tresor Kandol and Tore Andre Flo available to him with Leon Constantine expected to return from injury in March.
Sheehan also brings increased competition with Ben Parker the only recognised specialist left- back in the squad.
The 21-year-old, who had two months on loan at Mansfield Town last season, has made 24 appearances this term with his most recent outing coming in the FA Cup third round defeat at Southampton.
The quartet of signings mean United's spending in the January window has soared past £1m with Birmingham City's Neil Kilkenny, Bradley Johnson of Northampton Town, Stoke City's Peter Sweeney and Sebastian Sorsa from HJK Helsinki.
After such a hectic day of transfer activity, McAllister can now turn his attentions to tomorrow. Kilkenny is a doubt after limping out of the midweek defeat at Southend United along with Casper Ankergren who damaged his hip in last weekend's draw at Luton Town.
It is believed that the search for a new assistant manager at Elland Road will not be concluded until after the weekend despite McAllister being linked with both Eddie Gray and Gary Speed in recent days. The latter is believed to be a non-starter, however, with Sheffield United desperate to keep the veteran at Bramall Lane.
BBC 31/1/08
Elding heads Leeds deadline buys
Leeds have made a quadruple swoop in the transfer market on deadline day.
Arguably, the biggest signing for new boss Gary McAllister is striker Anthony Elding, 25, from Stockport who has joined for an undisclosed fee.
Leeds have also signed Bolton defender Lubo Michalik, 24, for an undisclosed fee and have made Leicester defender Darren Kenton's loan move permanent.
Meanwhile, Foxes defender Alan Sheehan, 21, has been brought in on loan for the rest of the season.
Michalik has joined on a three-and-a-half-year contract, while Elding has signed a two-and-a-half-year deal.
Kenton, 29, initially joined Leeds on a month's loan in January having fallen out of favour at the Walkers Stadium.
Leedsunited.com 31/1/08
LUBO'S BACK!
Slovakian international Lubo Michalik has returned to Leeds United in a permanent deal.
The central defender has signed a three-and-a-half-year deal after the the club agreed to pay Bolton Wanderers undisclosed fee.
Lubo made eight appearances for the club last season while on loan from the Reebok.
The 24-year-old returned Bolton last April and has featured regularly in the Premiership this season. He made 17 appearances for Bolton in total.
Former United manager Dennis Wise had identified the defender as one of his main January targets and new boss Gary McAllister was more than happy to persue the deal following his arrival at the club.
Lubo is Gary's second confirmed signing of the day, following fellow defender Darren Kenton, and striker Anthony Elding is expected to become the third signing this evening.
The club had an offer accepted for Anthony by Stockport this morning and the player arrived at a snow-bound Thorp Arch later in the day.
THE FIRST DAY
New United manager Gary McAllister immediately felt at home when he returned to Thorp Arch this week.
The Scot took his first training session on Thursday, ahead of the weekend clash with Tranmere, and says it was great to get back on familiar ground.
"I actually left the first week the club had moved up here," recalled the boss. "But I've been gobsmacked. The facilities are absolutely world class.
"I feel there's a big advantage because I feel so comfortable driving in. It's all so familiar again and it's great to be back.
"I asked the players for a freshness in training and I got a wonderful response. Training was nice and bright and sharp.
"It wasn't too tactical, it was about having fun and getting on the ball, and I think they enjoyed it.
"The experienced guys were very positive, and it was good."
The club moved quickly on deadline day to add three new faces - Lubo Michalik, Anthony Elding, and Alan Sheehan - and extended the stay of Darren Kenton until the end of the season.
Gary was delighted with the progress made and is confident in the ability of his squad.
"The club and Gwyn Williams have been tracking several players for a good length of time," he explained.
"I'm more than happy to trust that judgement - I know Gwyn well, he's very experienced.
"All the contact has been positive and we are signing players who will make a difference. There's a big job to be done here.
"As much as my contract is to the end of the season, I'm projecting forward and want to take the club forward.
"You have to set targets, and set them high, and we have a group of players who are capable."
Gary was a part of the last Leeds United team to win silverware, but the new manager firmly believes that the class of 2008 have a real chance of etching their name into the history books if they defy the odds - and the 15-point sanction - by clinching promotion.
"They've just got on with it here and got into a great position," said the new boss.
"They've fallen away in recent games, but I know they are capable of going seven or eight games...
"I've got a respect for Dennis Wise and I'm sure he has brought the players in with the right mentality. It's in their interest to get out of this division, but if we get out of this division with that deduction they could go down as one of the best.
"This club has a great history, but you have to say this would be one of the greatest achievements. Theres' nothing wrong with trying to emulate the good things of the past."
Gary also admits he is keen to see Leeds 'play' their way out of the division.
"The good thing about League One is the teams that try and play attractive football are the ones near the top," he said.
"I can't be hypocritical. I've spent all my life trying to play. The proper way is to win games, but if you can do that with style...
"The teams that buy themselves space to play earn that right. A lot of hard work goes into that."
The three new faces will all come into contention for Saturday's game against Tranmere Rovers.
Goalkeeper Casper Ankergren remains a doubt, while Neil Kilkenny and Frazer Richardson also picked up knocks during Tuesday's defeat at Southend.
"I don't envisage too many changes," added the boss. "There's a couple of signings, one of those will probably go straight into the side, but I'll be picking from the majority of players that Dennis had."
Yorkshire Post 1/2/08
McAllister wastes no time in freshening up Leeds's squad
By Richard Sutcliffe
LEEDS UNITED'S Gary McAllister continued his whirlwind week by being Yorkshire's busiest manager on the final day of the January transfer window.
The new Elland Road chief moved quickly following his appointment on Tuesday afternoon by adding Bolton Wanderers' defender Lubomir Michalik, Stockport County striker Anthony Elding and Leicester City left-back Alan Sheehan to his squad.
United also extended the stay of Darren Kenton until the end of the season after agreeing to take over his contract from Leicester City. The defender had initially signed on loan until the middle of this month.It is the arrival of Michalik, however, in a deal the Yorkshire Post understands to be worth £200,000 that will excite supporters the most with the Slovakian international having impressed when on loan at Elland Road last season.
The 24-year-old made seven appearances and finished on the losing side just once – quite a feat considering United lost 26 games en route to being relegated from the Championship.At 6ft 4in, the Bolton man was a towering influence at the back and his recall by Bolton with three games remaining to solve an injury crisis hit Dennis Wise hard with his side going on to claim just one more point.
Michalik played in Wanderers' final four games – scoring in a 2-2 draw at Chelsea – and has gone on to make 13 more appearances this season in the Premier League and UEFA Cup.
However, Gary Megson's capture of Birmingham City's Gary Cahill suddenly meant Michalik was surplus to requirements at the Reebok and able to leave.
Leeds, who initially approached Bolton late last year, have had to be patient and their approach was last night rewarded when he signed a three-and-a-half-year-deal.
With Kenton extending his stay until the end of the season, McAllister – who is yet to announce the identity of his assistant – now has plenty of options at the back with Paul Huntington and Matt Heath also competing for a starting place at home to Tranmere tomorrow.
Rui Marques – one of the club's standout performer this season – is away on African Cup of Nations Duty with Angola, but will return later this month to further bolster United's options.
Elding is an intriguing capture with the 25-year-old having been the subject of intense transfer speculation in recent weeks. Stockport had already rejected two bids from Hartlepool United and another from Gillingham when Leeds swooped yesterday morning by agreeing a fee. It was also believed Crewe Alexandra were preparing a bid in the region of £150,000 for the former Boston United striker.
Elding has been in fine form this season and has already bagged 15 goals to propel the Hatters to the fringes of the play-off places in League Two. He has scored in each of his last five League outings.The arrival of a forward who has also played for Stevenage Borough and Kettering Town will again give McAllister additional options with the United manager already having Jermaine Beckford, Tresor Kandol and Tore Andre Flo available to him with Leon Constantine expected to return from injury in March.
Sheehan also brings increased competition with Ben Parker the only recognised specialist left- back in the squad.
The 21-year-old, who had two months on loan at Mansfield Town last season, has made 24 appearances this term with his most recent outing coming in the FA Cup third round defeat at Southampton.
The quartet of signings mean United's spending in the January window has soared past £1m with Birmingham City's Neil Kilkenny, Bradley Johnson of Northampton Town, Stoke City's Peter Sweeney and Sebastian Sorsa from HJK Helsinki.
After such a hectic day of transfer activity, McAllister can now turn his attentions to tomorrow. Kilkenny is a doubt after limping out of the midweek defeat at Southend United along with Casper Ankergren who damaged his hip in last weekend's draw at Luton Town.
It is believed that the search for a new assistant manager at Elland Road will not be concluded until after the weekend despite McAllister being linked with both Eddie Gray and Gary Speed in recent days. The latter is believed to be a non-starter, however, with Sheffield United desperate to keep the veteran at Bramall Lane.
BBC 31/1/08
Elding heads Leeds deadline buys
Leeds have made a quadruple swoop in the transfer market on deadline day.
Arguably, the biggest signing for new boss Gary McAllister is striker Anthony Elding, 25, from Stockport who has joined for an undisclosed fee.
Leeds have also signed Bolton defender Lubo Michalik, 24, for an undisclosed fee and have made Leicester defender Darren Kenton's loan move permanent.
Meanwhile, Foxes defender Alan Sheehan, 21, has been brought in on loan for the rest of the season.
Michalik has joined on a three-and-a-half-year contract, while Elding has signed a two-and-a-half-year deal.
Kenton, 29, initially joined Leeds on a month's loan in January having fallen out of favour at the Walkers Stadium.
Leedsunited.com 31/1/08
LUBO'S BACK!
Slovakian international Lubo Michalik has returned to Leeds United in a permanent deal.
The central defender has signed a three-and-a-half-year deal after the the club agreed to pay Bolton Wanderers undisclosed fee.
Lubo made eight appearances for the club last season while on loan from the Reebok.
The 24-year-old returned Bolton last April and has featured regularly in the Premiership this season. He made 17 appearances for Bolton in total.
Former United manager Dennis Wise had identified the defender as one of his main January targets and new boss Gary McAllister was more than happy to persue the deal following his arrival at the club.
Lubo is Gary's second confirmed signing of the day, following fellow defender Darren Kenton, and striker Anthony Elding is expected to become the third signing this evening.
The club had an offer accepted for Anthony by Stockport this morning and the player arrived at a snow-bound Thorp Arch later in the day.