Leeds stung by Riordan price tag - BBC 3/6/08
Leeds United are unwilling to pay Celtic's £1m asking price for once-capped Scotland striker Derek Riordan, BBC Radio Leeds understands.
United previously tried to bring the 25-year-old former Hibernian star to Elland Road on loan in January.
Riordan scored over 60 goals in three seasons at Easter Road but has made only 13 starts since switching to Glasgow giants Celtic two years ago.
Championship outfit Burnley are also believed to be after the forward.
Yorkshire Evening Post 3/6/08
Leeds United chase £1m man
By Phil Hay
Leeds United will face an asking price of £1m if Gary McAllister moves for Celtic striker Derek Riordan.
The 25-year-old forward is being strongly linked with a transfer to Elland Road, but Celtic are expected to hold out for a seven-figure sum from interested clubs this summer.
Leeds, who expressed an interest in Riordan during the January transfer window, have an eye on the Scotland international again and he has repeatedly stated his desire to end an unproductive spell at Celtic Park.
Riordan was signed from Hibernian by Gordon Strachan in June 2006 but has made a total of eight league starts in two seasons, his most recent coming in December of last year.
Speaking in April, Riordan said: "I've virtually chucked it at Celtic. What's the point when I'm not getting a chance?
"I've been here two years and it's not happened yet so I don't see it happening now. I like it here and would love to prove myself but the nasty thing is not playing."
As many as five clubs attempted to sign Riordan on loan in January, Burnley failed in their attempt to strike a permanent deal with a bid of around £400,000, and potential buyers will be asked to offer in the region of £1million to secure his release before the start of next term.
It is understood that Riordan would be willing to seriously consider a move to Elland Road, regardless of the club's failure to regain their place in the Championship. The forward has 12 months remaining on the three-year contract he agreed with Celtic in 2006.
His eight league starts in Glasgow have yielded five goals, but Riordan's prowess was more vividly display in Edinburgh, where he turned professional with Hibs and scored 54 goals in 123 SPL appearances.
He produced 23 goals during the 2004-05 season and 20 over the course of the following campaign, earning himself a transfer to one half of the Old Firm.
McAllister has already revealed an ambitious approach to the transfer market by persuading Andy Robinson to leave promoted Swansea City and take up a three-year contract at Elland Road.
Robinson's arrival will be finalised on July 1 when his existing deal at the Liberty Stadium ends.
McAllister, meanwhile, has stressed the importance of a convincing start to the new League One season on the back of the club's defeat in the play-off final last month.
United won their first seven leagues matches during the 2007-08 term and were unbeaten in 13 before their defeat at Carlisle United on November 3, and McAllister hopes to see his club set the pace next term.
The Leeds boss, who will discover United's fixture list for next season on June 16, said: "We've got to have a good start. We're all keen to make the same sort of start.
"We'll be looking to play attacking football and score goals, but at the same time we have to be disciplined and play at a tempo our opponents will find difficult.
"Most of all, though, we have to hit the ground running."
Yorkshire Evening Post 1/6/08
LEEDS UNITED: I'll help to bring back the good times, says Bates
By Phil Hay
Ken Bates is hoping for a title-winning campaign from Leeds United next season after claiming a defeat in the League One play-off final will not hold the club back in the long term.
United's chairman is planning for a second season in England's third division following last Sunday's 1-0 loss to Doncaster Rovers at Wembley, but the 76-year-old expects to be preparing for the Championship in 12 months' time on the back of the club's most productive season during his reign as chairman.
Leeds collected 91 points over the course of the 2007-08 campaign, the division's second-highest total, and their strategy for the new term will be drawn up without the complication of the 15-point handicap imposed on United by the Football League last summer.
Bates saw Chelsea suffer relegation from the Division One in 1988 and predicted then that the Stamford Bridge club would win promotion immediately.
Chelsea duly claimed the second division title in 1989, winning the league by a margin of 17 points, and Bates is confident that United will recover from their loss at Wembley with enough speed to impose themselves quickly on League One next term.
"The important reaction to any defeat is to look forward, and this is now the start of a new season," said Bates.
"I felt sorry for the players at Wembley but they've done this club proud in very difficult circumstances, and if we can't have promotion this year then we'll have it next year instead.
"I made similar comments to a group of players at a club down south in 1988, and the following year we won the league by a huge margin. I think the players here have shown that they're capable of doing the same, and other people will be added to the squad over the summer. The future is bright.
"We're on course to make a small profit this year which is always satisfying for a chairman and his board, but we're in a better position in every area of the club than we were 12 months ago. The one thing we need to do is to get back into the Championship.
"We've got a great manager in charge (Gary McAllister) and we've got players who want to be here.
"The fact that we're in League One means we have to operate on a different budget than we might have done, but we prepared for both possibilities before the play-off final. We'll help Gary to get the players he wants."
Leeds have already lined up the signing of Andy Robinson on a free transfer from Swansea City, and the close-season will give McAllister the chance to remould a squad which was largely constructed by his predecessor, Dennis Wise.
The departures began this week with club captain Alan Thompson announcing his retirement from professional football and Darren Kenton moving on at the end of his contract, but Leeds are preparing to offer a new deal to young midfielder Jonathan Howson after his exploits during the 2007-08 term.
Bates said: "We're planning to give Jonny Howson a new contract, and if it hadn't been for the play-offs it's something we would have looked at already.
"Every year we try to do things that will benefit the club in the future, and we'll spend about £750,000 on ground improvements at Elland Road this summer. I know the fans don't care about that, but it's an important process and it adds to the enjoyment of the supporters who go to games.
"Thorp Arch could also do with a bit of maintenance, and we want to keep the academy up to the standard that people expect. These things matter.
"As far as signing players goes, the play-offs have obviously put us back by three weeks and there's a lot of hard work to be done between now and the start of next season.
"But I think that a lot of players will want to come here if they get the chance."
Bates took a final opportunity to swipe at the points deduction handed to Leeds by the Football League last summer, claiming a top-two finish next season would see Leeds become "the first club ever to win promotion twice but to go up only once."
Last weekend's defeat to Doncaster brought a sad end to a campaign which saw United win 27 League One matches and lose on only nine occasions throughout the regular term.
Leeds secured McAllister's services by handing him to a 12-month rolling deal last month, and both his assistant Steve Staunton and first-team coach Neil McDonald will also stay on for the start of the 2008-09 season.
Bates, who dismissed talk this week of a takeover bid from Canadian sports firm Maple Leafs Sport and Entertainment, said: "Everything is in place, and once pre-season starts I'm sure the players will feel as hungry as they did before Sunday's game.
"You get what you deserve in football, and on the performance at Wembley we didn't deserve to win.
"But over the whole season we were good enough to get promoted, and without the 15-point penalty we would have been.
"That won't affect us next season and we'll see what happens then."
