Yorkshire Evening Post 29/10/08 Whites suffer travel sickness Southend United 1 Leeds United 0 Leeds United's players are not prone to passing the buck, but as their captain confessed last night, the club's current predicament is one he is at a loss to explain. No sooner did Leeds uncover a remedy for what was a definite weakness in results at home than their squad have been struck by a bout of travel sickness which is far from terminal but which has become acute. United's league defeat in Southend last night was their third of the season away from home and the players who were present at Elland Road before this summer do not need telling that the figure is two short of the total sustained by Leeds in League One matches over the entire 2007-08 term. Several impressive statistics were created during United's fight against their 15-point deduction, but special though last season was, Gary McAllister's intention would have been to match as closely as possible the...
Posts
Leedsunited.com 28/10/08 SUNK AT SOUTHEND 29 Oct 2008 Leeds slip to another away defeat... SOUTHEND UNITED 1 (Harding 18) LEEDS UNITED 0 Southend : Federici, Francis, Clarke, Barrett, Revell (McCormack 83), Robson-Kanu, Christophe, Betsy, Harding, Laurent (Scannell 75), Sawyer (Grant 80). Subs not used: Walker, Sankofa United : Ankergren, Richardson, Michalik, Telfer, Parker, Kilkenny (Robinson 66), Douglas, Delph (Snodgrass 66), Howson, Beckford, Becchio. Subs not used: Lucas, Prutton, White Referee : P. Miller Att : 10,132 (1,988 Leeds) United fielded an unchanged side after Saturday's 3-0 win against Walsall in the hope of making it three wins in a row, with Luciano Becchio looking to find the net for the 5th game in succession. Dougie Freedman failed to recover in time to take his place in the Southend side against his former teammates and Lee Barnard also missed out which was a further blow to the home side. Former Leeds player Dan Harding too...
Yorkshire Post 28/10/08 Hull City star in Leeds United link By Richard Sutcliffe DEAN WINDASS will consider joining Leeds United if his first team prospects at Hull City do not improve. The 39-year-old striker, who was last week the subject of an enquiry from Bradford City, has been a frustrated spectator during City's storming start to life in the top flight. His action on the pitch in the Premier League has been restricted to just 31 minutes as a substitute against Wigan in August and on Monday he was part of a City fringe team that took on Leeds in a behind-closed-doors friendly at Thorp Arch. Windass has revealed he spoke to Gary McAllister both before and after the game and while it is in unclear what was discussed, Windass has confessed a move to Leeds would be attractive. He said: "I am still desperate to play and I turned out in a friendly on Monday and scored a goal. One of those watching was Leeds manager Gary McAllister who I spoke to both before and afte...
BBC 28/10/08 Seagulls sign Johnson from Leeds Brighton & Hove Albion have signed Leeds United midfielder Bradley Johnson on loan until 3 January 2009. The 21-year-old is eligible to make his debut against Leicester on Tuesday. Johnson joined Leeds in January from Northampton and featured in their play-off final defeat to Doncaster in May but has played just once this season. Manager Micky Adams said: "We're delighted Bradley's agreed to join us and I am sure his arrival will improve the squad."
Yorkshire Post 25/10/08 Leeds United 3 Walsall 0: Fabian Delph double lights up Elland Road GARY McAllister is under no pressure to sell Fabian Delph and for that Leeds United and their supporters should be hugely grateful. How fortunate that Delph's confirmation as one of the game's brightest young midfield prospects should come during a season when the club's finances are much healthier than they were in those dark days when the club was teetering on the brink of extinction. A procession of big names, including Academy products like Alan Smith, Harry Kewell and Jonathan Woodgate, left to help chip away at those massive debts and the club went into freefall. Now, it seems, the only way is up as McAllister's mixture of old heads and young, vibrant starlets strut their stuff on the Elland Road stage in second place, just three points off the lead. McAllister rightly refers to Delph as 'Fab' – a nickname that becomes more appropriate with every game the Br...
Leedsunited.com 25/10/08 A FAB RESULT Delph at the double in win against Walsall... LEEDS UNITED 3 (Becchio 46, Delph 65, 87), WALSALL 0 United: Ankergren, Richardson, Michalik, Telfer, Parker, Kilkenny (Robinson 61), Douglas, Delph, Howson, Becchio (Snodgrass 82), Beckford. Subs: Prutton, Showunmi, White. Walsall : Ince, Boertien, Roberts, Gerrard, Palmer, Nicholls (Zaaboub 73), Mattis, Taundry, Deeney (Reich 73), Ibhere, Ricketts. Subs: Bradley, Hughes, Gilmartin. Referee : G Hegley Att : 22,422 United boss Gary McAllister made one enforced change to his starting line-up with Casper Ankergren returning in place of the injured Dave Lucas . After beating Leyton Orient in midweek, United started brightly against Walsall, and Jermaine Beckford lifted a shot over the top inside the opening five minutes. Jonny Howson also tried his luck after 10 minutes with a shot which skidded just wide of the upright. When United threatened again, a Jonthan Douglas shot...
Yorkshire Evening Post 21/10/08 Whites victory quells doubters Leeds United 2 Leyton Orient 1 Jermaine Beckford missed a penalty and a clean sheet was conspicuous by its absence but the scoreline at Elland Road last night was also the bottom line. The complete story of Leeds United's victory over Leyton Orient was identical to the story of their season – not without flaws but satisfactory nonetheless – and it dulled the worried rumblings caused by their defeat at Millwall over the weekend. On a soaking night in West Yorkshire against a club with genuine problems, Gary McAllister and his players could not have asked for more. United's staff were well aware that searching questions were being asked of their squad after Saturday's game in London. Most concerned a defence which was breached again last night, an important issue that McAllister would prefer to resolve as soon as possible, but others seemed to imply that losses to Millwall and Peterborough United in the past month...
Leedsunited.com 18/10/08 BEATEN BY LIONS United slip to defeat at hands of Millwall... MILLWALL 3 (Martin 37, Harris 59, Harris 88), LEEDS 1 (Becchio 31) Millwall : Forde, Craig, Robinson, Whitbread, Frampton, Abdou, Grabban (Dunne 90), Martin, Laird, Harris, Alexander. Subs: Edwards, Grimes, Moore, Noel-Williams. United : Lucas, Richardson, Michalik, Marques, White, Kilkenny (Snodgrass 65), Douglas, Delph, Hughes (Showunmi 65), Becchio, Beckford. Subs: Ankergren, Prutton, Howson. Referee : A Marriner Booked : Alexander, Harris (Millwall), Kilkenny, Becchio (United). Att : 13,041 (2,000 Leeds) United boss Gary McAllister named an unchanged team for the third versus fourth clash at the Den while Millwall were without striker Tresor Kandol due to the terms of his loan deal from Leeds. The hosts were backed by a typically partisan crowd, but the sell-out away following made plenty of noise during a tentative opening from both sides. Two late challenges from...
Leedsunited.com 16/10/08 WESTY RETURNS Midfielder returns from Cheltenham Town... Ian Westlake has returned to Leeds United after the club were unable to agree terms with Cheltenham Town to extend his stay at Whaddon Road. The midfielder spent four days training with Cheltenham and featured in Tuesday's reserve game against Swindon Town when he impressed manager Martin Allen. But the two clubs were unable to agree a deal for the player to make a loan move and he will now return to Leeds. Cheltenham boss Allen said: "Ian has done a terrific job in training and I'm grateful to Leeds United for allowing him to come here. "He has shown a good attitude for the game. He's not at all big time and he is a very good player."
Leedsunited.com 13/10/08 WESTY GOES WEST United midfielder set to feature for Cheltenham Town... United midfielder Ian Westlake has joined Cheltenham Town on a short-term trial basis. The former Ipswich man is set to feature in Cheltenham's reserve side this week, and it could pave the way for him join the Whaddon Road club in a loan deal. Westy hasn't figured in Gary McAllister's plans since his arrival as manager in January. His last outing in a Leeds shirt was in the 1-0 defeat at Southend in January when Gwyn Williams was in temporary charge of the team. The 25-year-old spent the remaining weeks of last season on loan at Brighton and failed to figure in the senior squad at Elland Road during pre-season. Gary Mac said: "I had a chat with Westy at the start of the season, and explained that I felt there were other players ahead of him. "I'm pleased for him that he's got a chance now where, hopefully, he can play regular football."
Yorkshire Evening Post 12/10/08 We're the envy of football – Bates By Phil Hay Leeds United's reward for buying back their Thorp Arch training ground will be the continued production of young talent which is already the envy of most English clubs, according to chairman Ken Bates. United are preparing to unveil a scheme which will give their supporters the opportunity to raise the money needed to repurchase their training complex near Wetherby, which was sold to private property developers in 2004 and is rented by Leeds at an annual cost of almost £500,000. The Elland Road club have a 25-year lease on the facility, running until 2029, but a buy-back clause agreed when Thorp Arch was sold amid a backdrop of rising debts will expire next October, leaving Leeds with 12 months to secure the £6m required to regain ownership of the property. The state-of-the-art complex has long been a crucial factor in United's attempts to secure major signings, but Thorp Arch also houses...
Yorkshire Evening Post 11/10/08 Whites answer critics in style Defeat is an expensive habit, and the question before kick-off at Elland Road yesterday was whether Leeds United had stumbled unwittingly into a losing trend. Two minutes at the end of the first half against Brighton was all it took to settle that debate and return perspective to United's season. Luciano Becchio whipped home a volley 60 seconds before Jermaine Beckford's flying header flew into the net with the help of the crossbar, crushing a bewildered Brighton team. After that flash of activity, Gary McAllister breathed easily again. United's manager was never likely to allow panic to set in after a tight league defeat to Peterborough and a debacle of a performance in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy at Rotherham United, but the tepid performances which took Leeds into yesterday's game were not at all to his liking. McAllister would have been required to looked back to March 2007 to find the last ti...