Yorkshire Evening Post 19/8/10
Grayson plays waiting game over transfers
By Phil Hay
Leeds United manager Simon Grayson is optimistic of landing his remaining targets before the transfer window shuts – but admitted a number of potential signings were "hanging fire" with 12 days to go.
United have less than two weeks to tie up permanent deals or long-term loans with players contracted to other clubs, and Grayson said progress at Elland Road had been slow since the arrival of Adam Clayton from Manchester City on August 6.
Clayton became Leeds' ninth close-season signing when he accepted a month-long loan in Yorkshire but Grayson has not concluded his recruitment despite daily discussions with agents and clubs.
United have the fall-back of the Football League's emergency loan market, which opens a week after FIFA's transfer window closes on the final day of this month, but Grayson remains hopeful of completing his 10th deal before the start of September.
The club appear intent on taking advantage of new rules requiring Premier League sides to select a fixed 25-man squad for league fixtures between the August and January transfer windows, a restriction which is creating a crowd of surplus players in England's top division.
Cardiff City exploited the situation by signing striker Craig Bellamy on a season-long loan from Manchester City on Tuesday, and other Championship sides are likely to follow suit with Premier League managers deciding which players to include in their designated squads and which to ostracise from their first-team plans.
Grayson said: "A lot of people are playing games as such, testing the water and holding out for certain things."Some of the players we're looking at might be hanging around to see if they can remain in the Premier League, and one or two others will still want to try and make it with the clubs that they're already at.
"The options we've got and the players I've targeted are just hanging fire a little bit to see where they are. It's an ongoing process.
"But I'd like to think we'll have people in before the window shuts. Premier League teams are seeing where they are with players and players might soon realise that they're not going to be involved. Things could develop after that.
"We're always in talks and there isn't a day goes by without an agent talking to me or a representative of another club offering me players. But it's not as if we've gone in for somebody in the last few weeks and they've chosen to go elsewhere. That's not the case."
While he waits for the transfer market to fully unravel, Grayson's squad is gradually improving itself from within.
Davide Somma completed an untimely suspension last weekend and Max Gradel will do likewise on Saturday when his four-match ban ends after Millwall's visit to Elland Road.
Injured forwards Billy Paynter and Robert Snodgrass might conceivably declare themselves fit next month, leaving Ben Parker and Patrick Kisnorbo as the only players in United's treatment room. Parker's projected comeback from a damaged Achilles tendon was set for October.
United's manager knew that his resources on the first day of the season were as weak as they were likely to be at any stage of the opening months – no fewer than six senior professionals missed the club's 2-1 defeat to Derby County – and the performance of his available players at Nottingham Forest on Sunday convinced him that the framework of his squad is strong enough for a Championship campaign.
Leeds' 1-1 draw at the City Ground was achieved in spite of a concerted onslaught from a Forest side who scored after nine minutes and hit a post while leading 1-0. United claimed a point through Lloyd Sam's header towards the end of the first half and left Nottingham in a healthy frame of mind, ready to prepare for a meeting with familiar rivals and a newly-promoted club who sit at the top of the Championship.
Grayson said: "The players were proud of that performance and so they should be. They showed a lot of character.
"There have probably been games like that over the last couple of years in which the team folded and went under but there was something about them on Sunday. The way we dealt with being under the cosh was good. Once we got over that hurdle we were able to push the game and take it to Forest.
"I've got a good group here and when we had the defeat against Derby, I wanted to make sure that we still had a vibrant atmosphere on the training ground. There are going to be stages of the season when results don't go for us but you have to make sure you feel the same way about yourself as you do when you win a game. It's really important."
Grayson has consistently promoted the need for strong camaraderie among his players, something Millwall have also nurtured impressively under Kenny Jackett. The clubs are similar in so far as neither possesses a plethora of sizeable egos or reputations, and Saturday's fixture at Elland Road should extend a rivalry which grew ever more competitive in League One.
United's manager took his squad to Slovakia in pre-season and also subjected them to a training session with the army's Yorkshire Regiment in early July. He saw the value of those collective events in Sunday's performance when United fought off Billy Davies' side under severe pressure.
"You always want togetherness and I've tried to instil it for as long as I've been here," Grayson said. "That's why you do team-bonding exercises and why you go away to a foreign country for pre-season – to let the players get a feel for the person who's alongside them in the team."
It makes you do things for them that otherwise you might not do and as well as having pride in the shirt, part of a successful team is having a bond amongst you. We're going to need it this year."
Yorkshire Evening Post 19/8/10
Whites unhappy with agents report
By Phil Hay
Leeds United have criticised the Football League's latest report on agents fees, claiming the governing body has overstated their payments to players' representatives during the 2009-10 season.
United disputed the claim by the Football League that more than £330,000 was earned by licensed agents directly from the Elland Road club in a year when fees in the Championship, League One and League Two showed a marked increase.
Total payments generated by transfers and contractual agreements between July 2009 and June 2010 rose by £3.9million to £12.7million, a leap described by Football League chairman Greg Clarke as "worrying" to an organisation that has fought to reduce the amount of money spent by its members on agents' fees.
In contrast to the overall picture, Leeds saw their own official expenditure fall from £376,500 during the 2008-09 campaign to £335,723 last season, but the club insisted the stated figure was a misrepresentation of their actual outlay.
Leeds said the Football League's total included sums which were potentially due to agents in the future and had not yet been paid. They also argued that money given to agents acting on the behalf of players, rather than on behalf the club, was a "taxable benefit" which could justifiably be classed as part of a player's payment package.
In a statement, chief executive Shaun Harvey said: "In our case, less than £100,000 of the £335,723 was paid to agents acting on the club's behalf.
"The report constructed by the Football League under their guidelines includes payments that are to be made in the future and payments that are being made by the club to players' agents on behalf of the player.
"This payment is a taxable benefit on the player and in many ways could be viewed as part of their overall remuneration package, rather than a club payment to an agent."
A spokesman for the Football League defended its annual report, saying: "The Football League's agents fees regulations are very clear and very specific.
"They're designed to highlight the amount of money leaving the game."
According to the League's latest figures, Leeds carried the third highest agents' bill in League One last season, behind Southampton (£401,248) and Norwich City (£381,681).
United's payments were the result of 51 transactions, including 21 permanent transfers, seven deals over new contracts, nine contract cancellations and 14 loans.
The cost of all three clubs were dwarfed by Middlesbrough's pay-out of £1,464,200, the highest in the Football League and part of an overall outlay of more than £10million among Championship clubs.
In response to the report, Clarke said: "Given the current climate, it is worrying to see such a significant amount leaking from the game."It's essential that clubs work to reduce this liability over the coming campaign."
Yorkshire Post 16/8/10
Nottingham Forest 1 Leeds United 1: Grayson's tactical switch helps United make their Forest point
By Richard Sutcliffe
'JOB done,' was how Billy Davies, as the manager of Preston, famously chose to sum up his feelings halfway through a play-off semi-final clash against Leeds.
The Scot had just seen North End claim a 1-1 first leg draw at Elland Road and considered his side to be favourites to reach the final.
Three days later, however, Davies's words came back to haunt him as Leeds triumphed 2-0 and their players left the Deepdale dressing room walls daubed in graffiti that read 'job done'. After 20 or so minutes yesterday, Davies must have been tempted to feel a similar sense of satisfaction after watching his Nottingham Forest side assume such control that a rout of newly-promoted Leeds seemed a distinct possibility.
United, employing the same 4-3-2-1 formation and personnel that Derby County had found to their liking on the opening day, simply weren't in the same class as their hosts.
Run ragged in midfield and with Luciano Becchio receiving little support as a lone frontman, Leeds offered nothing to suggest a fightback was on the cards.
But, after having seen his side opened up almost at will once too often, United manager Simon Grayson took decisive action as Sanchez Watt was pushed forward in a 4-4-2 formation. The transformation was instant.
Freed from the duties that had come with being the holding player in a three-man midfield, Neil Kilkenny began to exert more and more influence.
Bradley Johnson also became a major threat along with Lloyd Sam and the pair combined beautifully for United's 36th minute equaliser.
Not, however, that the joy of the 4,240 travelling army of fans was shared by the Forest manager.
Davies said: "After 35 minutes, the game should have been over and done with. If it had been a boxing match, it would have been stopped.
"Then, Leeds had one chance that came from our bad play. To go in at half-time level was unbelievable."
As impressive as Leeds were in the final hour or so, there must also be concern at just how insipid their display had been in the early stages.
But for a combination of Kasper Schmeichel's reflexes and poor finishing, the game could, as Davies suggested afterwards, have been over. Forest took less than two minutes to expose United's vulnerability down their left, Gunter finding sufficient space to curl a cross that Paul Anderson bundled goalwards only for Schmeichel to block with his knees.
Three minutes later, Gunter burst into the penalty area and was shaping to shoot when Federico Bessone slid in to make a crucial tackle.
At this stage, it seemed a question of when and not if Leeds would concede and the answer came on nine minutes.
Sloppy play by United allowed Chris Gunter to collect a return pass from Rob Earnshaw after taking a quick throw-in. The full-back then drilled a first-time cross that Dexter Blackstock flicked past Schmeichel from close range.
Buoyed by going ahead, Forest poured forward with even more vigour as a neat one-two with Blackstock allowed Earnshaw to race clear.
Schmeichel, clearly adopting a tactic that served his dad Peter so well in his career, duly raced from his line to spread himself in front of an on-rushing striker. Whether it was the sight of the Dane racing towards him or not, Earnshaw slightly mis-cued his shot and the ball bounced to safety off the post.
Grayson, to his credit, acted swiftly and the change of formation quickly paid dividends.
Almost straight away, Becchio was presented with an excellent chance by neat inter-play between Kilkenny and Sam only for his first touch to be heavy and Lee Camp blocked.
The Forest goalkeeper was less impressive in trying to deal with a Paul Connolly cross moments later, his punch only going as far as the edge of the penalty area where Becchio hooked the ball wide.
United equalised nine minutes before the break, a sloppy pass from Morgan being the catalyst. The powerfully built central defender had clearly not heeded the lesson of midweek when casual play by the Forest defence had allowed Bradford City a route back into a Carling Cup tie that the League Two side would eventually win.
Instead, Morgan, in attempting a risky pass to left-back Ryan Bertrand, could only kick the ball against Becchio's heel.
Jonny Howson collected possession and fed Bradley Johnson, whose inviting cross from the left wing was headed past Camp by Sam to claim a first point of the season for Leeds.
Not quite job done for Leeds, but a satisfying result nonetheless.
Grayson plays waiting game over transfers
By Phil Hay
Leeds United manager Simon Grayson is optimistic of landing his remaining targets before the transfer window shuts – but admitted a number of potential signings were "hanging fire" with 12 days to go.
United have less than two weeks to tie up permanent deals or long-term loans with players contracted to other clubs, and Grayson said progress at Elland Road had been slow since the arrival of Adam Clayton from Manchester City on August 6.
Clayton became Leeds' ninth close-season signing when he accepted a month-long loan in Yorkshire but Grayson has not concluded his recruitment despite daily discussions with agents and clubs.
United have the fall-back of the Football League's emergency loan market, which opens a week after FIFA's transfer window closes on the final day of this month, but Grayson remains hopeful of completing his 10th deal before the start of September.
The club appear intent on taking advantage of new rules requiring Premier League sides to select a fixed 25-man squad for league fixtures between the August and January transfer windows, a restriction which is creating a crowd of surplus players in England's top division.
Cardiff City exploited the situation by signing striker Craig Bellamy on a season-long loan from Manchester City on Tuesday, and other Championship sides are likely to follow suit with Premier League managers deciding which players to include in their designated squads and which to ostracise from their first-team plans.
Grayson said: "A lot of people are playing games as such, testing the water and holding out for certain things."Some of the players we're looking at might be hanging around to see if they can remain in the Premier League, and one or two others will still want to try and make it with the clubs that they're already at.
"The options we've got and the players I've targeted are just hanging fire a little bit to see where they are. It's an ongoing process.
"But I'd like to think we'll have people in before the window shuts. Premier League teams are seeing where they are with players and players might soon realise that they're not going to be involved. Things could develop after that.
"We're always in talks and there isn't a day goes by without an agent talking to me or a representative of another club offering me players. But it's not as if we've gone in for somebody in the last few weeks and they've chosen to go elsewhere. That's not the case."
While he waits for the transfer market to fully unravel, Grayson's squad is gradually improving itself from within.
Davide Somma completed an untimely suspension last weekend and Max Gradel will do likewise on Saturday when his four-match ban ends after Millwall's visit to Elland Road.
Injured forwards Billy Paynter and Robert Snodgrass might conceivably declare themselves fit next month, leaving Ben Parker and Patrick Kisnorbo as the only players in United's treatment room. Parker's projected comeback from a damaged Achilles tendon was set for October.
United's manager knew that his resources on the first day of the season were as weak as they were likely to be at any stage of the opening months – no fewer than six senior professionals missed the club's 2-1 defeat to Derby County – and the performance of his available players at Nottingham Forest on Sunday convinced him that the framework of his squad is strong enough for a Championship campaign.
Leeds' 1-1 draw at the City Ground was achieved in spite of a concerted onslaught from a Forest side who scored after nine minutes and hit a post while leading 1-0. United claimed a point through Lloyd Sam's header towards the end of the first half and left Nottingham in a healthy frame of mind, ready to prepare for a meeting with familiar rivals and a newly-promoted club who sit at the top of the Championship.
Grayson said: "The players were proud of that performance and so they should be. They showed a lot of character.
"There have probably been games like that over the last couple of years in which the team folded and went under but there was something about them on Sunday. The way we dealt with being under the cosh was good. Once we got over that hurdle we were able to push the game and take it to Forest.
"I've got a good group here and when we had the defeat against Derby, I wanted to make sure that we still had a vibrant atmosphere on the training ground. There are going to be stages of the season when results don't go for us but you have to make sure you feel the same way about yourself as you do when you win a game. It's really important."
Grayson has consistently promoted the need for strong camaraderie among his players, something Millwall have also nurtured impressively under Kenny Jackett. The clubs are similar in so far as neither possesses a plethora of sizeable egos or reputations, and Saturday's fixture at Elland Road should extend a rivalry which grew ever more competitive in League One.
United's manager took his squad to Slovakia in pre-season and also subjected them to a training session with the army's Yorkshire Regiment in early July. He saw the value of those collective events in Sunday's performance when United fought off Billy Davies' side under severe pressure.
"You always want togetherness and I've tried to instil it for as long as I've been here," Grayson said. "That's why you do team-bonding exercises and why you go away to a foreign country for pre-season – to let the players get a feel for the person who's alongside them in the team."
It makes you do things for them that otherwise you might not do and as well as having pride in the shirt, part of a successful team is having a bond amongst you. We're going to need it this year."
Yorkshire Evening Post 19/8/10
Whites unhappy with agents report
By Phil Hay
Leeds United have criticised the Football League's latest report on agents fees, claiming the governing body has overstated their payments to players' representatives during the 2009-10 season.
United disputed the claim by the Football League that more than £330,000 was earned by licensed agents directly from the Elland Road club in a year when fees in the Championship, League One and League Two showed a marked increase.
Total payments generated by transfers and contractual agreements between July 2009 and June 2010 rose by £3.9million to £12.7million, a leap described by Football League chairman Greg Clarke as "worrying" to an organisation that has fought to reduce the amount of money spent by its members on agents' fees.
In contrast to the overall picture, Leeds saw their own official expenditure fall from £376,500 during the 2008-09 campaign to £335,723 last season, but the club insisted the stated figure was a misrepresentation of their actual outlay.
Leeds said the Football League's total included sums which were potentially due to agents in the future and had not yet been paid. They also argued that money given to agents acting on the behalf of players, rather than on behalf the club, was a "taxable benefit" which could justifiably be classed as part of a player's payment package.
In a statement, chief executive Shaun Harvey said: "In our case, less than £100,000 of the £335,723 was paid to agents acting on the club's behalf.
"The report constructed by the Football League under their guidelines includes payments that are to be made in the future and payments that are being made by the club to players' agents on behalf of the player.
"This payment is a taxable benefit on the player and in many ways could be viewed as part of their overall remuneration package, rather than a club payment to an agent."
A spokesman for the Football League defended its annual report, saying: "The Football League's agents fees regulations are very clear and very specific.
"They're designed to highlight the amount of money leaving the game."
According to the League's latest figures, Leeds carried the third highest agents' bill in League One last season, behind Southampton (£401,248) and Norwich City (£381,681).
United's payments were the result of 51 transactions, including 21 permanent transfers, seven deals over new contracts, nine contract cancellations and 14 loans.
The cost of all three clubs were dwarfed by Middlesbrough's pay-out of £1,464,200, the highest in the Football League and part of an overall outlay of more than £10million among Championship clubs.
In response to the report, Clarke said: "Given the current climate, it is worrying to see such a significant amount leaking from the game."It's essential that clubs work to reduce this liability over the coming campaign."
Yorkshire Post 16/8/10
Nottingham Forest 1 Leeds United 1: Grayson's tactical switch helps United make their Forest point
By Richard Sutcliffe
'JOB done,' was how Billy Davies, as the manager of Preston, famously chose to sum up his feelings halfway through a play-off semi-final clash against Leeds.
The Scot had just seen North End claim a 1-1 first leg draw at Elland Road and considered his side to be favourites to reach the final.
Three days later, however, Davies's words came back to haunt him as Leeds triumphed 2-0 and their players left the Deepdale dressing room walls daubed in graffiti that read 'job done'. After 20 or so minutes yesterday, Davies must have been tempted to feel a similar sense of satisfaction after watching his Nottingham Forest side assume such control that a rout of newly-promoted Leeds seemed a distinct possibility.
United, employing the same 4-3-2-1 formation and personnel that Derby County had found to their liking on the opening day, simply weren't in the same class as their hosts.
Run ragged in midfield and with Luciano Becchio receiving little support as a lone frontman, Leeds offered nothing to suggest a fightback was on the cards.
But, after having seen his side opened up almost at will once too often, United manager Simon Grayson took decisive action as Sanchez Watt was pushed forward in a 4-4-2 formation. The transformation was instant.
Freed from the duties that had come with being the holding player in a three-man midfield, Neil Kilkenny began to exert more and more influence.
Bradley Johnson also became a major threat along with Lloyd Sam and the pair combined beautifully for United's 36th minute equaliser.
Not, however, that the joy of the 4,240 travelling army of fans was shared by the Forest manager.
Davies said: "After 35 minutes, the game should have been over and done with. If it had been a boxing match, it would have been stopped.
"Then, Leeds had one chance that came from our bad play. To go in at half-time level was unbelievable."
As impressive as Leeds were in the final hour or so, there must also be concern at just how insipid their display had been in the early stages.
But for a combination of Kasper Schmeichel's reflexes and poor finishing, the game could, as Davies suggested afterwards, have been over. Forest took less than two minutes to expose United's vulnerability down their left, Gunter finding sufficient space to curl a cross that Paul Anderson bundled goalwards only for Schmeichel to block with his knees.
Three minutes later, Gunter burst into the penalty area and was shaping to shoot when Federico Bessone slid in to make a crucial tackle.
At this stage, it seemed a question of when and not if Leeds would concede and the answer came on nine minutes.
Sloppy play by United allowed Chris Gunter to collect a return pass from Rob Earnshaw after taking a quick throw-in. The full-back then drilled a first-time cross that Dexter Blackstock flicked past Schmeichel from close range.
Buoyed by going ahead, Forest poured forward with even more vigour as a neat one-two with Blackstock allowed Earnshaw to race clear.
Schmeichel, clearly adopting a tactic that served his dad Peter so well in his career, duly raced from his line to spread himself in front of an on-rushing striker. Whether it was the sight of the Dane racing towards him or not, Earnshaw slightly mis-cued his shot and the ball bounced to safety off the post.
Grayson, to his credit, acted swiftly and the change of formation quickly paid dividends.
Almost straight away, Becchio was presented with an excellent chance by neat inter-play between Kilkenny and Sam only for his first touch to be heavy and Lee Camp blocked.
The Forest goalkeeper was less impressive in trying to deal with a Paul Connolly cross moments later, his punch only going as far as the edge of the penalty area where Becchio hooked the ball wide.
United equalised nine minutes before the break, a sloppy pass from Morgan being the catalyst. The powerfully built central defender had clearly not heeded the lesson of midweek when casual play by the Forest defence had allowed Bradford City a route back into a Carling Cup tie that the League Two side would eventually win.
Instead, Morgan, in attempting a risky pass to left-back Ryan Bertrand, could only kick the ball against Becchio's heel.
Jonny Howson collected possession and fed Bradley Johnson, whose inviting cross from the left wing was headed past Camp by Sam to claim a first point of the season for Leeds.
Not quite job done for Leeds, but a satisfying result nonetheless.
