Yorkshire Post 27/4/11
Ken Bates and Leeds United shift focus onto next year
By Richard Sutcliffe
KEN BATES has revealed Leeds United’s plans for next season are already gathering pace due to the club’s involvement in the Championship play-offs now seeming “unlikely”.
A haul of just six points from the last eight games has seen United go from chasing automatic promotion to being three points adrift of the top six.Sitting ninth in the table, Simon Grayson’s side need to win their final two matches – at home to Burnley on Saturday and at leaders QPR a week later – to have any hope of reclaiming a play-off place come May 7.
Leeds, who were sitting pretty in second place at Christmas, are still hoping to force their way into the top six but Bates admits thoughts are already turning to next season and the bolstering of the Elland Road squad.The United chairman last night told the Yorkshire Post: “Last August, we would have taken a top 10 place after winning promotion but, of course, in football expectations rise all the time. Basically, the more you get then the more you want.
“At Christmas, we beat QPR to go second so we expected a lot more. I must confess I expected us to go close but, unfortunately, that has not turned out to be the case.
“Despite all the noises being made that it is mathematically still possible to get into the play-offs, it is unlikely because there are three clubs between us and sixth place.
“If we beat Burnley this Saturday, that would mean we move up to eighth. But we would still have to rely on Millwall and Nottingham Forest losing, and even then they have a better goal difference than us.“Of course, it is still possible. So, the players must concentrate on winning our last two games. But, as a club, we are already looking towards next season.”
United, who were yesterday linked in the national media with a move for Coventry City’s highly-rated goalkeeper Keiren Westwood, seem set to lose two of this season’s regulars come the summer due to Bradley Johnson and Neil Kilkenny having last year rejected offers of new contracts.
Loanees Barry Bannan and Jake Livermore will also return to parent clubs Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur, respectively, as will Arsenal’s Sanchez Watt, George McCartney of Sunderland and Villa’s Eric Lichaj.
Captain Richard Naylor, 34, is another likely to he heading to the exit door with goalkeeper Shane Higgs when the duo’s existing contracts expire at the end of June. Bates added: “How the existing players have performed is in our thinking. Obviously, our assessments of some of them will have changed a lot since January. Some have performed well but others have disappointed.
“In terms of bringing players in, a lot of factors come into play. If, for example, we wanted to sign Billy Bloggs then a lot of things have to happen. His club might not want to sell him. And if they do, then he has to want to come here.
“There is also the possibility his agent is a greedy so and so. There are a lot of good agents out there but also some bad ones.
“Simon has always said that he only wants players that can come in and improve the squad. Looking for players is always an ongoing situation.
“The attitude of clubs can change come the summer. Look at ourselves last season when we turned down a £1.8m bid from Newcastle (in January for Jermaine Beckford) because we wanted to win promotion. He left for free in the summer.”
United’s slide down the league since the peak of going second with victory over Neil Watrnock’s QPR at Elland Road on December 18 has been caused by a run of 22 games that have yielded just six wins.
Such a barren run has led to criticism in some quarters that Leeds should have been more active during the January transfer market.
Bates, however, said: “The criticism we didn’t do much in January does not hold water. We signed Andy O’Brien on a permanent deal and also agreed a new contract with Luciano Becchio (who, like Johnson and Kilkenny, had a deal that was due to run out this summer).
“People say we should have signed so and so, but the reality was that there wasn’t much about. It seemed our promotion rivals found the same. A few wanted to sign our players but that wasn’t going to happen.”
Ahead of this weekend’s final home game of the regular season when the visit of Burnley will be watched by a sell-out crowd, United chairman Bates added: “Our league position is disappointing, even allowing for what intentions we set out with last August.
“But it has still been an exciting season with the Arsenal FA Cup tie probably being the highlight. We acquitted ourselves very well down there.
“In terms of the league, our season probably peaked with that victory over QPR just before Christmas when we went second.
“Unfortunately, since then we have not been able to maintain that form and now it seems this will be a year of consolidation for the club.
“The key now is to use what has been achieved this season as a platform to push on next year.”
Ken Bates and Leeds United shift focus onto next year
By Richard Sutcliffe
KEN BATES has revealed Leeds United’s plans for next season are already gathering pace due to the club’s involvement in the Championship play-offs now seeming “unlikely”.
A haul of just six points from the last eight games has seen United go from chasing automatic promotion to being three points adrift of the top six.Sitting ninth in the table, Simon Grayson’s side need to win their final two matches – at home to Burnley on Saturday and at leaders QPR a week later – to have any hope of reclaiming a play-off place come May 7.
Leeds, who were sitting pretty in second place at Christmas, are still hoping to force their way into the top six but Bates admits thoughts are already turning to next season and the bolstering of the Elland Road squad.The United chairman last night told the Yorkshire Post: “Last August, we would have taken a top 10 place after winning promotion but, of course, in football expectations rise all the time. Basically, the more you get then the more you want.
“At Christmas, we beat QPR to go second so we expected a lot more. I must confess I expected us to go close but, unfortunately, that has not turned out to be the case.
“Despite all the noises being made that it is mathematically still possible to get into the play-offs, it is unlikely because there are three clubs between us and sixth place.
“If we beat Burnley this Saturday, that would mean we move up to eighth. But we would still have to rely on Millwall and Nottingham Forest losing, and even then they have a better goal difference than us.“Of course, it is still possible. So, the players must concentrate on winning our last two games. But, as a club, we are already looking towards next season.”
United, who were yesterday linked in the national media with a move for Coventry City’s highly-rated goalkeeper Keiren Westwood, seem set to lose two of this season’s regulars come the summer due to Bradley Johnson and Neil Kilkenny having last year rejected offers of new contracts.
Loanees Barry Bannan and Jake Livermore will also return to parent clubs Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur, respectively, as will Arsenal’s Sanchez Watt, George McCartney of Sunderland and Villa’s Eric Lichaj.
Captain Richard Naylor, 34, is another likely to he heading to the exit door with goalkeeper Shane Higgs when the duo’s existing contracts expire at the end of June. Bates added: “How the existing players have performed is in our thinking. Obviously, our assessments of some of them will have changed a lot since January. Some have performed well but others have disappointed.
“In terms of bringing players in, a lot of factors come into play. If, for example, we wanted to sign Billy Bloggs then a lot of things have to happen. His club might not want to sell him. And if they do, then he has to want to come here.
“There is also the possibility his agent is a greedy so and so. There are a lot of good agents out there but also some bad ones.
“Simon has always said that he only wants players that can come in and improve the squad. Looking for players is always an ongoing situation.
“The attitude of clubs can change come the summer. Look at ourselves last season when we turned down a £1.8m bid from Newcastle (in January for Jermaine Beckford) because we wanted to win promotion. He left for free in the summer.”
United’s slide down the league since the peak of going second with victory over Neil Watrnock’s QPR at Elland Road on December 18 has been caused by a run of 22 games that have yielded just six wins.
Such a barren run has led to criticism in some quarters that Leeds should have been more active during the January transfer market.
Bates, however, said: “The criticism we didn’t do much in January does not hold water. We signed Andy O’Brien on a permanent deal and also agreed a new contract with Luciano Becchio (who, like Johnson and Kilkenny, had a deal that was due to run out this summer).
“People say we should have signed so and so, but the reality was that there wasn’t much about. It seemed our promotion rivals found the same. A few wanted to sign our players but that wasn’t going to happen.”
Ahead of this weekend’s final home game of the regular season when the visit of Burnley will be watched by a sell-out crowd, United chairman Bates added: “Our league position is disappointing, even allowing for what intentions we set out with last August.
“But it has still been an exciting season with the Arsenal FA Cup tie probably being the highlight. We acquitted ourselves very well down there.
“In terms of the league, our season probably peaked with that victory over QPR just before Christmas when we went second.
“Unfortunately, since then we have not been able to maintain that form and now it seems this will be a year of consolidation for the club.
“The key now is to use what has been achieved this season as a platform to push on next year.”