Diouf and Whites may just work out
Yorkshire Evening Post 11/8/12
By Phil Hay
Neil Warnock wants a new striker and ideally a right winger too. But Leeds United’s manager has no money to play with. So what’s the solution?
Common sense says one out, one in – sell a player to buy a player or rearrange the wage bill at any rate. Earlier this week Warnock revealed that Danny Pugh and Robbie Rogers had been transfer-listed and ear-marked to pay for other signings. He took care to disguise the fact that a potential signing was already in the building.
El-Hadji Diouf joined Warnock’s squad for training at Thorp Arch on Thursday morning, taking part in the penultimate session before Leeds’ first competitive game. His appearance revived the possibility of a deal first touted 48 hours before the end of last season.
This unlikely marriage has been a long time coming and it would be going some to say that it was always the plan, ala Paddy Kenny, Luke Varney or a number of Warnock’s other signings. There were stages of the summer when Diouf to Leeds had no more legs than the next rumour but it was always an option while Diouf was out of contract and Warnock found himself short of forwards. With August upon them, the marriage would be strangely convenient.
Not everyone in Leeds will see it that way. Most signings provoke a degree of debate but few are as emotive as a transfer involving Diouf. It is down the scale from Harry Kewell and Alan Smith but far above the average footballer. At the risk of letting Diouf off lightly, his list of misdemeanours do not need reprinting. It is public knowledge and the basis of his reputation. Diouf has come to be seen as trouble and generally more hassle than he’s worth.
How much he warrants that reputation is hard to say. His football-related brushes with the Football Association and the criminal justice system are not mythical or trivial but his personality is still a mystery. He has never copied the Joey Barton routine of willing dissection at the hands of the public.
Dominic Matteo, the former Leeds captain, says he found Diouf to be good company and likeable whenever their paths crossed in private. Another ex-player who saw first-hand the strange machinations at Doncaster Rovers last season told the YEP that while problems existed in Doncaster’s dressing room, Diouf was not one of them. On the contrary, the 31-year-old “did what was expected of him.”
That was essentially true of his appearance at Elland Road in February, on the day of Warnock’s appointment as Leeds manager. Playing out wide, Diouf did what Doncaster expected of him. He was the best player on the pitch.
But there was something inevitable about the gradual slide towards the tunnel brawl which followed the final whistle and remains in the hands of the FA’s disciplinary department. How big a part Diouf played inside the tunnel is not clear but he was in the thick of the build-up to the fighting, by no means innocent in the growing tension.
So the signing of Diouf is one which would need selling to some of the supporters, and possibly some of the players. But Warnock being Warnock has been here before, albeit with different players and in slightly different circumstances.
His recruitment of Adel Taarabt at Queens Park Rangers was viewed as a masterstroke and the key to their Championship title, even though Warnock took the view that Alejandro Faurlin was the pick of the talent in his squad. With the money needed to make it happen, signing Taarabt from Tottenham Hotspur was considered a no-brainer. Some of his other players saw it differently.
“Taarabt was the most unusual player but someone who could win anything on his day,” Warnock said.
“But some of the other players didn’t like the idea of him to start with – the likes of your Shaun Derrys and your Clint Hills. I had to make them aware that if we reined him in and got the best out of him then he could get us promoted. He could get us into the Premier League. It was a matter of convincing them.”
Diouf and Taarabt are not instantly comparable, not as footballers or in terms of their respective ages. But they are complex characters or, perhaps more accurately, players who require careful management.
It is presumptuous to think that if Warnock was able to handle Taarabt then he can also keep Diouf in hand – even United’s manager found Barton to be a nuisance too far – but he is as capable as anyone.
It helps too that both he and Diouf have allowed their infamous spat in January 2011 to walk on by. As soon as Diouf was told of possible interest from Leeds in April, the Senegalese striker said: “The incident is in the past and it’s not an issue. I have the utmost respect for Neil Warnock.”
The cynical view is that Diouf was talking the talk. He needed a club – as attractive a club as possible – and he liked the idea of staying in the north of England, close to his family home in Bolton.
But perhaps he was being sincere. Perhaps he really fancied the move. Whatever else persuaded him to link up with Doncaster, it was not money. His wage at the Keepmoat was £2,000 a week. There is more to be earned at Elland Road but a deal with Leeds won’t make him rich.
From Warnock’s point of view, there could be mileage in a player of indisputable ability who is freely available and easy to sign. Moreover, Diouf can play up front or wide on the right, the positions Warnock sees as vacant.
As we speak, there is no guarantee of a takeover and no guarantee of anyone signing Pugh or Rogers quickly enough to help Warnock out. It is not an obvious partnership, Diouf and Leeds, but what is ever predictable about Leeds? And at this late stage, what’s the worst that can happen?
By Phil Hay
Neil Warnock wants a new striker and ideally a right winger too. But Leeds United’s manager has no money to play with. So what’s the solution?
Common sense says one out, one in – sell a player to buy a player or rearrange the wage bill at any rate. Earlier this week Warnock revealed that Danny Pugh and Robbie Rogers had been transfer-listed and ear-marked to pay for other signings. He took care to disguise the fact that a potential signing was already in the building.
El-Hadji Diouf joined Warnock’s squad for training at Thorp Arch on Thursday morning, taking part in the penultimate session before Leeds’ first competitive game. His appearance revived the possibility of a deal first touted 48 hours before the end of last season.
This unlikely marriage has been a long time coming and it would be going some to say that it was always the plan, ala Paddy Kenny, Luke Varney or a number of Warnock’s other signings. There were stages of the summer when Diouf to Leeds had no more legs than the next rumour but it was always an option while Diouf was out of contract and Warnock found himself short of forwards. With August upon them, the marriage would be strangely convenient.
Not everyone in Leeds will see it that way. Most signings provoke a degree of debate but few are as emotive as a transfer involving Diouf. It is down the scale from Harry Kewell and Alan Smith but far above the average footballer. At the risk of letting Diouf off lightly, his list of misdemeanours do not need reprinting. It is public knowledge and the basis of his reputation. Diouf has come to be seen as trouble and generally more hassle than he’s worth.
How much he warrants that reputation is hard to say. His football-related brushes with the Football Association and the criminal justice system are not mythical or trivial but his personality is still a mystery. He has never copied the Joey Barton routine of willing dissection at the hands of the public.
Dominic Matteo, the former Leeds captain, says he found Diouf to be good company and likeable whenever their paths crossed in private. Another ex-player who saw first-hand the strange machinations at Doncaster Rovers last season told the YEP that while problems existed in Doncaster’s dressing room, Diouf was not one of them. On the contrary, the 31-year-old “did what was expected of him.”
That was essentially true of his appearance at Elland Road in February, on the day of Warnock’s appointment as Leeds manager. Playing out wide, Diouf did what Doncaster expected of him. He was the best player on the pitch.
But there was something inevitable about the gradual slide towards the tunnel brawl which followed the final whistle and remains in the hands of the FA’s disciplinary department. How big a part Diouf played inside the tunnel is not clear but he was in the thick of the build-up to the fighting, by no means innocent in the growing tension.
So the signing of Diouf is one which would need selling to some of the supporters, and possibly some of the players. But Warnock being Warnock has been here before, albeit with different players and in slightly different circumstances.
His recruitment of Adel Taarabt at Queens Park Rangers was viewed as a masterstroke and the key to their Championship title, even though Warnock took the view that Alejandro Faurlin was the pick of the talent in his squad. With the money needed to make it happen, signing Taarabt from Tottenham Hotspur was considered a no-brainer. Some of his other players saw it differently.
“Taarabt was the most unusual player but someone who could win anything on his day,” Warnock said.
“But some of the other players didn’t like the idea of him to start with – the likes of your Shaun Derrys and your Clint Hills. I had to make them aware that if we reined him in and got the best out of him then he could get us promoted. He could get us into the Premier League. It was a matter of convincing them.”
Diouf and Taarabt are not instantly comparable, not as footballers or in terms of their respective ages. But they are complex characters or, perhaps more accurately, players who require careful management.
It is presumptuous to think that if Warnock was able to handle Taarabt then he can also keep Diouf in hand – even United’s manager found Barton to be a nuisance too far – but he is as capable as anyone.
It helps too that both he and Diouf have allowed their infamous spat in January 2011 to walk on by. As soon as Diouf was told of possible interest from Leeds in April, the Senegalese striker said: “The incident is in the past and it’s not an issue. I have the utmost respect for Neil Warnock.”
The cynical view is that Diouf was talking the talk. He needed a club – as attractive a club as possible – and he liked the idea of staying in the north of England, close to his family home in Bolton.
But perhaps he was being sincere. Perhaps he really fancied the move. Whatever else persuaded him to link up with Doncaster, it was not money. His wage at the Keepmoat was £2,000 a week. There is more to be earned at Elland Road but a deal with Leeds won’t make him rich.
From Warnock’s point of view, there could be mileage in a player of indisputable ability who is freely available and easy to sign. Moreover, Diouf can play up front or wide on the right, the positions Warnock sees as vacant.
As we speak, there is no guarantee of a takeover and no guarantee of anyone signing Pugh or Rogers quickly enough to help Warnock out. It is not an obvious partnership, Diouf and Leeds, but what is ever predictable about Leeds? And at this late stage, what’s the worst that can happen?
