PROGRESS should be the only ‘P-word’ we’re concerned about

The final whistle on Saturday not only confirmed another 3 points for The Whites but marked the latest 90 minutes in an impressive seven match unbeaten run, the most productive set of results the club have achieved at this level since 2006. It isn’t just the final scores that have been positive either, the individual performances of Robert Snodgrass, Jonny Howson and Luciano Becchio have arguably been of the highest standard each has achieved in a Leeds shirt.

With everything looking so well, and the club’s current Play-off berth surely above all pre-season expectations it’s easy to get over-excited. Especially when Eddie Gray confidently predicts promotion to The Premiership on Yorkshire Radio after the match on Saturday. If last season taught us anything, it’s that the position you occupy after 46 matches is the only one that matters!

Whilst I appreciate the ‘feel good’ atmosphere around Elland Road at the moment, and the talk of Promotion is a lot better than the dreaded fight for survival that many predicted (myself included, just 6 weeks ago), lets not lose sight of where we’ve come from and get ahead of ourselves.

As we approach the 2nd anniversary of Simon Grayson’s appointment as United boss the difference in Leeds United Football Club, as a whole,  is stark to say the least. When Grayson took charge of the squad for the first time on Boxing Day 2008, Leeds languished 9th in League One just below Tranmere Rovers and Stockport County… Our F.A. Cup dream was over before it had even begun having suffered humiliation at non-league Histon, a 3-1 reverse at MK Dons was the final nail in Gary McAllister’s coffin.

Fast forward almost 2 years and the club occupy a Play-off spot in The Championship and have an F.A. Cup tie at Arsenal to look forward to. Not only that but we have a squad of players who appear hungry to bring success to Elland Road. We have individuals whom, whether we like to hear it or not, would command a decent return upon the purchase price should we choose to sell them on. The likes of Becchio, Snodgrass and Howson are likely to command 7 figure sums in the current market and whilst that may be seen as counter-productive, it’s a positive compared to the paltry fees we have received for our better players in recent years.

So whilst promotion would be fantastic and more than welcomed by the thousands of Whites around the globe, let’s just be glad that we’re a club on the up once more…

Note: If anyone found 4 season tickets at Saturday’s game, please get in touch.

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PROGRESS should be the only ‘P-word’ we’re concerned about

What does Sunday's Cup Draw hold for us?

Rewind to 29th November 2009. Eyes glued to TV sets, ears pinned to radio's, fingers rapidly pressing F5 on keyboards. It was the weekend of the 3rd Round Draw for the F.A Cup, to be played the 2nd and 3rd of January 2010. We'd just drawn 1-1 with Kettering away from home, avoiding another 'Histon', yet still not clear of embarrassment. We'd gruelled and grafted in the mud, not being that bad, but it's typical Leeds. Nothing can go your way, regardless of performance. Anyway, a replay at Elland Road beckoned which we'd surely win easily and go on to face whoever we were drawn. Scum, Chelsea, Spurs, Arsenal would all be nice I told myself. Just not another year of Swindon at home or Brighton away, we prayed. Not another fixture we'd played just 2 weeks ago, please. I sat with my mug of tea on my right, my Sunday Dinner on my left. Spurs, Chelsea, Arsenal, all drawn out within the first 15 ties. At this point, it was just a matter of time before Scum were drawn away against Tranmere or similar. Team after team drawn, until there were 6 or 7 teams drawn. Heart beating faster, hope in my head, realisation coming closer. 4 teams left : Leeds United/Kettering, Scum, Accrington Stanley/Barnet, Gillingham. Remember that point about not another league fixture in the cup? Please not Gillingham, I prayed, on the edge of my seat. "Accrington Stanley or Barnet will play..." seconds seemed like hours, like days, shouting at the box, screaming 'GILLINGHAM, PLEASE GILLINGHAM'. God knows what the neighbours thought. Steve Redgrave's hand reached in and it all seemed to happen in slow motion. He grasped the ball and I was about 20 centimetres away from the TV at this point on my knees, hands grasped, eyes fixated. He looked at the ball and slightly chuckled. It couldn't be, surely?

"...Will play Gillingham at home." Screams, celebrations, dances, obscenities were all exchanged within 10 seconds. 15 phones calls recieved in as many minutes, it was as if we'd won the bleeding thing. Plans put in place already, an early birthday present if we did the 'impossible'. Scum. Away. Some say the magic of the FA Cup has gone, pushed aside by Murdoch and co., but moments like that come once in a lifetime. We overcame Kettering quite easily in 15 minutes after 90 minutes of slightly struggling and it kicked in. Scum, afuckingway. And the rest of course, shall be repeated on January the 3rd 2011 in a special anniversary post.

But enough of that. What about January 2nd/3rd 2011? What does it hold for Leeds United? Another Premier League giantkilling tie? Another visit to a Salmonella ridden ground? Another lovely return to the police forces of Carlisle? Oh wait, just mentioned that. After last years heroics, anything is possible. The magic of the FA Cup still shines bright, waiting to come out behind the covers of the dark and dingy corporate values of Football today.

What does Sunday's Cup Draw hold for us?

Leeds held to ransom by most deluded ‘star’ in club’s history.

For fear of getting a reputation of only appearing with posts when the team are playing poorly or that something isn’t going right, I feel I should first explain my recent absence;

After berating the performances of Jonny Howson and Robert Snodgrass in my previous articles, I thought it best to keep a low profile after they have both been leading lights of our current up-turn in form. ‘Our Jonny’ even notched a perfect treble at Scunthorpe, and I know it wasn’t an error on the Sky Sports vidiprinter as I was one of the lucky few to see it with my own eyes… So having had my words shoved firmly down my throat and my posts relating to our quest for survival being the best we can hope for made to look ridiculous against our current 5th place standing. I shall apologise to the pair here. Whilst pointing out that the real reason for my absence is that it is a busy time at work and unfortunately this blog gets pushed to the bottom of the ‘to do’ list .

Now, with that out of the way lets approach one of the craziest stories released by Leeds United’s press officer in recent memory; MIDFIELDER TRANSFER LISTED appeared on NewsNow this afternoon, the initial fear of what, or whom the article could be referring to quickly subsided upon clicking the headline. Thankfully, Robert Snodgrass, Max Gradel and Neil Kilkenny are all staying put and even Andy Hughes will remain at Elland Road… I can hear you thinking, “well who else is there!?!”

It turns out Bradley Johnson has rejected the club’s final offer of a 3 year contract.

Firstly, I’d have to question Simon Grayson’s thinking in offering Johnson another contract, never mind a 3 year deal!  For me, Bradley Johnson will always epitomise the ‘average’ players that have passed through the door at Thorp Arch since our decline to League One. He is by far the most infuriating player I have ever seen play, he obviously has some talent but it is totally undermined by his lack of vision, awareness and terrible decision making. I was hoping he would leave in the Summer on a free, so any sort of transfer fee would be a bonus!

Quite what goes through the head of some players is a mystery. Perhaps his agent has pointed to the amount of games he has started this season and that his wage should reflect that of an important first team member… he has obviously forgotten the game at Boundary Park a couple of years ago when Bradley turned in the worst performance of any professional footballer I have witnessed. Can anybody think of anything Johnson has done this season that would look out of place in an amateur game at your local park? Even his decent finish and steady game against Hull was undone by a comical own goal due to lack of concentration.

Out of the whole squad, I can’t think of a player who I would be less upset or concerned about leaving.

I’m sure he’ll find his rightful place back in League One again before long…

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Leeds held to ransom by most deluded ‘star’ in club’s history.