League predictions

Here are the writers predictions for the 2013/14 season

Stu:

After an up and down summer, it’s setting the tone for the season ahead. After a quiet first part of the summer and a week where everything exploded and then back again, we are left a bit bewildered and wondering what will happen for the remainder of the season. For some reason, I am still fairly confident that we will have a much better season than last season, I think we will see better football and a team more up for games. I’ve never looked upon the pre season games as an indicator for anything so I’m not concerned about the form of those or how many goals we scored/conceded. As it stands I think we will probably finish about 10th, but with just over a month of the transfer window remaining anything can change. We are not a million miles away from putting a team together that could put a challenge in for the top 6.

On the pitch I’m expecting to see Ross McCormack score more, he is too good to play in a Warnock team and I think he will be much more influential this season. I think everyone agrees that with or without the armband Ross is the leader of this team and even though he’s not a Leeds supporting local boy he certainly plays like it. So, I will be going for him as player of the season this year.

I think this season will see the emergence of Dominic Poleon, he’s certainly a player we could have used last season, I still can’t fathom why he was loaned out so much last season. I would like to see him playing out wide using his pace and see how he evolves as a footballer, he’s certainly capable of grabbing a goal. He is my tip for young player of the season.

Finishing position: 10th. (6th if we make signings and develop the squad.)

Player of the season: Ross McCormack.

Top goalscorer: Ross McCormack.

Young Player Of The Season: Dominic Poleon.

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Will:

Leeds Prediction –

League Finish – 9^th

Top Scorer – McCormack
My form in pre-season predictions is consistently awful having predicted top 6 finishes for the last two seasons and a lower midtable finish for the one preceding that and due to that I’ve gone for the very safe option of 9^th. Despite only bringing in 3 additions, with one being a striker who failed to reach double figures in League One last season, I think we’re way off the relegation zone and can rule that out very safely (touch wood). And in reality, I see either top 6 or midtable a possibility. McDermott has struggled to bring in most of his targets but a couple of big signings that seem unlikely at the moment could see us make a push at the playoffs. McCormack’s been a bit hit and miss in recent seasons but used correctly can score serious goals in this division as he has proved twice and with support from Hunt he should at least break double figures. And while Leeds’ side looks poor on paper McDermott’s ability to bring the best out players will be very much necessary in the upcoming season and as comedian Jimmy Carr once said “you can’t polish a turd… but you can roll it in glitter”.

Jack:

I’m feeling pretty positive about the season ahead. The Luke Murphy signing really excites me, young, hungry and potential to become a very good midfielder.

I don’t think our squad is anywhere good enough to challenge for a top 2 place, but I think with the Championship being so unpredictable, we can get into the top 6. Sign a couple of wingers and I think we’ll finish top 4.

League prediction: 6th.

Top goalscorer: Luke Varney.

Not just because of his hat-trick against Stevenage, but I think Varney will bag at least 15 goals this season (I urge you not to put money on this!)

With decent service from wide areas Varneh will score his fair share of headers.

Player of the season: Luke Murphy.

His first season at the club. I can see Brian McDermott naming him captain, as well. He’s got all the attributes to become a very good player. He was vital for Crewe last season, bagging a few goals and getting plenty of assists as well.

Young player of the season: Sam Byram.

If he performs as he did for the large part of last season then he’ll easily win this award. Destined to play in the Premiership, but hopefully it’s not this season, and hopefully it’s with Leeds when he does reach that level.

Wardy:

League prediction: 6th

Player of the season: Luke Murphy

Young player of the season: Dom Poleon

Top goalscorer: Matt Smith

I think Leeds will surprise many. I feel we will struggle to mount a serious promotion push before the January transfer window due to the lack of funds readily available for Brian McDermott. However I hope that GFH will be able to bring investors in or get a major sponsorship deal to allow Brian to spend money in January. If Brian does have money to spend in the January transfer window I think we will do very well and will end up sneaking a play off spot, hopeful yes. But as a Leeds fan you have to keep the faith.

I think Luke Murphy will get the player of the season as I believe he is a player of real quality. His passing ability and ability to dictate the speed of the game will prove a real asset to the Leeds team. Unless he has to play a more defensive role I think he will be the best player at Leeds this season.

I think Dom Poleon will get the young player of the season as throughout pre season he has shown to be a player of real quality and has learnt a lot from last season. With the game time and right service he can be the wide man or striker that we are currently missing.

The controversial choice of top goalscorer comes from Matt Smiths aerial ability. From the few minutes he was on the pitch yesterday he won every single header that he contested. With the right service he can be a real threat and with the lack of out and out goalscorer I feel he will be the top goalscorer at Leeds this season.

Andy:

I have 100% confidence in McDermott, but I really don’t think we’re good enough to be challenging for the top 6.  We’ve brought in a great prospect in Luke Murphy, and also made good additions with Noel Hunt and Matt Smith, but we really need more quality to be contenders.

We didn’t have the best performances as a team in pre-season but Luke Murphy shone. Depending on who else comes in, I think he’ll be a serious contender for player of the season. He’s got a good eye for a pass which will hopefully get him many assists and knock a few in for himself.

Another player who I think will do well for us next season is Dominic Poleon. He looked bright at the end of last season and has looked very impressive in pre-season. He’s strong, pacy and can score goals, which gives him the right attributes to be used as a striker or a winger (which is probably where he’ll be playing if we don’t get any wingers in). He’s my vote for young player of the season.

Top goalscorer is a tricky one as I think the goals will be spread around equally. McCormack, Hunt, Poleon and Smith will all get their fair share but I think Varney will surprise a few. He got a lot of stick last season when used as a winger by Warnock (me being one of his harshest critic), but it’s quite apparent that winger isn’t his favoured position. I reckon he’ll be top goalscorer if he’s used as a striker.

League prediction: 9^th (without further investment)

Player of the season: Luke Murphy

Young player of the season: Dominic Poleon

Top goalscorer: Luke Varney

James Frudd:

As the season draws ever closer and with only days before our first game,at home to Brighton,now seems an appropriate time to give my Prediction for how Leeds will fare in the 2013/2014 SkyBet Championship season.

League Prediction:10th(current squad) 4th(If we can sign the type of player brian wants)

Our current squad to date,for me isn’t good enough to challenge at the top end of the league.With Paddy Kenny in-goal we have a solid and reliable championship performer.We are very good in the full back areas with Sam Byram and Stephen Warnock occupying those roles and for me in this league it doesn’t get much better than them 2 for those positions. At centre back I think we are vulnerable,Tom Lees is still learning and is a good Championship player but with Jason Pearce and Lee Peltier as the other options I think if we don’t sign a partner for Tom we could be in trouble.Our centre midfield is very strong, assuming we play the 4-1-2-1-2(narrow) formation with Green sitting, Austin and Murphy patrolling the midfield and Ross McCormack at the top of the diamond,I think there we have a very good balance of discipline and creativity in there but the lack of width is very worrying and could make our game very predictible. Up front im afraid we don’t have enough,Matt Smith isn’t prolific, enough he’ll hold it up and chip in with a few goals but if we are playing without width, goals are going to be hard to come by this season for Matt,whilst Luke Varney and Noel Hunt are not known for being prolific and Dom Poleon still developing, personally I think we’ll really struggle for goals unless brian can sign another striker or sign wingers to help supply our current crop.I think this season if we keep the same squad we have at the moment then it will very much be a season of Brian building the foundations and trying to get everything into place for a big promotion push for the 2014/15 season and I think a position of 10th place would be a fair reflection of where our squad is at the minute.However if Brian can sign some wingers and a partner for Tom Lees then this season could prove to be the one we’ve all been wishing for over the last 2 years and with the right players signed I back Brian to lead us to 4th place and secure us a playoff position.

Top Goalscorer:

Ross McCormack-I can’t see past Ross for this one, he’s our best player and our most talented attacking player. I predict 15-20 goals this season for Ross.

Player of the Season:

Rudy Austin-After 12 months at Leeds and seeing only glimpses of his ability so far, I believe he will really push on this season. He can break up play,he’s got a good eye for a pass and has also got a goal or 2 in him. He could prove to the difference between another season of mid table Mediocrity or a push towards the Premier League.

Young Player of the season:

Dom Poleon- It could prove to be a big season for Dom with Brian giving every indication that he has a part to play this season.He could easily score 10 goals this season if he gets the service and I really hope he can prove to be this season’s Byram.

Rainy:

As much as I’d like to say that we’re going up as champions, at this rate, it’s not going to happen. I have a lot of faith in McDermott but with the squad at this moment in time mid table beckons. I think that around January we may be just below mid table but hopefully by then GFH will have sorted out a sponsorship or found some funds from somewhere and we will make a late charge, similar to Reading.

My player of the year is Rodolph Austin, I think after last year when he underperformed and looked average he will have a great year this season. When he arrived last summer he had already been playing in the Norwegian league for SK Brann and along with picking up a bad injury last season he wasn’t ever fully fit, not helped by being rushed back by Warnock. I think he will dominate the midfield with his tough tackling and surging runs forward, listening to McDermott it sounds like he’s a big part of his plans.

Top goalscorer is a tricky one, seen as though we have no out and out goal scorers. I’m going to go with Poleon as I think he will shine this season and surprise people. He has pace and power and we missed this badly last season. This of course goes out of the window if we sign a 30 goal a season man tomorrow. I also think he will be the young player of the season. I think it will be close between Poleon and Varney for top scorer in the end, Varney will surprise people this season and be much better than last.

League prediction: 7th

Player of the season: Rodolph Austin

Young player of the season: Dom Poleon

Top goalscorer: Dom Poleon

We would like to hear your opinions as always, comment below with you’re predictions.

Little and large

‘Little and large’ partnerships, although they seem to have died off in recent times – with teams looking to adopt formations with a five-man midfield and a target-man up front – were once a major must-have in English football. Take Alan Shearer and Craig Bellamy in their Newcastle days, Emile Heskey and Michael Owen at Liverpool and more recently Jermain Defoe Peter Crouch who were together at both Portsmouth and Tottenham.

Leeds have had their fair share of partnerships over the past couple of decades. No one will forget Lee Chapman and Rod Wallace in the title winning season. Mark Viduka was a target man alongside many forwards throughout his Whites career including Robbie Keane, Robbie Fowler and Alan Smith. More recently we’ve had Jermaine Beckford and Luciano Becchio, not really a little and large partnership (Beckford being 1cm taller) but one played as a target man and one as a poacher – which is similar to how the little and large partnerships worked.

Like I mentioned earlier, these – some might say ‘telepathic’ combinations have died off in the last few seasons, with the attributes of a front man needing to be more technical these days. We’ve signed two strikers during the Summer in Matt Smith and Noel Hunt. In terms of physical appearance they couldn’t be more different. Hunt being around the 5’8″ and Smith 6’6″. We also have an upcoming striker with huge potential in Dominic Poleon, the 19 year-old has scored plenty of goals during pre-season and there’s no doubt he’ll be in and around the first team throughout the season. We’ve also got Luke Varney. He didn’t have the best of starts last season but he found his form towards the end of the season, especially when employed as a front man!

All four have had solid pre-season’s so far. It looks as if Brian McDermott will use a formation that uses two strikers. I’m presuming the two will be out of these four forwards, with Ross McCormack playing in a deeper role. But what two looks to be the best partnership?

Smith and Hunt
Both started pre-season fairly well. I don’t know too much about Matt Smith, but he looks to be a handful in the air! Hunt on the other hand is probably the shortest player in the first-team, yet he has an excellent leap. He will chase lost causes all day. Smith will probably win the majority of headers he challenges for, and could provide the knock-downs for Hunt, who wasn’t always the main central striker at Reading. This season though, it looks as if he might have to, as I can’t see us signing anymore forwards.

Hunt and Poleon
I’m not sure how this partnership would work. Both are fairly small so wouldn’t win as many aerial balls as Smith or Varney. Maybe Poleon could play more of a wide role, as he has the pace and power to beat a man, and provide for Hunt to finish. Hunt has played out wide for Reading in the past, so that could also be an option for McDermott.

Poleon and Varney
The two started the 3-0 friendly win against Stevenage, and we weren’t really getting much joy until Poleon was moved into a wide area. Varney grabbed himself a hat-trick and that will do him the world of good. Good in the air, he could win plenty of knock downs for Poleon to chase, but he can also play with the ball at his feet.

Varney and Smith
You’d think that playing Matt Smith would encourage our defenders to look to just hoof it forward, but Brian McDermott has insisted that this isn’t the case, but what other way can we play to get the best out of him when we’ve no wingers? Playing these two would probably mean Varney playing on the shoulder with Smith as a target man.

Smith and Poleon
This is definitely Dom Poleon’s time to shine with no real natural goalscorer in the team. If he starts scoring early on in the season his confidence will be sky high and who knows how many he could score? If the service is there frol the wide men he could easily bag 10. He’s also probably the fastest forward we have, so could get in behind opposing defences and would be our most suited player to race on to Smith’s knock downs.

Varney and Hunt
If the link up play works well between these two I think both could score 10-15 goals each. Out of the four attackers these two look to have more similarities, both have been played as inside forwards for their previous clubs and both are pretty decent in the air. If they can just add goal scoring to their repertoire then this could be the partnership for McDermott’s Leeds.

So that’s my thoughts on each partnership. Personally I think the best pairing would be Noel Hunt and Luke Varney. I’d still like to see Poleon and Matt Smith given game time in the first team to show what they could do, but Varney and Hunt are the more experienced of the four, and like I said, if they could start scoring between them then I think they’d make for a solid striking combination.

What two would you prefer to be Leeds’ leading strikers ahead of the new season? Leave your comments and vote in the poll.

What is our best starting 11?

If we had to start the 2013/2014 season with our current squad, do you think it would be good enough for a top-six finish? It’s quite obvious – as we’ve said in many previous posts – we need wingers but imagine the transfer window closes tomorrow and we have to make do with the team as it is. What would be our best line-up and best formation? We’ve seen Brian McDermott utilise the 4-1-2-1-2 narrow diamond since being appointed manager at Elland Road, and in the two pre-season matches, although we’ve played a different XI in each half, we have continued to play in that formation.

He said last season he would base the formation on the ‘type of players’ we have and something that would ‘suit the players’. I guess at the moment there’s one or two formations that would suit our team. How can we use one that requires wingers when our only real ‘pacy’ wide-man is Ryan Hall. We know Aidy White, Sam Byram and Luke Varney could all play out on the wing if required but they’re not exactly what we want – maybe Byram excluded as he was very good when employed there, but I’d rather have him at right-back.

So just what other formations could we use, and what is our best starting XI in each?

Firstly I’ll talk about our strongest team.

Paddy Kenny is going to be our number 1, I don’t think there’s any doubt about that – unless another keeper is brought in. I’d like to see Jamie Ashdown given more opportunities but it’ll be hard to push Kenny out if his performances are as good as they can be.

Defence

We need a back four where our full-backs are capable of bombing forward, allowing us to get the ball out wide, whilst still being solid at the back. Sam Byram was excellent last season, and we all know Stephen Warnock is experienced enough and good enough to provide width on the other side. Our best central defensive partnership last season was Lee Peltier and Tom Lees, and if no other centre-half is brought in this Summer, I would expect that to continue. A lot was expected of Jason Pearce when he signed from Portsmouth, I think if given a chance he would be a solid defender, but can he cope with our new ‘passing’ style of play? Endless times last season we saw him hoof the ball when under no pressure. Maybe that was just because of Neil Warnock, so I’ll give Pearce the benefit of the doubt at the moment.

Midfield

The key to any formation where a passing style of play is implemented is the midfield. At the moment we have eight central midfielders, ten if you include McCormack and Diouf playing in the ‘hole’. It’s fairly obvious this will be cut down before the season starts. In my opinion Ross McCormack is our best player and is a class above the rest of our team. I would definitely have him playing behind the strikers, as long as he isn’t sold. Paul Green looked solid as our defensive midfielder last season. This role is going to be very important as the player is going to have to pick the ball off the defence and instigate our attacks. Luke Murphy could easily play here, as a deep-lying playmaker. Rodolph Austin was better as a box-to-box midfielder as opposed to a defensive, holding player and I think that’s where he’ll continue to play. Michael Brown, David Norris, Zac Thompson, Michael Tonge and Chris Dawson are our other current central midfielders. Brown shouldn’t be anywhere near the first team. Norris and Tonge are very similar players, and both are 30+. That leaves Thompson and Dawson, both young players with good potential to be first-team players in the future. I was hoping both would maybe get out on loan to gain some first-team football, but I think with some players being sold (needs to happen to free up wages), both will be somewhere near our own first-team.

So for me our best midfield would be Green as the holding midfielder with Austin and Murphy as our central pairing, and McCormack playing just off the strikers. That is a pretty strong midfield in my opinion.

Attack

New signings Matt Smith and Noel Hunt have both figured predominantly in pre-season, and both have been among the goals. Dom Poleon fresh from scoring in our final game of last season has two in two. Smith looks to be a very good player in the air, as well as when bringing other players into the attack. Playing Smith up top may encourage more long-ball but it hasn’t seemed that way in our first couple of games. Hunt has a fantastic leap, a decent amount of pace and very good energy. He will chase lost causes at every opportunity and I believe he will get at least ten this season. Poleon on the other hand has plenty of pace and power, but he is young, and his decision making needs plenty of work, he needs to learn when to shoot and when to pass. Ross McCormack and El-Hadji Diouf are capable of playing up front, McCormack especially, proving that in the 2010/2011 season. Diouf was a very good signing for us and provided plenty of experience and calmness when we needed it. Somehow this season I just can’t see him getting into the team as much. As I’ve put McCormack as a midfielder I think at the moment our best front pairing would be Hunt and Smith.

Now I’ve spoken about our best starting XI, how would they fit into each formation?

4-1-2-1-2

The formation we’ve been using during pre-season, and the one I’ve based my best 11 on. As I said width is key so the full backs have to be capable of getting forward to enable us to get the ball out wide. With Matt Smith’s height it would be quite easy to lump it up to him and hope he wins every knock-down, but it isn’t going to work like that. We’ve got to get the crosses in for him to attack, rather than him have his back to goal at all times. As long as the midfield are disciplined enough not to all go forward at once, this should work well.

4-1-2-1-2 formation. Looks pretty solid and our best bet in my opinion.

Doesn’t really look a bad line-up does it? Maybe another centre-half ahead of Peltier and a goal-scoring poacher and we mean business.

4-2-3-1

A personal favourite of mine, and a formation we’ve seen used to good effect back in the 2010/2011 season. Jonny Howson behind Becchio, he used to pick the ball up between the oppositions defence and midfield. We had Robert Snodgrass and Maxi Gradel in the wide positions. Both were able to go outside and get crosses in, and both had the ability to come inside when needed and chip in with goals. In back up we had Sanchez Watt and Lloyd Sam.

How would that work this season, with us having once real winger? Ross McCormack could be pushed out to the left, but we all know he influences the play better when through the middle. Maybe Luke Varney or Aidy White could play on the left with Byram or Hall on the right. But none of them players have the ability to be able to go both outside and inside. It would be easy for the opposition to work out where they’re going and what they’re doing.

If rumours are to be believed, we’ve bid for Gary Mackay-Steven of Dundee United. If he signed it’d be a big step forward in terms of being able to use a winger. I still believe we would then need another pacy winger. Dom Poleon could always adapt to playing on the left but then his decision making isn’t always the best, although that’s going to improve with experience and age.

Then it would be who to play up top, Smith or Noel? For me, from what I’ve seen and heard, Hunt has the better all round game (and a pretty decent leap to be fair). Then again, he could always be moved onto the wing or behind the front man.

This probably isn’t the best formation to use with the current state of our squad. Below is an image of, in my opinion, the best team we could field in a 4-2-3-1. Lack of pace on the wings as expected. If we did need pace we could always use Aidy White and Ryan Hall, but White’s decision making has really stopped his career in its tracks. Rarely used last season but he could still prove me wrong under Brian Mac. Hall on the other hand, just why hasn’t he been played? Could it be an attitude problem, or was it just again because of Warnock and his direct, rigid approach? Like White, deserves a second chance under McDermott.

4-2-3-1 formation. Wingers aren’t really capable of going outside and inside.

4-3-2-1

Another option could be to play a 4-3-2-1. This again would be a formation with no real wide play in the midfield, so the full backs would be key.

I guess this is quite similar to the diamond, but rather than have one player in the hole we’d have two. This could also be turned into a 4-3-3 if the two attacking midfielders were pushed further up the field.

I think if this was tried and tested it would work quite well. You’d have the three central midfielders which would give us the edge over teams with the two. They could rotate and take it in turns to help support the attack.

The full backs – Byram and Warnock – could supply width at times, whilst the attacking midfielders could also move out there giving us other options.

4-3-2-1 formation.
Hunt and McCormack could both move out wide.

With all three of these formations there would have be quite a bit of rotation and fluidity, rather than just playing a rigid 4-4-2 and not having any movement. Is our current squad capable of providing this? At a push, probably. But if one or two players got injured, then we would struggle. We need to build a squad, not just a team. Two, maybe three players capable of playing in each position and we’re looking good.

United cruise to comfortable victory in first friendly.

Leeds United 5 – 0 Farsley

Leeds United played their first friendly of pre season today by traveling over to Farsley and securing a comfortable 5-0 win. Brian McDermott named a different side for each half with Kenny, Peltier, Killock, Pearce, Pugh, Brown, Green, Tonge, McCormack, Smith and Poleon starting the game.

Leeds managed to get an early goal when Dom Poleon put United ahead after just 4 minutes. United were 3 up before the game was 30 minutes old when Leeds new boy Matt Smith bagged a brace on his first appearance in a Leeds shirt. Leeds dominated the first half and Smith was denied twice by the goalkeeper and Michael Brown smashed the post from 25 yards out.

McDermott changed his line up at half time and Cairns, Lewis Turner, Lees, Warnock, Drury, Norris, Thompson, Lenighan, White, Varney and Hunt came out to play the second half.

After 50 minutes it was another of the new boys who scored when Noel Hunt headed home from Luke Varney’s cross. Aidy White completed the scoring on 62 minutes when he finished the game off with a fantastic solo effort.

Luke Murphy was handed his first appearance when he came on for the last 15 minutes replacing Simon Lenighan.

All in all it was exactly what the doctor ordered with the vast majority of the squad getting 45 minutes under their belts, Leeds now head off to Slovenia on Monday for their pre season training camp and 3 friendlies against a Slovenian XI on Wednesday, FC Domzale on Saturday and finishing the tour of on Tuesday week against Ferencvaros.

Hunt joins McDermott’s army

The worst-kept secret of the Summer has finally been announced today, as Noel Hunt signed a two-year contract at Leeds United to become our third capture.

Hunt was signed by McDermott for £500,000 back in 2008, and ever since McD was appointed Leeds manager we’ve been linked with the Republic
Of Ireland international. He was out of contract at previous club Reading, and claimed once Leeds were interested there was only one option for him. On signing him the boss claimed his “his desire and determination, and never say die attitude” will engage the fans.

Hunt speaking with McDermott and Paddy Kenny.

I think this is the type of player we we’ve been missing for the last couple of seasons. Hopefully his energy and perseverance will rub on to the other players, and he will also chip in with plenty of goals.

In other news Crystal Palace have been linked with a move for last seasons player of the year, Sam Byram.

The 19 year-old stormed onto the scene last season with a string of great performances either at right-back or right-midfield. He is the one player who I don’t want really want to see leave Elland Road, but could we honestly turn down say £6 million for the lad? That could bring in four or five top quality Championship players if fully invested into the squad.

When asked on an apparent £3 million bid for Byram, McDermott replied with “for which boot”. This gives me faith that he’s not going to be sold, or at least not be sold on the cheap.

Is Positivity at last at Elland Road?

As Noel Hunt’s is on the brink of becoming Leeds’ 3rd signing of the summer and with Mr Bates drifting off into the sunset, Leeds signing a £1m player and GFH finally looking like they will back Brain McDermott. Is the sleeping giant finally going to be woken up?

Elland road set for better days?

It has been a dream last 48 hours for us Leeds fans and who would have thought it after the news on Friday that we had to sell to buy and with the departure of Steve Morison on a season long loan to Millwall, optimism wasn’t a word that could be associated with the majority of the Leeds United faithful.

‘Legend’ was how Neil Warnock described Morison, 3 goals in 16 appearances and he was the 1st major casualty of Brian Mcdermott’s reign

But the signing of Luke Murphy,23, for £1m, our first signing over a £1m since that of Richard Creswell from Preston North End way back in 2005, has now seemed to of created a cloud of positivity over Elland Road and quite rightly so too. Brian Mcdermott described Luke Murphy as the best player in league 1 and the fact that clubs like Wolves and Blackburn bid for Murphy whilst not to mention Swansea, Everton and Aston villa were all tracking the highly rated 23 year old shows how much of a coup this is for us. Mcdermott said it was a significant signing and showed the clubs ‘intent’ and he’s not far wrong there. Murphy is a classy midfielder who played over 100 games for his hometown club Crewe Alexandra and also went onto captain the Lancashire based side. He can create goals and score goals and this was something we were evidently lacking last season,with his cultured style of playing and with the combative style of Rudy Austin alongside him it seems we have a great balance in midfield and also early as it may seem it looks as if finally we have replaced Johnny Howson. Murphy is certainly a player of quality and a player we should all be excited to watch next season.

A delighted Luke Murphy pictured here with his Leeds shirt after completing his £1m move from Crewe

Matt Smith also joined the club and was our 1st signing of the summer. His signing has somewhat divided opinion between Leeds fans and with the 6ft6 strikers somewhat modest goal record at Oldham its easy to see why.But on abrighter note I think the giant striker certainly will give us something different up top and Will help fill the void left by Steve Morison and could complement Ross McCormack very well. As I mentioned earlier whilst his goal scoring record is questionable,14 goals in 75 games at Oldham Athletic, his overall contribution to the team and with his work rate shown at Oldham , it could turn out to be a very shrewd acquisition by Mcdermott. I just hope we give him time to settle in and not judge him too quickly. But he certianly has some section of the fans to win over for sure.

Can he win some fans over? here pictured after scoring against Liverpool in the fa cup 4th round

The imminent signing of Noel Hunt on a free transfer from Reading will add depth to our Attacking options which already boasts the likes of Ross McCormack, Matt Smith, Dom Poleon, Luke Varney and El Hadj Diouf. Whilst like Matt smith his goalscoring record is rather modest, 33 goals in 145 matches, he is a player who Brian Mcdermott knows all about,having managed him at Reading, and his willingness to work for the team and his unselfish play could prove to be invaluable for us next year and it gives us another alternative to our other strikers. He is a very good replacement for Steve Morison as he is a player who will give it 100% unlike a certain Mr Morison. Another savvy piece of business from Mcdermott I think and no doubt he’ll very quickly become a fans favourite due to his willingness to play for the club and to give it his all every match.

Noel Hunt’s signing is imminent

With Mr Bates finally not in control of the club and GFH’s signal of intent over this last 24 hours, if we can keep onto our key assets,Sam Byram, Tom Lees and Ross McCormack in particular alongside a new winger and a centre back,rumoured to be Matt Mills from Bolton Wanderers, it could prove to be a very good season for Brain and the lads!

Bates is finally OUT!!

Lets stay positive and hope more good news is on the horizon, lets trust Brian and GFH to get the required players in and lets back our new signings!!!
MOT

The big Steve Morison mystery

If we are all to believe the papers and the rumour mill then Steve Morison is set to return to Millwall on a year long loan, posing the question, why? I just don’t understand the thinking behind this, I mean, he did have a poor start with Leeds United but to completely write off a player who came in midway through the season after not playing at all for Norwich last season is crazy in my opinion. Okay, if we have to sell players to get players in then I would rather lose him than Sam Byram or Ross McCormack. But, another reason why this is deal is so strange is that we are loaning him out! If he doesn’t figure in McDermott’s plans then why don’t we sell him?

The rumours are that we are offloading Morison to bring in Noel Hunt, is this just a massive sidestep? He’s certainly no better than a fit Steve Morison. I’m not saying that Morison is brilliant and I’m certainly not defending his lacklustre performances last season but I actually thought he would go onto have a better season this season. With a whole pre season and a full season of games he should have been much more effective.

What do you think about this deal? Let us know your opinions.

Pre season and Leeds united

So the players are back finally and there is already negativity from the fans. Hardly surprising when the Manager says he’s going to have to sell to bring players in. This instantly sets off alarm bells of past years, the sales of Snodgrass, Gradel etc. McDermott says that he may need to sell to buy players, which members of Leeds United’s squad have good value? Sam Byram is the only stand out candidate. A lot of Leeds fans will say if we sell him then it’s same old same old and we’re showing no ambition but think about the other side of it. If we sold Sam Byram for £8m and it got put back into the team would you accept it? I know I would.

However from the outside right know it just looks as bleak as it has done for the past few years, no money or ambition. The only things that have changed this year from last are that Ken Bates is no longer in charge, a massive bonus and Brian McDermott. I heard all the stories this morning about us having no money etc and felt as disappointed as anyone. Then I turned on Yorkshire Radio and heard Thom Kirwin interviewing McDermott, it instantly made me feel more positive about the season ahead. Brian is a great motivator and sounded like he was really looking forward to the task ahead.

I think McDermott could still make some very good signings and the season ahead could still be a success, we shouldn’t be expecting instant success in the terms of promotion. As for the rumours of new ownership AGAIN I think the best thing to do is to let them get on with it until it happens. Remember how bad the atmosphere’s were at Elland Road when all you could hear was “Bates Out”? We don’t want that again with something like “GFH Out”. The players really need the fans support and it makes Elland Road a lot tougher place to come and get points for opposition sides.

The latest rumour is that Steve Morison could be going out on loan, I’m not sure if this would be good for Leeds or not. Getting rid of his high wages would be good but I can’t help think he could be good this season for us. Also if we are struggling to bring players in I’m not sure we should let players that we could use leave.

McDermott also said he had a verbal agreement with a player for them to become our second signing that should be done next week, all signs point towards it being Noel Hunt.