Weekend Debate

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Doc

Doc

Well-Known Member
Feb 1, 2011
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Only a couple of days left in the transfer window to go, but what have we learned? Leeds and Victor Orta have had a great time. Man Utd and Chelsea are being raped by clubs who decide to inflate their prices for their players and besides some of those players are not top quality, but Man Utd are so dezzy they are buying scraps. Barcelona are skint and owe existing players millions in deferred wages but not paying them. De Jong is owed £17m alone. Pique has taken 3 wage cuts and also owed £24m in deferred wages. AC Milan took CDK but are also skint along with Roma, Lazio, Napoli, Juventus, Caliagri, Salernitano, PSG still dominate French football but wonder where Pochetino will end up? Germany are milking high prices for their players coming to England and German clubs still taking lots of English kids you wont have heard of yet oh and Forest have bought a whole new squad plus the big news is that the Leicester model is broke. Rumours about Brendan Rodgers getting sacked, Fofana refusing to work so now with the kids, Schmeichael sold for peanuts to Nice, no new players coming in, a couple of players like Tielemens who will walk away on a freebie rather than sign a new contract.

Things that need sorting at Leeds:

Bogusz 21yo last week and contracted until June next year with a transfer value of at least £1.5m
Poveda 22yo and contracted until June 2024 and has a transfer value of £2m
McCalmont 22yo and contracted until June 2024 and has a transfer value of £150k

All the stories about Dan James to Spurs and Jack Harrison to Newcastle plus their relative valuations has got me thinking. Harrison has been great in parts every season since we first brought him in on loan. Every season he seems to improve his output in goals and assists. Dan James, maybe through no fault of his own has failed to shine enough yet. Yes we know he has pace to burn and he gives his all when on the pitch…… but isnt he just another Helde Costa? We spent big money on Costa and in fairness to him he was a key player in our Championship winning season, but he failed in the Premier League and I’m beginning to see similarities with James. I dont see how Dan fits our system unless hes just back up for Jack and that seems an expensive sub to have. Raphinha took the right flank so no place for James and if Sinisterra takes over the right flank again……. And the strange thing is that we really only have one right winger in the first team squad and thats Summerville, Sinisterra, Harrison and James are all left wingers?

Heres a story that you would think some switched on journo would have picked up on. Last seasons Championship Play Off Final was between Cooper and Corberan 2 of the best young managers in England. Cooper won the game and got Forest promoted. A couple of weeks later Corberan resigned from Huddersfield after getting them almost promoted on a crap no money budget. Everyone wondered why he should leave just like that, some on here thought he was already lined up to take over from Marsch if he failed or was going to come back and take over the 21s again. But no he took over Olympiacos and guess what, the owner of Forest also owns the Greek outfit, so in fact both play off coaches are now employed by the same bloke and if Cooper fails Corberan will more than likely be back…..



Just to finish off on the subject of buying a striker and the disparity of the money available for CDK and no money available now? Right now we have in simplistic terms made £20m profit as a conservative estimate, and that includes all the new players brought in. On top of that we have cash to come in from Costa next Summer which is £4m and then we also have cash coming in from tribunals for Edmondson, Kun, Caprile. It also looks like we will get another £1.5m for Bogusz who should be leaving next week along with Poveda who is also valued at £2m and if Drameh is sold, as some journos suggest there is another £3m plus sell on. So the club have actually spent fk all and made a significant profit. Hard to see how we have £35m available one day and then the next zero. There are times when our club need to be more up front and communicate the message better
 
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YEP now reporting that Jack Jenkins can leave the club and Leeds are willing to accept offers for him. Valued at £150k the soon to be 21yo has only had one run out for the first team and that was against Crawley. Played a prominent part in the U23s winning league and cup double and then promotion to Prem2 Div1, but with Archie Gray and Darko Gyabi pushing to make an impact in the first team, no chance for JJ to make it at the club now
 
Newcastle break their transfer record on Isak, €70m and also gave away % of future sell on fee. I reckon Eddie Howe has spent close to £300m since January
 
Looking like Poveda is going out on loan to Blackpool and in my view is determined to walk away on a free at the end of his contract in 2024. He has had offers to go to a couple of Spanish clubs 3 MLS clubs a couple of Italian clubs but they wanted to buy him and he knows he can make more money leaving on a free so willing to run his contract down like he did at Man City.
 
see Jenkins has just joined Salford on loan till the end of the season. I like the kid and wish him well he always impressed me when I watched him.
 
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As on James and Harrison I really hope we keep a hold of both. James hasn't had a real go in his correct position to be honest. But it really all depends on if we bring someone new in. James is a one position man take him out his comfort zone he tends to struggle he's no back up striker his strengths are out wide if we do get someone in who can play wide and centrally, he could be the carrot which we dangle. As on Harrison I think he's getting better and better I'd be disappointed if we sold him. He's really kicked on this season and a big part in our current team.
I still believe we have another signing on the cards before the window closes. two would be the icing on the cake time will tell I guess.
 
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Doc said:
Looking like Poveda is going out on loan to Blackpool and in my view is determined to walk away on a free at the end of his contract in 2024. He has had offers to go to a couple of Spanish clubs 3 MLS clubs a couple of Italian clubs but they wanted to buy him and he knows he can make more money leaving on a free so willing to run his contract down like he did at Man City.
Click to expand...
Hope he jumps off the pier.....not good enough and a bit of a "I am" methinks
 
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Sinisterra already looks like he can produce a match turning moment.

Harrison the same.

I might be overating Summerville but I think the lad is a great player. A bigger prospect than Gelhardt and Greenwood.

James is decent, honest, a good pro, has great pace but I genuinely don't think he is as good as the other three. The fact we paid 25 million for him is the reason he is in front of Summerville at the moment. I'd be shocked if he is in front of Summerville next season.
 
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Hello its Man Utd here, we would like to make you an offer for Malik Wilks

Ok that’ll be £200m <laugh>

Ajax are taking the pee over Antony a player worth £35m and just knocked back £90m and every decent player they try for refuses them. They are now so dezzy they would take Poveda…..
 
Archie Gray: 16 years old, GCSEs freshly in hand and part of the Leeds first team
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By Phil Hay
Aug 26, 2022

An age gap of 14 years exists between Leeds United’s captain, Liam Cooper, and Archie Gray, the youngest face in their squad, and it showed on the morning after the final game of last season.

Cooper had steered Leeds through a 2-1 win at Brentford, a result that staved off relegation, and the 30-year-old was soon on a plane to the USA, destined for a stag do in Las Vegas. As he was in the air, Gray sat in a quiet school hall in North Yorkshire completing his GSCE geography exam.

Yesterday, Gray did what other students across the UK were doing and went to collect his results. No one else at his school and very few teenagers in the country were checking out of secondary education with their GCSEs complete and a professional football debut so close to touch. He leaves St John Fisher Catholic High School in Harrogate too young to drink, too young to drive but in the eyes of his sport, good enough and old enough.

“We got the word that he got his GCSEs,” Jesse Marsch said yesterday. “I asked him in front of the team and he said he got Bs and As — Bs first, which made me think he got more Bs than As! Clearly, he’s a bright kid.” And at 16 years old, a story like few others at Thorp Arch.

There are ways in which Gray could be classed as a conventional academy player, following an established path of development. He signed for Leeds as an under-nine, the earliest moment English clubs can formally recruit players so young, and Thorp Arch is awash with budding footballers who have been on the scene since their primary school years. But Gray was destined to attract attention for two reasons: the speed of his progression over the past 12 months and his genes, which cannot pass without mention.

He is the grandson of Frank, Leeds’ former defender, and the great nephew of Eddie, as brilliant a footballer the club has ever produced. He is the son of Andy, a talented striker in his time and, many say, the only shining light in Leeds’ League Cup defeat to Aston Villa in 1996. The line of blood is exceptionally strong and Gray is not the only family member working his way through the club’s junior ranks. His younger brother Harry is making people talk in the same way, an irrepressible forward who scores for fun. The family tree says it was always meant to be.

Last season, Gray expected to tick over in the background at Thorp Arch, an under-16s scholar who often played up a level but whose training schedule was standard: fitting around school and consisting of three midweek nights. He was 15 when the term started and, as far as he was aware, a long way from any high-profile exposure. But from nowhere, his talent and other circumstances brought about extreme elevation. One minute he was appearing for the club’s under-18s against Chelsea, the next he was making the trip to Tottenham Hotspur with Marcelo Bielsa’s senior squad, then making the bench for a Premier League game against Arsenal in December.



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Injuries at first-team level helped bring him to that point and as Bielsa said himself, he was risking asking too much of Gray too soon. But it was still true that had Gray, a ball-playing midfielder, not possessed so much skill and poise, he would not have caught Bielsa’s eye in the first place. Bielsa admired him and the Argentinian’s coaching staff echoed his confidence in him. Gray was so young that had he appeared as a substitute against Arsenal, he would have broken a hitherto untouchable record: that held by Peter Lorimer, Leeds’ youngest ever player, who made his debut for the club aged 15 years and 289 days in 1962.

The speed of his step up from youth team to first team, and the age he was taking that step at, created unusual considerations. Bielsa wanted Gray to train with the main squad during the day and Gray, with his school’s permission, arranged to miss classes. Leeds had educational facilities at Thorp Arch ready to support him and he underwent specially arranged sessions of one-to-one tuition to make sure that, in spite of his plan to finish school this summer and fully commit to football, he was in a position to sit and pass his GCSEs as planned.

Because he was 15 and did not turn 16 until March, it was also necessary for Leeds to implement safeguarding measures. Gray would change for games in a separate dressing room, giving him privacy and space. He was offered a chaperone for the club’s recent pre-season tour of Australia, on account of the fact he was the youngest travelling member by a distance. The club and his school worked closely together, cooperating to make sure his academic work could be finished without hindering his footballing prospects. St John Fisher tweeted in March to congratulate Gray on a goal scored in an under-23s game against Manchester United, a ridiculously casual finish from 35 yards. Leeds tried hard to limit hype around him, but deflecting attention became increasingly impossible.


The thing everyone notices about Gray is that a player so raw does not look raw at all. He was used by Jesse Marsch in pre-season and the only obstacle for him was a foul by Aston Villa’s John McGinn that injured his ankle in Australia. When he played he was slick and effective, a fast-thinker who showed intelligence with his moving and passing, mature enough to captain England’s Under-16s. “I consider Archie a first-team player at 16,” Marsh said after a pre-season win over Blackpool in July. “I think he’s got the full package.”

Wednesday’s League Cup tie against Barnsley was a potential opportunity for Gray to make his first-team debut, but he suffered from a virus last week and Marsch decided to leave him out of the 20. The day will come before long, though, and Marsch is able to promise him that. “He’s a big part of our plans,” Leeds’ head coach said. “It’s not like we have a 16-year-old kid in with the first team. He’s one of the players. That’s a big compliment for him.”

It is no surprise to hear on the grapevine that the Premier League’s leading clubs are watching Gray constantly, Manchester City included. He is on a scholarship at Leeds and the club will be ready to finalise professional forms as soon as he is able to sign them when he turns 17 next March. His surname goes before him and it will be there for the duration of his career, a genetic link like very few others in the game, but school is behind him, he has the ability to be his own man and, in the eyes of the Grays and those who know him, the potential to match up to any of them.
 
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Doc said:
Newcastle break their transfer record on Isak, €70m and also gave away % of future sell on fee. I reckon Eddie Howe has spent close to £300m since January
Click to expand...

Closer to 200m.
 
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