You know, it is very frustrating to keep reading so many negative comments on this board. You'd swear we'd been relegated to the Conference. I always thought Leeds fans were the best in the world who stood by their team through thick and thin a la "Marching On Together", but its almost as if people are wishing for a disaster to happen in the hope that Bates may leave the club. Well, I don't think Bates is going anywhere in a hurry. As much as I dislike our Chairman for the horrible person he is, his arrogance and complete disdain for the club's supporters, and his lack of additional investment in the squad, I have to accept he is staying at Leeds for at least another year. However, he has done one good thing at last, he appointed Warnock as Manager. That gives me a lot more hope than had he kept Grayson or given the job to Redfearn (which he could easily have done with his track record of being stubborn). At least we have a damn fine Manager in place now, and one who knows how to build a strong team. Added to this is the £500k signing of Jason Pearce, a player highly admired at his previous club who by all accounts had a fantastic season in a struggling, doomed club. Great signing for Leeds, and finally a player who will no doubt contribute to our future and with the potential of becoming a Leeds legend. This kid WANTS to play for Leeds, he hasn't come to see out his career like a lot of the dross Grayson brought in. Warnock has cracked the whip at Leeds, and he's made it clear he wants players who are willing to fight for the club. Clayton has been tested, and we'll soon see if he really wants to be a Leeds player, along with Snodgrass. Honestly, I thought Snodgrass would have signed by now. What is there to think about? Clubs aren't allowed to approach him until January 2013, so what's the holdup? If he doesn't sign, I see Leeds asking him to put in a transfer request to save any additional payments to Snodgrass should he go. However, while he is a Leeds player I will support him. At least its fun to see who we are being linked with, and who eventually joins/goes. Bates hasn't endeared himself to the majority of Leeds fans, and he knows this. Today I received in the post a reminder from the club to renew my Club Membership, my LUTV subscription and my Matchday Programme subscription. I refuse to. I will also not buy the new shirt or any other stuff from the Elland Road store. That is, not until I am sure Warnock is putting a team in place to challenge. This is my way of getting back at Bates, rather than come on here and whine incessantly like a drunk crawling in an alley looking for his can of cider. Let's rather enjoy this board and make better comments than "Bates is a twat". We already know that. Much better to give a smart and constructive analysis of a potential signing, or discussing a rumour about selling someone. It's damn boring to keep seeing the ususal "won't sign him because Bates won't spend" or "he's just another free transfer reject" rubbish. Warnock has stated he understands the budget agreed with Bates, and he's okay with it. He came to Leeds because he wants to take this club back to the Prem, and he knows it will be a massive achievement. He could have gone to Wolves knowing they will be in the Championship next season, but also knowing he will have millions more available as well as the nucleus of a better squad than he has at Leeds, yet he still chose the Mighty Whites. I am very grateful he did, and I am positive for the future, even though I withhold my cash for now whilst Bates is a twat
We have been relegated to the Conference. Or you'd think we had considering how much the club harps on about conferences.
Your points would be valid if any players we were linked with weren't just a case of "we won't sign him because he'll cost too much" or "he's just another free transfer reject". Joel Ward, fair enough. But outside that? Diouf? Reject. Smith? Reject. Bowyer? Reject. Half the QPR team? Don't get me started. We've not been linked with anyone interesting, the only rumours we've got about selling players are bad ones (ie, how long before we accept an offer from Norwich for Snodgrass and McCormack and Clayton), we've heard nothing about getting shot of our deadwood, something we know is necessary or we'll get the "you have to sell to buy" mantra from ken "deep pockets, short arms" bates, and it just sounds like the same old crap. I don't want to speculate about potential signings because i don't know of any I'd like to see here who we could realistically get - discussing transfer rumours hurts because I know I'll be ultimately disappointed. It's all a load of worrying rumours, with the odd gem in there, but the gems never come in, the worrying ones sometimes come true, and on top of that the rest are even more disappointing.
I'm just saying things as I see them. Positives: - Warnock is an experienced manager who knows how to get teams out of this division. - Jason Pearce is a good first signing. - Joel Ward would also be good. Negatives: - Bates clearly hasn't changed, and Warnock is coming out with talk of "sensible spending" and having to sell before we buy. - One of our best players from last season and a promising prospect has been transfer listed seemingly for asking for parity with a non-transfer listed Danny Pugh - None of the other rumoured signings inspire any confidence, Paul Green? El Hadji Diouf? These aren't promotion players. - We still have the possible departures of White, McCormack, Brown and Snodgrass hanging over our heads, with theit futures dependent on contract offers. - Our squad is currently in a weaker state than it was before our 2 immediately previous Championship campaigns. Now, some of those negatives can change, but I will become optimistic when I have reason to be. I was let down last season and I'm not letting that happen again.
1. Exactly what I'd expect him to say, and exactly what is needed. He's clearing up Grayson's mess, 'cos he didn't hack out the deadwood. Ever. 2. I'm not sure how you know Pugh's salary, but let's say you are right. If he's not worth it, and Clayton isn't either, are you suggesting that Clayton should still be paid the same as Pugh?? That's what it sounds like. Think Warnock knows the market a lot etter than any of us. 3. Perhaps we should start better rumours then! Seriously, it's only rumours unsubstantiated by the club at this time. Agents everywhere are spouting all sorts of rubbish for the gullible to pick up on (and yes, I'm gullible too). 4. Bloody hell. Warnock inherited this situation, and has now made his decisions known. If the players were that keen to play for Leeds, they'd have signed up now. This lies entirely with the players (until they take too long to respond, of course, when they will be rightly transfer listed). Why are you so down on this. Whose fault do you think it is that we're in this situation. Should we pay them whatever they ask for? Gawd, I'm glad you're not the manager. 5. This is a surprise after a clearout? Get real. give Warnock a chance to build his squad. He's on it.
I've got nothing against Warnock, but I suspect he knows he has to work with Bates, and it's Bates' policies that are holding us back. Clayton is easily worth £9k/w regardless of Pugh's salary. I'm not suggesting Warnock isn't doing the best he can, just listing why I'm not overly optimistic at this moment in time. If Snoddy & Co. sign new deals and we get in a couple of quality signings I'll start to raise my hopes.
Look on the bright side Simon. We haven't signed anyone **** yet, and no crap loans. Take a positive from that! Are you really sure that Pugh is on £9k/w? Personally I have no idea of their worth in the market, so can't really comment. but I know someone who does appreciate value, and he's in the manager's chair. You must give him time. How many other managers have made a signing yet?
I am no Bates lover, but in times when the rest of Football is going bust I like been solvent and able to pick at other teams bones for a change. However I still do not trust him, but its the Police & the FA with whom I am disappointed, as they did not investigate him following the recent Parliamentary Committee.
There is a common thread emerging here - we have to trust Warnock. At least we have seen what our Manager is capable of on a consistent basis, and we can't argue against the signing of Pearce. Snodgrass, Clayton and McCormack...well it becomes their choice if they want to wear the White shirt. They may have a peek at other possibilities, but in all honesty can't see Prem clubs coming in for them just yet. If Norwich wanted any of them, they wouldn't have signed Howson. All Warnock can do is share his vision and strategy for Leeds with the players he wants, and if they aren't convinced then they leave. The question is where do they go? Maybe if West Ham stay down and make a bid then that would be a destination. Birmingham are skint, Wolves will retain a number of their players but they have already stated they are planning for the future and won't pay silly wages. Blackburn definitely won't pay silly wages. So leave Leeds for???? All I can say is Warnock is a shrewd customer, he knows the type of player he wants and he usually gets a solid squad together. He is a tough guy, and players know where they stand with him. Work hard or bugger off. He has already identified the potential coming out of our Academy and has said they will go out on loan to learn the physical side, and boy we know how hard Lge One and Lge Two can be, so I'm all for that. Tom Lees certainly benefited after almost two years struggling with injury. If some of our "star" players decide to leave, then good luck to them elsewhere. The one thing Warnock will have told them is that they will never get a better opportunity to become legends at a genuinely massive club like Leeds United. Bates needs to step up, but I agree with the issue of over commiting and ending up with another noose around our necks. So many clubs are battling, and if it carries on like this then soon we may well be the only club who can afford to pay £8k a week to players.
Firstly, PL clubs would be falling over themselves to get Snoddy, and I'm sure a Wigan type would be interested in McCormack. I don't get how you spin it as their choice when information suggests Rosco's offer was derisory and Clayton was placed on the transfer list against his will without ever actually receiving a contract offer. People talk about Clayton signing his contract but how can he sign a new contract when there isn't one on the table?
I'm not so sure that Premir League clubs will be falling over themselves to sign Snoddy or McCormack. firstly, if they were that keen to have them, they would be signed up already. We'd certainly have heard of offers at the very least, as that's how agents work when trying to engineer a move. The second thing is that we, and I include myself, probably have a skewed opinion of how good our best players are. Effectively they're big fish in a small pond, whereas they'd be small fish in a big pond in the PL. Let's face it, Snods & Rosco can't even break into the Scotland team, which is fairly easy to do if you have a modicum of talent. They're that crap. Then again, it might just be that clown of a manager Levein that can't recognise talent.
Like the £3.5m Norwich offered for Snoddy last summer? It's a joke that Snodgrass and McCormack can't get into the Scotland squad. Our team overall was poor last season but we also have some of the best players in the division, and letting them go would be ridiculous and would easily condemn us to a few more seasons in the NPC.
Simon, your original post was in the plural, which I responded to. One known offer is not plural. I'm just trying to say that there was not a flurry of offers. LOL. Just re-read my post & it's ambiguous. I was meaning that the Scotland team is crap, not Snoddy & Rosco. I believe both should be 1st choice picks for the national team. Bastard Levein.
Levein clearly does not rate Snods or Ross, which is a bit strange considering their form. It's harder to play in the Championship than the SPL...FACT. That said, I still don't believe Prem clubs are racing to sign either. Maybe Blackpool if they go up? Then again, things can change very quickly. I still believe the best outcome for both players is to sign new deals with Leeds. Clubs aren't flush with cash as much as we think, and they need to be exceptional to get good deals, especially if they stay in the Championship.
Billy - If Snodgrass or McCormack have the slightest bit of ambition, they should be asking for a transfer asap
Don't be so sure that we are in good financial health. Alarm bells are ringing all over the place to suggest otherwise. bates has a habit of cooking books. And what's this about police and FA investigation?
