He ignores a few thousands fans protesting. He ignores attendances figures dropping. Now former players are criticising the way he's running the club. “I was made out to be the bad guy by certain directors and I wasn’t. I said all along that I wanted to stay and obviously the powers above me had a decision to make and they didn’t see me at the club. “I didn’t want to celebrate in front of the fans but I needed to make a point to the chairman and his chief executive because everybody here said hello to me except for the chairman and the chief executive, which is disappointing. “I’ve seen that the chairman said I left Leeds to go to a smaller club and that was very disrespectful to me and Bristol City. That’s really disappointing but that’s him – what can you do? I did blow a kiss but I can’t stress enough that it wasn’t to the fans.” “It’s hard to speak out when you’re a Leeds player and things are going on around you. I was really close to Jermaine Beckford and they let him go on a free transfer. It’s hard to see that but you can’t say anything. “Over the years it’s happened over and over again and people have blamed the players but now people are starting to see that when it happens four, five or six times, there’s something else going on. I can only give my opinion about what I’ve seen at the club. I didn’t want to say anything but after what Ken Bates has said, I have to say my piece. “There was no need for him to say anything because I haven’t said anything about the club. I’ve only ever said that I love the club and didn’t want to leave, that’s all. After things that he’s said, I think some people need to stand up to him.” http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co....ristol_city_bates_in_kilkenny_blast_1_3787174
Well that's a much more mature way of going about it than McSheffrey did, and now I feel we've given Kilkenny a raw deal about how he left. What he's said stinks of blunt honesty and I like that. I have to say I've got a new respect for him.
He didn't really criticise Ken Bates, more Grayson. He said that him and Doyle should have been the first players we signed after we got promoted. I agree that we should have signed Micky Doyle but Mcsheffrey was kidding himself - he played absolutely ****! Kilkenny hasn't said that he deserved a new deal etc. just that he wanted to stay and the club didn't treat him well - just like Johnson, Beckford, Gradel...
McSheffrey was basically arrogant and took the hump because he thought he was better than we thought he did, he slagged us off for not seeing what we'd missed out on and then slagged off the entire club and management. Kilkenny has calmly explained that he actually wanted to stay at the club and has openly admitted that his contract situation was handled horrifically by the board. He's basically come out, straight away, and clarified his reasons for any celebration of his goal, and I understand that. To have the balls to make ANY statement when he knows he wasn't a fans favourite after the way he left, that takes guts. Let alone a statement that is spoken in such a mild mannered and mature way. He's not lost his temper, lashed out, slagged anyone off, he has simply truthfully stated what his reasons for his celebration were and who they were aimed at.
What I think is especially good, is the bit about Beckford leaving and how it's hard for the Leeds players to say anything. It's good to see a player confirming the worries that the fans have about contracts etc.
Just wait till Snoddy leaves, I very much doubt he will keep his mouth shut on what is happening behind the scenes and will not sign any confidentiality order.
It still doesn't tell us what deal Kilkenny wanted or Beckford and Johnson for that matter. If Kilkenny wants to spill the beans why doesn't he tell us the full details of the deal, money offered etc??
"He hates Ken Bates, and so do we," as the Kop put it. The paragraph about it not being the players' fault is crucial. Kilkenny could have pinned the blame on lazy teammates (hell, he moaned at them enough during matches!) or poor management, but he's well and truly made Bates out to be responsible. Good lad, Neil.
Well obviously we'll never know the exact wages and offers that our players get, but what we do know is that he got a better wage at Bristol. He's not even an automatic starter for them either, and is going to play as many games for them a season, as he has and would have continued to for us. I don't rate him as a player, but he played 50 games a season for us, so if he was offered a wage that didn't reflect his importance in the squad, he has every right to turn it down.
That said, it was the same as what Johnson said - "I want equality". These guys were playing every game, so if they got offered wages less than other first teamers, no wonder they turned them down.
Equality to who though? There are always some players more crucial to the team than others, and their wage is reflected in that. Not everyone can be on the same wage as the most important player will then just say "if he is on that, then I should be on this". Surely there has to be a sliding scale somewhere, with the likes of Becchio at the top and Ben Parker much further down? I liked Johnson, bit in no way was he the most irreplaceble member of the team and he should have realised that when it came down to money offered.
Totally against a one wage structure, it simply doesn't work in professional sport. If you have specific skills and quality that a football club need, then you have every right to ask for the salary you think you are worth and await the response, if you don't get what you want then you move on. If you sign a contract that states you will be paid an agreed amount for four years, then so be it, you do your best and so will the club and if it doesn't work out, both parties agree to move on. Kilkenny and his agent probably thought he was worth more than he was getting paid, as he had been with us for a few years and helped the club to promotion, the Leeds board didn't see it that way, probably due to the fact Kilkenny was actually a piss poor player and they wanted better quality in, so they refused to give him what he wanted and the rest is history. What I agree with Kilkenny about, is the disrespect Bates has for people and they way he makes them always out to be the bad guys. Bates is a ****, we all know that and so do the players, he lies, he makes false promises and according to some people, he is as close to evil as you might get, the man will get his comeuppance in a few years time, and we can then all celebrate.
Johnson is a bit of a shame tbh. He wanted wages that reflected how often he played which was fair. The problem with that is he only got so much game time because we had noone better. That said, I think a 4-4-2 with a central midfield of him and clayton would have worked extremely well.
That's what Kilkenny was mainly saying though in this statement. That Bates didn't need to say anything about him. Read into it what you want, but the way I see it, is that we have 50 game a season players who left on free transfers because they were offered wages not equal to others.
The hypocrisy of some people is incredible. They run Kilkenny down then as soon as he complains about Bates doing the same, they're back on his side.
I hope you're not pointing any finger at me, as I've maintained my stance, Kilkenny was one of the worst players I have ever had to endure in a Leeds shirt, he is also a wee arsehole of human being. Now, what he has said about dealing with Bates, does appear to have elements of truth in it and he should be applauded for saying what he has, it doesn't however change the facts, he was a ****e player and alongside Johnson, we had one hell of a piss poor midfield for nearly two seasons.
