What i would do after the potential takeover....

So suposidly today is the day that we, the LUFC fans have all been waiting for. roumers have been rife about the possibility of the takeover being announced today. iv heard two roumers of two groups it could be

• A bloke who part owns AEG and has links with LA Galaxy and a couple of other american sporting clubs. this would also make sense as they have links to the company Compass who have now got somthing to do with the catering at the club...
• A Middle East family (when you here those two words you ortomatically think 'We're in the money' and look towards Man City) that are pretty high on some sort of rich list which can only be a good thing.

now being in football manager mode i have all sorts of ideas id like to put forward to the new owners and Niel Warnock.

Transfers
Tommy Smith - QPR
Paddy Kenny - QPR
Adel Tarabt - QPR
Sone Aluko - Rangers (free)
Matt Mills - Leicester City
Emile Heskey - Aston Villa (free) (why not, it will be brilliant)
Henri Landsbury - Arsenal

(a Right wing back)

(a Potent striker)

Contracts

Snodgrass

White

McCormack

Clayton

Release

Connoly

Nunez

Paynter

Brown

Stadium and fans

• Lower Ticket Prices and get the stadium full again.
• lower season ticket prices for the Loyal LUFC fans.
• Lower food Prices
• Do all in your power to scrap the Ellend Road ice rink plans
• Tarmac the car parks around Ellend Road for Aesthtic reasons.
• give me a job as a Groundsman (im a qualified Greenkeeper)

(i would like to stress i am no manager or director of football so my ideas are probebly useless however i am allowed to dream)

Long Time No Blog.......

Apologies for my long absence. iv been lapse on my blogging recently. Since i have been gone we have signed 2 players and takeover talks have moved further on and are looking very promising!


Signings.....

Paul Green - A 29 year old central Midfielder who has been roumerd both last season and this to be a target for the whites, and now Warnock has got his man. He has signed a 2-year deal from Derby County. Hes come in on a free and for that he is quite a capture. Hes a creative and adventurus midfielder who was an integeral part of The Rams season last year. could be a crutial part of Uniteds promotion push next season.

Adam Drury - A, 33 year old, much needed Left Back has joined from Nowrich on a free transfer and has signed a 2-year contract with the club. he has a wealth of experience in League 1, the Championship and the Premier League with Nowrich and had been with the club for over 10 years. a loyal and passionate player says he is excited by Warnocks vision for the club and he may have the experience and desire our defence has been lacking.

Along with these two Jason Pearce, a central defender has also signed earlier in the off season witch makes it three new additions all together for warnock.

Roumers.....

Paddy Kenny - now QPR have signed Robert Green it is more and more likely that Paddy Kenny will be moving on this summer. Stong contenders for his signiture are LUFC with Warnock being a big fan of the vastly experienced keeper. This also being backed up with the roumers of Andy Lonergan being wanted by Owen Coyle of Bolton.

Takeover......

So the roumers that were circulating about a possible Leeds takeover are looking more and more like they will amount to somthing significant for the club. The club had released a statement saying they have had intrest from a number of partys and L.U.S.T also said they had spoken to a number of intrested investors. Then, as recent and yesterday the club released another statement saying they have granted 'Exlusivity'  to a group of investors roumerd to have links to the Middle East. this could mean a cash injection for Warnock to build a Decent squad and more importantly end the reign of Bates at the club.

This is also a reason for no light being shed on the contract talks between Leeds and a number of current squad players like McCormack, Snodgrass and White. Also could be a reason why we are not spending money on transfers.

This Takeover has been roumerd, on social media sites, to be finalised on the 1st of July. A few things do point to this for example... Players joining from the 1st of July and no transfer fees

being paid since the intrest was made public.

Fingers crossed the Takeover comes to light and actually goes through. if so i can see exciting times in the future for the club both in the transfer market and in the league.

My 'Potential' Hotlist of Transfers

I must stress i am not deluded neither have i been smoking something, id just like to think LUFC could eventually mix it up in the transfer market....


Strikers
Ricardo Fuller - Out of Contract at stoke, hes got pace, a good finish and is a fan fave but the down side is he is 32 and had a couple of injury's
Emile Heskey - Bit of a donkey but worth a punt, hes a power house and could do a job
Andy Johnson - Pace, Trickery in the box and can finish. deadly player to have at your disposal.
Somen Tchoyi - shown at West Brom he has talent and can take people on as well as finish
James McFadden - Great feet and scores some wonder goals, becomes a play maker and can drop into the midfield. quality player in my eyes.
Jermain Beckford - id have him back for his goal against the scum. £1m
Stephen Quinn - watch him at Wembely yesterday and he looked quality, hes got fitness and skill and a good left foot, could play in midfield also £300k
Jordan Rhodes - everyone would like him. £3m
Simon Cox - doesn't get in the West Brom side but has an eye for goal and a rocket shot £800k
Jamie Mackie - has shown class in the premier league this season and a fave of Warnock £2m


Midfielders
Paul Scharner - Doggish brute in the midfield, strength and character, like a better Micheal Brown.
Kiethe Andrews - Linked heavily with us last year and after snubbing the whites has shown at both ipswich and West Brom that he has quality and can get goals from midfield
Michael Kightley - everyone has seen this players skill, he creates goals and gets goals himself
Alan Smith - Would still love to see this lad back, Passion is his main plus, lacking pretty much everything else now though.
Akos Buszaky - Had a great end to the season at QPR, good set piece taker and has a rifle of a shot, good play maker and would be a quality addition
Tom Soares - Showed he could cut it in the championship with Watford a few years back but went to stoke and didn't get a look in.
El Hadji Diouf - a realistic target although he is a scum bag, yet he did well for donny last season so could be worth the risk
George Boyd - Key player for Peterbougher, creates and scores goals from midfield. £500k
Tommy Smith - cant see him getting in a QPR anymore and has played under Warnock before, a true professional and a quality player £600k
Stephen Ireland - didn't play much for villa this season and could be a snap if they decide they want to get rid of him £1m
Henri Landsbury - maybe just a loan signing but is quality if he could be snapped up permanently £1m






Defenders
Steven Reid - fiery with a bit of bite and will get stuck in, what we like to see at LUFC
Danny Gabbidon - Welsh International and solid defender
Nicky Shorey - steady RB which is what we need after a succession of failures in that position
Stephen Kelly - Similar to Shorey and likes to get forwards, key if you want to play attacking football.
Fitz Hall - Converted central defender and as has Gabbidon, played under Warnock before.
Clint Hill - A Warnock fave, strong and solid at the back.
Ricardo Gardener - attacking Defender and has shown hes still got it when he played for Bolton this season.
Danny Shittu - has played a fair bit of Championship football and is a beast of a player with strength and size at his disposal.
Joe Mattock - a bit of a loose cannon and potentially could get in a lot of trouble up in Leeds but he was highly rated at Leicester city and a bit of flare at full back wouldn't go a miss.
Alan Hutton - Villa haven't really taken a shining to the scott, but would be solid at RB £700k
Jole Ward - very talked about player atm and for a reason as he ha shown class this season will Leeds stump up £450k
Greg Halford - could be a cheap yet reliable player as he is with cash strapped Pompey atm £250k
Matthew Mills - Probebly wouldnt take a pay cut to join but is still a quality player £2m






Some of these are obviously extremely out of our price range and very unrealistic targets but as a Leeds fan it is nice to dream......

Fans left Frustrated AGAIN!

Us the fans have once again been left frustrated with the lack of signings we have been told are going to be made. Warnock said he wanted to have another couple of faces in before he went off on his Joly's, yet we still have just the one signing to show and another potential signing slipping away.

Heavily linked Portsmouth defender Ward is now set to sign for Palace ass Leeds will not stump up the £400k initial fee for the highly rated young defender. is this Bates once again not wanting to part with his cash or does Warnock just not think he is worth that money and can get something better. 

With Leeds being made one of the early Favourites behind Leicester city for promotion we expect to be signing quality players. City, who have already spent in the region of £2m on three players, look to be backing up there push for promotion. Yes we don't have the financial backing that the midlands club has but we have the pedigree of a big club to help us attract players surely.

I myself, Football Manager style am going to look at the current transfer market and un contracted players and see who i would sign. just for fun, or if you would like to Warnock, feel free to use my advice.  

Bates : Truth or Tripe

In the past few weeks Ken Bates has come out and slammed the fans who have been protesting against him saying that 'they have cost the club investments over the course of last season'. He told a story on Yorkshire Radio about two weeks ago about how he had a very interested investor come over to Elland Road only to turn down the chance to help the club because of demonstrations that took place on match day. he says that the investor, who is a massive Leeds fan, did not want to be connected to such acts by the fans because in his country it shows a lack of respect and is disrespectful. Bates says that us the fans are costing ourselves investments in the club. is this just another one of Bates' 'bullshit' story's he likes to broadcast over his OWN radio station? or is it true what our untrustworthy and pretty dodgy owner is saying?

I also heard last week of social networks that Bates could be selling the club. i however pretty much doubt that. not until we are in the prem will he sell up and when that happens he will probably have already popped his clogs. Although i would love to be proven wrong.

Roumers and Signings

So after our first signing last week of Jason Pearce, we have moved swiftly into talks with another Pompy player in the form of defender Joel Ward. The Youngster can play Centre back and defencive midfield has broken into the Portsmouth first team playing the majority of games at RB. He has held talks with the club in the past few days however a few more clubs, the likes of Ipswich and Burnley are also roumerd to be interested. 

 The figures that have been floating round in terms of Transfer Fee are£250000-£500000 which for a young and talented player, who has played at championship level, isn't too bad really. i doubt however we will, if we sign the player, know how much the fee is and will be another 'undisclosed fee'. 

Another roumer that was thrown into the mixer recently was George Boyd of Peterbrough. a goalscoring centre midfielder which we have missed since loosing Howson. Also El Hadji Diouf doesn't seem to be going away either. Bates has said that things will be slow now as players and agents are off on there jollys but lets see if Warnock can bag another couple before close season proper sets in.... 

Signing No.1..... PEARCE

So Warnock has already gone one further than Grayson and managed to back up his claims to make signings by moving for the signature of Jason Pearce from relegate Portsmouth. Under Grayson we, as fans, seemed to always be promised signings and promised we had money to spend but things never materialised however, Warnock said he would start the hard work now and start bringing in new faces and that's what he has done. He says this is the first of what hopes to be an influx of new faces and with us being linked with El Hadji Diouf still i feel the next signing isn't to far away.

Pearce has signed a 4 year contract at united for an undisclosed fee from relegated Pompy. He is a Strong tackling defender and says he loves a tackle, putting his head where others wouldn't and getting stuck in. he has played the majority of Portsmouth's games this season and won player of the year award 10/11 season for Bournemouth. He signed for Pompy from Bournemouth for £500,000.  

Warnock says he is a player that he was monitoring when he was at QPR and he also tried to sign so obviously he is a player he rates highly. Hopefully this will be the start of Warnock fixing our defence. A new RB another CB and possibly a new LB would do wonders before the start of next season. Along with a new RM, CM and CF.... and i also hope Clayton can sort out his contract with the club because in my opinion he is worth keeping.

Looking To The Future

After a very successful season, guided by Neil Redfearn, from the Under 18's at LUFC, a host of players have been offered professional contracts at the club. As a club known for its excellent produce of young players coming through the ranks, the likes of James Milner, Aaron Lennon, Alan Smith and Jonny Howson come to mind this can only be a good thing for these young players. the current players who have come through and made first team appearances are Tom Lees, Zac Thompson, Aiden White (amongst a couple who have made one or two appearances). The three named have made a host of appearances last season and seem to be a key part in Warnocks plans for next season as Lees and White have both been offered new contracts. 

Young Players Offered Professional Contracts

• Sam Byram
• Ross Killock
• Simon Lenighan
• Charlie Clamp
• Domonic Poleon 

Along with those five a further year has been added to the two young Turners as they signed there first professional contracts last summer. For me, its a great thing that LUFC are looking at the achievements of the young players and they are being rewarded with an opportunity. I would give the youngsters a chance in pre-season, see if they can make the step up.

The Begining Of The 'New Start'

The Begining Of The 'New Start'

As i see it, today (Wednesday 2nd May) is the real beginning of the new regime under Neil Warnock. Today is the day Warnock reveals his 'Retained list' and as of around 3.30pm we found out a host of names who will be and will potetially leaving Elland Road this summer. Warnock, who has promised big changes this summer, has been frustrated with his sides performances and concedes there is no fight and passion amongst some or most of the players in his squad. After releasing Mika Vayrynen and Ben Parker last month, it was clear Warnock was not bluffing and today he has reiterated his intentions. For me this is both exciting and concerning at the same time. Exciting because this leaves us with the prospect of new and better players coming into the club who will be the players that Warnock wants to work with and we wont have the sense that he is just making do with what he has. Come next season Warnock can not fall back on the excuse that the players are not good enough if things end up going tits up. yet i feel it is cconcerning at the same time as we are now left with a small squad with no certainty of signings and with a couple of key players left with one year on there contracts and no guarantee they will resign. 

So far under Warnock

Players Released

• Mika Vayrynen
• Ben Parker
• Loyd Sam
• Alex Bruce
• Mikeal Forssell
• Danny Webber
• Miak Taylor

Player Transfer Listed

• Adam Clayton
• Ramon Nunez
• Billy Paynter
• Andy O'brian
• Paul Rachubka
• Paul Connolly

Warnock has stated that the players on the Transfer list will not definitely be leaving Leeds if there is not a suitable bid made for the player. a big shock on this list is Adam Clayton who was a big figure this season scoring the goal of the season at Leicester. Warnock has said that Clayton's people have demanded too much from the club contract wise and that Leeds are not ready to meet their demands. Warnock sad that the midfield is a position he has been looking at closely. This leaves us with the impression that he has possible signings lined up as the midfield wasn't strong enough as it was last season. I think if we can get decent money for these players that are listed i don't think they will be a big loss depending on what Warnock can bring in.

Players to be Offered New Contracts

• Robert Snodgrass
• Ross McCormack
• Aiden White
• Zac Thompson
• Tom Lees
• Michael Brown

Despite the mass clear out, Warnock does want to keep hold of his vital players. Snodgrass, taking over captaincy this season, has been offered a contract to take him to highest earner at the club. However it will be hard to keep hold of the Scott with a lot of interest coming from the Premier League with only one year left on his current contract. If he doesn't re-sign, a good offer will be hard to ignore. Ross McCormack scored 19 goals last season making him Uniteds top goal scorer.

      Already Linked with a host of players, Warnock hopes to have his first signing early next week, this roumerd to be Ddefender Jason Pearce from relegated Portsmouth. Also roumerd is El Hadji Diouf who Warnock had strong words about after Doncasters defeat to Leeds a couple of months ago. Despite Dioufs poor reputation as a bad sportsman i feel he would be a quality signing adding pace and skill which is what we've been lacking since the departure of Max Gradel. One thing is for certain Warnock will have a busy off season, and us LUFC fans will no doubt have a lot to say on what goes on.