gdp's Comments

The Scratching Shed : Away fans views: Ipswich Town (A)

Fri, 26 Aug 2011 19:25:34 +0000

I can hear Simon Grayson now - "Jonny - a captain's gotta do what a captain's gotta do. Make a run into the box, you don't need to score, that's not the aim. What you need to do is this - take on Sonko and 4 words - get a yellow card." I'm not saying that Grayson will tell Dirty Leeds to hurt him.....But Dirty Grayson will tell Dirty Leeds to hurt him.

The Scratching Shed : Away fans views: Ipswich Town (A)

Fri, 26 Aug 2011 17:34:44 +0000

Another BIG reason for Leeds to go out there and crush Ipswich. Simon Grayson should just show this to the players. And yes it is genuine and even 'better' with the sound turned on: http://ibrahimasonko.com/flash.html

The Scratching Shed : Clayton Hammers Home Late Upton Park Equaliser

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 00:57:20 +0000

Problem is Gryff is that football owners look at football clubs as businesses and players as assets. If someone comes in with an offer of £5m for Gradel, then it's a tough call. Completely agree that without Max, we won't get promoted, but if you turn an offer down and Gradel gets injured (a la Somma), then he's out for the season, you can't play Gradel for the season and you've lost £5m and you're paying him wages while he recuperates. If I was wearing a Ken Bates hat (i don't want to) I could argue that we had a similar debate over Fabian Delph. We got good money, he went to Villa, got injured straight away and was out for a season. Now he's playing again, but is he the same player that he was when we sold him? It was a sound business decision, and the team didn't fall apart and it gave Howson an opportunity to shine. It's a difficult one - for me, I think he's staying at Leeds this season - it's his best option - he stands out in a team where he's either equal or better than the other LUFC gems - Howson, Snodgrass (and coming up fast Clayton). If Leeds get promoted, then Gradel gets his big PL payday with Leeds. If Leeds don't get promoted, then he'll get his big pay day and get a job in the PL anyway (a la Beckford). Signing for West Ham, does not guarantee him a PL place next season. Staying with Leeds this season, does guarantee him a PL place next season, either with Leeds or on a free to a PL club.

The Scratching Shed : Clayton Hammers Home Late Upton Park Equaliser

Sun, 21 Aug 2011 22:34:49 +0000

"A game Leeds did well to walk away from before John Carew started eating people." :D Like Dickens, but but better.

The Scratching Shed : Grayson puts huge price on Max Gradel's head

Sat, 20 Aug 2011 19:13:47 +0000

LUTV.

The Scratching Shed : Grayson puts huge price on Max Gradel's head

Sat, 20 Aug 2011 16:25:46 +0000

He didn't say that Mike. If someone wants to pay £7.5m - £12.5m for Gradel then I'll drive him there myself. He was saying F' Off politely to West Ham and the impression I got is that Grayson was suggesting that West ham were chancing their arm and just trying to annoy Leeds. He built up West Ham and said that Leeds were the underdogs. It was all a ruse by the press to try and catch Grayson in a trap - they asked him about when he plays and does well against West Ham, then he's got a point to prove. Grayson was quite clever. He said "if he plays." He was surprisingly calm. I think he's going to send Leeds out in all attack - not necessarily 4-4-2 but almost certainly DIRTY LEEDS. Expect cards. He's already had a go at a referee and I know why, because he wants a bit of leniency from the ref, because he's going to send Leeds hard into West Ham.

The Scratching Shed : Grayson puts huge price on Max Gradel's head

Sat, 20 Aug 2011 15:16:25 +0000

Craig, to be fair to the facts, Grayson never "told West Ham United to multiply their rejected £2.5m offer for Max Gradel by three or four times and he’ll consider parting with Leeds United’s 2010-11 player of the season." Now this has angered a number of posters against Grayson, who haven't seen the Press Conference. I did (LUTV) and Grayson never said what TSS mentioned above. What has it come to when I have to come out and actually defend Grayson!!

The Scratching Shed : Grayson puts huge price on Max Gradel's head

Sat, 20 Aug 2011 13:15:04 +0000

Honestly, did you watch the press conference or did you read The Mirror article which got it wrong and said 3 or 4 times? The Press Conference was completely harmless and as dull as every Grayson press conference. As for Max - there are 2 price estimates of Gradel's worth - the Leeds price and the price of other clubs. Leeds are planning on signing the player up on a new contract and probably put him at £7.5m. And that's about right for how much you would pay for a Max Gradel replacement on a 3 year contract. The other clubs see Max Gradel as a quality player that has less than a year's contract, so about £2.5m. But for Leeds to sell, they have to get the figure of a Max Gradel on a 3 year contract and £7.5m is about right and very similar to the £8m price tag that Leeds put on Snodgrass. Inflated? Yes. But you can dictate prices like that when you don't have to sell and Leeds don't have to sell.

The Scratching Shed : Grayson puts huge price on Max Gradel's head

Sat, 20 Aug 2011 12:56:48 +0000

Spot on Mark. The quote is wrong. In addition, Grayson was talking about 'players' in response to this topic at the Press Conference. It wasn't a direct question about Max Gradel. If someone offers you 3 or 5 x £2.5m (the original offer), then yes, every team is going to take £7.5 - £12.5m for a player on an expiring contract. It was just a standard drab response from Grayson to an obvious question. There was nothing 'come and get me' about it.

The Scratching Shed : Leeds United pull out of Tamas Priskin loan deal

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 17:40:37 +0000

There's another possible option as well - Paul Jewell might be talking out of his behind. It wouldn't be the first time.

The Scratching Shed : Statistically Speaking: Leeds v Hull City

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 00:03:16 +0000

I think 1st November would be a safe bet for Becchio's full time and fully fit first team return. He's had an operation and that's enough in itself but he also hasn't faced any football in months. I'd give him a month to do his pre-season work, which would make November a good date. Give him September to recover and October to do his pre-season/get fit work. Not coming back anytime soon. TSS - surely Howson is suspended also (in addition to Gradel - both got 2 yellows). Leeds will put a threadbare team out against Hull, resulting in unwanted players coming to the bench just to make up the 5 subs. As John P mentioned, Hull are good away and especially against Leeds, this is one they'll really be going for. Hull City may surprise a few teams this season. They definitely will be looking to try and make the playoffs. With Leeds weakened and still working out how to play this season, Hull will be looking for 3 points here. If you're a betting man, get your money on a Hull away win. The only fly in the ointment is a potential 0-0 draw, but if Hull can get the first goal, then it's difficult to see how Leeds can get it back. Leeds are consistently poor on Tuesdays, the fans are restless and it will be a makeshift team from Leeds with Gradel & Howson out. Leeds have lost their Captain for this game and it's difficult to name who it might be. If it's that difficult to name a replacement captain, then it's difficult to imagine Leeds getting any points from this game. We all know what happens on Tuesdays. It's a pretty certain Hull win, or at best, a draw.

The Scratching Shed : Do the Bates Out protests actually achieve anything?

Sun, 14 Aug 2011 17:47:59 +0000

I don't think there's anything that Bates did wrong when he put LUFC into administration. HMRC served the winding up notice and there was no way for Leeds to find the £1m that they wanted to be paid immediately. Coming out of admin, getting the golden share (the right to play in the Football league) back and the return of the club to Bates was hardly transparent, but it was managed by KPMG. But that lack of transparency was matched by the Football League's 'exceptional circumstances' rule which resulted in other clubs voting on the draconian and quite frankly ridiculous -15 points handed out to Leeds. Add on top of that, the farce that meant that QPR were not docked points (even though a points deduction precedent had been previously set with Luton Town & Tevez at West Ham). Why did it take 8 months to make a decision? The Football League are no saints either. They have their dark side too. Bates followed the rules of the game and that meant that Leeds defaulted on their £7m tax payment, but admin was forced by HMRC and they got £700,000 rather than £7m. What HMRC should have done is wait until the new season and take the £1m payment from season ticket sales - this was an offer put on the table by LUFC to HMRC. They didn't take it and the tax payer lost out as a result of the actions of HMRC and not LUFC. I should add that HMRC are an incompetent organisation and the £6m they lost from Leeds is nothing compared to the billions in tax that are owed but HMRC have written off from companies such as Vodafone. The recent takeover from Bates however, is something that could be investigated. The thing is, it never will. If the authorities want to investigate Leeds, then that's fine, but investigate West Ham and Birmingham, and ask the question why Cardiff got a loan from the Football League, when they were in financial difficulty. Leeds United never got a loan, despite being in bigger financial trouble than Cardiff ever were.

The Scratching Shed : Card Happy Ref, Bates Protests & Middlesbrough

Sat, 13 Aug 2011 20:29:56 +0000

No he's not.

The Scratching Shed : Card Happy Ref, Bates Protests & Middlesbrough

Sat, 13 Aug 2011 20:05:05 +0000

And if he's useless, then who signed him up on a new full term contract? If Grella's useless, then Grayson is too. You can't have it both ways.

The Scratching Shed : Card Happy Ref, Bates Protests & Middlesbrough

Sat, 13 Aug 2011 19:56:33 +0000

TSS - So what is 23 league appearances and 1 goal Paynter then?

The Scratching Shed : Card Happy Ref, Bates Protests & Middlesbrough

Sat, 13 Aug 2011 18:36:09 +0000

Absolutely right. Use Grella. McCormack for all his hard work is lost up front on his own. Give Grella a chance, maybe Grayson and Grella don't get on but now is not the time for arguments. Let's remember that injuries gave McCormack a chance, now he's a first team starter. Maybe Grayson is afraid to play him for fear of looking weak. He shouldn't be afraid. How many chances did Paynter get? To not give Grella a chance against Hull is a mistake. McCormack needs a friend up front. We all know that Grella wants to prove a point. He's angry at not getting a chance. Play him against Hull and let the anger come out. If he gets a chance he will be 100% committed to prove Grayson wrong. With all due respect, McCormack puts in a lot of huff and puff, but he won't get many goals on his own. What's the worst that could happen? Grella doesn't score. But he might. It's worth a try.

The Scratching Shed : Card Happy Ref, Bates Protests & Middlesbrough

Sat, 13 Aug 2011 18:09:46 +0000

You will be pleased to hear that on the official Leeds audio (i'm on LUTV), that the Bates chants were loud for all to hear and it was referenced by the commentator at one point. They tried to talk over it. They couldn't. Yes, Lonergan deserves praise. He shouldn't be put in a position where he has to perform so intensely, but it is nice to see a keeper going up for a corner!! As for Howson - what do you expect? He's outstanding. When the shit hits the fan, that's when the real players step up. That's when you really find out about players. Brown must have been looking at Jonny and thinking "I wish I could play like Howson." Howson is the rightful Captain of Leeds. He's Mr. Leeds. He's Jonny United. He's Captain Fantastic. I don't take an excellent performance from Howson as a positive. I expect it every single game and I'm never disappointed. And that's why I maintain that Howson is our biggest player. 100% consistent. 100% work-rate and very very rarely injured. How a Premiership team hasn't put a big bid in for him (with him being on expiring contract) amazes me.

The Scratching Shed : Matchday Live: Leeds v Middlesbrough #LUvMFC

Sat, 13 Aug 2011 17:49:04 +0000

Good to see the match day console back. As a contributor it was good entertainment and Tim and Dan did a fantastic job, as ever.

The Scratching Shed : Card Happy Ref, Bates Protests & Middlesbrough

Sat, 13 Aug 2011 17:34:45 +0000

Not looking great for the Hull match with 2 of our best performers out (Howson & Gradel). For me only 2 positives can be taken from this match and into the Hull game - Tom Lees & Adam Clayton are showing skill, craft, guile and fight. Still a hell of a lot of work to do to make this a promotion challenging side, but the spirit is back. It wasn't at Southampton. Our pre-season has been a disaster. August is our pre-season. Let's start again and fight back from September.

The Scratching Shed : Ken Bates: Modern Day Crooner

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 13:24:47 +0000

Rod Stewart was better