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Leeds United News from The Sporting Life    Yorkshire Evening Post


December 31: Sunderland's veteran defender Robbie Elliott is due to become one of the first transfers to hit the FA's fax machine when the window opens again on January 1 - and Dennis Wise is hopeful that the experienced defender will be available in time to go straight into the squad for the visit of Coventry. Elliott spent 11 years in two spells at Newcastle, and 4 years at Bolton before joining Sunderland on a monthly contract at the end of a summer which also saw him turn out in a practice match for Leeds.

December 30: No more games this month - or indeed this year - so time to get your votes in for the December Player of the Month now!

December 29: Oldham are hopeful that they can secure a permanent deal for Sean Gregan as the Leeds man comes to the end of his loan spell - but they've not got a clear ride: apparently some Championship sides are interested! However Oldham have put their offer on the table, and boss John Sheridan is keeping his fingers crossed that Gregan will agree to continue his time with the club.

December 29: So who's going where when the calendar clicks over? Armand Sa of Espanyol could be coming to Elland Road according to some reports. Ben Parker will stay at Bradford on loan until the end of the season. Matt Kilgallon could be going to Sheffield United (the 78th instalment in this particular saga) with a couple of players coming back on season-long loans or even as permanent moves.

December 28: For no obvious reason, the ownership of Elland Road has been making the news in thelast week or so. Gerald Krasner's motley crew of cash-strapped "saviours" ensured that the club no longer has a say in who its landlord is, as they held a fire sale of everything not bolted down, with Elland Road getting flogged off on the cheap to Jacob Adler. Adler transferred the ownership of the ground to a British Virgin Island company over a year ago, but that shouldn't make any difference to the club's position, CEO Shaun Harvey said: "We can confirm that the change in ownership in relation to Elland Road actually took place in excess of 15 months ago. The change in ownership has no material effect on Leeds United as we still have the same lease as originally entered into, albeit with a different company." And he added: "The buy-back provision has also been transferred. The club has no concern that the company who now own Elland Road is based in the British Virgin Islands. It makes no difference to the club. The ownership of the stadium is noted at the Land Registry and has been on the public record for a significant period of time."

December 28: Dennis Wise says that it would be a mistake to assume he'll be spending a lot of money in the January transfer window. He said that reports that he had a four-million kitty were wide of the mark: "It's come from certain newspapers and some newspapers write stories that are not really true. Unfortunately I've got nowhere near that." So, is this: (a) the gospel truth, (b) an indication that expected offers for Matt Kilgallon and David Healy have not materialised, (c) an attempt to shame Uncle Ken into opening his wallet, or (d) done on the instructions of Uncle Ken to convince any clubs and players we may be approaching that they'd better be realistic about their demands or (e) most of the above?

December 25: To everyone out there who regularly reads my ramblings, rantings and random stats, may you have a fantastic Christmas and a healthy and happy New Year. Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to email me - and apologies if I've not got round to responding: with young Lucas now nearly two years old, sometimes things can get a little bit more hectic than I'd like and emails, match reports and links end up in the pending file and never quite make it out. Fingers crossed we'll all have plenty to be merry about after the trips to Sunderland and Stoke this festive season.

December 23: The club are at loggerheads with the Yorkshire Evening Post - and the city's main newspaper is now barred from the press facilities as (seemingly inevitably with the new regime) legal action progresses. Basically the club took issue with something written by Phil Rostron on Kevin Blackwell's departure and subsequent meetings, discussions and stories have only made things worse. So for the foreseeable future, there will be no player interviews or anything remotely official appearing in the YEP - and presumably the paper's match reports will be written from the heart of the Kop - might make them a bit more interesting!

December 23: Dennis Wise singled out Jonny Howson for praise after two more crucial points were dropped against fellow strugglers Hull. Wise said: "He's only a baby, and it was a gamble, but he nearly got me the winner... He knows the game at an early age and in practice the other day he was the one who stuck out like a sore thumb. He played very well and showed me that he can do it. I rang him last night to make sure he was in bed and he's a good lad. He enjoys his football and is a young man who senses the game. He's got good knowledge of the game and that's something that doesn't come too often." Tony Warner was barely troubled once by the visitors on his return to the side - but too often Leeds made little impact in the area from decent moves, with Tresor Kandol particularly profligate. Wise went on to say: "It's always good to keep a clean sheet and the disappointing thing is that we haven't scored and we'd have to say it's two points dropped. But we're getting there and we looked solid. We played with a lot more confidence and I was pleased with the way we went about it. We're all disappointed in the dressing room and that tells you all you need to know."

December 21: Graham Stack has picked up an ankle injury in training and could miss up to a month as a result. Given that Tony Warner is only on loan until January 2 - and that there's no other goalkeeping cover - Dennis Wise has invoked the recall clause on Neil Sullivan's loan to Doncaster Rovers.

December 19: The Football League today fined Leeds two grand - half suspended - for breaching competition regulations by naming 6 on-loan players at Burnley. The authorities accepted that the club had made an oversight, with the late injury to Matthew Kilgallon resulting in Ugo Ehiogu's inclusion being the main cause of the breach.

December 19: Reserve team coach David Geddis has parted company with the club: no reasons have been given and a club statement wished him all the best for the future.

December 18: The club will not be appealing against Kevin Nicholls' red card after all. Presumably because they reckon (a) it's not worth it because the FA will always back the ref, and (b) because Nicholls isn't really fit enough to make it through the Christmas fixtures, so he now gets to sit out Hull, Sunderland and Stoke as a result of his dismissal.

December 16: Dennis Wise was furious with the double standards displayed by the referee at Ipswich and says that he will be appealing against Kevin Nicholls' red card. Wise said: "I tried to show the referee a video of the incident but he would not look at it, saying that this was a ruling brought in at the start of the season." Wise spent the press conference comparing Nicholls' offences with a clear elbow thrown by Ipswich striker Alan Lee. He said: "It's driving me bonkers and I had to show the fellow. Things like this can change a season at a club while referees get away with it. We don't get away with it." And speaking about the match at last, he said: "We created the better chances and maybe we should have won."

December 15: Steve Stone's contract has been cancelled by mutual consent after it became clear the player's injuries were not responding to treatment. Stone said: "The injury and the infection has taken its toll on me and there were times when I even struggled to get up out of bed in a morning because of the injury. Things didn't really work out for me right from the start and it has been a big disappointment for me but that is the way things go sometimes. It wasn't right for the club and it wasn't right for me but now that things have been sorted out it is a relief." We wish him luck in his retirement: it's a shame we never got to see him contribute much in a white shirt, but few could doubt his commitment and dedication in the face of a series of nightmarish medical problems.

December 15: Dennis Wise is said to be interested in bringing Celtic's 32-year-old midfielder Alan hompson to Leeds on loan in January as the former Bolton and Villa player no longer figures in Gordon Strachan's plans.

December 14: There will be a one minute silence at Ipswich before the game on Saturday as a mark of respect for the five women found murdered in the area. Ipswich chairman David Sheepshanks said: "This has been a perfectly miserable and ghastly week for the people of Ipswich and Suffolk as a whole. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims' families and friends... It is most appropriate that we pause to reflect on the heinous events of the last two weeks before the Leeds game and the club will welcome the Bishop of Ipswich, the Rt Reverend Richard Lewis, who will say a prayer preceding a minute's silence before kick-off."

December 14: Leeds have a second Slovakian player on trial at the moment - striker Michal Filo of Dubnica. Dubnica director Peter Gergely said that the player was with Leeds with a view to a permanent switch - but the clubs had yet to discuss a fee. He said: "I think Filo has the potential to do well in other leagues, not just the Slovakian one. If any of our players has the chance to play abroad, we will just let him go. England is advantageous also financially, although we have not yet discussed the transfer fee."

December 13: Leeds are trialling another keeper: Slavia Prague's Slovak international Matus Kozacik is due to spend a week with the club to allow Dennis Wise to take a closer look at the youngster ahead of the January transfer window.

December 13: The reserves went down 2-0 at West Brom last night. Leeds took a very young side down for the game, with only Kevin Nicholls having any significant first team experience - the club captain playing for 82 minutes as he gets closer to full fitness.

December 11: Loan keeper Graham Stack says that he wants to help Leeds escape the relegation zone, and he'd be happy to stay on after the initial loan spell to do so. He said: "I'm more than prepared to stay here and stick it out, and I want to be one of the players who gets us out of trouble. I came here with Leeds second from bottom and my aim was always to leave with Leeds in mid-table. It hasn't happened as quickly as I wanted it to but I'm not one to shirk a challenge or a battle. I'll be here for as long as the gaffer wants me to be here. Leeds are fighting to stay in the Championship and there's no question that I'd rather be here fighting to keep this club up."

December 10: Leeds Ladies are in the final of the League Cup! They beat Charlton on penalties after a 2-2 draw in normal time - Lucy Ward and Nicole Emmanuel netting for Leeds during the game. Unsurprisingly, Arsenal will be the opposition after the Gunners beat Chelsea 4-1.

December 09: Of all the clubs out there, you'd think that Leeds would be aware of the importance of understanding the regulations on how many of what sort of player is allowed in the squad - but it seems that memories of Stuttgart have faded: last week's defeat at Burnley saw 6 loan players in the squad and the maximum allowed is 5. Although one of the 6 was unused sub Tony Warner, the FA could easily decide that a points deduction rather than a fine will be applied. The club say they will co-operate with the FA enquiry and explain the "extenuating circumstances" (presumably "the alternative was to include a player Dennis thinks is a waste of space" will not be regarded as a suitable explanation).

December 09: Gary Speed reached a career milestone in Saturday's clash between Bolton and West Ham: the former Leeds midfielder became the first player to rack up 500 Premier League appearances since the League's inception in 1992. He's played over 750 games in total and at the age of 37 remains in fine form, playing a major part in three of Bolton's four unanswered goals.

December 09: Dennis Wise says Leeds will be able to get clear of the drop zone despite suffering yet another defeat at home. He said: "I'm sure in January we'll add a couple more players. There are certain people we've earmarked. We have to get a certain amount of points by a certain time but time's far from up... Derby are second and we are third from bottom but there wasn't too much between the teams."

December 08: Matt Heath says that the club has turned a corner and that Derby can expect a tough match on Saturday, despite coming to Elland Road on a run of good form. Worryingly, Heath said: "I definitely think we're beginning to stabilise." Errr...stabilise in a relegation spot? Whatever... he adds: "The fighting spirit is better, and the game at Burnley was the best example of that. We lost 2-1 but we battled hard and we had them hanging on at the end. The Southampton game was completely different. At 1-0 down we were still in the game but as soon as the second goal went in you could tell we were finished."

December 08: Former Leeds player Danny Cadamarteri (with one sub appearance to his name at Elland Road) has signed for Conference side Grays Athletic and will face York in their game tomorrow. The 27-year-old picked up a 6-month drugs ban at the end of his spell with Bradford and is looking to put himself in the shop window for Championship or League 1 clubs.

December 07: What will happen to Gary Kelly when his contract expires in the summer? The full-back is only 32, but will not be offered a renewal on the same terms by Leeds and it's hard to see there being that many takers in the top flight, despite his continuing good performances in the Championship. Hometown club Drogheda United could be one possible desitination. Speaking to the Irish Sun, Drogs manager Paul Doolin said: "I know it is Gary's last year over there and that he has told people he is coming home, he may be 32 years old but he is certainly a fit fella. He was in the Championship team of the year last season, and if he is coming home then of course we would be interested."

December 07: Loan keeper Graham Stack says that Dennis Wise is beginning to make things happen at Elland Road. "There's a massive difference here from just three weeks ago. The atmosphere in the camp is better and we are working on a lot of things in training. The boys are doing a lot of running and are in the gym more." But he added: "But it's important that we start winning games. If you get beat it affects you away from the club as well and everything goes out of the window... We are desperate for back-to-back winsIf we can get them things could change very quickly."

December 07: The League Managers' Association issued a statement today saying that Kevin Blackwell had started legal proceedings against Leeds after the club failed to settle his contract when sacking him in September. The statement read: "Proceedings will be lodged in the High Court today regarding Kevin Blackwell's claim against Leeds United Football Club following his dismissal in September. Obviously Kevin Blackwell and the LMA, who are supporting him in this matter, are very disappointed that they have been forced into this position by the fact that Leeds United have refused to put forward any proposals for compensation. The LMA has no further comment to make at this moment."

December 06: The Youth team pulled back a 0-2 deficit against Hull on Tuesday night to take their FA Youth Cup tie into extra time. Unfortunately the visitors proved more accurate from the spot after the game finished without further scoring with Leeds losing 3-4.

December 06: There was a real ex-Leeds theme to last night's match between Scunthorpe and Tranmere. Ian Morris set up Andy Keogh for Scunthorpe's opener, and Shane (Cansdell-)Sherriff equalised for the visitors. Jamie Forrester won and converted a penalty for Lincoln as they beat Bristol Rovers 1-0 to go back up to second spot in League Two. Robbie Fowler scored twice for Liverpool, but they still lost 3-2 to Galatasaray - not that the result had any impact on the Champions League group placings with Liverpool finishing top and the Turkish side bottom.

December 05: Club captain Kevin Nicholls played for an hour of today's training match against Sheffield United at Thorp Arch. Nicholls has barely played since signing from Luton in the summer but now looks to be on the mend after knee surgery. For what it's worth, Leeds won 2-1 with a Scandinavian triallist and Seb Carole scoring against a strong Blades side.

December 04: Dennis Wise once again made it clear that he felt the squad needed some new blood when the transfer window reopens in January. The Leeds boss pointed to the makeshift defence that saw Jonathan Douglas playing at full back on Saturday with Gary Kelly and Matthew Kilgallon missing through injury and Hayden Foxe out with a ban. Wise said: "Jonathan Douglas has played at right-back, bless him, because we were struggling and maybe it was a little bit too early for Frazer to be slung in there from the off. We're short on bodies, we know that, so we're trying to bring some people in."

December 03: Leeds have been drawn away at West Brom for the 3rd round of the FA Cup. With Man U hosting Villa and Arsenal travelling to Liverpool obvious headline choices for the TV games, and Chelsea v Macclesfield the obligatory minnow match, it's highly unlikely that WBA v Leeds will figure so the game should take place on Saturday January 6. It was 1979 when Leeds last faced the Baggies in the FA Cup - with the Whites going down 0-2 after extra time of a 4th round replay at The Hawthorns.

December 02: Leeds boss Dennis Wise says that the linesman was to blame for his side's failure to turn a massive dominance in possession into three points. Despite going behind twice, Leeds pulled back and enjoyed much of the ball and when Matt Heath headed the ball home halfway through the second half, the linesman called the ref over and told him there had been a foul in the build-up, so the scores stayed level. Wise said: "I don't know what he's seen. I've just shown him it and he doesn't know what he's seen, but he's still making out he's seen something, some kind of foul. I don't know what the foul was, I really can't work it out. There were no complaints from their players. He made a mistake just before that when he flagged for offside before the corner, maybe he's making up for it. I'm disappointed he couldn't turn round and have the decency to say he'd made a mistake. There was nothing from their goalkeeper. It was a fair goal." Despite two more dropped points, Wise was happy with the team: "It was a massive game for us. We were a bit nervous and after conceding a goal so early I was pleased we got back into it twice and we looked like the team that could win it. We had enough chances to win the game, good chances and it's disappointing."

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