FAO Marching and Elmo

Raoul

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Three questions:

What effect do you think your captain asking and getting a transfer to your biggest rivals will have on the morale of the rest of the Leeds players, who themselves may be evaluating their own tenures at the club ?

What happens to the season ticket holders who bought tickets with the expection that Rio would be at ER next year. ?

Ridsdale was on Skysports earlier and suggested that he and Venebales have a shortlist of transfer targets. How much do you think you will spend, and who will you buy ?
 
sorry but Anderton?

<img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laugh Out Loud]" />

nice one terry
 
Originally posted by Raoul:
Three questions:

What effect do you think your captain asking and getting a transfer to your biggest rivals will have on the morale of the rest of the Leeds players, who themselves may be evaluating their own tenures at the club ?

I think that the players have been in the game long enough to know that players come and go. The Rio move will not change anything else at the club - what happens on the pitch in the coming 9 months might though.

What happens to the season ticket holders who bought tickets with the expection that Rio would be at ER next year.?

That's a daft question Raoul - we are fans of Leeds United NOT Rio.

Ridsdale was on Skysports earlier and suggested that he and Venebales have a shortlist of transfer targets. How much do you think you will spend, and who will you buy ?

I am sure they have players in mind - a lot depends now on what Bowyer does....if he still goes we have been watching Emerton but if he stays, as PR and TV wants, we will be lloking for a partner for Woodgate. Harte/Kelly maybe going so a fullback will be needed - the ammount we spend depends what we get in.
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"That's a daft question Raoul - we are fans of Leeds United NOT Rio."

you tell all the leeds fans that, who have been poluting my tv screen all day complaining that they have ordered there season ticket and rio has gone so they might aswell not bother.
 
Originally posted by RUDDY:
<strong>marcher would you be happy if sicknote was on your 'list'?</strong><hr></blockquote>

He has improved laterly but I am not keen on him moving to Leeds.
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I'm laughing my head off at the Anderton link but I won't be if he's signed. I don't think any other Leeds fan would either. We already have one perenially injured player in Seth Johnson and he's far younger than Anderton so we may as well keep him.

As for Rio asking for a transfer and that affecting the other team mates...don't know. They've been through enough in the last few years that I doubt this will shake the foundations much further. Additionally he was only there 18 months and captain for one season so I don't think it will make others go 'Oh I must move too'. He was very friendly with all the team so I'm sure they have known what was going on and as fellow professionals they can see the point in him moving.

But considering that the other players that might want moves played pretty abysmally last season (Kewell, Viduka, Harte, Dacourt I'm talking about you) they have a lot to prove this season so won't be thinking about moves...as no-one wants them at the moment any way.

A lot depends on this season...what type of success they have under TV and if they are playing CL next season (I think highly unlikely). Also, a big shake up may occur around Christams when Kewell could be transfer listed ala Bowyer as he hits the last year of his contract then...he's always said he wants to play abroad...and I think he won't sign another contract. That will be a big blow and I don't see Kewell staying...but neither does any other Leeds fan so we're prepared for it.

As for giving back seaosn tickets...they're moaning now but we all know that us football fans are masochistics who just love going back for more pain. In this instance Leeds' fans are especially used to it so they'll be back. Ridsdale knows this, hence selling Rio to Man Utd with not much bother.
 
Hey, at least you lot have got woodgate and radabe - pretty effective central defenders imo.

So there's still hope for you guys.... ;)
 
That's the only consolation...although Radebe cannot play a full seaosn, Woodgate still has to recover from the trial, Duberry wants away, and there's not much other cover. I hope Woodgate and Matteo form a good enough partnership for this season.

It's interesting because some people were complaining DOL changed the stylish attacking football Leeds played before the Rio purchase to focus more on defence and in effect it actually hurt results more as there were too many 0-0's. Leeds kept 18 clean sheets last season for crying out loud but still finished 5th!

I don't know whether TV will get Leeds playing more attacking football but that would be the way to go with the loss of Rio.

But yeah, it's good we still have Woodgate plus we have an up and comer in an Aussie Candsell-Sherriff (don't know how that fits on his shirt) who has been knocking on the first team door plus Frazer Richardson who is England U20 so it will be interesting to see what TV does there. They deserve a go.

I'm just sad we never saw a Woodgate-Rio pairing as I think they would have been very good but it might be replicated for the england squads...who knows....although Sol will be hard to push out.
 
If it's cheap yeah but otherwise no.

We urgently need to look at the midfield because even when DOL bought Rio we were all asking why he wasn't investing in the midfield.

Batty has one seaosn left at best and was getting dire last season. Seth Johnson who was meant o slowly replace him has looked OK when he hasn't been injured (which has been two games), no-one can rely on Dacourt staying or Kewell and the situation with Bowyer is doing my head in.

So we possibly have two midfielders we know are staying...one getting too old and one always injured. Great.

Plus we have 5 strikers. Even though Smith did an OK job on the right midfield he is not a midfielder. People want Keane moved to midfield which I think actually works but who knows....plus Kewell prefers playing as a roaming third striker rather than left of midfield which caused him to fall out with DOL.

So yeah, midfields a problem. So would prefer it sorted before thinking of buying Ayala (although I think he would be a great signing).
 
Originally posted by elmo:
<strong>If it's cheap yeah but otherwise no.

We urgently need to look at the midfield because even when DOL bought Rio we were all asking why he wasn't investing in the midfield.

Batty has one seaosn left at best and was getting dire last season. Seth Johnson who was meant o slowly replace him has looked OK when he hasn't been injured (which has been two games), no-one can rely on Dacourt staying or Kewell and the situation with Bowyer is doing my head in.

So we possibly have two midfielders we know are staying...one getting too old and one always injured. Great.

Plus we have 5 strikers. Even though Smith did an OK job on the right midfield he is not a midfielder. People want Keane moved to midfield which I think actually works but who knows....plus Kewell prefers playing as a roaming third striker rather than left of midfield which caused him to fall out with DOL.

So yeah, midfields a problem. So would prefer it sorted before thinking of buying Ayala (although I think he would be a great signing).</strong><hr></blockquote>

I hear Rivaldo is available FOC.... ;)
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Whats wrong with your midfield ? You're keeping Bowyer and Dacourt, you've already got Kewel etc. You need someone to replace Rio and Ayala would fit the bill...though you may as well go for a younger player like Riggott.
 
Originally posted by elmo:
<strong>Yeah...on how much a week?!</strong><hr></blockquote>

Heard 150k pw is being discussed.
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I honestly think Leeds will be no-weaker in defence. Radebe,Woodgate and Mills is not a weak lineup, and if Matteo performs, or perhaps they bring in someone like Wayne Bridge. They should be no weaker. Assuming Bowyer stays.

Their problem is, we just got stronger ;)
 
Originally posted by elmo:
<strong>If it's cheap yeah but otherwise no.

We urgently need to look at the midfield because even when DOL bought Rio we were all asking why he wasn't investing in the midfield.

Batty has one seaosn left at best and was getting dire last season. Seth Johnson who was meant o slowly replace him has looked OK when he hasn't been injured (which has been two games), no-one can rely on Dacourt staying or Kewell and the situation with Bowyer is doing my head in.

So we possibly have two midfielders we know are staying...one getting too old and one always injured. Great.

Plus we have 5 strikers. Even though Smith did an OK job on the right midfield he is not a midfielder. People want Keane moved to midfield which I think actually works but who knows....plus Kewell prefers playing as a roaming third striker rather than left of midfield which caused him to fall out with DOL.

So yeah, midfields a problem. So would prefer it sorted before thinking of buying Ayala (although I think he would be a great signing).</strong><hr></blockquote>

I think you're right Elmo, you have got a problem next season. There seem to be a few unhappy players at Leeds. Over the next year, I think you will lose Kewell, Viduka, Bowyer (well shot!), and probably Keane. But I think TV is a pretty smart cookie in the transfer market, as long as someone else looks after the wallet, and the season after, I think you should be back in the CL, with a lot of deadwood cleared away.
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There is a lot of dead wood. What needs sorted is who is staying and who is going...plus the fact we still have a top heavy squad to account for Woodgate and Bowyer going to jail yet they are still at Leeds!

So if Bowyer signs his contract (and it's looking like he won't have too much choice) we need to really find other homes for at least Kelly, Duberry, Wilcox and one striker. I owuld rather prefer Fowler go than Keane as I aslways though Fowler's buy was uneccesary. Keane is 5 years younger for a start.

So yeah, Interesting times ahead.

The squareball is plumping for a Rigott or Bridge purchase and hopefully a creative midfielder. Can't see it happening though.
 
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