I like every other football fan am genuinely shocked and gutted by the sad sad news of Gary Speed's passing. He was an absolute Leeds legend and a true professional who always gave his all. He will be sadly missed my many and my thoughts go out to his family in this sad time. I hope Leeds United answer the call from there fans to do something within the club to remember and celebrate the life of a fantastic player and man... MOT!! and Rest In Peace Gary Speed! 

So it has come out that Andy O'Brien refused to play for us on Saturday against Burnley and that he no longer wishes to play for our club? There have been a number of reasons being touted about.... A fall out with Grayson?... Due to the stick he has had from fans?.... Because he hasn't been first choice?

I personally think it is too much of a coincidence that his refusal to play for us came just a matter of days after West Ham's reported interest in him. He's had his head turned and is trying to force a move away from the club. This must have been a real kick in the teeth for Simon Grayson who has backed him so publicly recently. He deserved to be dropped at the beginning of the season, as his performances were terrible... He was lucky to get another run in the first team and has blown it!

We should just get shut of him, he has no loyalty, refuses to do the job he gets paid for, and surely him being around at the moment can't be having a positive effect on his team mates and morale in general. I don't actually think we will miss him that much.... We have an outstanding young defender in Tom Lees, who looks a class above the rest and I must say I am suprised that it seems O'Brien would have been preferred if he was willing to play against Burnley. Lees has to be in the team along with Paddy Kisnorbo, who is also getting back to his best with some commanding displays in recent games.... Those two should be our first choice, a really good blend of youth and experience, Lees can only benefit from playing alongside a player like Paddy.

We then have Darren O'Dea on loan for the season, who is steady enough, he can do a job for us and is worth a place on the bench. We then also have Bromby and Bruce waiting in the wings, when Bromby plays, he always looks quite solid and never makes any major mistakes (unlike OB), not sure what the situation with Bruce is. My point being we are hardly lightweight in O'Brien's position, so the sooner the man gets out of our club the better... We don't need him...

Finally onto the Burnley game.... Well it wasn't pretty for much of the game, but we dug in, kept working and managed to get the result we needed. To not play anywhere near our best and still come away with three points can only be a good thing, Mccarthy deserves alot of praise for the result, as he kept us in the game when we looked like conceding a handful of goals. Lloyd Sam loked lively and played well throughout and now surely deserves a good run in the team. I also thought Nunez did well when he came on, clearing up a few loose balls and making some decent passes to help drive the team on... and of course Snoddy who was quiet at times but came up with what we needed in the last 13 minutes of the game.. and it was nice to see how much it meant to him to score those goals in front of the travelling support, he is the sort of player we want at our club!

We have a few tough games coming up now, Barnsley, Forest, and Millwall... We can beat anyone though, and I'm sure we will get some good results in the coming weeks and push for automatic promotion..... MOT!!

So, Mr Bates has again come out in the media to criticise somebody within the club. In recent times he has had a go at players before they left the club i.e. Johnson, Kilkenny and Schmeichel. He has also criticised the clubs supporters, infamously calling us 'morons'.

It seems now that his latest target is the team and more notably Simon Grayson. Today he has come out and stated clearly that 7th in the league is not good enough, our performances have not been good enough and we have given results away rather than the opposition earning the win.

I don't know if it's just me, but upon reading his statements it seems like he is publicly putting pressure on Grayson to get better results as in his words we should be in a 'loftier position with a higher points tally'.
It does seem quite rich from a man that has failed to invest very much in the team to bring in the quality and show more ambition to get the club promoted, as well as been unwilling to negotiate above anything but his terms with current players in the team.

This latest rant does imply that he will not be willing to put up with recent performances much longer. Which makes me wonder if Grayson has had the backing of him at all this season? After just missing out on a play off position last season (quite an achievement in our first season back in this league), you would have expected that we would have built on what we had. Instead, we lost some of our better performers and have only been able to bring in free transfers and loans to replace them... Andy Lonergan being the exception. We have been extremely fortunate that some of our younger players already at the club have stepped up this season, otherwise it could have been a very different season.

I do think it is very unfair and unhelpful of Bates to come out publicly and undermine everything that the manager, coaching staff and players are trying to acheive with seemingly limited resources. Personally I think we are doing ok in what is a very tough league, and Grayson is doing a very good job with what he has at his disposal.

We know only too well what happens when a chairman tries to cover his own back by putting pressure on the manager. I remember a certain Mr Ridsdale sacking O'Leary when we were 6th in the league... And we all know how that turned out with a succession of poor appointments to follow and the rest is history....

Bates needs to get back in his box, stop mouthing off in the media as often as he does and back our manager who has got us this far and clearly loves the club. If he feels so strongly about us finishing higher than last season and trying to gain promotion.... Then why not INVEST IN THE TEAM and stop bad mouthing the players, management, and fans at every opportunity......    MOT!!!

A hard earned and much needed 3 points were earned yesterday at the King Power Stadium. Leeds had a point to prove after a poor display against Blackpool and bounced back as we always do.
First of all it has to be said that Clayton's strike was absolutely amazing, a joy to watch... But one of the most pleasing and maybe suprising things was our display at the back. Our two centre backs in particular were very impressive.

Both Andy O'Brien and Paddy Kisnorbo have had a lot of stick this season, but it has to be said that they both looked extremely solid yesterday and put in a good shift, with their experience shining through as they limited Leicester and broke up just about every attack.
The question is now, will that leave Grayson with a dilemma? Can you drop two players that performed so well?

For me Tom Lees has to be in the team, he has been fantastic so far this season, particularly when he moved over to his natural position. So that leaves Darren O'Dea, who has been reasonably solid, although some of his clearances, positioning and passing have been questionable. To be honest, a fully fit Kisnorbo that is getting back to his best, in my opinion should start in front of him every time.

Howson is still playing below his usual standard, there are lots of possible scenarios as to why that may be... Some people say its because his head is elsewhere and is after a move, some that he isn't playing in his favoured position. But the problem is, when you have a captain that is not vocal and his qualities are supposed to be that he leads by example (which he certainly isn't at the moment), what is he actually bringing to the team currently?

I have always been a fan of Howson, but I have to admit that his recent form is worrying, and maybe it would be better for the team to give someone else a game, Vayrynen and Brown are waiting in the wings and must be wondering what it will take to get a chance. I would also like Sam to get more of a chance, who's pace and skill always seems to cause problems to the opposition when he does come on.

We can now look forward to our next game, away to Burnley and think we should be able to come away with another three points. For those of you that don't know, the game is due to be screened live on BBC on Sat 19th Nov, 12.45 kick off.
Please feel free to comment on this blog, cheers... MOT!!!