 Well, wasn't yesterday's news a bit of a shocker? I can't imagine many fans will have expected that. Much like finding the square root of x, we'll never be privy to the root cause of the issue, nor the instance of what went wrong. The news is still extremely peculiar after both parties looked set to agree on a new three year deal after the club had activated his 12 month extension before his deal expired. A smart move to ward off any other potential suitors. Whether or not Monk believed the extension was a tongue in cheek way of stalling on a deal is irrelevant and the fact is, Leeds were marking sure that they had their manager secure. Any issue Monk had with that would be downright pathetic. I also can't believe for one second that the offer of a long term deal wasn't on the table by Radrizanni. The new owner doesn't seem the man to give lip service on an issue and then be doing something completely different in the background. The club look on the up, so for Monk to just walk out on the project is extremely out of the blue. Whether he has received a better offer or believes Leeds were only a stepping stone may be a miscalculation by the man. Having spent time in the press area I can say with no doubts in my mind that for most of the season Monk was extremely happy at the club and was energetic about what was next for Leeds.  What changed for Monk? However, on the final home game against Norwich, all the I's and we's that had been present all season when talking about the future had turned to 'the club'. It seemed his attitude had changed a little after it was confirmed we would not be reaching the playoffs. It could have been nothing or it could have been the start of Monk looking ahead of his time at Leeds United.
The only issues that come to mind when you look at the resignation fall into where Radrizanni and Monk wanted to be next season. A number of things would have fallen into the contract negotiations including; contract lengths, transfer committees, transfer budgets, Monks wages or even where he was expected to finish. I do think that this is Monks decision and his alone. I can't see any issues coming from Leeds' end but I do believe that if Radrizanni knew he was taking the club forward at the end of the season, a deal should have been done during the season. None of this would have been an issue and more than likely we'd already be planning for next season. We'll never know the truth but we'll always know our fans. A massive well done to the 15,000 that have placed orders for their new season tickets - a massive achievement. We are a club with a lot of pulling power now that could temp a higher class of manager, a good squad that will need some investment and the best damn fans on the god damn planet! Let's move on from this, pick our feet up and march on. This is no time to fret or give up, support the club and the owner and look forward to a great season. By Ryan Ingham
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 Last night it was confirmed that Andrea Radrizanni had secured 100% ownership of Leeds United. The acquisition will be somewhat of a relief for most fans as everyone's attention turns to the summer and removing any uncertainty over Garry Monk's position as head coach. It was confirmed yesterday that the option to extend Monk's deal for an additional 12 months had been taken as part of his original contract. However, it's understood that both the club and Monk are hoping to secure his long term future in West Yorkshire. In regards to ownership, it was highly expected that the acquisition of the remaining 50% of Leeds, then held by former sole-owner Massimo Cellino would be purchased at the end of the season irregardless of any promotion that took place. There has been no leaked figure on how much Andrea has paid for sole-ownership, but you can imagine it was a hefty fee. Owner of MP & Silva, a ginormous television rights company with investment from China, it's now expected that Radrizanni will look to investment in both the squad and the club as a hole. With Leeds narrowly missing out on the playoffs due to coming unstuck in the January transfer window, most fans will expect Radrizzani to have a plan on how to invest in improving the clubs squad in the summer. The Italian owner is also expected to add two new faces in a backroom shake up with former Boro Chief Scout Victor Orta being offered the technical director position and West Ham's managing director Angus Kinnear set to replace Ben Mansford as chief executive. Radrizanni's purchase of the club also spells the end of Massimo Cellino's turbulent ownership of three years at Leeds United. What all started by being chased around the Elland Road car park will end with a fond(ish) farewell.  Missed by some, hated by many. Will Cellino leave a lasting mark on Lufc's history? Credit: The Times Although marred in controversy including but not limited to scandals, law suits, managerial sackings and a watermelon, Cellino leaves the club in a more stable position than when he joined.
Leeds had been ruined by GFH and a post-Bates era and the enigmatic Italian did bring stability to Leeds finances so that they could move forward without any demons. With all the business done and dusted and Monk set to sign a new deal, Leeds could be starting off the new season full of energy and poise, we hope! By Ryan Ingham  With Leeds showing a lack of firepower in the final third last season, Garry Monk is surely looking at how to bolster his attacking lineup come August.
Monk may look to add not one but two forwards to support the form-of-his-life forward Chris Wood for next season. Wood finished with 30 goals in all competitions for Leeds, more than 50% of their entire goal tally. As Monk looks toward signing improvements on our frontline, one striker could be a welcome addition for a minuet fee. In my opinion, Daryl Murphy could be a fantastic addition to our firepower and wouldn't cost a bomb when it came to securing his services. The former 14/15 Championship top goal scorer is currently plying his trade on the St James' Park subs bench and may look to move on for the better of his career this summer. Murphy is now 34-years old and will be surplus to requirements after Newcastle successfully returned to the Premier League this season. The ROI forward was used sparingly for the bench and still pulled together 6 goals from 15 appearances this season. If anything, he's a worthy gamble and light on the cash in order for Monk to go ahead and bring in a higher class of striker with the cash we'd save from Murphy. He's shown before that he's got the power and somewhat pace to challenge Championship defenders and he's deadly in front of goal. He's not the most exciting signing, but he is a smart move that could provide Leeds with at least double figures if given the opportunity in front of goal. What's your opinion? Would Murphy be a good signing? Or is the former hitman now past it? Have your say in the comments below. By Ryan Ingham  Saturday should have been a good day out for our nearest, but not dearest neighbours in Bradford. It wasn't because once again Millwall the 'Teflon' club of the Football League got away with doing anything they bloody want to. It's a disgrace that these morons can continually do things against football and nothing is ever done against them. They have recently been voted the 'Family club of 2016/17' which is on the same lines as saying Teressa May is sympathetic towards the working man or woman. I wonder what they have to do for something to 'stick' against them. I have spoken to people who I know went down and they said their behaviour was beyond belief. Not kids mind you, grown men acting like animals. Fear and apprehension was amongst the City contingent as they travelled towards Wembley and on their way back, not the nicest ways to make your way to the biggest game of your season. The scenes at full time reminded me of the dark days of football, minus the chairs being thrown from the stands but the menace shown in the pictures has no place in the National or any football stadium. It's the dark side of football that may only be an undercurrent, it's still there unfortunately. This was epitomised by the reaction of former Leeds 'corner hitter' Steve Morison who had grabbed the winner late on for the Lions. Speaking after the full time whistle Morison said; "They've ruined it for me. Absolutely ruined it. I've never felt so high and then so low after the game. We should have been celebrating, not clearing those fans off the pitch. It should be our faces in the papers tomorrow, not the ones who have let us down." Surely one of your heroes speaking out against you would create an epiphany that this game is more than just your piss-pot. Will it? Probably not.  Years ago when I was young and a little immature I'd follow the 'big lads' as they scouted and scoured the streets looking for other fans. I'm not proud but at least I had the sense to grow up and grow out of this activity.
The morons on view yesterday have obviously carried this on to their forties and fifties and brought their children up to do the same wayward ways their patents think are acceptable. I hope one day that the FA actually do something to this disease in our game before somebody ends up on a mortuary slab. The Scottish fans who 'invaded' in 1975 were banned from coming for a while and I think a similar ban would deter any other club's fans behaving in the way Millwall's fans did yesterday. Enough is Enough! By Keith Ingham  Having browsed the twitterverse during the lonely news hours that seem to be encompassing Elland Road at this moment in time, one question stood out to me; did Leeds' strike force miss Mirco Antenucci? It's an interesting question no doubt. Leeds' final third of the season was riddled with teams picking out how we would supply our talismanic Chris Wood and in turn, Leeds had been caught out. Garry Monk looked like he really needed a second option to rather replace Wood or give him more support in the final third. Although Leeds attempted to utilise both Doukara and other alternatives, nothing seemed to fit when we needed it. The Leeds head coach seemed like he was putting square boxes into round holes in a desperate attempt to grab a goal. One striker who had previously shown the ability to be able to unlock Championship defences was former striker Mirco Antenucci. The beard that was feared made a solid return of investment for Leeds, scoring a total of 19 goals in his two years in Yorkshire. Although he may have not been clinical, he did know how to both score and create chances, something that could have further supported Chris Woods efforts. If handed the opportunities and support of the current squad around him, could Antenucci have been more clinical for Leeds this season? Now currently at SPAL in Seria B, Mirco has gone on to score 20 goals in 39 appearances this season and has been linked with some of the mid-table Seria A teams in return of his efforts.  Granted he has more knowledge of the division he has spent most of his career in, Antenucci surely would have felt settled with English football by the time his third season came into effect.
Alas, Antenucci was the player that decided to depart the club due to being homesick, something that may have contributed to his brilliant season in Italy this year. But it does raise the question whether he could have been partly influential in our stagnating attack during the third part of our season. What do you think? Could Antenucci have been a different option? Or was he past it by the time he had gone? Have your say in the comments below. By Ryan Ingham  I hate to say I 'told you so' but if you listened to Thom Kirwin's Sunday night radio show you would have heard me call the Championship finalists of 2016/17. Yes I predicted that Reading would play Huddersfield Town at Wembley for a chance to play a season of Premier League football and collect over one hundred million pounds for their troubles. I'm pretty sure not many would have called it the same way, Fulham and Sheffield had impressive runs into the final weeks of the season, so good it left Leeds to wonder what might have been. The playoffs are usually nervy affairs with both this season were draws; Reading going ahead before Fulham levelled matters and Sheffield Wednesday coming away from the John's Smith's stadium. The owls seemed happy after one of the most boring semi finals most fans have ever seen. All to play for in the second legs. In a game that the Reading goalkeeper claimed the plaudits, Kermorgant gave the home side the lead from the penalty spot, after a dubious award of a second half penalty. Try as they may Fulham could not beat the inspired Al Habsi, the team nobody fancied had done it. In Sheffield, the home side laid siege to the Town goal and were rewarded with a second half goal from Fletcher, only for Wells to reply. Extra time came and only Ward kept the home side out, so it was penalties that would arrange who joined Reading beneath the arch at Wembley. Strangely a ten million pound striker wasn't among the Wednesday first five penalty takers, seems a lot to pay for a man that hasn't done bugger all since moving from Boro. It has to be said was that key players like that should not be AWOL when needed at a key stage of the game.  Huddersfield won the shoot out 4-3, Forresteri missing Sheffield's last one was priceless so Wembley bound Town are.
If you take the League Two semi finals that concluded last night and compare them with the drab games that represented the Championship, you'd be surprised and how much more inclined you would be to watch the fourth division's final instead. Both games saw 95th minute goals deciding the final with a total of 11 goals from two games and 22 from the overall fixtures. Luton fought back a 3-2 loss against Blackpool but were ultimately silenced by a last ditch own goal while Exeter fought through a nervy last 10 minutes and came out victorious. If there's a playoff final you want to watch, I would consider that one. But for the bout between Reading and Huddersfield: Will people flick on their TV's with pop and crisps? I won't and I think many other fans will feel the same, it may be a massive game but the teams that are taking part don't inspire the imagination. Sour grapes of course it bloody is as I think a Leeds team in full flow would have ultimately gained revenge on two defeats against Town and although Reading beat Leeds on their patch, at ours we beat them minus Chris Wood for sixty minutes, despite them having the majority of possession, doing nothing with it. I'll be away abroad and will probably hear the score via Social Media, I shan't be wasting a few hours of my holiday watching it that's for sure! MOT By Keith Ingham  Yesterday Leeds finally released their end of season retained list and their wasn't many surprises to the players that had been kept on or let go. As expected, stand out performer Pablo Hernandez's contract has been extended for another season as part of his current deal. The talented midfielder has been one of Leeds' key signings last season, being a creative force in midfield.  However his form had dropped in the final third of the season and this could have been due to tiredness or even complacency. Let's hope that with a hit more support and a good preseason behind him he can be the phenomenal playmaker that we have seen on occasion this season. Young striker Eoghan Stokes and full back Tom Pearce have both been offered new deals to continue their development at the club along with automatic extensions for Romario Vieira and Conor Shaughnessy. Stokes especially is said to be highly regarded within the youth setup, having featured predominantly for the development squad and picking up a good amount of goals. Leeds have also offered want-away full back and part time snake Charlie Taylor a two year extension to his current deal in order to comply with FA regulations regarding compensation for a player under 24 years of age. It's highly expected he won't contact the club regarding the deal. The loan quintet of Pedraza, Sacko, Grimes, Barrow and Bartley have all returned to their parent clubs. However it's been expected for some time that Leeds will attempt to secure both Bartley and Sacko to permanent deals. Bartley has been a main stay in the heart of Leeds' defence partnering the now permanent signing of Pontus Jansson and would be a welcome addition to the club.  Whereas Sacko started off as a breakout star in the Leeds team with his blistering pace but had seen his opportunities limited for the final third of the season. It's understood that Leeds had agreed a permanent fee with parent club Sporting CP but are now looking to negotiate the deal. Former winger Jordan Botaka has seen his option of a third year at Elland Road not offered and will not leave as a free agent this summer. The skilled winger had began to pick up his performances under Steve Evans but was ultimately loaned out to Charlton by Garry Monk.  With Leeds losing several wingers on temporary deals, it seems frivolous to allow a winger with some potential to leave so early. Let's hope that Monk was confident with what he has planned.
Other players that have been released by the club include; Ross Turnbull, Michael Taylor, Billy Whitehouse, Jack Vann and Alex Purver. Whitehouse's departure may come as a surprise after Garry Monk had decided to field the youngster in the FA Cup tie against Barnet earlier this season. However the youngsters performance was sub-par and that may have been a contributing factor. Leeds will now be focussing their attention on securing head coach Monk to a longer deal before conducting any transfer business but are said to be interested in former academy graduate Jonny Howson and Exeter hotshot Ollie Watkins. By Ryan Ingham  Normality was restored to English football yesterday when another Leeds prospect was selected for England duty.
Ronaldo Vieira has been called up for the England Under 20 team for this summers Toulon tournament, a prestigious event that showcases some of Europes emerging elite. The Leeds youngster, who was signed from the i2i academy and handed his debut by Steve Evans last season had a choice of which nationality to play under; having been eligible for Guinea-Bissau, Portugal or England. Vieira, who has risen to be a key player for Leeds this season under Garry Monk and has come on leaps and bounds over the season, making 38 appearances in all competitions and this could be the next step in his progression at Elland Road. I believe that the 18-year old will come back with a better understanding of how young footballers in England progress and also having witnessed a different style of football to the rough and tumble of the Championship. There's no doubt in my mind that Vieira will be key to Garry Monk's plans next season and having this opportunity can only better his footballing knowledge. Congratulations Ronaldo, it'll be nice to see the name on the back of an England shirt for once! By Ryan Ingham |
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