Three of a Kind

Brian McDermott has now managed to bring in his all elusive forth signing, in the shape and form of Scott Wootton. This signing hasn't been a straight forward one by any means, many Leeds fans felt that the squad would not be seeing any more additions during this transfer window, and in reality were looking at the prospect of players going in the opposite direction.


During this post I am going to look back at another two of Brian's signings from the summer along with his latest squad member.  Luke Murphy and Matt Smith have both been with the squad during pre-season, and have managed to get themselves well acquainted with the White following and their squad mates.

Ace among cards - Matt Smith

The first of the three to arrive was striker Matt Smith, He found himself out of contract at Oldham at the end of last season, and soon found Brian knocking on his door. Smith had a cracking season for Oldham as his goals helped to know Liverpool out the Capital One Cup, and hold Everton to a replay. Despite these big-time goals he has had trouble find the net, and had been said to be one of those player who only find the net when a goal is most needed. He won himself a two year contract with Leeds and found himself scoring twice in his first game for the Whites in a 5-0 win over local team Farseley A. F.C. His first competitive game came with the first match of the new league when he came on as a substitute and provided Luke Murphy with an assist for Murphy's 94th minute winner against Brighton & Hove Albion.

A Pair in the Hand - Luke Murphy

Next to arrive at Thorpe Arch was Luke Murphy. Murphy had a bit more of a buzz about his arrival due to the fact he was our first 7 figure sum for player since 2005. Not only did we pay a million pound for his services but we also fought of competition from other Championship clubs. This to many other clubs will not seem a great deal, yet to Leeds United it is a God send, it is something so out of character for us it almost felt too good to be true. Brian chose Murphy as a promising midfielder from Crewe Alexandria. Murphy made his debut in the same game as Smith and found himself scoring a dramatic late winner in the 94th minute. He has been saying all of the right things in front of the fans, and insists he is there to get our club back in the Premier league.

Three of a Kind - Scott Wootton

Scott Wootton is another player that has caused a bit of a stir amongst the Elland Road faithfull. This is not just because he has come as an unexpected signing, but slightly more so because of where we gain him from. Wootton joined from that dark place across the pennines. He is a young centre back who has played twice  in both  the Champions League, Capital One Cup for Manchester United. He left the club not because he wasn't good enough either, yet because he could not get the game time at the Old Trafford club. He has seen the light and has joined us at time when we could use another centre back, and one like Wootton will do nicley. Brian has stated the he bought him because of his footballing talent.
Pat Crerand has said. “They’ve (Leeds) done a terrific bit of business there. I wasn’t expecting him to be sold and, to be honest, I’m surprised he’s gone. There are a lot of kids at Manchester United and many of them aren’t going to make the grade but I thought he had a chance. He looked like he had a chance."



So there we have it, these three young players are three of a kind, they are all hungry players who will give their all for the badge on the shirt. They are all here cause they want to play good football, in front of loyal passionate fans who are there to cheering them on each week. They are all here because Brian McDermott, saw a quality piece of something in each of them.

In Brian McDermott we trust, Leeds United are Marching on Together.

We're Turning A Corner

It has finally happened, the end of Bates' reign as Leeds United Chairman. Yes okay, he is still knocking around our Clubs like a bad smell, but at least now we have got some windows open, and a bit of fresh air blowing through.

With the new owners about to start their first full season in charge of the Mighty Leeds United it is safe to say there is a sense of optimism throughout the Leeds following. The current boss, Brian McDermott has got his feet well under the coffee table, and that its exactly where we want them.

With the player now away for the summer break many would be led to think that the footballing world will be put on hold until they return on June 27. However, that couldn't be further from the truth, each player has been handed an individual training regime, from Brian himself. He wants them to:

"come back fit as a fiddle and fighting"

I said in a previous post that Brian McDermott has also handed in a list of potential targets to Chief Executive Shaun Harvey:

"I've also done a list of players I think will be good for the squad. Ideally, you'd like them in when you start pre-season, but my experiences of transfer windows are that things move slower than you'd like."

And it seems that the managers influence and jurisdiction doesn't end with the players either, he has also got plans for the training ground as well:

"We want to upgrade the training ground as well. We want to build this football club. We want to make this a great football club again. It's not just about building a team. ... The training ground is a great facility, but we just think we can improve certain things to make it absolutely top class because we want things to be top class at Leeds United."

I'm am starting to feel that Leeds United, "The Sleeping Giant" is starting to wake up, we are turning that corner, I may be forever the optimist but, I have good feeling about this forthcoming season, Marching on Together.

A Big Summer Ahead...

The close season has finally arrived, many of us have been waiting for this for some time now, some of us since January.

The last match of the season against Watford showed us that squad can perform under the right guidance, even if all of the odds are against us. The bookies where out to get United last weekend and many had expected Watford to walk over us. Two big injuries later saw an incredible 16 minutes added on to the first half.

We saw our own youngster Dom Poleon open the scoring with an incisive chase from an overhead ball. A Watford equalizer followed before too long, but at the very end of the game McCormack popped up and chipped the ball high up over the keeper to nick the winner for Leeds.

With the close season now upon us its time where we will all be looking and checking twitter as often as our schedules allow us, to try and find out just what Leeds will look like come next season.

This is the time of the year when we find ourselves linked with every player under the sun who may or may not look close to leaving their respected club.

It is now when we see websites put out there annual post asking who we want to see the club sign in the summer. I feel that this time around we won't be seeing a lot of activity, it has been reported this week that the manager has submitted a list of 7 or so players, personally I feel we would only need 3 quility players to transform the side.

Since the manager has come in we are already looking a lot more competitive on the field and we are making all the right movements. With Chris Dawson, and Dom Poleon looking to make an impact over the summer who do we need to bring in?

I can see Dom Poleon getting into the side over the summer and will expect him to feature heavily next season, having watch him play in his return at Watford, he looks hungry, he's looking to prove his worth. I believe if he is given half a chance to make a go of it next season he will grab it and not look back, I may even go as far to say he could be our top goal scorer next season depending on who else could be brought in.

I have already seen some crazy rumours floating around, I read this morning that Thomas Ince is in talks.

I mean, Yes Leeds have turned a corner, but there is still a way to go just yet.

A View In The Kit Bag

Well, the new shirt has indeed been announced today and to say it stands out is an understatement.

In an earlier post I wrote earlier I had stated how important it would be that the shirt remains an All-White strip. The All-White strip is as much a club icon as Don Revie and Billy Bremner. Fan of our Yorkshire based club today received the official release of the new home kit and here it is:

Here we have the behind the scenes video of the Photo shoot:

The new kit has definitely made an impact amongst the fans, many of whom have taken to twitter to share their views.

Here are just a few of them:

The new #lufc kit is awful.
— Arron Scott Marshall (@ArronSMarshall) April 24, 2013

I quite like the new #lufc kit, was hoping it would be all white though.
— Paul (@9aulH) April 24, 2013

Leeds's new shirt looks like a pack of regal! #shit #lufc
— DMC3 (@TheRealDmac_) April 24, 2013

Absolutely LOVE the new Leeds kit. I think the stripe gives it a new dimension. Why complain? Our colours and our badge<3 fresh start. #LUFC
— Ryan-Kay (@RyzinhoUK) April 24, 2013

As you can see it appears that we have found ourselves our very own "Marmite Kit", our fans either love it or hate it!

Despite the majority of supporters that for the time being are sharing their disgust at the shirt, predomintaly all the bad point are reguarding the stripe down the center.

In some ways the shirt does draw some similarities with an expensive American car of sorts:

But come the end of the next season if we are in the top 6, then who will really care what kit we will be wearing? As long as it's not Red of course :)

Share your views below...

What's In A Shirt?

All this week Leeds United have been teasing their new Home kit for the forthcoming season, and fans around the world have been going crackers, trying to speculate on how is will look, some are even arguing amongst themselves saying how it won't be any good.

I think only Leeds United can say how rubbish a new shirt could be before anyone has actually seen it. The vast majority of fans want to see a simple all-white strip, one that will have that famous classic appeal to it, one that will simply say:

"This is Leeds United"

Over the years Leeds have had many different kits all with unique features making them stand out from the shirt before it. Since 1960 Leeds have worn an all white home kit. This still remains the case to the present day, recent kit now often include some form of Blue or Yellow edging.

1960 Home Kit

2012-13 Home Kit

With the new kit due to be announce today, it got me wondering, just what does the home kit mean to you?

I think to me the All-White kit shows character, its show belief, pride and unity, all of which I find very important, besides if the kit wasn't white, then who would we be cheering for?

Well then share your views with a comment below, what does the white kit mean to you?

Here are some teaser images of the new shirt for you to enjoy :)

Make

Crest

Shorts

Socks

I will add the full kit images to this post as soon as they have been released. MoT

We're safe, Now lets Move On!

As yet another disappointing season draws to a close, it is that time once again to look forward to next, look forward to next season and think about what could be.

But before we do just that we must first look back over the course of this season and decide amongst ourselves the key players that we must at all costs hold onto, players that the new manager will also be looking at in the final two games and making his own decisions about.

Sam Byram

Sam has been a signing light this season, and I can't see no better place to start this than with our very own "Boy Wonder".

Way back in pre-season before this campaign kick-off Sam Byram was given an opportunity by former manager Neil Warnock to impress in a friendly against Farsley. Sam then linked up with the first team squad in their pre-season tour of the South-West, featuring in the matches played.
Warnock was asked during pre-season:

 "Byram’s rapid emergence would continue in the season ahead" 

To which Neil responded with:

“No, I don’t think so,”

Sam made his professional debut against Shrewsbury Town in the League Cup, and kept his place in the following match against Wolverhampton Wanderers managing to keep a clean sheet in the process.

With his league debut sorted, and his first clean sheet under his all white strip, all he needed to do now was prove he can score as well. In an attempt to prove his worth to the United following Sam picked up his first goal against Oxford United in the League Cup second round. Picking up the ball just outside of the penalty area, he beat two Oxford defenders with his first and second touches before chipping the goalkeeper from inside the box. 

The young Right Back has been the only United player to feature every game of this campaign, with an impressive 44 appearances and 4 goals so far this season. Sam featured in the victories over Premier League opposition and performed well.

The young lads performances this haven't gone unnoticed this season either, his debut goal is in the running for Goal of the Season, he also won Young Player of the Month for March. He has also been gathering interest from Premier League clubs including Manchester City and Everton.

His efforts this season are something to be marveled at, he is fast becoming a Leeds United legend, following in the footsteps of so many others to leave our academy doors. However Sam Byram must remain just that, a Leeds United legend!

Tom Lees

Tom is another player to burst into the first team over the last couple of seasons, being described by Neil Warnock as:
"one of the bright sparks of the season"
Tom made regular appearances this season wearing the number 4 shirt, this was also the season where Tom found his call-up to the England U-21's making a couple of Substitute appearances. Tom is indefinably a player we must hold on to, he is a no nonsense defender and will work hard to get the job done.

Ross McCormack

Ross is a player we find ourselves very lucky to still have on our books, at the beginning of the season it looked very uncertain whether he would still be with us by the end of the transfer window. Neil warnock took a lot of credit in getting Ross to stay and sign a new three year deal. Whether or not Warnock had too much to do with Ross staying is a different matter. What we are looking at now is to why we want him to stay here. Ross had a difficult start to the season after picking up an injury very early on, however despite this he fought hard to get back to fitness, coming back much earlier than had been expected. The Whites following often critisied Warnock's decision this season not to start Ross, who often found himself sat on the bench or playing out of his favoured position. Due to various factors Ross hasn't had a fantastic season, he himself labelled this season as a:

"Waste of time"

Despite it not being a great season for Ross only managing to net 7 goals he did still managed to bag the winner in the FA Cup against Tottenham Hotspur.

Next season with Ross playing a more favoured position and reverting to a more comfortable style under McDermott will see a whole new side to Ross, and that is why we must keep him.

Leeds United: A New Dawn!

Brian, Brian, Brian McDermott....

There are many thing that have been said since the appointment of Brian McDermott little over a week ago, now with three games under his belt it seems as though Leeds United could finally be moving in the right direction.

Alright it is still very early days, and managers these days are judged by what happens on the pitch, rather than what happens away from it. A lot of the time this isn't a bad thing, but sometimes the public opinion can change very, very quickly especially if results start going astray.

The appointment of Brian shows the ambition of the has changed, it is no longer the Bates regime that we have grown to know over the last 8 years or so, without a doubt the club has turned a corner, with new owners at the helm, the club can now begin to switch on its engines once again.

Many of us fans were very susceptible following the departure of Neil Warnock, after 14 months of boring long ball hit and chase football, we were all down in the dumps, looking at the very real possibility of spend another season in the third tier, a place where none of us want this great club to have to endure once again.

Many of us on twitter simply put, didn't want Brian McDermott at Elland Road, Some where saying that he was a one trick pony, and would not be able to have success anywhere other than at Reading. Fans wanted a more proven manager, a big name manager if you will.

But all of that is history now, all of us are Marching on Together, Brian has without a doubt united us fans, he has got us all singing from the same hymn sheet, and once again has got Leeds United fan excited to watch our games.

I'd say not too bad for a manager that's been here just over a week, but despite his so far short tenure, Brian has been saying all the right things, he has already removed the "Blame Game" from the previous managers press conferences, he is simply telling it how it is, being as we believe so far 100% transparent.

Honesty is a relativity new concept to Leeds, as we all know we have had more than our fair share of cover ups over the last few years. However there looks to be a light at the end of the tunnel, a way out an answer.

Despite being here only a little over a week, has found himself diving right in amongst the fans, shaking the club from ground up, and almost rebuilding it as if it was made of Lego. His words spoken this week have been heard by thousands of loyal supporters, he has put the first team in touching distance of our youth team, by giving Neil Redfearn a combined role as a first team coach and continuing as Development team manager.

“He wants us to play properly. He isn’t going to criticise us if we’re doing what he wants and sticking to the plan. It’s nice to have a proper game plan for how we want to play."
A quote from Tom Lees, has struck a chord with the Elland Road faithful, this is one of the main obstacles fans had with Warnock, was his insistence on long ball play.

A final point on Brian that has struck with The Whites supporters was his comments regarding Sam Byram:

"From our point of view, my point of view, absolutely, 100 per cent, I would expect Sam to be playing for us next season"

This is the statement in which Leeds Fans will be hoping Brian keeps to his word. This statement along has would him many scepticle fans, many more will turn away if he has to go back on this one. 

However on the whole of things, Leeds United is moving forward slowly but surely. The close season will be the time for the owners to show their intent, and I think it is time for our supporters to allow themselves to get excited once again.

Brian McDermott, Savoir of Leeds United.

Welcome, Hello, Lets Kick Off

Hello there,

Welcome to our brand new blog, you found us deep amongst the many, many, many other fansites and fan blogs out there, well done guys for doing just that.

This post is our very, very first message to all you Leeds United fans out there, and we all know that there are loads of us out there. This blog will join the many other blog out there in the wild of the internet, and this is an excellent thing, it is a good thing that there are so many out there, it simply shows people how strong our fan base, the clubs fan base really is.

With this being our first post, I will now take the time to introduce our Blog and also myself.

A Kick Up The Byram: This blog is a Leeds United fan blog, it will be sharing the views of myself and other members of the team. The site came about after I found myself getting bored of just reading other peoples views, I wanted to find a way to share my views as well.

So I came up with "A Kick Up The Byram" this site will now allow for me to do just that, a way to share my views with other fans. The name by now, many of you will have noticed is a play on words to our very own wonder kid "Sam Byram", without whom this season could have been so very different.

Matt Patten: Now onto myself, well what can I tell you? I am simply a 19 year old Leeds United fan from Birmingham currently studying away at college. while catching any Leeds game I can. Despite my young age and unadvantagous location, I am still a strong supporter, untempted to stray from our very own Yorkshire Giant.

From when I was a small child I was told the stories about Billy Bremner, Don Revie, and Brian Clough, even though I never got to live these events first hand my family made sure I never had to miss out on the Whites famous history.

Now that's all the formalities done with, now on with the ramblings...