| We
are now counting down to the start of the new season - Its only 7
days away! As we head towards a
new start, we need to look back at what has happened since we ended
the last season back in May, and only narrowly escaped the drop.
So what has been going on? A
number of players have departed the team since the end of last
season, most notably Dan Harding and Adam Virgo.
The hearing for Dan
Harding's tribunal took place just two days ago. It has been decided
that Leeds must pay the club up to £850,000 as compensation for Harding
despite the fact that he was out of contract, because of his age.
The club will definitely receive £450,000 over two instalments.
However, they are expecting the first payment to take weeks rather than
months. The second instalment must be paid within six months. The
final amount will only be paid depending on circumstances.
Virgo went to Celtic on a £1.5m fee,
one that neither him or the club could refuse! Fans are sad to see
the striker go, however are looking forward to the new season with
new players.
Other players that are no longer at
the club include Watson, Cullip, Blackwell, Rodger, Currie, Jones,
Piercy, May and Roberts.
Just last season fans were saying
that the team that we were taking into the First Division, now know
as the Coca Cola Championship League, was almost identical to that
of when we were playing Division Three football, now League Two! The
squad has suddenly changed, and McGhee has had to make a number of
hard decisions that everyone hopes will keep the club in a stable
position for years to come.
So who have we signed? At the
end of the season, no one could believe their eyes when it was
announced that Brighton had won the Coca Cola 'Win A Player'
competition. Loyal fan Aaron Berry had entered on their website
everyday throughout the season, which lead to the club winning the
£250,000 prize.
Using this money, the club signed
Colin Kazim-Richards. 18-year-old Kazim turned down a new two year
deal with Bury, where he made his debut in last seasons LDV vans
trophy tie against their local rivals Stockport County. Colin has
now signed a new three year deal with The Albion. You can see one of
his first goals scored for the Albion at the Lewes friendly from our
downloads page.
However, our first signing of the
season was defender Jason Dodd. After passing his medical, he signed
a one years contract with the club. Both McGhee and Knight believe
that he is in excellent condition, and has the experience of a high
level of football which we need to bring to the team.
Blayney, also from
Southampton is apparently a priority for McGhee, and fans are still
hoping we sign him before the start of the season. However, reports
have since been released that show we're not the only club after
him! The latest news, released just today tell us that Southamton
were willing to give us Blayney for £25,000 - however after the
Harding tribunal ruled Leeds will pay us at least £850,000, Saints
trebled the price to at least £75,000!
Throughout the pre-season programme,
McGhee has had a number of trialists try out for the club in
friendly games before any contract is signed. This is ideal, as it
allows McGhee to filter out the good from the bad, and make a well
judged decision before committing himself or the club to any long
term deal. It also allows fans to see the player in action in a more
relaxed environment before the new season.
From this, we have
signed Argentinean striker Federico Turienzo. Out of the two
trialists who played against Lewes, Federico was the once McGhee was
not expected to sign! If all International Clearance goes as
planned, the player is expected to start next week against Derby.
At Oxford, just three
days ago, two more trialists took to the pitch to try and show that
they deserve a place in next seasons squad. Premiership centre back Sekou
Berth started the game, however didn't have a very good time and
even scored the first goal - against us! The club have now let him
go, however are still looking to sign Fish, who is still on trial at
the club.
Any news on Falmer? The club
have been told that the decision will be made by 31st October this
year, however everyone is holding out for a decision even as early
as the Labour conference.
Meanwhile, Withdean is finally
expanding after getting permission to use a third P&R site at Carden
Avenue, and getting permission to make changes at the stadium. The
ground will now have a capacity just short of 9,000. The most
notable change will be that the away fans will now be down the West
end of the ground. This has been unused in recent years, however
will now be developed for sole use by away fans. This means the East
end, which was used by away fans will now be expanded and used
solely by home fans.
How is pre-season training
progressing? The final pre-season friendly game takes place this
weekend against Bournemouth. So far we have already experienced all
possible outcomes, luckily with a higher number of wins than losses,
however McGhee recently said in an interview that everything is
'Perfect'. |
