The JT Factor

TOWNEND STARTS SHOPPING SPREE EARLY AS LEEDS SIGN YOUNG DUO

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Josh Townend has kicked off his shopping spree one step ahead of the competition, however this move appears to have been made with the long-term in mind. Leeds today announced the signings of right-midfielder Scott Ferries (above right) from Aberdeen and central-midfielder Ross Davidson (above left) from Kilmarnock. The two youngsters are both 17, showing Townend's desire to not just build a team that can compete in the short-term, but also in the long run. It may be a while until they are seen making senior appearances at Elland Road, but only time will tell just how promising these two young midfielders can be.

APRIL 2013

Leeds 1-1 Blackburn

Jordan Rhodes 53'
Ross McCormack 58'

Leeds 0-1 Sheff Wed

Martin Taylor 69'

Charlton 1-2 Leeds

Dale Stephens 3'
Jerome Thomas 32'
Ross McCormack 90+4'

Peterborough 5-2 Leeds

Davide Somma 9'
Gabriel Zakuani OG 13'
Daniel Kearns 44'
George Boyd pen 46'
Emile Sinclair 59', 89'
Lee Tomlin 63'

Leeds 1-2 Hull

Matty Fryatt 14', 89'
Ross McCormack 52'

Wolves 4-0 Leeds

Roger Johnson 10'
Sylvan Ebanks-Blake 18', 22'
Kevin Doyle 41'

After displaying champions' form between January and March, Leeds have distastrously hit relegation form with two very humbling defeats as they sign off April with three straight defeats, conceding 10 goals in 3 games. It goes without saying that Leeds won't be promoted this year and Josh Townend has a serious rebuilding task on his hands over the summer. They have just one game left against Derby County. In other news, Brighton won promotion the Premier League as champions, they were the only team to beat Townend's side before this horrendous month for the Whites.

MAY 2013

Leeds 1-2 Derby

Conor Sammon 45'
Aidy White 61'
Mason Bennett 78'

TOWNEND PROMISES SUMMER OF CHANGE

Leeds United manager Josh Townend has promised Leeds fans that there will be much change over the summer. After his predecessor Neil Warnock failed to deliver on his promise last season, Townend was keen to make sure he doesn't make the same mistake.

"Lessons have been learned from being too much of a shrewd spender. As we say in Yorkshire, you don't get owt for nowt (anything for nothing) and we will look to invest heavily over the summer"

"We have a good idea of who we want to keep hold of and who won't be here next year. Mistakes were made last summer and I'm being paid to pick up the pieces. We need to move quickly to identify and sign targets which is why I'm heading for my flight straight after this so that I can have the rest of May off allowing me to return on 1st June and that's when all the hard work begins for next season"

ENGLISH FOOTBALL: UPS AND DOWNS

Premier League

Winners: Chelsea
Champions League: Man City, Man Utd, Tottenham, Chelsea
Europa League: Liverpool and Arsenal
Relegated: Norwich, Southampton, West Ham

Championship

Winners: Brighton
Promoted: Burnley
Playoffs: Wolves
Relegated: Blackpool, Charlton, Barnsley

League One:

Winners: Bournemouth
Promoted: Colchester
Playoffs: Doncaster
Relegated: Portsmouth, Hartlepool, Carlisle, Crawley

League Two:

Winners: Fleetwood
Promoted: Bradford, Rotherham
Playoffs: Rochdale
Relegated: Barnet, Exeter

SUMMER TRANSFER WINDOW UPDATE

In:

RM Ross Davidson Kilmarnock Free
CM Scott Ferries Aberdeen Free
RM Robert Snodgrass Norwich £2.5M (£500k upfront + £2M over 48 months)
ST Garra Dembele Freiburg £1M
GK Jack Hamilton Hearts £1.1M (£20k upfront + £80k over 48 months + £1M after first cap)
CB Ryan Bennett Norwich £5M (£1M upfront + £4M over 48 months)
GK John Ruddy Norwich £7.25M (£2.25M upfront + £5M over 48 months)
LB Kevin McNaughton Cardiff £6.5M (£1.5M upfront + £5M over 48 months)

Total: £23.5M

Out:

Paul Green Millwall £1.5M
Adam Drury St Mirren £50k
Will Buckley Burnley £3M
Jason Pearce Celtic £2.5M
Owen Garvan Doncaster £575k
Sam Byram MK Dons Season-long loan
Jack Hamilton Rotherham Season-long loan
Leigh Bromby Free Agent
Michael Brown Free Agent
Paul Connolly Free Agent
Jamie Ashdown Free Agent
Patrick Antelmi Free Agent
Charlie Clamp Free Agent
Ross Killock Free Agent
Joe McCann Free Agent
Sanchez Payne Free Agent
Lewis Turner Free Agent
Nathan Turner Free Agent
Ryan Shotton Celtic £2M
Ross Davidson Charlton Season-long loan
Robbie Rogers Watford £675k

Total: £10.5M

DEFAULT XI:

1 John Ruddy

2 Phil Bardsley
5 Ben Turner
15 Ryan Bennett
3 Kevin McNaughton

23 Robert Snodgrass
8 Rodolph Austin
19 David Norris (C)
14 Jerome Thomas

9 Garra Dembele
44 Ross McCormack

AUGUST 2013

Leeds 2-0 Norwich

Ross McCormack 15'
Ben Hamer OG 60'

Leeds 2-0 Port Vale (Capital One Cup 1st Rnd)

Scott Ferries 54'
David Norris 80'

Bristol City 2-0 Leeds

Albert Adomah 3'
Sam Baldock 36'

Leeds 0-1 Derby

Callum Ball 2'

Leeds 2-1 Ipswich

Ross McCormack 15'
Jerome Thomas 41'
Michael Chopra 49'

Leeds 0-1 Leicester (Capital One Cup 2nd Rnd)

Paddy McCourt 28'

Millwall 2-3 Leeds

Garra Dembele 4'
Darius Henderson 19'
Ross McCormack 46'
Scott Malone 49'
Jerome Thomas 50'

It's been a long month for Townend's Leeds side. Amongst some disappointing defeats were some satisfactory wins. The Whites played 5 league games and 2 cup games which saw them lose 1 cup game and 2 league games. Following the late arrival of returning centre-midfielder Adam Clayton from Huddersfield, Leeds are currently in the playoff picture in 9th, just two points from 1st with 9 points from their first five days. The start looks promising, but the Yorkshire outfit must now aim to push on and improve tho make progress

SEPTEMBER 2013

Leeds 2-1 Doncaster

Ross McCormack 42'
Lewis Grabban 66'
Luke Varney 84'

Southampton 0-0 Leeds

Nottm Forest 0-1 Leeds

Luke Varney 84'

Sheff Wed 2-1 Leeds

Nejc Pecnik 4'
David Norris 78'
Reda Johnson 89'

It's been a comparatively shorter month for Leeds United. With striker Luciano Becchio returning to the squad from injury after 8 months on the sidelines, Leeds appear to have come into September with momentum. Their only defeat of the month came at Sheffield Wednesday, which ended a mini-run of 4 games unbeaten. Particularly impressive were the performances at Southampton and Nottm Forest in which a dogged Leeds side came away with a draw at the home of the league leaders and 3 points at one of the most difficult grounds to play at in the league.

OCTOBER 2013

Leeds 2-0 Bournemouth

Robert Snodgrass 19'
Ross McCormack 74'

Huddersfield 1-2 Leeds

Ross McCormack 36', 69'
Henrik Ojamaa 74'

Leeds 1-0 Peterborough

David Norris 6'

Hull 2-1 Leeds

Joe Dudgeon 33'
Ross McCormack 58'
Nick Proschwitz 65'

Leeds 2-0 Crystal Palace

Jonathan Parr OG 27'
David Norris 67'

Leeds 0-0 Leicester

And so Leeds' scintillating home form continues into October. Townend's boys have take 19 points from 8 home league games- losing 1, drawing 1, and winning 6. Luciano Becchio has once again been sidelined with injury but should be back by January. However, Leeds needn't worry about finding goals, with Ross McCormack in the form of his life, Varney stepping up when required and Captain Norris doing more than his fair share, Leeds should find that goals won't be too hard to come by. The Whites are currently sitting in 4th, just 4 points behind 1st placed Blackburn and 2nd placed Southampton

I haven't posted in a while because my steam account messedup. I've got it all sorted now and I didn't lose my save! :D

NOVEMBER 2013

Colchester 0-2 Leeds

Ross McCormack 9'
Danny Murphy 70'

Leeds 0-2 Blackburn

Jordan Rhodes 34'
Fraizer Campbell 52'

Watford 1-1 Leeds

Troy Deeney 45+2'
Luke Varney 83'

Leeds 1-0 West Ham

Garra Dembele 90+2'

Cardiff 3-1 Leeds

Ryan Bennett 4'
Craig Bellamy 29'
Craig Conway 39', 83'

Leeds 1-0 Middlesbrough

Ryan Bennett 29'

It's been a long and busy month whih has seen Leeds predominantly play away from home and struggle to pick up points. This however, could be attributed to fatigue due to playing every weekend and midweek which has been the ultimate test of the players' fitness. With an equally busy December coming up, it remains to be seen whether the Whites can acclimatise to the demanding schedule or buckle under it.

DECEMBER 2013

Birmingham 2-2 Leeds

Razak Boukari 34'
David Norris 41'
Nathan Redmond 49'
Garra Dembele 70'

Leeds 0-2 Bristol City

Jon Stead 49'
Stephen Pearson 90+2'

Norwich 2-2 Leeds

Rodolph Austin 26'
Luciano Becchio 69'
Grant Holt 87'
Steven Morison 90'

Derby 2-1 Leeds

Luciano Becchio 45'
John Brayford 53'
Mason Bennett 65'

Leeds 2-1 Millwall

Ross McCormack 38'
Andy Keogh 77'
Luciano Becchio 80'

Ipswich 0-2 Leeds

El-Hadji Diouf 17'
Ross McCormack 59'

Doncaster 1-4 Leeds

Martin Woods 5'
Garra Dembele 17', 25', 88'
Martin Woods OG 40'

Leeds fans were literally left waiting until Christmas for a win, as a 2-1 home win against Millwall on Boxing Day ended a run of 4 games without a win having lost two and drawn two conceding eight goals. They have however, ended 2013 on a three-match winning streak, the latest coming away at Doncaster Rovers which saw Garra Dembele net a spectacular hat-trick. The run has thrown them right back into the promotion picture as Townend's side lie in fourth, just four points shy of league leaders Blackburn.

JANUARY 2014

Leeds 4-2 Brighton (FA Cup Third Round)

Ashley Barnes 8', 80'
Ryan Bennett 23'
Garra Dembele 55'
Ben Turner 85'
Robert Snodgrass 88'

Leeds 1-1 Bolton

Keith Andrews 62'
Garra Dembele 67'

Leeds 1-1 Southampton

Luciano Becchio 49'
Jay Rodriguez 62'

Leeds 2-0 Nottm Forest

Robert Snodgrass 28', 41'

Bolton 0-3 Leeds

Ryan Bennett 51', 56'
Adam Bogdan OG 70'

Leeds 1-1 Southend (FA Cup Fourth Round)

Freddy Eastwood 51'
Davide Somma 54'

Leeds have been unbeaten throughout January, with a memorable cup game against Premier League outfit Brighton followed by a not so memorable cup game against League Two outfit Southend United. Otherwise it's been a productive month in the league for the Whites. Having won two and drawn two, the Yorkshire side sit in third, just three points off league leaders Blackburn.

FEBRUARY 2014

Leicester 1-2 Leeds

Anthony Pilkington 10'
Ross McCormack 41'
Luciano Becchio 59'

Southend 0-5 Leeds (FA Cup Fourth Round Replay)

Ryan Bennett 20'
Luciano Becchio 32'
Robert Snodgrass 41'
Ross McCormack 63', 89'

Leeds 0-0 Sheff Wed

Leeds 0-0 Fulham (FA Cup Fifth Round)

Bournemouth 0-2 Leeds

Ryan Bennett 12'
Garra Dembele 26'

Fulham 3-1 (aet) Leeds (FA Cup Fifth Round Replay)

Marouane Chamakh 25', 101'
Garra Dembele 28'
Bryan Ruiz 119'

It's been a considerably busy month once again for Leeds, they played three FA Cup games- a replay against Southend and another draw/replay tie against Townend's former employers Fulham. Townend wasn't to make the same mistake in the replay against Southend as he did at Elland Road where he fielded a team made entirely o reserves and youth players. He instead opted to choose a full strength side at Roots Hall and there was a telling difference in results with Leeds running out 5-0 victors having held a 3-0 lead at half time. In the league, the Whites are still unbeaten having won two and drawn one. Leeds are still three points behind Blackburn and sitting in third.