Leeds accept Norwich City bid for Jonny Howson

[judderman 0]

[quote user="City1st"]"A steal at the reported 2 million aswell"

Speculated in possibly the most unreliable source available - rather like claiming the world is going to end soon because you saw the news of it on a placate on a man walking up and down Oxford StAs to the signing, he is just the type of player we need[/quote]Leeds fans who claim to be in the know are saying it''s more like £500k

[Shack Attack 0]

[quote user="St.John Cooper"]

 

I do understand which is why we need strength at the back....what happens if we lose Zak and Ayala or one of them, we do not have any depth at least we do in midfield but I think defence should be the priority.....your statement of depth in squad simply does not ring true in defence and it would in fact seem like you do not understand this concept. As a business man I understand we only have so much money to spend and I would rather see this in defence wouldn’t you?

If we need a midfielder it should be a defending midfielder not an attacking one

 

[/quote]

 

We have Ward, Martin and Barnett who can come in if one of those get injured. They all have their faults but for the money we have to spend we are not going to get a centre back who never makes a mistake (if such a thing exists). The spotlight has fallen on the centre of defence due to some high profile individual errors but as other posters have already pointed out to you they are under a great deal of pressure due to our inability to control a game. We don''t keep the ball particularly well (it is very rare that you will see us have over 50% possession in a match whether we win or lose) which creates pressure on a defence which is coming up against quicker and more skillful attackers than it has ever face before. The flipside of this is that our low possession figures are in part down to our willingness to take a risk with the ball which in turn means we are creating plenty of chances. I would be much more concerned as a newly promoted side if we were not scoring (like QPR).

 

Howson should help with our ball retention as by all accounts he is very comformatble on the ball. He could play on the right side of the diamond to replace the less technically able Crofts. He can operate behind a lone front man either as part of a genuine 4-2-3-1 (either centrally with pace either side in the form of Bennett and Pilkington or from the right to link up with Wes centrally and Surman on the left) or in a 4-4-1-1 to give us more solidity. In any of those situations I believe he improves the team as a whole based on the few times I have seen him play and what I have read both here and from Leeds fans.

 

Surely as a businessman you can understand that buying a highly rated, young, English footballer for a cut price fee due to his contract expiring in the summer is an excellent investment opportunity?

[birchfest 397]

http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/sport/leeds-united/latest-whites-news/leeds_united_local_lad_howson_was_always_destined_for_top_1_4156611An artical about Howson in the Yorkshire Evening post, describes how he started out as a striker but in the last few seasons has been converted into an attacking midfielder. Looks like Wes is going to have some competition!

[ron obvious 1,514]

Someone on WOTB said that the Sun reported we "thrashed out" personal terms last night and have beaten Blackburn and Bolton to his signature.

Can''t find it anywhere on the Sun site though.

[alysha 0]

I bet we arn''t happy that this all went public, I hope he signs soon and that it doesn''t fall through due to the situation being highlighted to other clubs. From what I can make out from the Leeds fan''s comments, Howson can play CM but he often gets a lot of stick when playing there, his best position is behind the strikers by far, so real competition for Wes; wherever he plays though, I''m sure Lambert will bring out the best in him. Sounds like a good signing if it all goes through.

[Webbo118 0]

[quote user="St.John Cooper"][quote user="Webbo118"][quote user="Webbo118"][quote user="St.John Cooper"][quote user="Bethnal Yellow and Green"][quote user="St.John Cooper"]

I am not excited by this signing AT ALL....we need a central defender not a midfielder where we already have an abundence of talent...who will he replace?

We all know with no clean sheets where our problem is.....just think its much ado about nothing

[/quote]

Clean sheets start from the front. You could have the 4 best defenders in the world but if everyone ahead of them is dross then you still won''t keep a clean sheet. Howson will improve the team overall, meaning we are more likely to get a clean sheet.

[/quote]

 

So whose place does he take?

 

 

 

[/quote][/quote]

 

Misguided and irrelevant question. Do you not understand the concepts of squad strength and increased options?

[/quote]

 

I do understand which is why we need strength at the back....what happens if we lose Zak and Ayala or one of them, we do not have any depth at least we do in midfield but I think defence should be the priority.....your statement of depth in squad simply does not ring true in defence and it would in fact seem like you do not understand this concept. As a business man I understand we only have so much money to spend and I would rather see this in defence wouldn’t you?

If we need a midfielder it should be a defending midfielder not an attacking one

 

 

[/quote]

Ideally, we need to strengthen the squad in every area. If you stand still, you go backwards. As a businessman, I am sure you understand this concept. In central defence, we also have Martin, Ward and Barnett. In the meantime, I have every faith in our Manager who no doubt is trying to recruit in various areas to improve the depth of the squad. Still not sure why you asked the question "so whose place does he take ?".

[WW 0]

With respect, how would you know how "comfortable on the ball" he is or to what extent he can "control the game"?

Howson has played 185 times for us, I''ve seen over 3/4 of those games and I''ve yet to see him "control the game". Truth is he''s a striker at heart. That''s where he started until Wise turned him into a CM. He''s never looked comfortable there (CM) and looks like a completely different player when played off a front man or in a free role behind two strikers. In that position he looks one of the best players in the championship.

Truth is, opinion on him has always been divided at Leeds. Half of us love him because he comes from Leeds and he''s scored a few important goals the other half of us consider him the weakest captain we''ve ever had an a ghostly presence in midfield.

Personally, I don''t see him as a loss. Not as a central midfielder anyway. He''s never learnt to play the position correctly, hides or turns his back on the ball and consistently goes through periods where you wonder if he''s been subbed without you knowing. At times we''d have been better off with Ken''s missus in the middle.

Behind the front man/men he''s different. A powerful runner and excellent finisher, he looks a different proposition altogether.

Saying all that your excellent manager seems to have made a silk purse out of Bradley Johnson so who knows what will happen. I will say that at a smaller, softer club like yours with less pressure, more ambition and more music after goals he''ll probably thrive. He''s a quiet, uncharismatic/thick lad so Lambert will probably get the best out of him.

Good to see you thriving up there. We had some good, well matched games last year. Spare a thought for us as Ken Bates continues his dismantling of a once great club (our crowds are dwindling, we pay the 5th highest season ticket price in the country and our team has cost the least in the championship, a lot of us have had enough and see the only way of getting rid of him is by not renewing our season tickets).

[WW 0]

[quote user="judderman"][quote user="City1st"]"A steal at the reported 2 million aswell"

Speculated in possibly the most unreliable source available - rather like claiming the world is going to end soon because you saw the news of it on a placate on a man walking up and down Oxford StAs to the signing, he is just the type of player we need[/quote]Leeds fans who claim to be in the know are saying it''s more like £500k[/quote]

None of us know how much it is.

At a guess I would say it''s something like £500k-£1m with another 500k spread over his contract and some add-ons on top of that.

[Mark .Y. 352]

Thanks for that mate, decent Leeds fans always welcome here........... (it''s just that there have been the odd few not so decent have visited in the past) 

 

Mark .Y.

 

[Bill Car 0]

St.John Cooper wrote the following post at 19/01/2012 7:09 AM:

Webbo118 wrote:

Webbo118 wrote:

St.John Cooper wrote:

Bethnal Yellow and Green wrote:

St.John Cooper wrote:

I am not excited by this signing AT ALL....we need a central defender not a midfielder where we already have an abundence of talent...who will he replace?

We all know with no clean sheets where our problem is.....just think its much ado about nothing

Clean sheets start from the front. You could have the 4 best defenders in the world but if everyone ahead of them is dross then you still won''t keep a clean sheet. Howson will improve the team overall, meaning we are more likely to get a clean sheet.

So whose place does he take?

Misguided and irrelevant question. Do you not understand the concepts of squad strength and increased options?

I do understand which is why we need strength at the back....what happens if we lose Zak and Ayala or one of them, we do not have any depth at least we do in midfield but I think defence should be the priority.....your statement of depth in squad simply does not ring true in defence and it would in fact seem like you do not understand this concept. As a business man I understand we only have so much money to spend and I would rather see this in defence wouldn’t you?

If we need a midfielder it should be a defending midfielder not an attacking one

As a vegan paraplegic I understand that too much red meat is bad for you. I don’t think this qualifies me as an expert in player acquisitions.

From my limited understanding defending is done as a collective but the purest form is ball retention. Look at Swansealona’s conceded column, especially at home. I don’t think they have a defensive midfielder as such (or one over 5 foot 6). Any player who can help us retain possession will become a valuable member of the squad.

I would happily go into more depth regarding ball retention but am very tired having just typed this with my nose.

[Taxing 0]

[quote user="Bill Car"]St.John Cooper wrote the following post at 19/01/2012 7:09 AM:

Webbo118 wrote:

Webbo118 wrote:

St.John Cooper wrote:

Bethnal Yellow and Green wrote:

St.John Cooper wrote:

I am not excited by this signing AT ALL....we need a central defender not a midfielder where we already have an abundence of talent...who will he replace?

We all know with no clean sheets where our problem is.....just think its much ado about nothing

Clean sheets start from the front. You could have the 4 best defenders in the world but if everyone ahead of them is dross then you still won''t keep a clean sheet. Howson will improve the team overall, meaning we are more likely to get a clean sheet.

So whose place does he take?

Misguided and irrelevant question. Do you not understand the concepts of squad strength and increased options?

I do understand which is why we need strength at the back....what happens if we lose Zak and Ayala or one of them, we do not have any depth at least we do in midfield but I think defence should be the priority.....your statement of depth in squad simply does not ring true in defence and it would in fact seem like you do not understand this concept. As a business man I understand we only have so much money to spend and I would rather see this in defence wouldn’t you?

If we need a midfielder it should be a defending midfielder not an attacking one

As a vegan paraplegic I understand that too much red meat is bad for you. I don’t think this qualifies me as an expert in player acquisitions.

From my limited understanding defending is done as a collective but the purest form is ball retention. Look at Swansealona’s conceded column, especially at home. I don’t think they have a defensive midfielder as such (or one over 5 foot 6). Any player who can help us retain possession will become a valuable member of the squad.

I would happily go into more depth regarding ball retention but am very tired having just typed this with my nose.[/quote]

I expect you could also happily go into more depth regarding anal retention Bill.