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Blake and Moore set to lead attack
Speculation was rife that he would be on his way, and still is with Dennis Wise again linked today with the job, but he’s still in the hot seat having taken over just before the end of the 2003/04 season and he has a real Burnley flavour to his backroom team with Sam Ellis as assistant manager and our former manager Stan Ternent watching games for them.
We played them last February but by the time the season had ended Blackwell had dipped into the transfer market another four times to strengthen his squad. One of those four was Ian Moore who was all set to be released by the Clarets. He cost Leeds £50,000 and the manager told the fans they had bought a fifteen goals per season striker.
Into the close season and they were busy again with six more additions to the squad. Rob Hulse, who had been on loan from West Brom, made the deal permanent for £1.1 million and he was quickly followed by Birmingham goalkeeper Ian Bennett. The last week in June saw two more players join without a transfer fee, Steve Stone who had been released by Portsmouth and Preston’s Eddie Lewis who had turned down an offer at Deepdale.
July saw three more signings and another one to surprise the Burnley fans. Firstly Portuguese defender Rui Marques arrived from Maritimo and he was followed by Brighton midfielder Dan Harding who cost £850,000. Then Robbie Blake, who was so desperate to play in the Premiership, left Premiership club Birmingham to return to the Football League and all for a fee fractionally over half the amount we had received for him.
That gave Blackwell almost as many strikers as his former boss Neil Warnock a few miles down the M1 but it didn’t stop him adding another when he took yet another Preston player, this time paying around £1.2 million for Richard Cresswell. That came a week after he took Blackburn’s Jonathan Douglas on a long term loan.
There certainly weren’t any departures from his first team squad during the summer but on the last day of August, just before the window closed, Eirik Bakke and Michael Ricketts moved on loan to Aston Villa respectively.
That gave Blackwell almost as many strikers as his former boss Neil Warnock a few miles down the M1 but it didn’t stop him adding another when he took yet another Preston player, this time paying around £1.2 million for Richard Cresswell. That came a week after he took Blackburn’s Jonathan Douglas on a long term loan.
There certainly weren’t any departures from his first team squad during the summer but on the last day of August, just before the window closed, Eirik Bakke and Michael Ricketts moved on loan to Aston Villa respectively.
Leeds have made a bright enough start to the season and with a game in hand on most clubs they are currently in 6th place although already twelve points behind league leaders Sheffield United.
Their away record is average with two wins, two draws and two defeats from six games that have yielded just six goals, three for and three against. Rob Hulse is the leading scorer with six league goals, and he has got two of those away goals. David Healy, with four, is the only other to have scored more than one goal.
Team News
They have more strikers than we could ever dream of but latest signing Richard Cresswell is ruled out with a ruptured knee tendon that will keep him out of action for the rest of 2005. To add to that Rob Hulse is struggling with an ankle injury and David Healy has returned from international duty, also with an ankle problem.
Both Hulse and Healy are likely to be out and if they are then we can expect to see the familiar faces of Robbie Blake and Ian Moore lining up against us. The two of them have been preparing for it with Blake having nothing but praise for us, even suggesting he won’t celebrate if he scores, whilst Moore has continued his attacks on the club that started almost from the day he signed for Leeds.
“At the moment it looks as if the two ex-Burnley lads will be the strike force,” Blackwell said today. “You always know a player going back to his old club wants to do well and show them what they can do, sometimes that can be good and sometimes that can be bad.
Other than that the forwards Leeds are expecting to field the same team that was last in action at Watford and if so will line up: Neil Sullivan, Garry Kelly, Paul Butler, Sean Gregan, Matthew Kilgallon, Jonathan Douglas, Frazer Richardson, Shaun Derry, Eddie Lewis, Robbie Blake, Ian Moore. Subs: Ian Bennett, Danny Pugh, Dan Harding, Gylfi Einarsson, Stephen Crainey.
Steve Cotterill will be able to select from a stronger looking squad than he did the last time we played, at Wolves two weeks ago. Both John McGreal and Frank Sinclair played that night although neither of them should have done with their injuries but the break will have helped them to get much closer to full fitness. The same can be said for Wade Elliott who was on the bench at Molineux but wasn’t called upon.
Keith Lowe wasn’t allowed to play in that game but he returns but despite his good form he might have to settle for a place on the bench following the performances from Frank and Johnny Mac at Wolves.
That leaves Danny Karbassiyoon who is edging ever closer to full fitness and he could just find himself on the bench tomorrow.
Overall I expect us to stick with the team that did so well at Molineux and that would leave us lining up:
Brian Jensen, Michael Duff, Frank Sinclair, John McGreal, Jon Harley, Garreth O’Connor, James O’Connor, Micah Hyde, John Spicer, Graham Branch, Ade Akinbiyi. Subs from: Keith Lowe, Duane Courtney, Chris McCann, Wade Elliott, Gifton Noel-Williams, Danny Karbassiyoon, Karl Bermingham.
Last Time
It was not one of our better days when Leeds visited the Turf last season. We turned in a poor performance and ended the game with ten men when Frank Sinclair kicked out at Gylfi Einarsson who had scored the only goal of the game.
Incredibly Frank was announced just before the final whistle as the sponsors’ man of the match, about the only laugh we got all afternoon.
As bad as we were it should have been a draw but Ian Moore, who had been given penalty duties following the sale of Robbie Blake, failed miserably from the spot giving Neil Sullivan an easy save.
Only Brian Jensen and John McGreal played well as the Clarets continued to struggle following the sale of Blake.
The teams were,
Burnley: Brian Jensen, Frank Sinclair, Gary Cahill, John McGreal, Mo Camara, Lee Roche, Micah Hyde, Tony Grant, Graham Branch, John Oster (Jean-Louis Valois 69), Ian Moore. Subs not used: Danny Coyne, Paul Scott, Joel Pilkington, Matt O’Neill.
Leeds: Neil Sullivan, Gary Kelly, Clarke Carlisle, Paul Butler, Michael Gray, Aaron Lennon, Sean Gregan, Gylfi Einarsson (Danny Pugh 87), Jermaine Wright, Brian Deane (Michael Ricketts 87), David Healy. Subs not used: Frazer Richardson, Simon Johnson, Matthew Spring.
Previous 20 Seasons | |||||
Season | Div | Ven | Result | Att | Scorers |
2004/05 | C | a | 2-1 | 27,490 | Roche Duffy |
. | . | h | 0-1 | 17,789 | . |
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