Ryan Leonard

[LondonBlade89]

Leonard is absolutely flying at Millwall. His performances have been impressive since joining (including against us) and he bagged his first goal on Saturday. I've got a couple of Millwall-supporting mates who already love him, and if you search his name on Twitter you'll see a lot of the same.

I'm happy for the guy. Shame it didn't work out for us but clearly Wilder's view that he was a player was spot on. No hard feelings on that one, IMO.

UTB

 

[Ricky]

I'm shocked.

 

[Eric Cartman]

If only we'd just loaned him and then sold him in January to the highest bidder we'd be looking at double what we agreed now.

 

[SteveBlade]

He's relatively good at football.

I'm fond of his adequacy.

 

[Stretch]

Time will tell over a long hard season whether it was a mistake to let him leave. I felt it was at the time but let's be honest if he had stayed he would still be getting splinters. No way is he forcing his way into this team, at this moment.

Chuffed for him though. Seemed a decent lad.

 

[LoughboroBlade]

Is it too early for us to start commenting on how we’re dreading Leonardinho playing when Millwall visit the Lane?

Good luck to him, but his United career was brief, the deal suited all parties, and unlike plenty of players that made an impact during his time with us, Leonard’s not one I’m going to spend any time keeping an eye on in the future.

 

[Ricky]

He wouldn't have been in the team but he would've been in the squad every game and we could have had more points had he stayed. He's perfect to bring on to help close out a game.

If only we'd just loaned him and then sold him in January to the highest bidder we'd be looking at double what we agreed now.

Said exactly this in August. He was always likely to do well there, and I'm sure Millwall would be happy to pay more than £1.5m had it not already been agreed.

 

[stringer]

Decent lad, decent player. But when you consider sacrificing him and Evans enabled Norwood (and Cranie) to arrive, it is surely nothing but a cracking deal.

 

[Maidenhead]

Time will tell over a long hard season whether it was a mistake to let him leave. I felt it was at the time but let's be honest if he had stayed he would still be getting splinters. No way is he forcing his way into this team, at this moment.

Chuffed for him though. Seemed a decent lad.

If he'd still been here then Norwood wouldn't be.

No way has a mistake been made.

 

[stringer]

He wouldn't have been in the team but he would've been in the squad every game and we could have had more points had he stayed. He's perfect to bring on to help close out a game.




Said exactly this in August. He was always likely to do well there, and I'm sure Millwall would be happy to pay more than £1.5m had it not already been agreed.

If United had loaned Norwood until Jan what would his price tag be then? Would Brighton have sanctioned a loan?

 

[Maidenhead]

He wouldn't have been in the team but he would've been in the squad every game and we could have had more points had he stayed. He's perfect to bring on to help close out a game.




Said exactly this in August. He was always likely to do well there, and I'm sure Millwall would be happy to pay more than £1.5m had it not already been agreed.

Leonard in the squad or Norwood on the field? Your choice?

Doubled our money and still not happy?

 

[Eric Cartman]

If United had loaned Norwood until Jan what would his price tag be then? Would Brighton have sanctioned a loan?

No different. Brighton know how good he is in the championship and he helped Fulham get promoted last year.

 

[itsinyerblood]

Hindsight - "If only we'd held onto him etc.....marvellous thing using the evidence of now against having to judge whether it's worth doing.

Our form clearly hasn't suffered, and maybe it's a case of round pegs in square holes, or something similar. It is what it is, and isn't football littered with examples of knowing what should have been done if only we'd had the benefit of now. I must admit, I love the use of absolutes regarding the fact that if we'd kept Len we'd have more points at this stage.....it's good to dream.

The object, in case anyone has forgotten, is to progress. That's what we're doing.

 

[LondonBlade89]

Decent lad, decent player. But when you consider sacrificing him and Evans enabled Norwood (and Cranie) to arrive, it is surely nothing but a cracking deal.

I thought it was the Evans deal which enabled us to get Norwood? Didn't realise Leonard came into it.

 

[Sheffsteel]

Think Leonard is probably a more skilful version of Nick Montgomery.

It all depends how that type of player is used and fits within the team framework.
At Millwall he obviously suits their style and is a big asset.
At Sheffield United his passing wasn’t quite good enough but he did offer loads of energy.
Pleased for him, he seemed a decent lad.

 

[Ricky]

If he'd still been here then Norwood wouldn't be.

No way has a mistake been made.

So had we not got rid we would've had to send Norwood back to Brighton?

We sell Brooks for £12m, get over £1m for Evans yet need Leonard out as well to sanction Norwood? Surely not.

Even from a football/squad/positional point of view, Leonard isn't comparable to Norwood like Evans is.

I must admit, I love the use of absolutes regarding the fact that if we'd kept Len we'd have more points at this stage.....it's good to dream.

"Could" does not = absolute, does it.

 

[LoughboroBlade]

I thought it was the Evans deal which enabled us to get Norwood? Didn't realise Leonard came into it.

Isn’t this part of the number of available places in the squad? With Coutts returning Leonard was never going to be ahead of him for the late-sub to close things out role, and with Basham in great form he was never likely to come in at RCB. Less about the money (which we had to find Norwood) and more about the squad balance, something Wilder has always placed huge importance on.

 

[Stretch]

If he'd still been here then Norwood wouldn't be.

No way has a mistake been made.

I thought it was Evans going that enabled us to bring in Norwood? In any case I wouldn't argue in terms of a man for man swap. My point was more about squad depth and cover for injuries over 40+ games. We probably have enough but we won't know unless (god forbid) we lose a couple of key players for any length of time.

 

[stringer]

I thought it was the Evans deal which enabled us to get Norwood? Didn't realise Leonard came into it.

He did.

 

[stringer]

I thought it was Evans going that enabled us to bring in Norwood? In any case I wouldn't argue in terms of a man for man swap. My point was more about squad depth and cover for injuries over 40+ games. We probably have enough but we won't know unless (god forbid) we lose a couple of key players for any length of time.

The squad’s no weaker? Cranie for Leonard, Norwood for Evans. Coutts coming back. It’s arguably stronger

 

[Bladesman]

I was under the assumption it was the Evans deal that helped us get Norwood.

Cranie was available on a free transfer. Not sure we needed to ship Leonard out for him. I'd have sooner shipped out Lundstrum.

 

[Stretch]

The squad’s no weaker? Cranie for Leonard, Norwood for Evans. Coutts coming back. It’s arguably stronger

Arguably being the key word. I don't think we are in disagreement on this, I am just saying that we will only know if and when Cranie ( for example) has to step into Basham's shoes. Leonard had shown to be a reasonable option/back up from the bench, but no no more.

 

[finlaytheblade]

Time will tell over a long hard season whether it was a mistake to let him leave. I felt it was at the time but let's be honest if he had stayed he would still be getting splinters. No way is he forcing his way into this team, at this moment.

Chuffed for him though. Seemed a decent lad.

Yes he did seem a decent lad who didn't rock the boat even though game time was at a premium.I think Wilder appreciated that and let him go so as he could play regularly,the offer was a good one and with him being a southerner he was let go can understand all aspects. of this transfer.
He is probably more suited to there style anyway couldn't really see him being able to ping it round with one touch stuff as we do, Wilder had him long enough to know what his strengths and weaknesses were.
Having said that he was a useful squad player to have.Maybe it's part of our growth as a. Club moving on to proven quality at championship level or even premiership,as Kean

 

[finlaytheblade]

Yes he did seem a decent lad who didn't rock the boat even though game time was at a premium.I think Wilder appreciated that and let him go so as he could play regularly,the offer was a good one and with him being a southerner he was let go can understand all aspects. of this transfer.
He is probably more suited to there style anyway couldn't really see him being able to ping it round with one touch stuff as we do, Wilder had him long enough to know what his strengths and weaknesses were.
Having said that he was a useful squad player to have.Maybe it's part of our growth as a. Club moving on to proven quality at championship level or even premiership,as Kean

Brian suggests.to finish my post

 

[Lane Ender]

Some players just cant settle up north and visa versa.

 

[Balham]

I was under the assumption it was the Evans deal that helped us get Norwood.

Cranie was available on a free transfer. Not sure we needed to ship Leonard out for him. I'd have sooner shipped out Lundstrum.

Cranie may have not commanded a transfer fee but he still wants a wage. Norwood will almost certainly be earning considerably more than Evans and Leonard so moving both out will probably have been necessary to stay under our wage budget with Norwood coming in.

 

[Sean Thornton]

Some players just cant settle up north and visa versa.

And typically, both are now remembered as much better players when they were here, than they were.

 

[coolhandluke]

The squad’s no weaker? Cranie for Leonard, Norwood for Evans. Coutts coming back. It’s arguably stronger

Arguably stronger ? There's absolutely no doubt at all that it's stronger . And let's not forget that this area of strengthening has cost us fuck all . Best bit of business we've seen for years and still people whinge about it .

#isimplymustfindsomethingtowhineaboutcosiwantmymummy

Edit: I'm not saying you're whinging btw Danny

 

[The Hobott]

Didn't fit into our system/style really. GLTTL.

 

[bladesince64]

Some players just cant settle up north and visa versa.

I agree with this assumption because Leonard’s performances and body language seemed to me to show that he didn’t want to be here. Also he’s playing a role that we have covered by better players anyhow. He went from player of the year at Sarfend to sub here but of a come down