silverfox
Well-Known Member
From the Yorkshire Post...........
BARNSLEY summer signing Rob Kozluk has revealed that he would have joined Leeds United – but for manager Dennis Wise.
The former Sheffield United defender has also claimed there is behind the scenes 'unrest' at Bramall Lane, saying some players feel they are not being paid enough.
Kozluk, who spent eight years with the Blades, is aiming to help Barnsley push for a return to the Premiership but he said: "I spoke to Dennis Wise and the chief executive at Elland Road but they couldn't sign me because of the situation (administration) the club was in. But, in any case, I didn't feel it was right for me; Leeds United, yes, but Dennis Wise, no.
"If I had walked into that club, I don't think it would have been right for me."
Leeds manager Wise has been hampered in efforts to strengthen by a Football League transfer embargo which limits the size of his squad to 20 players.
Following Sheffield United's relegation from the Premiership and the departure of manager Neil Warnock, Kozluk, 28, was told that he was not required by club chairman Terry Robinson but was offered a reprieve after the appointment of manager Bryan Robson.
Kozluk rejected the offer because he had 'given his word' to Barnsley and was unhappy that he had been made to wait six months to be offered an improved deal.
Kozluk thinks his treatment could be symptomatic of a wider problem at Bramall Lane – although yesterday the Blades announced that both Derek Geary and Alan Quinn had been granted extended deals.
"It was a strange way for things to come to an end at Sheffield United," said Kozluk.
"Warnock moved on so Terry Robinson released me. I spoke to Robson over the phone a few times and he kept telling me to 'speak to Terry' but he was saying 'it is the deal we have offered you or nothing.'
"Only when he realised that Barnsley were interested, and I was actually driving to Barnsley to sign, did he change his opinion. He had six months to offer me a better deal and, by that time, I had given my word to Barnsley so I wasn't going to change my mind.
"There's unrest in the camp and some players are not being given what they deserve," he added. "They need to start sorting out the club's honest professionals, some of whom have been there years."
Kozluk is confident that his 19 appearances for the Blades in the Premiership last season will have improved his game. "Last season in the Premiership was a really good experience and it will do my confidence the world of good," he said. "I don't think I will be up against anyone like Ronaldo again in this division and now I know I have done it against the best.
"If I get the opportunity to return to the Premiership that will be great and if I can perform well, week-in, week-out for Barnsley, who knows? I take each day as it comes.
"But we have to start the season with a target of reaching the play-offs. If your aim is simply to stay up, you are already in to a losing battle."
Leeds, meanwhile, have insisted that their non-payment of wages for June is in "accordance with the agreements entered into" with the club's administrators.
Chairman Ken Bates put the club into administration on May 4 and the players agreed to defer their wages for May with Bates buying the club back on July 11.
The club are in talks with the Football League, the PFA and the administrators to resolve the issue.
A club statement said: "It is disappointing that the players have not as yet been paid, however they have not been paid in accordance with the agreements they entered into with the administrators.
"The players have been paid for May with funds provided by Leeds United 2007 Ltd under the terms of those deferrals and June's wages are to be paid when the Football League/Football Association return the shares.
"Notwithstanding the above, the club is talking to the Football League, the PFA and administrators to establish whether this payment can be made in advance of the return of the share."
BARNSLEY summer signing Rob Kozluk has revealed that he would have joined Leeds United – but for manager Dennis Wise.
The former Sheffield United defender has also claimed there is behind the scenes 'unrest' at Bramall Lane, saying some players feel they are not being paid enough.
Kozluk, who spent eight years with the Blades, is aiming to help Barnsley push for a return to the Premiership but he said: "I spoke to Dennis Wise and the chief executive at Elland Road but they couldn't sign me because of the situation (administration) the club was in. But, in any case, I didn't feel it was right for me; Leeds United, yes, but Dennis Wise, no.
"If I had walked into that club, I don't think it would have been right for me."
Leeds manager Wise has been hampered in efforts to strengthen by a Football League transfer embargo which limits the size of his squad to 20 players.
Following Sheffield United's relegation from the Premiership and the departure of manager Neil Warnock, Kozluk, 28, was told that he was not required by club chairman Terry Robinson but was offered a reprieve after the appointment of manager Bryan Robson.
Kozluk rejected the offer because he had 'given his word' to Barnsley and was unhappy that he had been made to wait six months to be offered an improved deal.
Kozluk thinks his treatment could be symptomatic of a wider problem at Bramall Lane – although yesterday the Blades announced that both Derek Geary and Alan Quinn had been granted extended deals.
"It was a strange way for things to come to an end at Sheffield United," said Kozluk.
"Warnock moved on so Terry Robinson released me. I spoke to Robson over the phone a few times and he kept telling me to 'speak to Terry' but he was saying 'it is the deal we have offered you or nothing.'
"Only when he realised that Barnsley were interested, and I was actually driving to Barnsley to sign, did he change his opinion. He had six months to offer me a better deal and, by that time, I had given my word to Barnsley so I wasn't going to change my mind.
"There's unrest in the camp and some players are not being given what they deserve," he added. "They need to start sorting out the club's honest professionals, some of whom have been there years."
Kozluk is confident that his 19 appearances for the Blades in the Premiership last season will have improved his game. "Last season in the Premiership was a really good experience and it will do my confidence the world of good," he said. "I don't think I will be up against anyone like Ronaldo again in this division and now I know I have done it against the best.
"If I get the opportunity to return to the Premiership that will be great and if I can perform well, week-in, week-out for Barnsley, who knows? I take each day as it comes.
"But we have to start the season with a target of reaching the play-offs. If your aim is simply to stay up, you are already in to a losing battle."
Leeds, meanwhile, have insisted that their non-payment of wages for June is in "accordance with the agreements entered into" with the club's administrators.
Chairman Ken Bates put the club into administration on May 4 and the players agreed to defer their wages for May with Bates buying the club back on July 11.
The club are in talks with the Football League, the PFA and the administrators to resolve the issue.
A club statement said: "It is disappointing that the players have not as yet been paid, however they have not been paid in accordance with the agreements they entered into with the administrators.
"The players have been paid for May with funds provided by Leeds United 2007 Ltd under the terms of those deferrals and June's wages are to be paid when the Football League/Football Association return the shares.
"Notwithstanding the above, the club is talking to the Football League, the PFA and administrators to establish whether this payment can be made in advance of the return of the share."
and like you said, sour grapes
You can find a positive in everything. 
