Ryan Leonard

[stringer]

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

I think it is too but it’s all opinion isn’t it. We’d never know where United would be with Evans and Leonard, sans Norwood. But I’d make a strong case that they wouldn’t be clear at the top of the Championship

 

[Sean Thornton]

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

CHL stakes claim for a mention in Danny's next book shock.

Everything we know so far......

 

[Booker4]

Leonard's a ddecent player but no one can convince me he's better than Fleck, Norwood or Coutts, and isn't known as playing in the Duffy role. Also, Leonard wanted to go and play first team football.

Good deal all round I think.

 

[guancheblade]

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.

Yeah but how much time did fans (and CW for that matter) spend creaming themselves over the prospect of signing him from Southend, knowing very little to fuck all about his qualities as a player? I hate how fickle the modern day supporter has become. Man City fans are the worst for it.

 

[Harry's Game]

I was surprised to see him go.

Did he ask to go though? There were rumours his family was having difficulties settling up North.

 

[LondonBlade89]

I think it is too but it’s all opinion isn’t it. We’d never know where United would be with Evans and Leonard, sans Norwood. But I’d make a strong case that they wouldn’t be clear at the top of the Championship

Agreed. We looked pretty patchy at the start of the season and Ollie Norwood transformed that. Whatever happens over the course of the rest of the season, and I'm thinking particularly whether Coutts eventually comes back to replace him, he'll have been an astute signing by Wilder which definitely improved us.

 

[PokerBlade]

He's not a terrible player, but he wasn't starting ahead of Lundstram (who now can't get in the side) or Evans (who's also been shipped out). Even as defensive cover he'd gone down the list thanks to Egan coming in.

He's doing well for a side that's 18th in the table and have an even smaller budget relative to the division than we do. We're looking for a higher calibre of player.

Not surprised that he's doing alright for Millwall and very happy that we've moved past him.

 

[Karaoke Blade]

And he's got a long throw. Who'd have thought it?

 

[Pollingtonblade]

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.

Cranie? We can’t really say given he hasn’t kicked a ball for us yet.

 

[itsinyerblood]

Be careful, be very, very careful, unless you wish to stir the ire of (circa Sean Thornton) the Leonardettes. No amount of logic explanation will excuse the sale of a player who would have added extra points (apparently), even at this stage of the season.

It's certainly food for thought, here we are, top of the Championship, but somehow we're lacking, and all because we sold a player who was, at best, a decent squad player. It wasn't Len's fault, it was just an experiment that didn't quite work out, for either club or player. Being as good as Wilder is just isn't enough sometimes, you need the wisdom of those who fail to accept that there's a reason he's manager of the Blades and you're not, or ever likely to be.

 

[stringer]

Cranie? We can’t really say given he hasn’t kicked a ball for us yet.

Point was, a midfielder and am (eventual) centre-half went out, a midfielder and a centre-half came in

 

[Ricky]

Be careful, be very, very careful, unless you wish to stir the ire of (circa Sean Thornton) the Leonardettes. No amount of logic explanation will excuse the sale of a player who would have added extra points (apparently), even at this stage of the season.

It's clearly the 'Leonardettes' who have to be very very careful. This thread highlights it perfectly and sums up what it's like on here for anybody who goes against the grain just a little bit. It's very strange.

And (again), 'could' and 'would' don't mean the same thing.

 

[Sean Thornton]

Why are we pretending he's something special? For whatever reason, I'm sure Wilder based his decision on seeing him daily, it didn't work out for him here. He's playing well for Millwall, GLTTL, but that doesn't mean he's a loss to our squad.

Wilder chased him and obviously took it on the chin that it didn't work, but made a profit on him. I'm sure he doesn't constantly worry about how he's doing now, like others who bugged him up incessantly.

 

[itsinyerblood]

It's clearly the 'Leonardettes' who have to be very very careful. This thread highlights it perfectly and sums up what it's like on here for anybody who goes against the grain just a little bit. It's very strange.

And (again), 'could' and 'would' don't mean the same thing.

Time to stop being coy I think, whether it's 'could' or 'would', the inference was that Leonard would have contributed to a greater points tally than we currently have. Never mind the exceptional (not a word I would use to describe Len) contribution of Norwood, the suggestion that Len alone would have strengthened our hand can't do anything other than to make those of us who base our views on what's seen, reported, or described by other posters raise an eyebrow, even two.

Why you consider going against the grain as strange is.....well strange I suppose. Rattling on about the loss of a player who at best was just good, and who Wilder decided could be released in order to strengthen the team, surely the logic of this rationale can't be avoided, can it? Ricky, I look forward to many more posts from your good self that go against the grain. It's always useful to take a peek inside the workings of tactical maverick. It's what keeps everyone on their toes I think.

 

[INTAKE BLADE]

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.

Spot on. End of thread

 

['Doc' Pace my hero]

I must be missing something because i think that Ryan Leonard is a very average footballer,to even compare what he offered the team in comparison to Oliver Norwood is nothing short of insulting.

 

[SteveBlade]

The idea that Ryan Leonard may have gained us a few extra points by coming on in the last quarter of the game and helping us shut up shop is at best questionable, and at worst a massive reach to try and make one feel like their bitching at the time of the sale was justified.

 

[SUFC Handsworth]

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.




"Could" does not = absolute, does it.

As soon as I started reading this thread I thought exactly the same, we get £12m for Brooks and yet we're having to ship Evans and Leonard out to get Norwood in, that cannot be right.

As for Leonard I always suspected he was the best of the three midfield players from the JTW (his performances for Millwall probably suggest that's correct) but never really got the chance to prove it. I'd have kept him as he could always drop into the defence but as for as him playing midfield I don't think he quite fitted the bill for what CW wants in his midfield 3.

 

[Harrisblade]

As soon as I started reading this thread I thought exactly the same, we get £12m for Brooks and yet we're having to ship Evans and Leonard out to get Norwood in, that cannot be right.

As for Leonard I always suspected he was the best of the three midfield players from the JTW (his performances for Millwall probably suggest that's correct) but never really got the chance to prove it. I'd have kept him as he could always drop into the defence but as for as him playing midfield I don't think he quite fitted the bill for what CW wants in his midfield 3.

Could it not just be that CW feels the squad had enough 'bodies' in it and he just felt he could increase the skill level whilst decreasing the body count?

 

[Bill Johnson]

Could it not just be that CW feels the squad had enough 'bodies' in it and he just felt he could increase the skill level whilst decreasing the body count?

Makes it sound like a Tarantino film!!!

 

[SUFC Handsworth]

Could it not just be that CW feels the squad had enough 'bodies' in it and he just felt he could increase the skill level whilst decreasing the body count?

If he wanted to reduce the numbers in the squad, personally I'd have kept Leonard and got shut of Lunny, which takes me back to one of the points I was trying to make, I don't think Leonard quite fitted what CW wants in his midfield players (brain over brawn) that's why he got rid.

 

[Bill Johnson]

If he wanted to reduce the numbers in the squad, personally I'd have kept Leonard and got shut of Lunny, which takes me back to one of the points I was trying to make, I don't think Leonard quite fitted what CW wants in his midfield players (brain over brawn) that's why he got rid.

Agree about keeping him and losing Lunny. Is he injured as he dosent even make the bench much now. Can see him being moved out in Jan which IMO would be a good thing.

 

[Roygbiv]

I'd have liked him to stay to be honest. Think he would have been a perfect replacement for Bash on Saturday. I'm happy with Stearman being in there but he won't give us much going forward.

 

[Bladepicker]

Leonard reminded me of a young Greg Halford. I reckon in a Warmock or Blackwell side he would have flourished and been a key player - as he is prooving at Millwall - however in our midfield with our style of play he was never going to be the right fit unless he managed to get in ahead of Bash at RCB - and that wasn't hapoening anytime soon.

GLTTL and all that - but no big loss for us.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

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.

Who's Cranie?

 

[PokerBlade]

Just how well is he doing anyway? I know it's a team game and all but Millwall's record of fifteen played, four wins, seven losses, hardly suggests that their team is that good. Maybe it's easier to be a standout player in a side that's looking to dodge the drop than one looking to hit play-offs or better.

As for games we might have brought him on, I can't think of any. Stearman on and Basham into midfield, or Lundstram on, or Coutts on to hold possession, all seem like better options to me. Lundstram's debatable, I guess, but certainly on a par, at worst, with what I've seen from Leonard, and I haven't seen anyone suggesting that we should've been bringing Lundstram on.

 

[LondonBlade89]

Just how well is he doing anyway? I know it's a team game and all but Millwall's record of fifteen played, four wins, seven losses, hardly suggests that their team is that good. Maybe it's easier to be a standout player in a side that's looking to dodge the drop than one looking to hit play-offs or better.

He's played well in every game he's played for Millwall. The supporters are big fans of him already. He also joined the team when they were pretty far down the table, so he can't be blamed for that whole record, team game or not. There are rightly questions over whether he'd have brought something to our squad but there's no question he's played very well for them so far.

 

[Blend-it-like-Harris]

Question - Could Ryan Leonard have hit that peach of a through ball that Ollie did on Saturday?
No - thought not.....

 

[LondonBlade89]

Lol. We've nailed it there, lads.

 

[finlaytheblade]

Yeah but how much time did fans (and CW for that matter) spend creaming themselves over the prospect of signing him from Southend, knowing very little to fuck all about his qualities as a player? I hate how fickle the modern day supporter has become. Man City fans are the worst for it.

It's not a matter of fickle in this case,we haven't seen enough of him to draw any conclusions no-one is criticising him..We were offered a good price the player was happy to go and Wilder used the money wisely ,what's not to like ? .He's. obviously a good pro ,there s. No doubt we are a better team on the back of selling Leonard &Evans,this is professional football and wheeling and dealing is a big part of it.