Jermaine Beckford: Judas or simply ambitious?

Ollie Irish

7th, January 2010

9 Comments

8025165

A statement on Leeds United’s official website confirms that star striker Jermaine Beckford wants away:

“Leeds United can confirm that Jermaine Beckford has handed in a transfer request.

“The transfer request was handed in on December 30.

“By handing in a transfer request it clearly indicates that the player wants to leave Leeds United.

“However, that will only be allowed to happen in the event that it is decided to be in the best interests of Leeds United.

“The best interests of Leeds United involve receiving both an acceptable transfer fee and securing a suitable replacement to ensure his departure does not have an adverse effect on the club’s overall aim of securing promotion back to the Coca-Cola Championship.”

It’s obvious that Beckford and his agent are in a rush to advance his career – to be fair to Jermaine, he’s 26 years old and better than a League One player – but could they not have waited until the end of the season to do this, rather than cynically choosing the immediate aftermath of the player’s goal at Old Trafford against the Premier League champions?

Leeds are fighting for promotion to the Championship, and Beckford is vital to that push – and even though I believe Leeds have enough quality elsewhere to gain automatic promotion without him, losing your star striker is rarely a good thing.

It’s been all too easy to come to the conclusion that Beckford has a suspect attitude – body language, the odd tantrum after being substituted – and many Leeds fans never really warmed to him, despite his scoring feats.

No doubt if Beckford does move on this month – Newcastle seems a likely destination – he will be branded a Judas by some Leeds fans. There’s a fine line between disloyalty and ambition – on which side of the line do you think Beckford stands?

Posted in Featured, Opinion, Transfers & Rumours

Share this article: Email

9 Comments

  1. Danny says:

    An obvious talent but a horrible attitude.

    Its clear he believes he is more than Leeds United and so much more than League One standard. He may be a class above the guys in league one but he certainly isnt worthy of the Premeir League.
    Joining Newcastle is an obvious indication he’s looking for a ticket to be there.

    Hopefully his poor attitude will stay put in the championship at the very least!

  2. Meji says:

    hey hes trying to move up. fuck it. pay raise..status raise. cant blame the guy hes gettin up there in age.

  3. Meji says:

    besides. gotta strike while the irons hot!

  4. SlimCharles says:

    He probably wants to play in the Prem, but wants half a season in the Championship as a stepping stone. Can’t blame him really – decent deal now sets him up for life financially. If the stay at Leeds and has a crap season next year he’ll never get the chance.

    Big question mark over whether he can score goals in the Prem though.

  5. Heather says:

    He is a judas, pure and simple.

    Leeds gave him his break in football when nobody else did. They have given him a chance to prove himself and just when they need him to help ensure promotion, he bangs in a transfer request. He could have gone at the end of the year with everyone’s thanks and having scored at least 35 goals (I suspect) he would have had no problem getting a move if he wanted one. He could have had his big wages and Leeds would be already back in the Championship. This could have more of an impact on Leeds’ promotion ambitions than people think. Beckford is so quick he puts the fear of God into defences. Nobody else will do that. The only other strikers who are as capable of scoring are all tied up at other clubs and unlikely to be released, so whoever comes in to replace him is unlikely to deliver the goals Beckford has.

    Leeds would be better off keeping him to the season end but will Beckford throw the teddy out and stop playing/scoring? If we get £2m, only £1.6m will come to us, the rest going to Wealdstone. So who are we going to get for £1.6m who will score 30 goals a season?

    Beckford has put his own ambitions ahead of his club, team mates and supporters, so fits the bill perfectly to be branded a Judas.

  6. Chringle says:

    Even though Leeds did give him his break, does that mean he is indebted to them to them for the rest of his career? I’m sure the Leeds owners are keen to cash in on his recent televised exploits, and the hype that goes therewith, and as he is going to leave evntually anyway surely £2-3 million in the pot is better than nothing? It’s a lot easier to find a goalscorer for a couple of million than it is to find one for nothing.

  7. […] | Internet …perfect siblings make me feel worse. :/? | Symphony OrchestraRelated Blogs on simplyJermaine Beckford: Judas or simply ambitious? » Who Ate all the PiesBalloon Juice » Blog Archive » Simply Not a Credible News OrganizationBuddha 9 Related Blogs on […]

  8. Si Dom says:

    Everything Heather says is right. Everything seems to have gone wrong since he was rested for the oldham F.A Cup match. He, since then, has played with a bad attitude and you can see with his body language that he no longer wants to be a Leeds player, as seen at the Southampton match. During pre-season leeds offered Beckford a new contract which he turned down, ithink leeds could have tried harder to secure his services for a few seasons more. let’s hope this doesn’t effect Leeds push for promotion. Marching on and on

  9. big man says:

    JUDAS, hope he rots on the bench he should not have been allowed to play on sunday as he dosen`t deserve to wear the shirt.

Leave a Reply