The station's invited guests were Martin Allen and John Ward – League One managers past and present – and it was unanimously agreed that the most remarkable aspect of United's close season was how unremarkable it had been.

It is many years since Leeds were spoken of as a picture of stability, but both Allen and Ward were struck by the calm waters at Elland Road.
There were, between May 25 and the start of August, no financial issues, no key changes of staff, no contentious transfers in or out and no abnormal unrest among the club's supporters.

"That," said Ward, "is a reflection of the manager, his coaching staff and the way they go about their work."

Ward is right. United's summer was strangely peaceful and tranquil, leading without question to the two excellent results which have opened this season, but Gary McAllister's style of management values peace over controversy.

He is perhaps the least controversial manager Leeds have employed in recent memory.

Not every area of the club's business is his to control but it is clear that the close-season was a quiet affair because McAllister intended for it to be that way.

It is in keeping with his own persona that he anointed Frazer Richardson as United's captain last week, and did so without anything approaching a formal announcement.

Richardson would not have been, and was not, a unanimous choice for captain among the club's supporters.

In fact, the list of suggested candidates was so long that McAllister cannot be far away from establishing the teams of captains he would like – but the defender has done everything possible to deserve the honour which has come his way.

An interesting selection by McAllister may also be an inspired one. Public opinion regarding the captaincy always sways towards players who generate headlines – it is simpler to identify motivational qualities in regular match-winners and flamboyant performers – but there is something in Richardson's attitude and understanding of the game that seems intrinsically suited to the position he has been asked to assume, and to the manager who has asked him to take it on.

It is notable that Richardson is United's longest-serving player by some distance, and interesting to revisit the timeline of his career at Elland Road.

The 25-year-old has played for six different managers and in three different divisions.

He has seen two relegations, two serious financial crises, two lost play-off finals and the movement of countless players in and out of the club.

It is unanimously agreed that United's recent history has been desperate but it is easy to be philosophical when some or all of their decline has been viewed from afar.

Richardson, in contrast, can speak with the authority of a player who has been in the thick of the collapse.

To that end, he has a sense of motivation that few others in McAllister's squad can genuinely possess.

Moreover, he is one player who, for now, appears certain of his place in the starting line-up.

McAllister had several captaincy options in midfield, but he also has in excess of 10 players competing for positions there.

He would doubtless prefer it if the armband remained on one arm, give or take the occasional swap, for the entire season.

But the key point about Richardson is his affable nature and his lack of politics.

At no stage of his captaincy is his personality likely to lead to internal disagreements or a divided dressing room, and there is nothing more essential for Leeds this season than collective calm.

With promotion standing as such a reachable target, it would be criminal for United to start beating themselves.

Certain managers favour fearsome captains, and Leeds have had none better or more fierce than Billy Bremner. But inspiration comes in different forms and Richardson might be the right horse for McAllister's considered course.

As Ward and Allen agreed, there is nothing wrong with being quiet.

****

Almost three months after his set-to with doping officials at Wembley, the Football Association have determined Steve Staunton's punishment.

The Leeds United assistant manager was fined £500 at a disciplinary hearing last week and given a warning over his future behaviour having admitted a charge of improper conduct and a breach of FA rule E3.

Staunton's charge was brought after a confrontation involving doping controllers in the immediate aftermath of United's defeat in last season's League One play-off final and, by all accounts, was little more than a heat-of-the-moment disagreement between two parties with jobs to do.

Ends
























Jermaine Beckford's departure from Leeds United is the transfer story which, to the delight of all at Elland Road, has failed to grow legs this summer.

With 20 goals on Beckford's record after one year of serious involvement at Leeds, it seemed improbable that certain clubs lodged in the Championship would miss the opportunity to test the water and discover how serious United's not-for-sale sign was.

Norwich City's interest has been highlighted regularly without, it seems, maturing into a realistic cash offer, but Leeds appear to have avoided the challenge of looking a transfer fee in the eye and saying no.

Four goals in two matches – albeit against Scunthorpe United and Chester City – might now change that.

All the same, bids faxed to Elland Road are likely to be worth less than the paper they are printed on, in United's eyes at least.

Gary McAllister does not intend to sell before the August 31 deadline, and Ken Bates says likewise. It is good to hear them signing in harmony from an identical hymnsheet. When I asked Bates about Beckford's position recently, he said: "Jermaine wants to stay and we don't want to sell him. Even a journalist can work that one out."

The club's stance has effectively marked Beckford, right, as out-of-bounds, but so too has the striker's own attitude. It is one which does him great credit.

Of course his contract at Elland Road is lengthy and, naturally, he would cost a large sum but those factors have never restricted a player's freedom. Beckford could have worked to engineer a move this summer and would have found Championship wages with a bit of effort. He would not have been the first player to do that, or the last.

It may be that he feels a strong sense of loyalty to Leeds. He might also have looked at last season's Championship table and realised that not a single club were able to exceed United's average crowd or largest attendance of the season. Money aside, there is little he could reasonably ask for elsewhere that he does not already have.

If promotion eludes Leeds this season then a desire to leave on Beckford's part would be understandable. The club will have bigger issues to consider than how to retain their leading striker.

But the idea of him jumping ship while there is sun on the horizon is one he should treat with the contempt it deserves.