Do We Read Anything Into Beckford Going Off The Boil?

Last updated : 17 January 2010 By Footy Mad - Editor

NU

Suddenly Leeds have hit a blip, and their automatic promotion push is not cast in stone ... leaving some Leeds fans wondering if Beckford is totally committed.

The Newcastle situation is complicated, as boss Chris Hughton has been told a wage ceiling of £30,000-a-week will apply to all new signings.

All January recruits must fall within those strict parameters as Mike Ashley seeks to protect the £30million salary savings he has made in the last 12 months.

The Magpies £1.5m bid to land Beckford has hit the buffers as Ashley is again driving a tough bargain on both the fee and wages.

Grayson saw his Leeds side beaten 2-0 at Exeter on Saturday, with Beckford again drawing a blank, and it's a result which helped Norwich close the gap to three points.

Grayson: "The most disappointing thing was the way we started the game and it certainly wasn't the best result we could have had.

"We were still in the dressing room for the first five, 10, 15 minutes and we didn't play to the conditions as well as we should have done.

"Credit to Exeter because they did. They worked us a lot harder in the first half, we responded in the second half and had a decent go at them. On another day we might have got something. There was a full house looking for an upset and that is what happened."