Leeds round up-Morris, Bakke, Gray

By Andy Baggott
March 11 2004

Todays round up is of bad news for Bakke, better news for Smith, drunken allegations against Morris, and a rallying call from Eddie Gray.

Midfielder Eirik Bakke seems almost certain to miss Saturdays game with Fulham. The Norwegian has been struggling with a thigh strain for a number of weeks, and the Leeds medical staff are worried that he could pull the muscle and be out for a long time. The 2 week break since the injury flaired up against Liverpool, forcing Bakke to be subbed at half time, has failed to clear it up, and more rest is needed. Stephen Mcphail is likely to step in after impressing against Liverpool, although Solaman Olembe is also standing by. Better news on Alan Smith, as he looks likely to be fit, and taking his place alongside Mark Viduka for the weekend’s clash.

Jody Morris is back in the news, with several papers reporting that he turned up for training drunk, and that is the reason why he was released. There is no proof to the story, but it could explain why he was released so soon after Batty was also shown the door, leaving us short in the middle of the park.

Finally, Eddie Gray has warned the team that the hard work has got to continue. After a vast improvement over the last three games, it’s vital that we keep up the momentum. Gray has been telling the players that they can beat anyone on their day, and not to let the recent hard work go to waste by under performing. A win on Saturday could see us out of the bottom three for the first time in several months