City Fan Posted 6 January 2005 Posted 6 January 2005 "Dundee and Scotland defender Lee Wilkie is the latest target of Leicester boss Craig Levein, BBC Sport believes. Levein on Thursday raided former club Hearts to sign striker Mark de Vries and defender Alan Maybury. But it appears that he has been scared off by the price tag placed on Scotland defender Andy Webster by Hearts. He has turned his attention to Wilkie, with Dundee hoping to hear in the coming weeks whether the 24-year-old wants to extend his stay beyond June. Dundee have opened negotiations with Wilkie about a new contract, but he is free to talk to rival clubs now that the transfer window has opened. The Scotland international has just returned after almost a year out with a serious knee injury and is out of contract in the summer. Wilkie told BBC Sport that discussions are at an early stage. Manager Jim Duffy added: "He can speak to anyone and assess all his options at present, but we're hopeful of some sort of decision in the next few weeks." Duffy does not believe that Wilkie is in a hurry to leave for another club, despite reported interest from clubs in England. And he stressed that his main concern at present was bringing the player back to full fitness. Wilkie made his first appearance of the season in Saturday's 3-1 defeat by Dunfermline Athletic. He had become a Scotland regular - he now has nine caps - when he tore a cruciate knee ligament in the derby match with Dundee United in January." Anyone know much about this fella??
Katy Posted 6 January 2005 Posted 6 January 2005 "Dundee and Scotland defender Lee Wilkie is the latest target of Leicester boss Craig Levein, BBC Sport believes.Levein on Thursday raided former club Hearts to sign striker Mark de Vries and defender Alan Maybury. But it appears that he has been scared off by the price tag placed on Scotland defender Andy Webster by Hearts. He has turned his attention to Wilkie, with Dundee hoping to hear in the coming weeks whether the 24-year-old wants to extend his stay beyond June. Dundee have opened negotiations with Wilkie about a new contract, but he is free to talk to rival clubs now that the transfer window has opened. The Scotland international has just returned after almost a year out with a serious knee injury and is out of contract in the summer. Wilkie told BBC Sport that discussions are at an early stage. Manager Jim Duffy added: "He can speak to anyone and assess all his options at present, but we're hopeful of some sort of decision in the next few weeks." Duffy does not believe that Wilkie is in a hurry to leave for another club, despite reported interest from clubs in England. And he stressed that his main concern at present was bringing the player back to full fitness. Wilkie made his first appearance of the season in Saturday's 3-1 defeat by Dunfermline Athletic. He had become a Scotland regular - he now has nine caps - when he tore a cruciate knee ligament in the derby match with Dundee United in January." Anyone know much about this fella?? 52450[/snapback] No other than Club: Dundee Position: Defender Born: Dundee, 20.4.80 Height: 6' 4" (193cm) Weight: 13st (81kg) Debut: v. South Africa, 20.5.02 Probably the tallest man ever to play for Scotland, Lee received deserved international recognition after his controlled performances at the heart of the Dundee defence. So there you go
Katy Posted 6 January 2005 Posted 6 January 2005 I've never heard of him before..... 52457[/snapback] Neither have I just skaved that info from Google B)
Muz Posted 6 January 2005 Posted 6 January 2005 Ive seen him play a couple of times.No thanks Better options in the squad already
davieG Posted 6 January 2005 Posted 6 January 2005 Ive seen him play a couple of times.No thanks Better options in the squad already 52471[/snapback] Well he must be pretty bad then to be worse than Heath, Dublin, Dabizas and a 38 year old Keown. We're Dooooooooooooooooooooooomed I tell yeh
TrickyTrev Posted 6 January 2005 Posted 6 January 2005 Very clumbsy footballer fromt he little I have seen of him.
Mark Posted 6 January 2005 Posted 6 January 2005 Ive seen him play a couple of times.No thanks Better options in the squad already 52471[/snapback] Dublin, Keown & Dabizas? Not exactly long term, he's young, and an international. Come on down Wilks.
Muz Posted 6 January 2005 Posted 6 January 2005 Ive seen him play a couple of times.No thanks Better options in the squad already 52471[/snapback] Dublin, Keown & Dabizas? Not exactly long term, he's young, and an international. Come on down Wilks. 52474[/snapback] You missed Crap out of that list , he may be young but, he is very Clumsy and i dont want to see him down here.
Oli Posted 6 January 2005 Posted 6 January 2005 I seen him play a couple of times and I thought he was a decent defender, better than Heath anyway.
Muz Posted 6 January 2005 Posted 6 January 2005 I seen him play a couple of times and I thought he was a decent defender, better than Heath anyway. 52481[/snapback] Im better than Heath
Katy Posted 6 January 2005 Posted 6 January 2005 Ive seen him play a couple of times.No thanks Better options in the squad already 52471[/snapback] Dublin, Keown & Dabizas? Not exactly long term, he's young, and an international. Come on down Wilks. 52474[/snapback] I think you are right - its time to ditch the old codgers in the side and plan for the future, its perfectly fine to have experience in the back line but not when their combined age is over 100!!!!
BartonFox Posted 6 January 2005 Posted 6 January 2005 So without actually seeing him or seeing him once he's written off as rubbish. Lee Wilkie had a rough time at Dundee under Ivan Bonetti and was farmed out to Notts County to make way for a load of useless foriegn imports. Upon Bonetti's sacking he was recalled and was instrumental in getting Dundee to their first Scottish Cup final in decades. He had also become a regular in the Scotland squad and had put in some pretty decent games during the very dodgy Vogts era. In the lead up to the Scottish Cup final 2 seasons ago, Dundee played both the Old Form scum in the space of a week and Wilkie dropped 2 clangers that cost Dundee points. He got absolutely slaughtered by the national media and at 22 that is not what you need. The level of criticism was obscene. He was left out the Cup Final side because the manager could see the affect the criticism was having on him. He came back for the next season and returned to his previous form before he got injured and came back with a bit of dodgy form. Not long after that he was Man of the match when Scotland beat Holland 1-0 at Hampden he never gave Ruud van Nistelrooy a kick. The Scottish press were going nuts about his inclusion, on the Monday he was labelled a 'Braveheart' in one of those sickening media turnarounds. Even out in Amsterdam when we were stuffed 6 puff he was our biggest goal scoring threat. He was badly exposed by the ineptitude of Steven Pressley and team mate at Dundee Gavin Rae. Overall he and Darren Fletcher were the only 2 Scots to come out of the 'Dam with any credit. Not long after that debacle he got this serious knee injury. Craig Levein knows a good centre half and Matt Heath isn't one, Dabizas is past it as is Dublin and Keown. Lee Wilkie would be an excellent addition to the side and he will remind you of Matt Elliott when or if he arrives.
Cat Burger Posted 6 January 2005 Posted 6 January 2005 He's a bit of an Elliott clone if I remember correctly.
Little Nicky Posted 7 January 2005 Posted 7 January 2005 I like the sounds of him from what you've said there BF, I would relish the chance to have a back line composed of a blend of young and old, as Heath does not for me fill that criteria yet, if ever he will! I however pessimisticly do not foresee him coming down to Leicester, as we'll need to turf out some of the old boys before anything major can start happening; most prominantly one Matthew Elliott! Saying this though he could well be a viable target as in all honesty Leicester are going to have a complete makeover at the back next season, Keown will be gone/retired whatever his plans are, Elliott will no longer be required and will be given a well due testimonial as a bon voyage, and Dublin may also be turfed out, as is the case with Dabizas (whom I'll add seems to have gone off the boil abit this season), so we will without a doubt need a fresh outlook at the back, because as I'm sure CL knows, Heath is not the way forward, however much that pains me to say with my love of home grown 'talent'. The question really is though, do we still have the funds to bed a central defender in there durig the remainder of this season, or are we going to have to wait until the summer and hope he can settle into the team!?
davieG Posted 7 January 2005 Posted 7 January 2005 Elliott will no longer be required and will be given a well due testimonial as a bon voyage Well for all his contributions, in what now seems the distant pass I will not attend any testimonial, as good as the guy was in his day he's had more than enough money out of LCFC and it's fans due to Taylor and Elsom. Now if the money deom any testimonial went to the Academy or charity I might reconsider.
Jonesy_rules Posted 7 January 2005 Posted 7 January 2005 No more players that have played in Scotland, please Thought Avril wanted YOUNG HOMEGROWN TALENT to come into the squad!
Marcoos Posted 7 January 2005 Posted 7 January 2005 Says on Sky sports he has signed a new deal with Dundee...
davieG Posted 7 January 2005 Posted 7 January 2005 No more players that have played in Scotland, pleaseThought Avril wanted YOUNG HOMEGROWN TALENT to come into the squad! 52619[/snapback] He does but he wants a decent, confident squad first.
Jonesy_rules Posted 7 January 2005 Posted 7 January 2005 Maybe, put not playing heath, wright, whom have confidence, stearman, and dawson, both of whom also have confidence, is taking a step in the wrong direction imo! Bringing in players from other clubs / Hearts is going to knock the confidence of the youngsters because they won't think they are good enough to get in the squad and look for options away from the club! IMO! Avril needs to get his act together, so far i haven't been happy with his performance!
Jonesy_rules Posted 7 January 2005 Posted 7 January 2005 Dundee have rejected reports claiming Leicester City have made a bid for defender Lee Wilkie. The Scotland international has recently made his comeback from a long-term knee injury but has already been linked with an exit from Dens Park. Championship side Leicester were rumoured to be keen to follow up their double raid on Hearts by luring Wilkie to The Walkers Stadium. But Dark Blues boss Jim Duffy has refuted suggestions that his Leicester counterpart Craig Levein has made an enquiry about Wilkie. "I can state categorically that Craig Levein has not been in touch with me regarding Lee Wilkie," said Duffy. "In fact nobody has which I have to say is a pleasant surprise. "I've spoken to half-a-dozen players about trying to get them to stay at Dundee and Lee is one of them." Meanwhile, new Leicester signing Mark de Vries has outlined the reason behind his decision to leave Hearts, along with Alan Maybury, to be reunited with Levein south of the border. De Vries told the Daily Record: "If Hearts gave me everything I wanted I would stay but at the back of my mind I knew, at 29, if I wanted to play in England it had to happen now. "It has always been my dream to play there and I said it from the first day I joined Hearts. "From this moment on I'm a Leicester player but that doesn't mean I've stopped thinking about Hearts."
BartonFox Posted 7 January 2005 Posted 7 January 2005 Two things, First Jim Duffy, CL doesn't have to speak to you as Lee Wilkie is free to talk to any other Club ATM. If Wilkie expresses an interest in joining City then Levein has to decide whether it is now or on a pre-contract and he turns up in June/July. If it is now then CL will get in touch with Dundee and make the move through the correct channels. Second point, bringing in a 24 year old is no problem whatsoever. I can see why people are dying to have some 'homegrown' talent in the side but lets face facts we just don't have that at our disposal at the minute. Stearman and Dawson perhaps next season, Heath is far too inconsistent and Wright is no-hoper. He was terrible at Brentford who in case some have missed it play in a league lower than us at present. Levein is none to happy at the state of our youth system just now and he plans big changes. Sadly that blame lies at the door of the previous administration when we were forced to get rid of Alan Hill. The Elsom/Taylor legacy is still biting our collective behinds now and probably for the next 2-3 years.
Jonesy_rules Posted 7 January 2005 Posted 7 January 2005 Stearman and Dawson perhaps next season, Heath is far too inconsistent and Wright is no-hoper. He was terrible at Brentford who in case some have missed it play in a league lower than us at present.Levein is none to happy at the state of our youth system just now and he plans big changes. Sadly that blame lies at the door of the previous administration when we were forced to get rid of Alan Hill. The Elsom/Taylor legacy is still biting our collective behinds now and probably for the next 2-3 years. 52684[/snapback] These are your opinions, Heath is not that incosistent, and has poor tendencies due to not playing regular football, with a regualr partner! I feel that if the centre backs were Keown and Heath, the later would improve a great deal! As for Wright, he isn't a no-hoper he has the right attitude and youthfulness our teams needs! ok so he has a temper and attitiude, but these will dye away as he plays regualr football! These are the two players whom should be playing at least more than 20mins a season! Stearman and Dawson should be playing more this season, for them to stand any chance of being use to the pace and flow of the current championship game!
BartonFox Posted 7 January 2005 Posted 7 January 2005 These are your opinions, Heath is not that incosistent, and has poor tendencies due to not playing regular football, with a regualr partner! I feel that if the centre backs were Keown and Heath, the later would improve a great deal!As for Wright, he isn't a no-hoper he has the right attitude and youthfulness our teams needs! ok so he has a temper and attitiude, but these will dye away as he plays regualr football! These are the two players whom should be playing at least more than 20mins a season! Stearman and Dawson should be playing more this season, for them to stand any chance of being use to the pace and flow of the current championship game! 52694[/snapback] Do you not see the contridictions in your arguement Re: Tommy Wright??? Trust me if he was any good he'd be in the first team on a regular basis. Other Clubs have no problem chucking talented young forwards in when they are good enough. The fact he hasn't been and never has been considered even close to a first team regular should tell you something. As for Heath he is not the answer, his positional sense is awful, he can't pass, he is weak and quite frankly isn't good enough. Just because he is a product of our Academy that doesn't give him the God-given right to be good or even a regular. It's a shame they aren't up to it but that's just the way it is. I hold no ill feeling towards them I just don't want them anywhere near the first team.
Ric Flair Posted 7 January 2005 Posted 7 January 2005 Stearman and Dawson need to be used more this season, there is no doubt about it. There's no use saying they'll be ready for next season because the issue will arise next season that they aren't experienced enough for whatever position we are in whether we are battling for promotion or mid-table. Whilst we are in a period of re-building it's time to throw these two in and see how they react, we could well find two players that are potentially quality footballers. Therefore we can build our team around them, or we will find out that they aren't quite ready to rely upon just yet. Either way it will answer alot of questions that have needed answering for a while now. The only way to improve these young players is to give them a chance, they both deserve it. They wouldn't let us down, Stearman proved that with his MOM performance against Reading. Dawson certainly wouldn't let us down, the nature of his game would make it almost impossible for him to. He reminds me of Roy Keane in the way he plays, he hasn't got many weaknesses. He's just a battler who never gives up, just what we need in the centre. I can't understand why Craig is scared to throw them in, stating they aren't ready is just not true.
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