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There has been some movement on the transfer front at Elland Road, though nothing earth-shaking.

Firstly, Alan Sheehan has returned to Elland Road on a permanent deal from Leicester City. Although he is out of contract, the age of the Irish U-21 international means a fee is payable, and it will go to tribunal if no agreement is agreed.

Alan played ten times on loan at Leeds United last season but missed the play-offs due to a red card ban.

Leaving Elland Road for the last time is Leon Constantine - he has accepted a deal at fellow League One club, Northampton Town.

Constantine was Port Vale’s top scorer in the 2006-07 season and when he joined Dennis Wise he was earmarked for the starting place in the team - Beckford was returning from loan at Scunthorpe and at the time he was an unknown quantity in a Leeds shirt.

However, Leon was injured during the pre-season game against Energie Cottbus last year and injury plagued his remaining time at Leeds. Beckford made the most of the opportunity.

When Wise left Leeds the writing was on the wall and Constantine was loaned out to Oldham Athletic after recovering from the injuries. Constantine can fairly say that he wasn’t given a chance at Leeds with just 2 starts and 5 sub appearances during which he scored 2 goals.

But unlike Elding he has accepted the situation with grace and moved on - expect at least goal from him against Leeds next season!

Finally from La Belle France comes the news that Frenchman Seb Carole is training with La Havre with a view to making a permanent move.

Carole celebrates two years at Elland Road on Saturday but despite having much to offer he has made almost an equal number of starts as sub appearances - which indicates that neither Dennis Wise or Gary McAllister could make up their minds about how best to use him.

Given the lack of penetration and service to the strikers at Wembley many believe Carole still has something to offer Leeds but the player’s patience seems to have run out.

What a difference a year makes.

It was the news that the annual Elland Road open day (dubbed the “Sunday Funday”) will take place on August 3rd this year and that the club are hoping beat the 3,000 attendance figure for last season, that set me thinking about the changes over the last year. Beating that attendance shouldn’t be difficult considering the different circumstances that prevail at Leeds United compared to just a year ago…

Twelve months ago an unpopular Dennis Wise, seen more as an ex-Chelsea player than Leeds Utd manager, was suffering fans’ protests at pre-season friendlies. He had to put a team together in just eight days following a relegation season and weeks of legal wrangling over administration and there was a real doubt that the team would even start the season.

Finally, the club faced what many felt would be certain relegation into the fourth tier of English football following the imposition of an unprecedented 15 point penalty, by the vindictive Football League, before the club to get its “golden share” back.

Pass the valium!

Fast forward twelve months and the club achieved 91 points on the pitch and missed the championship of League One by one point. Because of the 15 point penalty the Leeds fans got to see Leeds United play at the new Wembley rather than next season in the Championship.

But off the pitch Leeds Utd fans set over twenty new League One attendance records and had the highest single attendance, average attendance and aggregate attendance in the whole Football League, including the Championship clubs - despite the police moving over 50% of kick-off times at away grounds to try and reduce the numbers of Leeds fans attending. In fact half-a-dozen Premier League chairmen would have swopped their clubs’ dismal attendances for that of the United faithful.

On the pitch a new local hero emerged, Jonny Howson and Paul Huntington rose from the reserves to shake off the Carlisle United boo-boys and keep his place through the play-offs and on to Wembley. The previous season had seen Jermaine Beckford star in a promoted Scunthorpe United side as Leeds were being relegated; this year he won the League One Player of the Season Award in the white shirt of Leeds United.

In February Dennis Wise was replaced with the surprise choice of Gary McAllister who introduced a new passing game at Elland Road and made one low-key signing - Dougie Freedman - a striker in a squad that boasted Beckford and Kandol - but it was a masterstroke and the Leeds fans got one more, unlikely, hero in one of the most incredible season’s in its history.

The reviving stature of Leeds United was demonstrated at the end of May when Andy Robinson left new League One Champions Swansea City and Championship football next season to join Leeds United back in League One. Anthony Elding rejected a summer move to Crewe Alexandra, prefering to stay and fight for his place.

Although there will be departures of Dennis Wise’s signings - Matt Heath has already joined relegated Colchester United - Gary McAllister knows that he does not have to sell our best players, as has occurred in recent seasons, and he has a reasonable transfer budget that has come from the pockets of the Leeds faithful turning up in droves at Elland Road rather than borrowed from the banks.

To paraphrase a famous saying, twelve months is certainly a long time in the history of Leeds United and I think the club can look forward to a record attendance at the 2008 “Sunday Funday” at Elland Road, and deservedly so this time.

Anthony Elding’s short-stay at Elland Road is set to come to an end this summer as Gary McAllister has said the striker is up for sale.

Leeds United will listen to offers in excess of £250,000 for the former Boston United and Stockport County player, who scored just one goal in nine appearances in the white shirt. In fairness to Elding though he was only given four starts, the rest being sub appearances.

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At Stockport County, in 13 months, he scored 24 league goals in 38 league starts and 7 sub appearances and it is surprising that McAllister isn’t prepared to give him a fair crack of he whip and it may be a decision he will regret if a late bid comes in for Jermaine Beckford in August. Elding doesn’t have to accept a move as he has a contract unitl 2010 as Macca may find he is “stuck” with him.

Elding has suffered the fate of being signed by a manager just as he leaves the club. Dennis Wise signed the prolific Elding from under the noses of Crewe back in January 2008 by gazumping their £200,000 fee which had already been agreed with Elding’s club, Stockport County.

Newly promoted Hereford United are said to have shown interest - Elding scored a penalty against them this season - but many League Two clubs have experienced what he can do against them and so it is just a question of price rather than whether or not he will have suitors.

Crewe are an obvious bidder but may not wish to increase their bid over their original offer to Stockport. However, there is a joker in the pack here as unconfirmed rumours that Leeds United want Crewe’s Nicky Maynard may play a role - a fee of around £500,000 was mentioned at the time for Nicky and Elding could be the makeweight in the deal.

Crewe’s assistant coach has said the club would not consider a bid of one million pounds for Maynard, but we can remember Terry Venables saying Jonathan Woodgate was going nowhere! Assistant coaches don’t decide transfer policy - club directors do - and coaches put up with it or leave!

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This is Crewe Alexandra we are talking about - they have created some of the best players England have had (plus Seth Johnson) in recent years - and sold them - it’s what Crewe does to survive - and it does it well. The great Dario Gradi (now Crewe’s Technical Director) knows that all too well but it seems his coaching successors have not quite got the message.

Nicky Maynard has scored 35 goals in 67 appearances in all competitions for Crewe Alexandra, including 15 goals in 27 appearances last season. However, Maynard is only 21 years old and McAllister’s confirmed targets suggest he is looking to bring in an older, more experienced striker to work with the talented youngsters he already has - just as Freedman did so successfully last season. But if Beckford is whisked away by a late bid don’t rule out an eleventh hour offer for Maynard.

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According The Sun, Leeds United are in a race with Brighton & Hove Albion and Ipswich Town to sign Abdul Osman from Gretna. Who? From where?

As former SPL club Gretna are in what, sadly, may be a terminal administration, it is probably the case that Osman is no longer their player. Usually administration means no wages paid and under League rules players become free agents and so technically Osman would not be signed from Gretna.

Abdul Osman was signed by Gretna in the summer of 2007 from English non-league football - Maidenhead to be precise. He made 18 SPL appearances (including 2 subs), scored one goal and picked up six yellow cards - a worrying average of one every three games, including the subs appearances! Leeds United already has its share of players who pick up meaningless bookings (Douglas, Kandol, Beckford, Prutton, Sheehan) and doesn’t need another player who can’t control himself.

Unless there is a Gretna fan willing to come on here and say he was a playmaker or tower of strength in midfield the bare facts suggest we should keep clear.