Butland joins Leeds United until the end of the season

Stoke City have agreed a loan deal with Leeds to bring England international goalkeeper Jack Butland to Elland Road for the remainder of the season.

The 20-year-old was a sensation last season, he received Birmingham's Young Player of the Year award and he was selected by Stuart Pearce as the first choice goalkeeper for the 2012 GB Olympic squad.

Leeds manager Brian McDermott said: "We’re delighted to agree a deal to secure the services of Jack until the end of the season. Obviously he has high ambitions. He has already been involved in the England squad and I know he is very much looking forward to coming in and being part of the group we have here."

Goalkeeper Jack Butland.
                                                                                    Picture from www.leedsunited.com

The talented shot-stopper has been down the pecking order for some time at the Britannia stadium. Butland has been playing third-string for the Potters, behind Asmir Begović and Thomas Sørensen, since returning to his parent club from his half-season loan at Barnsley.

Leeds, on the other hand, are in dire need of spare pair of safe hands in West Yorkshire. Paddy Kenny, United's number one keeper, is in need of a break after a 100% appearance record this season. The 35-year-old has been described as "doubtful" for Leeds' Saturday fixture against Middlesbrough, struggling with an ankle injury.

Kenny's understudy, Jamie Ashdown, 33, has been out of action for a long period due to a toe injury that he suffered early in the campaign and it looks as though he won't be back to full fitness until the end of Leeds' season.

United had been linked to third-choice Tottenham goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes earlier today but a contract offer has failed to materialise with McDermott instead opting for youth over experience.

Reflection during the break: Takeover and team talk

The weekend off is exactly what Leeds United needed as the takeover saga continues.

It's almost comical if you think about the amount of takeover speculation that Elland Road has had in the last couple of years. The long, drawn out talks between Leeds and GFH, that took place more than a year ago, seemed as though they would never end. And when they did finally purchase the club, promises were made that have since been broken and a year on the Leeds are far lower down the Championship table than they hoped to be. 

Current owner of Cagliari, Massimo Cellino.
                                                           Picture from http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk.

Similarly, the fiasco on transfer deadline day between prospective owner Massimo Cellino, current owners GFH and manager Brian McDermott, was embarrassing for all parties involved.

For better or worse, Cellino's takeover looks as though it could go ahead - once the Football League have finished turning up every stone around Italian, of course. Twice convicted of fraud and currently contesting an embezzlement charge, the current Cagliari owner may not sound like the man Leeds United need to have in charge at the moment but he's the man they're getting. The 57-year-old has pledged to invest heavily in the club and he does seem to have the cash to splash, which is more than can be said about GFH who accepted a £1.5m loan from Cellino himself in order to pay players' wages this month.

Whatever the outcome, it seems obvious at this point that Leeds United will have a new owner very soon. In terms of football however, it's also a rocky situation. 

After several periods of trial and error it seems that McDermott's favoured formation is going to be the wide 4-4-2 featuring McCormack alongside target-man Matt Smith, whose hold up play and overwhelming strength caused Yeovil problems immediately following his introduction to the game - as it has done against several teams this season.

The formation seems to suit United more than the adapted 3-5-2 did and now the appropriate wide players have been acquired, there should be no need to revert back to the previous system. If anything, the 4-4-2 is at very least the stable option. When playing three at the back Leeds were all too often exposed diagonally and down the channels, which is something that four at the back more or less shuts the door on, so to speak.

New Leeds wide-man Cameron Stewart.
                                                                               Picture from http://www.leedsunited.com/

Jimmy Kébé still seems to be finding his feet since arriving and the fans will need to be patient whilst he settles in. He has shown some flashes of the Reading Kébé of old. The same can be said for his opposite winger Cameron Stewart, who is still learning his trade at 22 years of age but looks as though he could either be a real talent or a complete flop under pressure. Stewart's final ball and decision making are letting him down too often at the moment but he does have two tricky feet which, when coupled with an explosive surge of pace, are gold dust in the Championship. Either way McDermott has put huge stock in both wingers and there are no replacements in the squad capable of playing to their standard, so it's going to be a case of like it or lump it for many fans.

Defence will be the manager's main concern at the moment. With the exception of Jason Pearce, who has had an excellent season all things considered, Leeds are struggling to find an appropriate centre-back to partner him with. 

Tom Lees, 23, has featured alongside Pearce on a number of occasions but the former England U21 international has come under criticism lately for the poor quality of his distribution out from the back. 

Veteran Lithuanian defender Marius Zaliukas seemed to be a steady hand but after two poor performances against Sheffield Wednesday and Rochdale, it looks as though McDermott is going to make the former Heart of Midlothian captain fight for his place in the squad.

Leeds complete the comeback at gusty Yeovil

Leeds United fought back against the weather and recovered from going a goal down to beat Yeovil 2-1.

Strong winds dictated the fixture, making it difficult for both sides as the ball forked in random directions when flighted through the air with any pace.

Leeds captain Ross McCormack celebrating his goal with Matt Smith.
                                                                             Picture from http://www.bbc.co.uk

Leeds were chasing the game after Ishmael Miller thrust Yeovil ahead with a fine header after 32 minutes in Somerset. The same player then failed to double the home side's lead, missing a penalty conceded by Sam Byram just before half time.

United Captain Ross McCormack, who scored a hat-trick in Leeds' 5-1 derby win over Huddersfield last week, levelled for Leeds with a beautifully curled shot from 22-yards out - only a minute after the restart.

Whites' left-back Stephen Warnock stunned Yeovil with his 40-yard free-kick on 62 minutes played, putting Leeds 2-1 ahead. The long-ranged effort was picked up by the wind as the ball sailed through the air and looped over static keeper Marek Stech. 

"What we want to avoid now is drama off the pitch. On the pitch we want drama but if we can avoid that for the last 17 games I'll be very happy." said Leeds manager Brian McDermott after the game.

Under pressure: Leeds manager Brian McDermott.
                                                         Picture from http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk

A poor first half performance played in equally poor conditions in Somerset suggested that McDermott - who is already under considerable pressure following the botched attempted sacking of him last week by prospective owner Massimo Cellino - had his work cut out for him at half-time. 

But whatever the Leeds boss said in the dressing room during the interval definitely worked, as did his tactical change to 4-4-2.

The manager introduced the big handful that is Matt Smith, who returned after serving his three-match-ban for a harsh red card that he received during United's 6-0 thrashing at Hillsborough almost a month ago.

As the second half ticked on so too did the chances for Leeds. Ross McCormack, Rudolph Austin and Jimmy Kebé all had decent chances - the latter blasting the ball into the car-park with just the goalkeeper to beat.

Accuracy is an area that Leeds need to address if they are to pose a serious play-off challenge this season. They totalled 20 shots but only managed to get five on target - a 25% shot accuracy on the day.

Yeovil's chances dried up considerably in contrast as the game went on. The home side struggled as they played against the same wind that held United back in the first half.