Profiles Of New Signings

Last updated : 15 August 2007 By Kevin Markey
With thanks to Wikipedia.

Casper Ankergren (born November 9, 1979) is a Danish professional goalkeeper. Ankergren transferred to Leeds for an undisclosed fee from Brondby, signing a 3-year-deal on August 6, 2007. He has played 3 times for the Danish U-21 national team. Ankergren started his career with Køge BK in the secondary Danish 1st Division, whom he represented at various Danish national youth teams. In January 2001 he moved to Brøndby IF in the top-flight Danish Superliga championship. He made his debut in October 2001 as Brøndby won the 2001-02 Superliga title. Ankergren got his breakthrough with Brøndby following the retirement of club legend Mogens Krogh in December 2002. He played the second half of the 2002-03 season, and helped the club win the 2003 Danish Cup. For the 2003-04 season, Brøndby bought goalkeeper Karim Zaza as their first choice keeper and Ankergren spent the season as a substitute. At the start of the 2004-05 season, Zaza suffered an injury and Ankergren went on to play the entire season as Brøndby's starting keeper, even after Zaza had recovered. Ankergren finished the season setting a league record 18 clean sheets in his 32 games in the goal, and helped Brøndby win the Double of both the 2004-05 Superliga and 2005 Danish Cup titles. He started the 2005-06 season in the Brøndby goal, but at the winter interval, Zaza was once more promoted to first choice keeper. Zaza left the club in the summer 2006, and Ankergren signed a new 3-year-deal with Brøndby. Brøndby had a disappointing start of the 2006-07 season, sitting in 7th place at the winter break. However, Ankergren was called up for the Danish national team by national manager Morten Olsen in October 2006, where he served as a back-up goalkeeper for Jesper Christiansen. When Brøndby bought former Danish international goalkeeper Stephan Andersen in the January 2007 transfer window, Ankergren announced his decision to leave the club. In January 2007, he signed a loan deal with Leeds, who were battling relegation in the Football League Championship. He signed for the remainder of the 2006-07 Football League season, with an option for Leeds to buy him at a fixed transfer fee at the end of the season. Ankergren had established himself as a firm favourite with Leeds fans, putting in a number of match saving saves and performances. His popularity was further increased during the 1-0 victory over Luton Town making his second penalty save since joining Leeds. An injury temporarily forced him out of the side with another Leeds loanee keeper Graham Stack taking his place, although Casper re-took his place in the side once he reached match fitness. Casper made it publicly known that he would like to continue his stay at Leeds past his loan spell whilst Leeds boss Dennis Wise had stated he would like to keep Casper at the club. Ankergren became something of a cult hero in his short time at Elland Road, after a penalty save against Luton fans heaped well earned praise on the Dane who was extremely keen to stay at Elland Road on a permanent basis due to excellent support and a good life in Leeds. He is popular due to the large amount of effort he puts into his performances, his skill and his passion, often visible during his short stay at the club.

Matt Heath (born November 1, 1981 in Leicester) is an English footballer, signed by Leeds on a 2-year-deal on August 7. His position is central defence. Heath began his career at his hometown club Leicester City in 2001. He made 60 appearances for the club, scoring 6 goals and gaining Premiership experience during his time at the Walkers Stadium. He was also loaned out to Stockport County in the 2003-04 season to gain first-team experience. He scored against Coventry City for Leicester in a 3-0 win in the 2004-05 season before being signed by Coventry for a nominal fee in 2005, by his former Leicester boss Micky Adams. On November 9, 2006 he joined Leeds on loan. He made his Leeds debut in the 3-0 victory over Colchester United on November 11, 2006. Heath played in nearly all of Leeds matches during his loan spell playing in central defence with the likes of Ugo Ehiogu and Matthew Kilgallon. Heath was not eligible to play in Leeds' 2-1 victory against Coventry due to a clause in his loan deal. Heath's loan at Leeds came to an end on January 1, 2007 and returned to Coventry, but the following day he was free transferred to Elland Road, with a permanent contract until the end of the season. Heath's contract came to an end in June 2007 and he was initially released but featured as a trialist in pre-season games.

Leon Constantine (born February 24, 1978) is an English professional footballer. Constantine was born in Hackney, London and played for Edgware Town before joining Millwall in September 2000. He made his debut for Millwall on September 30, 2000, coming on as a late substitute for Paul Ifill in a 4-1 win away to Peterborough United. He had loan spells with Leyton Orient and Partick Thistle, before moving to Brentford on a free transfer in August 2002. He struggled to establish himself at Griffin Park and in August 2003 joined Southend United, initially on non-contract terms, signing a permanent deal the following month. Despite scoring at a rate of one every other game for Southend, he turned down the offer of a new two-year contract and joined Peterborough United in May 2004. In October 2004, he joined Torquay United on loan and in December 2004 moved to Torquay for a club record fee of £75k. His form was disappointing for Torquay, scoring just 7 times in 38 appearances, and he was transfer-listed in October 2005 by Torquay boss Leroy Rosenior. Constantine moved to Port Vale in November 2005, initially on loan, where he became a regular goalscorer. In the 2006/07 season he broke a record, being the only Port Vale player to score more than 17 goals before Christmas. This happened when he scored twice against Brighton & Hove Albion on December 23, 2006. He was set to move to Barnsley in the January 2007 transfer window, Vale agreeing a fee of £200k plus Marc Richards. However, the deal fell through when neither player could not agree terms. Despite finishing the season with 26 goals in all competitions for Port Vale(38 in 18 months for the club) he was never a fan favourite at Vale Park and split fans down the middle because of his lax looking approaches which made it appear that he was lazy and put no effort in. Leon claimed this couldn't be further from the truth in several interviews with the local media and took a parting shot at the Vale "boo boys" before announcing he was leaving. He has been linked with a number of League One clubs throughout pre-season, however Leon agreed a contract in principle with Leeds, paying out of his own pocket to take part in all of Leeds' pre-season campaign. Leeds fans are excited at the prospect of a proven marksman joining the club. Leeds completed the signing of Constantine on a 2-year-deal on August 7, 2007.

Curtis Weston (born January 24, 1987) is an English footballer, who signed a 2-year-deal with Leeds United on August 7, 2007. His last club was Swindon Town. In only Weston's second appearance for Millwall's first team he became the youngest FA Cup Final player in history at the age of 17 years 119 days, coming on as a sub against Manchester United and beating the 125-year old record of James F. M. Prinsep. He was brought on to replace the then, player-manager Dennis Wise with two minutes of the match remaining. Weston moved to Swindon in July 2006, re-uniting him with Wise. He was released by Swindon a year later. Weston attended Erith Secondary School and was spotted by a Millwall scout when playing for the school team. Weston was signed to Millwall's youth academy, after which he was not allowed to play for his school team again.

David Prutton (born September 12, 1981 in Hull, England) is an English football player. Prutton joined Leeds on trial during pre-season 2007 and officially signed for the club on the August 7, 2007. Prutton was once considered a future England star and has represented England at U-21 level 25 times. Prutton initially came through the hugely successful Nottingham Forest youth system and made 155 appearances for the club. Having starred for Forest and in the England U-21 squad the versatile midfielder was signed by Southampton, then of the Premiership, on the final day of the transfer window for £2.5m in 2003. Prutton played across the midfield and at right-back for Southampton, and despite being a very important player in the 2002-03 season missed out on the FA Cup Final as he was cup-tied having played for Forest against West Ham in the 3rd Round. In the 2003-04 season Prutton featured heavily for Southampton, playing 30 games and scoring one goal against Charlton Athletic, on the last day of the season. But the 2004-05 season was one to forget, despite scoring 2 goals and playing 28 games in all competitions. Following Southampton's home game with Arsenal on February 26, 2005, Prutton was charged by the FA on two counts for the events following his red card for a tackle on Robert Pirès. First was for his failure to leave the field of play promptly following his dismissal and his attempt to remonstrate with the assistant referee, during which he pushed the referee on at least one occasion. The second charge related to his threatening words and/or behaviour towards a match official. Prutton was handed a 10-match ban and fined £6k after admitting the two charges of improper conduct. Prutton returned on the final day of the season for Southampton's game against Manchester United, which they needed to win to stay in the Premiership. Southampton lost the game 1-2 and the club were relegated to the Football League Championship. In 2005-06 the midfielder's season was marred by a broken metatarsal which he picked up in September against Queens Park Rangers. A lack of first team opportunities forced him to seek employment elsewhere and in January 2007 he left Southampton to return to Forest. In total he played 94 games for the Saints, scoring 5 goals. He was released by Southampton on May 23, 2007. Narrowly beating the transfer deadline, Prutton re-joined his old club in January 2007 on loan until the end of the season, with a view to a permanent move if Forest were promoted. Prutton scored his first Forest goal since returning to the club against Brentford in a league match, heading in the first of Forest's four 2nd half goals to inspire a fightback that would win Forest the game 4-2, despite being 2-0 down after 50 minutes.

Manuel Rui Marques (born September 3, 1977, also known as Rui Manuel Marques) is an Angolan footballer defender from Luanda, Angola but he moved to Portugal as a child. Marques signed a new deal with Leeds on the August 7, 2007. Marques began professional football in Germany's SSV Ulm 1846 in the 1999-2000 season but then moved to Herta Berlin. He then moved to VfB Stuttgart where he played four seasons. In the 2004-05 season he moved to CS Marítimo of Madeira, Portugal. After struggling to break into the first team, Marques was subsequently released by Marítimo after just one season and in the 2005-06 season Marques moved to Leeds on a Bosman transfer. But he made just one appearance for Leeds in the 2005-06 season in the Carling Cup against Oldham, in which he was clearly very nervous and uncomfortable playing at right-back, Marques did not feature again for Leeds that season and at the end of 2005-06 he went to Hull City on a short-term loan which was cut short due to injury. The 2006-07 campaign again saw Marques over-looked by manager Kevin Blackwell, and again by the new Leeds boss Dennis Wise, who made it clear Marques would not feature under his leadership and was told he was free to leave the club, along with a number of other squad and fringe players. However, Marques never once complained about his isolation from the first team and worked hard to try and prove himself, being included in a number of different match-day squad listings and on a couple of occasions making the subs bench. Marques' hard-work and persistance was rewarded when he was called up to the first team squad for Leeds' 2-1 win over Coventry City on January 1, 2007, where he turned in a very solid performance at centre back. This performance saw Marques being rewarded with a long run in the starting line-up at Elland Road. Marques stated that he would prefer to concentrate on Leeds' relegation battle than signing a new deal. He was an instant hit with the fans, who dubbed him a 'Sex machine'.

Alan Thompson (born December 22, 1973 in Newcastle-upon-Tyne) is an English footballer, currently playing for Leeds United. He plays in midfield and has been capped once by England (against Sweden in 2004). Thompson previously played for Celtic, joining them in 2000 for £2.75m from Aston Villa during Martin O'Neill's first season. His other former clubs are Bolton Wanderers and Newcastle United, the latter of which is his hometown club and the team he supported as a boy. Thompson scored the only goal in the 2005 Scottish Cup final for Celtic against Dundee United to give Celtic's outgoing manager O'Neill his seventh trophy whilst in charge of the club. Thompson scored the winning goal against Rangers in two separate Old Firm derby matches. He had mixed fortunes in Old Firm games, however, being sent off twice. Under Celtic manager Gordon Strachan, Thompson went out of favour and found very limited first team opportunities, often not even securing a place on the subs bench. On January 12, 2007, Thompson secured a loan move to Leeds until the end of the 2006-07 Championship season in a bid to play first-team football. He scored on his debut for Leeds against West Bromwich Albion in the 3-2 defeat on January 20, 2007. In his next game he once again scored a trademark free kick with the winning goal against Hull City in a 2-1 victory. Thompson left Leeds at the end of the 2006-07 season after his loan period and Celtic contract ended. He did however hint that he may carry on at Elland Road, with his agent saying "He was very happy at Leeds, and there's a chance he could go back there". Thompson was captain for the Whites in the pre-season friendlies. He was made official captain of Leeds for season 2007-08 after he signed a one year deal on August 9, 2007.

Tore André Flo (born June 15, 1973 in Stryn) is a Norwegian footballer who plays as a striker. He signed a one year deal with Leeds on August 9, 2007. His brothers Jostein Flo and Jarle Flo, and cousin Håvard Flo were also professional footballers. Flo started his career with his local amateur club Stryn. In 1993, he moved to Sogndal, playing with his brothers Jostein and Jarle. When Sogndal were relegated from the Norwegian Premier League in 1994, Flo was transferred to Tromsø. In Tromsø, Flo became a success, he scored 18 goals in the 1995-season, and was the club's top goalscorer. His performances in that season culminated in Flo making his debut for the Norwegian national team. Flo moved to Bergen in 1996 to play for Brann. He continued to play well and scored 28 goals during his stay there. During his years in Brann, Flo arguably became one of Norway's best players. In the first half of the 1997 season, however, he was not considered a great success by most of the Brann fans, perhaps because his mind was already on Chelsea, which he signed for under disputed circumstances. He did, however, score a hat-trick in his last game for Brann before leaving for the Londoners. Flo was bought for the relatively small fee of £300k by Chelsea in the summer of 1997. Flo would have become a Bosman player at the end of the year, which influenced the fee. This being one of the first Bosman incidents in Norway, Flo was looked upon as a traitor by the Bergen fans, who felt the fee was far too small, compared to the players real value. Everton had made a bid of around tenfold, but then Everton manager Joe Royle fell out with his boardroom over the proposed transfer and shortly afterwards resigned. Also, the leaders of economically struggling S.K. Brann claimed to have a gentlemen's agreement with Flo that he should not exploit his Bosman status in a transfer, although it is rare that exploiting one's Bosman status in this manner raises controversy in more recent times. Flo made his debut for Chelsea against Coventry City, and scored in a 2-1 loss for his side. He scored 15 goals in his debut season for Chelsea, including a hat-trick in a 6-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane and two in a 6-2 win over Crystal Palace as Chelsea finished 4th in the FA Premier League and won the League Cup and the Cup Winners' Cup. Flo made a particularly important contribution in the latter tournament, hitting two away goals against Real Betis in the quarter-finals. A year later, as Chelsea challenged for the title, Flo hit ten league goals, but constantly found his playing opportunities limited by manager Gianluca Vialli's squad rotation policy and the signing of Italian striker Pierluigi Casiraghi. The Blues eventually finished 3rd, high enough for their first ever UEFA Champions League qualification. Flo scored 19 goals in the 1999-2000 season, making him Chelsea's top scorer and helping the club win the FA Cup and reach the Champions League quarter-finals, where he scored twice in a 3-1 win over FC Barcelona at Stamford Bridge. He scored another at the Camp Nou in the return game against Barca, though the team ultimately lost 5-1. By the start of the 2000-01 season, Chelsea had signed strikers Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Eiður Guðjohnsen, again forcing Flo onto the subs bench, and he requested a move. He made 163 appearances for Chelsea (69 of which were as a substitute) and scored 50 goals. In November 2000 Flo was sold to Scottish Premier team Glasgow Rangers, in a record £12m, making Flo the most expensive Norwegian player ever, the most expensive SPL signing and Chelsea's most expensive sale. Flo scored on his debut in a 5-1 thrashing of Rangers' arch rival Celtic, and hit 18 goals in 30 SPL games, but in general Flo was not considered a success in Scotland. He was sold to Sunderland on transfer deadline day at the beginning of the 2002-03 season. Flo's arrival was announced alongside fellow striker Marcus Stewart, and the total cost of the transfers were declared as £10m. The individual prices were not made clear by Sunderland, although a figure of £8.2m for Flo was widely quoted by the media. Sunderland have sinced confirmed that he was bought for £6.75m, still making him Sunderland's all-time most expensive purchase. Sunderland's manager Peter Reid had been under-fire throughout pre-season for his failure to buy a big-name striker to replace Niall Quinn. The relatively high price-tag for a player who was struggling in Scotland, and the late hour of his signing led many fans, and pundits, including former legend Jimmy Montgomery to believe that Flo was a deadline-day panic buy. Once again he scored in his debut match, a 1-1 draw with Manchester United. It was clear by Sunderland's tactics that Reid expected Flo to slot into Quinn's role as a tall target-man for long-balls. It was not a role he was comfortable with and he struggled to form a partnership with fellow striker Kevin Phillips. When Reid was sacked in November and replaced by Howard Wilkinson, Flo immediately fell out of favour, failing to make the bench for Wilkinson's first game, as Wilkinson publicly called into question the Norwegian's fitness. Flo managed to work his way back into the first-team until Wilkinson's dismissal in March. His successor, Mick McCarthy failed to give Flo 90 minutes of football in any of the remaining nine games of the season. In 33 appearances for Sunderland Flo scored only 6 times (4 in the league), finishing only 11 of the 23 league games he started. Sunderland were relegated to the First Division and with massive debts were forced to sell or release most players on high wages. Flo played one League Cup game in the 2003-04 season, but soon after he was released by Sunderland, after only one season. Flo then tried his luck in Italy, joining newly-promoted Serie A team Siena in 2003. Flo played for Siena for two seasons, becoming a success in Italian football and helping the club establish themselves in the top division for the first time. Flo's wife and children found it difficult living in Southern Europe, and wanted him to return to the United Kingdom. Flo was close to signing for QPR but decided to go back to Norway. Flo signed for the ambitious club Vålerenga from Oslo in July 2005. He was contracted to the club until the end of the 2006 season. His stay at Vålerenga was hampered by numerous injuries that prevented him from making a serious impact. Vålerenga did not offer him a new contract at the end of the season, leaving Flo free to sign with other clubs. On January 3, 2007 Leeds United confirmed their signing of Flo, with a contract lasting till the end of the 2006-07 Championship season. The contract had the option of extending further into the future. He was reportedly paid £6k per week, with a £1k bonus for every goal scored. It was manager Dennis Wise that was one of the main influences of attracting Flo to Leeds as they were once team mates at Chelsea. Flo made his away debut as a substitute for the Yorkshire outfit in Leeds' 3-1 defeat to West Bromwich Albion in the FA Cup. A week later Flo scored his first goal for Leeds against the same opposition after 8 minutes with a towering header in a league match which ended in a 3-2 defeat. Subsequent injury prevented Flo from playing any significant part during the rest of the season. Flo was believed to be set to leave Leeds due to a clause in his contract but an interview by Leeds' assistant manager, Gus Poyet, suggested that the Whites would be hanging on to Flo's services for their 2007-08 League One campaign. Flo is sponsored by famous Leeds fans the Kaiser Chiefs. Flo made 76 appearances for the Norwegian national team and made his debut in a 0-0 draw with England. He scored 23 goals, making him Norway's joint-4th highest goalscorer, along with Ole Gunnar Solskjær. He gained the nickname Flonaldo (an obvious pun on Ronaldo, one of the world's best strikers) when Norway beat Brazil 4-2 in a friendly match. Flo played for Norway at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, scoring a goal in a 2-1 win over holders Brazil as they reached the second round. Flo chose to retire from international football in 2004.