LEON JEANNE UPDATE

Leon has just finished his first week doing pre season training with Brighton. I have spent most of my time either with him at the hotel or at the training ground and I have to say it has been a fascinating experience. Ive been very impressed with what I have seen so far, the Brighton team contains no prima dona's or big time Charlie's, they are all young, hungry and work hard. Gus Poyet and his management team are also a different class. Their sessions are short and sharp, well organised and they command respect. All of the players love them and there is a great atmosphere.

Leon has been made to feel very welcome by the management and the players. They know all about his background and are all rooting for him to make a comeback. We were told by a member of staff that Gus Poyet had spoken to a lot of people in football before offering Leon this opportunity and he was told that if he could get him fit then he could have a star on his hands. One person even told Gus that only two players who he had played with had ever really blown him away, Joe Cole and Leon Jeanne.

As would be expected the training has been very hard in the first week. The cardio sessions in the morning are particularly brutal and Leon has found them difficult. Having seen Leon work so hard in the gym for the last year he is very fit compared to a normal person, even if he does still have some weight to lose, but these sessions have really hit him hard. During one lunch hour i was invited to join in some of the running sessions with some of the coaches. I consider myself a fit person so i jumped at the chance but i have to say it was horrendous. You can't really appreciate just how fit, and how hard, these players work until you give it a go yourself!

Whilst Leon has struggled with the fitness he has completed every session and is improving every day. If he continues this way then by the end of the summer he will be at a very good level of fitness. When the ball comes out in the afternoon it has been great to see what Leon does best. Whilst his legs are heavy from the morning sessions, and the other players are a lot fitter, when he has got on the ball he's really shown his class. You would not believe that he had not played at this level in almsot 10 years, he certainly still looks the part. He is definitely amongst the most skilful at the club and his touch is superb. As his fitness improves he will get on the ball more often and im sure the coaches are surprised and impressed at just how easily he has adapted to the football sessions.

Leon will continue to train with the club next week and will then hopefully take part in a pre season game for Brighton next weekend. Following that game he will be told whether he will be kept on. It is very clear that he has a long way to go on the fitness front but at the same time im very confident that he has shown that if he were to get 100% championship match fit then he could definitely do a job. However Brighton will have to be patient and allow him the time to get fit.

If Brighton however decide not to keep Leon on then i am sure that Leon will be back in the football league at some level next year. Watching him nutmeg Championship players, and burst past them, has really shown that he still has a future in the professional game and i really believe that if given time to get fit he could still definitely play at that level.

Its been a great first week but next week will be the crunch. If he is invited to stay on then he will then go to the Algarve with the team to play Paris St Germain before then playing against Spurs on July 30th. If he is however released then he has a few clubs in League Two who are very keen to have a look at him in training. There is still a long way to go yet, and any comeback is a big ask but seeing Leon back in a professional environment has been fantastic and he's loving every minute of it.

Great post. Pass on the fact that I for one am really rooting for him - Good luck to him

Good luck to the fella

I was talking to Christian Roberts the other day and he said Leon was by far the best player he's ever seen on a football pitch. Incredible talent.

love to see him in a city shirt mind

love to see him in a city shirt mind

If it was Rhys Weston who had been the druggie, would you say the same thing?

No?

Surprising...

you should leave out those sort of things and just think of a player who's worked hard for a long time and is really pushing on to get back into the game. and he's a local lad.

you should leave out those sort of things and just think of a player who's worked hard for a long time and is really pushing on to get back into the game. and he's a local lad.

Ah, he's a local lad.

That makes all the difference.

He shit on the club big time. has he ever made an official apology to the club? Should we really care about somebody who I believe has never played more than 12 games for any one club? I know someone is updating everyone to create demand for the inevitable book, but...

Good luck to the lad

you should leave out those sort of things and just think of a player who's worked hard for a long time and is really pushing on to get back into the game. and he's a local lad.

Ah, he's a local lad.

That makes all the difference.

He shit on the club big time. has he ever made an official apology to the club? Should we really care about somebody who I believe has never played more than 12 games for any one club? I know someone is updating everyone to create demand for the inevitable book, but...

ok for example if wildig had a few problems then worked extremely hard to get back into the game, has an opportunity to play football again at a good level. you wouldn't show him support?
wildig hasn't played a huge number of games for city but he's one player you could use as an example.

ok for example if wildig had a few problems then worked extremely hard to get back into the game, has an opportunity to play football again at a good level. you wouldn't show him support?
wildig hasn't played a huge number of games for city but he's one player you could use as an example.

A "few" problems?

Let's see.

Drug taking at QPR.
Drug taking with us.
Lack of effort in expensive rehab - paid by the club - on numerous occasions.
Crapping on the club - who stood up for him with FAW, preventing a ban.
A pathetically dumb attempt to fool a drugs test.
Lying about his kids to explain why he missed the second test.
Exploiting a technicality to evade a rightful ban.
Exploiting the story by climing in lads mag an "English international" - unnamed of course - got him into drugs.

yeah, just the odd problem or 95 there...

Wildig is what, 18/19. Jeanne is 30. Jeanne as I said played having evaded a ban. Clearly had such a conscience the desire to make money, oops, play football was the priority. During that time, played no more than 12 games per club. Loyalty? Desire? Fitness? Ability? Yet magically shows some effort when Brighton invite him along. All accompanied by a nice PR effort.

Nerd - the potential book has nothing to do with these updates, some people just want to hear how Leon is getting on! Whether you like Leon or not you can't deny that this is a fascinating story and if he does make a come back in the professional game it would be remarkable. I accept the fact that Leon is not everyone's cup of tea but I assure you that a lot that has been written about him is rubbish and has deeply hurt him. Hopefully he can one day put the record straight but do you honestly think that what happened at Cardiff hadn't haunted Leon these last few years? he's made a lot of mistakes but now he's trying to move on.

I should also point out that the stats re playing less than 12 games for clubs on Wikipedia is wrong, he actually played over 20 games for Qpr and a lot in the Welsh Prem and Welsh league that are not recorded, not that it makes any difference!

Nerd - I'm sticking up for Leon, and helping him, because I've known him since we were kids. I was fortunate to have a great up bringing and supportive parents, Leon was not. He had a horrendous time coupled with severe learning difficulties! In recent years he's battled addiction, depression and obesity but now he's come out the other end and he's trying to put his life together. Why should he be denied that chance? So many have slated the bloke over the years , and plenty of ridiculous stories about him have done the rounds that it's time that the record was put straight!

Jeanne had plenty of chances, chances people didn't get.

He was given those chance due to his talent, shitting on people at every occasion. Sure, it's a sob story - does that excuse treating the club like shit? Hammam saved him from a FAW ban ffs... and what happened? Thrown back in his face.

I was probably a bit harsh on you, but it's the whole "would love to see him back at the club" mantra I detest because that miraculously excuses the way he treated the club.

good luck to Leon

Nerd - i understand where you are coming from and there are plenty who feel the same as you. However what no one understands is that when Leon was sent to rehab they didnt factor in that he has ADHD and at the time couldnt read or write. Hence he cant concentrate for very long in a classroom environment and he couldnt read any of the prescribed literature. Unsurprisingly rehab was a waste of time for him. Since then he has gone to hell and back to cure his demons. For the last 18 months he's been in a very good place and has really busted a gut to try and get a final opportunity in the game. If you spoke to him about his time at QPR and Cardiff he would immediately admit he was an idiot but he is a different person now.

I should also mention that in April Leon was contacted by a tv production company who wanted to expose the shady side of football. I went to a meeting with him and he was offered a substantial amount of money to basically make up a pack of lies about his time at Cardiff and QPR. To hIs credit he immediately turned it down. He told the company that no one was to blame for his problems but himself and the clubs tried everything they could to sort him out but at that time in his life he was beyond saving.

Everyone makes mistakes.

He never killed anybody.

Good luck Leon, how old is he by the way?

GOOD LUCK MATE

He's 30!!

Good luck leon

he's been training intensively for a year surely thats long enough to get fit
my concern is how much of an effect all the abuse he has taken from drugs will have at this stage in his career, he's around 30,31 at this stage in your career players who rely on skill and pace start to decline or adapt

I'm not sure he's got long enough left to make an impact, one season two at best

no i agree that he has made a lot of mistakes and he threw out all his efforts for a footballing career with drugs etc. to most people he doesn't deserve another chance, but to hear a story of him making huge efforts to get back on track and have the chance to play professional football again is a great thing to hear. with all the above that nerd stated....most people would think leon had his chance and took the piss but you must give him credit for his efforts of getting back on track to play football again.

to be perfectly honest Leon had a lot of weight to lose and he's lost a lot in a year. When training in the gym, and with a personal trainer, he looked very fit. However, the level of fitness of professional footballers is very high and way above a normal fit person. Im a fit guy, ive played semi pro football and work out an hour a day but even i struggled when i tried some of the cardio at Brighton. The first week has definitely been a shock to the system for him in regards to fitness but he has dug in and has completed every session. By the end of the summer, if kept on, he will be in cracking shape! He says that the Brighton pre season is far superior to the ones he did when at Cardiff and QPR. You really cant appreciate just how fit you need to be to play football at this level until youre at training every day! Its hardcore!

As for being 30 i would agree that it is leaving it very late and that normally that is when your legs start to decline. However at this moment in time Leon has no problems with pace and is looking very quick in training over 20 yards.

There is no doubt it is a massive ask and there has to be a degree of scepticism but so far so good!

you should leave out those sort of things and just think of a player who's worked hard for a long time and is really pushing on to get back into the game. and he's a local lad.

Ah, he's a local lad.

That makes all the difference.

He shit on the club big time. has he ever made an official apology to the club? Should we really care about somebody who I believe has never played more than 12 games for any one club? I know someone is updating everyone to create demand for the inevitable book, but...

you should leave out those sort of things and just think of a player who's worked hard for a long time and is really pushing on to get back into the game. and he's a local lad.

Ah, he's a local lad.

That makes all the difference.

He shit on the club big time. has he ever made an official apology to the club? Should we really care about somebody who I believe has never played more than 12 games for any one club? I know someone is updating everyone to create demand for the inevitable book, but...

He was a 16 year old when he went to London getting paid thousands of pounds a week with no lifestyle support from QPR. Leon had serious addiction problems that CCFC were not equipped to deal with. Hammam tried in fairness with a one off spell in the priory but that is not the answer. He didn't shit on the club, football let him down and let him down badly.

The manner in which you display your ignorance around the nature of addiction is highly offensive: labelling these people 'druggies' is just sad. I'd love to see Leon back at City, he is without doubt the most talented player I have EVER seen. If he can get focus and structure back in his life then he has a chance and I really hope he can pull it off.

GOOD LUCK LEON

If he can turn things around and make a success of himself then all credit to him.

I wish him all the very best.

Leon annoys me to be honest. Talented is not the word, he had it all. Him and Gascoigne will live with 'what could have been' all their lives. Still, hope he salvages something of his life, we all make mistakes, best of luck

Spot on RobbieS!!

just a quick update concerning the above, Leon reported for pre season this morning to find that all of the other trialists had been released already. This would suggest that he has done enough to impress so far and the club are intrigued at seeing some more! He will find out later in the week if he will be kept on for the rest of the summer, and hopefully beyond, but it would seem that at least he currently has a fighting chance!

Well wish him good luck Gone further than a lot of people thought just getting a trail but to b th only trailist left is a plus point