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Transfer news: Why Beckford's move away from Leicester City was inevitable
Jermaine Beckford's move from Leicester City has been inevitable for some time.
In fact, it is a surprise it has taken this long for the 29-year-old to move on after manager Nigel Pearson made it abundantly clear Beckford did not feature in his plans last summer.
Despite a decent run of goalscoring form in the second half of the 2011-12 season, in which he scored 13 goals in 22 appearances, Beckford just did not fit into Pearson's vision as he reshaped his City side.
Although he made a few appearances at the start of last season, without scoring, he spent practically the entire campaign on loan at Hudders-field.
Considering the amount paid for his services when Sven-Goran Eriksson was in charge two years ago, believed to be £3million, Beckford's time at City must be seen as a flop.
And not just for City, but for Beckford as well, whose stock was reasonably high after his time at Everton.
The most important aspect of this sale has been freeing up Beckford's considerable wages, believed to be close to £30,000 a week, to allow Pearson to add to his squad.
That is an indication of how different the landscape is now in the Championship since the big-spending days of Eriksson.
But while Beckford's time at City has not borne the fruit many hoped, was he really that bad and is it all his fault? Beckford certainly cannot be blamed for the fee City paid for him, or the wages he was offered to pull on the blue shirt.
That financial outlay demands results and brings its own pressure, and Beckford was certainly confident he could carry the burden.
City were hoping they had signed that elusive 20-goal a season man to fire them into the Premier League and Beckford had surpassed that target in 2007-08, scored 34 the following year, and 31 in the 2009-10 campaign. Admittedly, they were all in League One, but it was a phenomenal strike-rate, which prompted Everton to take the gamble and throw him into the Premier League, where he scored eight goals in 15 starts and 19 substitute appearances.
But at Championship level, Beckford was an unknown quantity and although he scored 15 times in his first season, six of them came in City's run to the FA Cup quarter-finals. He scored only twice in his first 20 games as Eriksson's new-look, star-studded City side struggled to gel.
Beckford scored nine times in 22 appearances in a struggling Huddersfield side last season, suggesting he could score more in a better side.
Bolton boss Dougie Freedman certainly thinks so. He remembers Beckford for his free-scoring exploits when he played alongside him at Leeds, which has prompted his move.
Who knows, he may be the man to bring the best out of Beckford.
But he never fulfilled that potential at City and his brief time at the club will always be regarded as disappointing.
Violent burglary appeal by police
Police have made a renewed appeal for help tracing a man they want to interview in connection with a violent burglary.
Officers want to speak to Thomas Francis Hallisey, 34, about a break-in at a home in Wintersdale Road, off Uppingham Road, Leicester, on Wednesday, March 6.
Three men broke into Gurdev Singh Grewal's home moments after the 49-year-old had left to go to nearby shops.
The intruders forced their way inside, apparently believing the house to be empty.
However, Mr Grewal's son, Gagandeep, was asleep upstairs. The terrified 22-year-old was held by one of the men and threatened with a pair of scissors while the other two searched the house.
They escaped with a selection of jewellery, but ran into Mr Grewal as he returned home.
He told the Mercury at the time: "I think they must have been watching the house and thought it was empty when they saw me drive off.
"But my son was upstairs and they found him. They kept saying to him 'where is the jewellery' and made a real mess of the house.
"I'd only been gone a few minutes when they broke in, but I came back because I'd forgotten my wallet.
"I walked inside and these men came running down the stairs and out of the house."
Police re-released the photograph of Mr Hallisey yesterday.
They believe he has links to Leicestershire, Rochdale in Lancashire, Littleport in Cambridgeshire and Newark in Nottinghamshire.
Detective Constable Yassin Desai said: "Thomas Hallisey may hold valuable information that could assist us with our investigation. Be assured that any information will be treated in the strictest confidence."
Contact Det Con Desai on 101 or Crimestoppers, which is anonymous, on 0800 555 111.
Transfer news: Leicester City 'drove hard bargain' over Beckford
A deal has been agreed by Leicester City to sell Jermaine Beckford to Bolton – after months of negotiations.
The protracted deal had taken so long as City strived over every detail to get as much as possible for their £3million signing.
The 29-year-old will go to City's Championship rivals for a "small fee" up front with that figure rising substantially. The total will depend on the number of appearances, the goals Beckford scores and whether Bolton get promotion.
Beckford was unveiled as a Bolton player late yesterday, more than two months after the deal was first mooted.
Trotters boss Dougie Freedman said he was delighted to finally get his man, although admitted City drove a hard bargain.
He said: "We have worked very hard to make this happen and to be fair to Leicester, they have also stuck to their guns and made sure they got the best deal for them. There is a very small fee involved up front but it's tied in with promotion and how many goals he scores – that's how Leicester will get their money. So if we benefit, then Leicester benefit and that's why it has taken a little bit longer.
"It was out in the media that we had done the deal but there was still a little thing about how we were going to pay the fee, in instalments or whatever, and we have come to a compromise."
City wanted to get Beckford, who did not fit in with manager Nigel Pearson's plans, and his wages off their books as they looked to cut costs to conform with Financial Fair Play regulations.
Ironically, it means City would benefit financially should Bolton, considered one of their rivals for promotion, be fired into contention by Beckford.
Meanwhile, Jack Hobbs confirmed City were interested in bringing him back to the King Power Stadium before he agreed to join Nottingham Forest on a season-long loan from Hull.
City expressed their interest in Hobbs earlier this summer but the strained relations between the two clubs over Nigel Pearson's return to City from the Tigers has made any deals difficult between the two.
"I was flattered by the interest of course, but I have chosen Forest and I am really excited," he said.
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Lineker and Stubbs in TV's Who Do You Think You Are?
Leicestershire stars Gary Lineker and Una Stubbs are to feature in a new series of a family history TV show.
Former England and Leicester City footballer Gary and Burbage-born actress Una are two of the subjects in the latest run of BBC TV's Who Do You Think You Are?
Screen and stage star, Una, is featured the first show which is aired tonight.
The 76-year-old actress is seeking answers to her family's past and wants to know about the paternal grandparents she never met.
She said: "I knew nothing about my father's family. He never talked about them."
Una is seen crying on a train as she travels to York, to the birthplace of her father's mother, Annie.
She said: "To hear she was proud of me and I didn't know.
"I know I would have loved her."
At the end of the show, Una tells how she has enjoyed her trip through her family's past.
She said: "I have loved this journey. For someone who knew so little about her past, I now have a much richer understanding.
"I am absolutely thrilled."
Gary, 52, follows the trail of his great, great great-grandfather, James Pratt, and discovers he was a poacher in Victorian England and served time in Leicester prison.
Gary wants to know why James ended up becoming a repeat offender. He also wants to get to the bottom of how his four times great-grandfather Thomas Billingham, who was born to an illiterate gardener, ended up becoming a highly-skilled legal clerk.
Una is featured on Who Do You Think You Are? at 10.45pm tonight on BBC1. Gary is to be featured on Wednesday, August 21, at 9pm on BBC1.