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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.

  The club are pushing tickets hard for the final home League One game of the season, stating that over 31000 have already been sold. The opposition is lowly Gillingham, currently residing in a relegation place however the attendance will be boosted by many Leeds fans who remember the fateful 4th round FA cup tie of 25 January 2003 and will, therefore, be pleased to witness the Gills take a final plunge into the bottom tier.

On that day then Premiership Leeds United were denied a win by a late Gills goal following the dismissal of Viduka after Gillingham player-manager, Hessentaler blatantly feigned injury - a deception caught on TV cameras. Under pressure Leeds United manager Terry Venables went on record saying he faked it. It was another nail in the coffin of El Tel’s short, ill-starred career at Elland Road.

So get down to Elland Road, see some cold revenge being exacted and take part in what will undoubtedly be the biggest Football League crowd of the season - in any division! Leeds United fans can be proud of the fact that they hold the current biggest crowd figure of 32501 (v Huddersfield Town) and hold another five positions in the top ten list of Football League attendances this season. A statistic made more remarkable when you consider that few of the opposition teams in League One naturally generate large crowds themselves, with the honorable exception of that other exiled giant of football, Nottingham Forest; thus the attendances achievement is largely one down to the enthusiastic support of Leeds United fans themselves.

Against Gillingham on 3 May, the upper tier of the East Stand will be open for the first time at a Leeds United match in two years and so a near 40,000 crowd is possible. In all likelihood the reason for the opening of the upper tier is not the Gills game but the near-certainty that the club will have one (and hopefully two) sell-out home legs of the play-off matches on the road to the Wembley Play-Off final in May. Those two games alone could be worth £1,600,000 even without the contribution from the Wembley final. The would be a huge deposit in McAllister’s war-chest for next season - in whatever division in which we end up.

If we do achieve promotion this season it would be nice to set a League One attendance record against Gillingham by which the rest of the division can remember us.