THERE probably isn’t enough space here to fully lay out all the reasons to dislike Ken Bates, but his recent ‘two-bob club’ comments about Everton shouldn’t be included.

Anyone who saw the video from the Leeds United end-of-season awards when he made the throwaway remark, in relation to Jermaine Beckford moving to Goodison, would have to agree that it was nothing more than a joke.

Reports that the one-time advocate of electrified fencing at football was making slurs about the Blues were well wide of the mark.

What was far more interesting, and lost slightly in the reporting of the video clip, was the way in which Bates spoke about Beckford’s move as if it is already completed. We hear all the time about rumoured ‘done deals’ in the game – Tim Cahill’s been signing for Manchester United for about the last four summers – but this one, previously hinted at by a Simon Grayson slip of the tongue, seems genuine.

It certainly ties in with David Moyes’s comments made straight after the final match of the season, an encounter that was about as rewarding as a Julie Andrews or Whitney Houston gig until Diniyar Bilyaletdinov scored his wonder goal with the last kick of the season.

The Toffees have continually struggled to break down the increasingly organised sides that pack the modern Premier League, and so there is perhaps an opening for a lethal finisher who can provide that crucial edge in tightly contested matches.

Opinion among supporters though seems divided as to whether Beckford can be that man. Leeds fans continually bemoan his attitude, workrate, and also the number of chances he misses.

However, you have to wonder whether those complaints started in earnest when it became clear, during the last transfer window, that he saw his future away from Elland Road. Remember, Middlesbrough fans tried to convince us that Yakubu was a cross between Brett Angell and Gus Caesar once they knew he was Goodison-bound.

And if Beckord has been lazy and wasteful this season, while scoring 31 goals, imagine what he would be like if he pulled his finger out. Obviously League One is a far cry from the Premier League, but David Moyes has clearly seen enough to think that he can make that step up and continue to score goals. Hopefully he can repay that confidence in the same way that Cahill did when the Blues’ boss took a similar punt on him.