his form resulted in him being named the supporters Player of the Year. Derby finished the season in the bottom half of the table, and needed to reduce costs for the next season as their Premier League parachute payments had ended. As a result, Derby offered Kinkladze a one-year contract, but on a wage one third of that of his previous contract. Kinkladze decided to turn down this contract extension proposal, desiring a move to a more successful club with a chance of winning trophies. To this end, he held talks with Liverpool in May 2003. As contract negotiations with Derby did not reach a positive conclusion, Kinkladze left the club. Without a club during pre-season, Kinkladze trained with Portsmouth, where his former manager Jim Smith was on the managing staff. He played for Portsmouth in one pre-season friendly, but Portsmouth decided instead to sign another former Manchester City playmaker, Eyal Berkovic. Over the next few months, he was linked with moves to Scottish clubs Dundee and Celtic but none resulted in a contract offer. He also joined Leeds United on trial, playing for the reserve team to earn a permanent contract, however after he reportedly turned up late to training sessions, then manager Eddie Gray ended Kinkladze's trial spell. As a consequence, he had to train individually and lost his place in the national team again, this time before the return match against Russia. In December 2003, Kinkladze went for a one-week trial at Panathinaikos, following an invitation from Giannis Vardinogiannis, the owner of the Greek club. However, at the end of the trial, the club decided not to sign him. Six months later, he was linked with a move to Russian club Shinnik Yaroslavl, but again, he was not offered a contract. Anorthosis Kinkladze's year and a half spell without a club came to an end in October 2004. Kinkladze's former international teammate Temuri Ketsbaia was player-manager at financially troubled Cypriot team Anorthosis. Ketsbaia gave his old friend a chance to rebuild his career, offering him a contract to play for Anorthosis. He made his debut against title contenders APOEL on 21 November and marked it with a fine goal. He scored once more in a 5–0 home victory against Olympiakos Nicosia, and in February he was recalled to Georgia's squad for the friendly against Lithuania. His contract was initially only for one season, but the club extended