Mighty Leeds Weblog

It was on this day (21 January) in 2005 that Ken Bates took over at Elland Road ELLIOTT BRETLAND Perhaps we should have expected madness all the way when, 16 years ago today, Ken Bates brought the brash personality and big promises for which he had become known at Chelsea, and bought another of English football’s historic clubs, Leeds United. Considering what has followed since under both Bates and his successor Massimo Cellino, it’s little wonder it took The Whites so long to return to the Premier League. Having bought the Yorkshire giants six months after their 2004 relegation, Bates promised “a lorra, lorra laughs”, but supporters weren’t smiling when they dropped down to the third tier under his stewardship, and it took some time for them to compete again. Here we look at the maddest things that happened at Elland Road whilst Bates was in the building... Admin error After a vast array of incomings and outgoings - Leeds loaned 70 players during Bates’ eight-year spell with...

Marcelo Bielsa will prove a hard act to follow when the time comes for the Argentine to leave Leeds United. By Flora Snelson Bielsa has set a very high standard for Whites bosses to come, both on and off the pitch, delivering Leeds’ long-awaited promotion to the Premier League and earning the respect of the city and the global fanbase. But Elland Road has not always been blessed with such talent and dignity. We’ve worked out the club’s best and worst managers over the last 30 years, ranking them in order of win percentage. Included are every manager who’s taken charge of the Whites on a matchday since 1991, caretakers and all. 1 - Marcelo Bielsa - 51.7% 77 wins in 149 games officially makes Marcelo Bielsa the best Leeds United manager of the past thirty years. To the majority of Whites fans, Bielsa was something of a non-entity when he arrived at the club in the summer of 2018. He soon found his way into the hearts of the Elland Road faithful for his humble ways and enterta...

ARE YOU BEING SERIOUS? Written by Rob Conlon Praising Dennis Wise’s wit makes me uncomfortable, but I have to applaud his response to Derby’s interest in Jermaine Beckford in January 2008. “If I am being totally honest, why would you go from Leeds to Derby?” he asked. “You wouldn’t. This is a much bigger club than Derby.” Leeds were trying to earn promotion back to the Championship, and were winning more games and scoring more goals than any other side in League One, but their fifteen point deduction was restricting them to play-off places. Derby, meanwhile, were stinking out the Premier League on their way to a record low points total. Billy ‘Job Done’ Davies had been replaced by Paul Jewell, who was caught hook, line and sinker by Wise’s fishing. “I think it’s pretty disrespectful,” Jewell told the BBC. “I’ve got no interest in Jermaine. We’re looking at a better quality player than that.” Which sounded pretty disingenuous when he was turning up at Gresty Road for Leeds’ next...