Mighty Leeds Weblog

AWAY GOALS ROOLZ Written by: Rob Conlon Troyes were only formed in 1986, but even before appointing Paddy Kisnorbo as manager in 2022, they’d found time for history with Leeds United. Drawn together in the second round of the 2001/02 UEFA Cup, Troyes manager Alain Perrin described the fixture as “David contre Goliath”, writing in his programme notes, “Leeds are like Everest, and conquering them would be a remarkable exploit.” David O’Leary was warning his players against complacency. Troyes qualified for the tournament after beating Newcastle in one of three finals of a long lost competition I now dream of Leeds being able to compete in, the Intertoto Cup. In the second leg at St James’ Park, Troyes embarrassed the hosts by taking a 4-1 lead. Gary Speed scored to help Newcastle come back to earn a 4-4 draw, but Troyes still qualified on away goals. Leeds went into the first leg at Elland Road off the back of a 1-1 draw with Liverpool at Anfield, and were top of the Premier Leag...

Michael Walker and John Cassy, The Guardian The scale of the financial implications of Leeds United's underachievement this season became clear yesterday when the chairman Peter Ridsdale announced that they had lost almost £14m in this financial year and that they would have to sell £30m-worth of players this summer in order to reduce their debt by £15m to £20m. Leeds are believed to have received a bid of £30m for Rio Ferdinand alone but would not countenance selling their captain, so the mooted sale of Mark Viduka to Roma should account for half the £30m. Internazionale and Juventus have offered a similar sum for Olivier Dacourt but his season has been affected by injury and the likelihood of him not making France's World Cup squad will affect his value. Despite all the speculation surrounding Harry Kewell, Leeds have not received one bid for the Australian. The ease or difficulty of reaching the £30m figure then depends to a degree on how Leeds finish this season. Were...

Dominic Matteo's wife recently read back to him the messages of support he received after his brain tumour diagnosis and former Leeds United team-mate Mark Viduka was among them. By Graham Smyth In November 2019 the ex Liverpool, Leeds and Scotland defender was rushed to Leeds General Infirmary for brain surgery and a subsequent heavy dose of ‘radiotherapy. In April 2020 he was given the all-clear, although he still has to have his brain scanned and admits he can never plan too far ahead because he doesn't know what's around the corner. Living with a level of uncertainty gives any plans he can put together extra importance and he has something special lined up for next month. On March 11 Elland Road's Pavilion will play host to a fundraiser for The Brain Tumour Charity and Ahead of the Game Foundation, when Matteo will be reunited with 'brilliant' ex team-mate and friend Viduka. "Mark and I have always kept in touch, there's a few of us incl...

April’s fixture between Leeds United and Liverpool was a first league clash between the two sides at Elland Road for over 17 years. By Lee Sobot There were, though, no supporters in the famous ground’s stands. But that will all change tomorrow when the Whites and Reds lock horns before a packed crowd in Yorkshire for the first time in a league game since February 2004, when Erik Bakke and Mark Viduka were both on target in a thrilling 2-2 draw. Back then, a familiar face came back to haunt Eddie Gray’s Whites for the opener as Harry Kewell fired home for Gerard Houllier’s visitors in the 21st minute. Jamie Carragher broke forward down the left flank and delivered a pass to Milan Baros who was afforded plenty of space running at United’s back four. Baros, though, opted to pass to Kewell on the right hand edge of the Whites penalty box and the Australian took two touches before sending an unstoppable curled effort into the top left corner. Leeds, though, were level just eig...

HE MUST BE DECENT! Written by Rob Conlon As Leeds United were imploding around him in the summer of 2003, Peter Reid had a curious answer to his myriad of problems ahead of a doomed campaign. Leeds fans were trying to understand how Liverpool’s £10m offer for Harry Kewell in January had turned into a £5m sale a few months later, with £2m of that fee destined for the back pockets of Kewell’s agents. But Reid had a plan to cheer up worried fans: sign a Brazilian. Brazil were, after all, the reigning world champions. But which Brazilian to sign? That didn’t seem to matter to Reid. Leeds had talked about signing Kleberson for months, but he was heading to Scum. Reid began focusing on another World Cup winner, Lyon’s Edmilson, who had reportedly rejected a move to Elland Road the previous year. Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas was insisting Edmilson had no long-term future at his club, but Leeds couldn’t agree a loan deal, forcing the midfielder to stay put, winning another Ligue 1 ...

By Richard Sutcliffe AS a jobbing freelance journalist at the start of the Millennium, I was part of the editorial team that used to put together the Leeds United matchday programme. It was back in the days when Elland Road hosted Premier League football, so meant I had a ringside seat as the club slid from the Champions League to the Championship inside the space of three often chaotic years. Part of my duties during what turned out to be United’s final two seasons before relegation was to compile a quiz for all the players and staff to take part in across the nine months of the campaign. The winners in what became a keenly-fought contest were Nick Barmby and Dominic Matteo. It isn’t, however, the prowess of either man when it came to answering questions about the club’s history, their team-mates and the Premier League that is my outstanding memory of that period. Instead, it is the week when Mark Viduka took part. The Australian international was, I’ll admit, one of my favourit...

Leeds United Football Club - Matchreport Leeds United vs Queens Park Rangers Leeds 6 QPR 1 Leeds went goal crazy at Elland Road, completely blowing QPR away in spectacular style and hopefully getting the season back on track. Brian Deane was the man who handed out most of the punishment, scoring four - including a first half hat-trick - to defy his critics who had written him off at the tender age of 36! It was the first time United had won by the same scoreline since that famous away win over Charlton Athletic in April 2003, when another big Leeds striker scored a hat-trick, Mark Viduka. At Elland Road, it was the first six goal haul at Elland Road since the 6-1 thrashing of Bradford City in the penultimate game of the 2000/2001 season in which Robbie Keane also hit a hat-trick. Team News Leeds boss Kevin Blackwell named an unchanged side for the third game running, which means he continues to play with three men forward and three in midfield. The visitors ma...

Sport David Conn: Directors in Leeds' downfall expected to escape DTI action 25 September 2004 The administrators' report into the conduct of Leeds United's directors leading up to the club's £100m collapse earlier this year has been delivered to the Department of Trade and Industry. The DTI is expected to take between two and four months to decide whether the report identifies misconduct serious enough to warrant disqualification proceedings against any of Leeds' directors in the previous three years, including the former chairman Peter Ridsdale and non-executive director Allan Leighton, the Royal Mail Group chairman. Garry Wilson, one of the administrators, would not comment on the contents of the report and told me it was "too early" to speculate on the DTI's decision, but other sources suggested that although Leeds' meltdown was mighty it is unlikely to lead to DTI action against any of the directors. In their Premiership and Ch...

Leeds United Football Club - Ricketts Signs! Leeds United manager Kevin Blackwell has completed his fifth signing of the summer by capturing Michael Ricketts from Middlesbrough. Ricketts has signed a three-year deal, subject to a medical and will form part of an exciting new frontline with fellow new striker Julian Joachim. Michael began his career at Walsall in 1996 and scored 14 goals in 31 games before his style of play attracted interest from bigger clubs. He then joined Bolton for a fee of £400,000 after Walsall had been relegated in 2000 and had a fantastic season during Bolton's promotion winning campaign, scoring 24 goals. The following season though saw him fall out with Sam Allardyce but he still managed to score 15 goals in his debut season in the Premiership before International honours beckoned. He made his England debut against Holland and is still looking to add to his International cap. He signed for Middlesbrough in the January transfer window of 2003 fo...

Guardian Unlimited Football | News | Time running out for Leeds takeover Matt Scott Tuesday January 13, 2004 Leeds United do not expect to secure a takeover for the club before their January 19 deadline. A statement to the Stock Exchange yesterday indicated that negotiations are ongoing but that none of the current proposals amounts to a buy-out. "Further to its announcement on December 4 2003, the board of Leeds United confirms it is in continuing, constructive discussions with a number of parties regarding proposals to purchase the company's business and assets or to inject funds," said the statement. "However, none of the interested parties' proposals contemplates an offer for the company's shares." Leeds's best hope is to gain interim funding that will take them to the end of the season, by when the relegation-threatened club's footballing fate will be known. With a £20m discrepancy in revenues between the Premiership and the Firs...

Times Online - Newspaper Edition  Jonathan Northcroft at Elland Road FORM is temporary; crisis, for Leeds, seems permanent. This was a fixture they had not lost for eight seasons, but there was an inevitability about the trend being bucked yesterday. Even in the throes of their own torments, Tottenham had just a little too much for Eddie Gray’s side who, with Portsmouth winning, are now stranded five points from safety inside the relegation zone. This was their last home game before January 19, the day the standstill agreement with their creditors expires, and they have to begin once again to repay their £82m debt. There seems more hope for the Beagle Two Explorer, lost down a crater on Mars. A further problem is that forward Mark Viduka will fly home to Australia this morning to be with his father, who is seriously ill. He will be away, according to Gray, “for as long as he needs to be”. Meanwhile, talk of director Allan Leighton putting together a rescue consortium, including ...

Sport  The Interview James Milner: Leeds United's young jewel can glitter just as much as Everton's, but has been seen rather less. Until now. Nick Townsend meets him 04 January 2004 Just one thought taunts you as you journey to Elland Road to meet a Leeds United player: will he still be an employee of the club by the time you arrive? The "knockers" are, by all account, parked outside, all ready for this particularly desirable property clearance. Friday's back pages are festooned with speculation. Alan Smith to abandon the stricken vessel for Old Trafford or St James' Park; Paul Robinson bound for the City of Manchester Stadium; Mark Viduka a target for any number of English and foreign clubs. Even James Milner, the subject of the journey, has, at the tender age of 17 when we meet - hecomes of age today - been mentioned in several dispatches as being coveted by Manchester United. When you arrive, your interviewee regards such reports with the insouciance of ...

Telegraph | Sport | Leeds maintain Gray impetus Man City (0) 1 Leeds Utd (1) 1 Shortly before 8.30 last night Eddie Gray would have raised a glass at his daughter Natalie's wedding. Not to toast the bride and groom but to mark the latest significant step forward of the Leeds United team who were in a dreadful mess when he inherited them from Peter Reid five games ago. Mark Viduka's fifth goal of the season enabled the absent Gray to savour his fourth reward from that short tenure - a precious point which inches them closer to Premiership safety as the teams around them move in the opposite direction. Manchester City are one of those teams and would have slipped even closer to the danger zone but for substitute Antoine Sibierski's late equaliser which quelled growing discontent among the home faithful. Gray was clearly at the City of Manchester Stadium in spirit as his players continue to respond encouragingly to his new approach to the daunting task of arresting th...

Sky Sports - The Best Sport Coverage From Around The World  Monday 22nd December 2003 Manchester City 1-1 Leeds United A late goal from substitute Antoine Sibierski levelled Mark Viduka's first half opener to give Manchester City a 1-1 draw against Leeds United on Monday evening. Viduka had capitalised on a David Sommeil error to put Leeds ahead after 24 minutes and City looked like losing a game they had dominated until Sibierski headed home brilliantly to seal a share of the spoils with less than ten minutes left. City had started the game brightly and opened Leeds up after just 70 seconds when Shaun Wright-Phillips out paced Ian Harte before firing the ball across the area, but it was behind the on-rushing Nicolas Anelka. Leeds then had what would prove to be a rare chance, but it was a great one as James Milner flighted a free kick into the City area - the ball evaded everyone including Viduka at the back post, who only needed to make contact to score. The home side contin...

Sport  By Steve Tongue 14 December 2003 Give him his due, Trevor Birch is always up for a challenge. This is a man who, bearing the burden of being Bill Shankly's last-ever signing, tried to break into a Liverpool forward-line of Keegan, Toshack and Heighway, with David Fairclough as the regular supersub; then, having lost that battle, had to replace Ian Rush at Chester ("After most games the manager used to come in and lament, 'If only Rushy was still here', which taught me about man-management"); was a 16-year-old school-leaver who took a degree at 23; then jacked in a partnership with an accountancy firm to return to the crazy world of professional football, where the numbers never quite seem to add up. As managing director of Chelsea (estimated debts £98m), he performed such wonders of juggling that not a player had to be sold, and administration was avoided. Just the man then, after being rewarded for his achievements with constructive dismissal (Manchester...