Mighty Leeds Weblog

There could not have been a more fitting match-winner for Leeds United on Stuart Dallas's 250th appearance for the club. By Stuart Rayner Substitute Dan James put the cherry on the top of a 3-1 win with his stoppage-time header, but it was Dallas's bending shot from outside the area which broke Burnley's stubborn resistance and earned the Whites an invaluable three points. If you were not sure how much it meant you could see it in the hug between Marcelo Bielsa and Pablo Quiroga as James's header squeezed through Wayne Hennessey, and hear it in the delirium at full-time. All of them will be hoping this is a sign of better things to come in 2022. Part of the journey Bielsa has taken the Whites on from the start, Dallas's difficulties this season have been a watered down version of the team's, just as his brilliance did last, but he has never shirked a challenge and when Leeds put 2021 behind them on a wet day in West Yorkshire, Dallas broke Burnley hear...

Square Ball 6/10/12 By Fax Man Taken from the end of Yorkshire Radio’s interview with Leeds United’s current owner Ken Bates today… Ben Fry: Chairman, can we finish with an update on the investment? Is there anything you can tell us? Ken Bates: Well I’d like to Ben but as I’ve said before the confidentiality agreement, which seems to be a bit one-sided, it makes it difficult to say anything. Of course the stuff that’s coming out now from the Gulf, some from GFH itself but a lot more from the fringe and the press and the media out there, is a little bit confusing. The real problem is, I think their lawyers – because this is pretty straightforward deal by anybody’s standards, and I’ve done 100s of deals in my time – and I don’t know what the delay is. The problem to me is they appear to be making complications when there’s no need to do so. I understand the share purchase is 171 pages long. I don’t know what they’ve put in it and they’re moving at a very slow rate. And I question w...

Yorkshire Post 6/6/12 LEEDS United chairman Ken Bates has been ordered to pay £10,000 to ex-director Melvyn Levi who sued him for harassment. Mr Bates has also been gagged for two years from speaking about Mr Levi’s personal life. Mr Levi and his wife Carole claimed they suffered stress as a result of announcements on the club radio station allegedly likening Mr Levi to a criminal on the run. They also claimed comments made by Mr Bates in his match day programme notes amounted to speculation over the state of their marriage. Mr Levi was awarded £10,000 in compensation at Leeds County Court but his wife’s claim failed. Judge Mark Gosnell said: “Mr Levi has succeeded in his claim and has been awarded £10,000 and Mrs Levi’s claim has failed.” The judge issued an injunction restraining Mr Bates from commenting on Mr and Mrs Levi’s private and personal life, for two years. But the Leeds chairman is allowed to mention the on-going commercial dispute between the two, known as the “Jers...

Yorkshire Post Today: News, Sport, Jobs, Property, Cars, Entertainments & More Leighton linked to move to help United stave off administration Exclusive Richard Sutcliffe THE consortium looking to invest in Leeds United will decide on Monday whether to go ahead with their plans to plough around £15m into the troubled club. Local businessman Norman Stubbs has returned early from holiday in Barbados to meet his fellow consortium members, while the Yorkshire Post also understands he has held talks with former United deputy chairman Allan Leighton. Leighton, one of the most coveted business executives in the country, was a key member of the plc board between 1998 and late 2003 when he left to launch his own rescue plan as United's finances spiralled out of control, with debts topping £100m. It is not clear how strong 51-year-old Leighton's involvement will be, but privately he has always maintained a willingness to return to help revive the ailing club. The involv...

Yorkshire Post Blackwell looks for rain to wash away pretenders Ian Appleyard THE MONSOON summer is proving an asset in Leeds United manager Kevin Blackwell's search for foreign imports. Blackwell switched his sights to the continental market this week after buying British during pre-season. Feeling that his options at home were currently exhausted and with limited funds at his disposal, Blackwell broadened his horizons in the hope of landing further value-for-money signings. Cameroon international midfield player Serge Branco, 23, is currently training at Thorp Arch and players from Germany and Holland are also being lined-up. But Blackwell will not allow any repeat of last season's disastrous forays into the foreign market which resulted in Leeds signing a string of flops who were either uncommitted or unsuited to the job. "The lesson from last year is 'do not take foreign players in haste'," he said. "You do that and you will repent at...