Mighty Leeds Weblog

By Nancy Froston and Phil Hay The golden rule for guaranteeing the maverick, game-changing performances that Leeds United have seen from Crysencio Summerville this season is simple: “Don’t kill him with a plan.” Summerville is an unscripted genius with the ball at his feet. In 44 games and on the way to 20 goals, the freshly crowned Championship Player of the Season has dribbled, dummied and delivered performances worthy of making him the star of Daniel Farke’s side. The scariest thing for opponents? He still has more to learn. The 22-year-old Dutchman cannot be bound by defensive blocks or dispirited by cynical fouls and has the potential to be world-class. Summerville’s story is one of belief that started in the youth teams of RVV Noorderkwartier and has taken him from the south of Rotterdam to the raucous surrounds of Elland Road. Certain conditions are needed to create a player like Summerville. An absence of pressure, a focus on finding joy in the sport and coaches smart e

In this extract from Admiral: 50 Years of the Replica Shirt, contributor Rob Bagchi tells of Don Revie’s Leeds United revamp – with a little help from the away kit. By Rob Bagchi As spring crawled towards summer in 1973, Leeds United were finished. At Second Division Sunderland's homecoming after beating Don Revie's side in the FA Cup final, six of their supporters carried a coffin on to the Roker Park pitch with 'Leeds died 1973' crowingly daubed on the side. The remains of Europe's most consistently strong side over the past nine years were laid to rest in the centre-circle. A few days later Leeds were swizzed out of the Cup Winners' Cup by a refereeing performance of such baroque partiality in the final against AC Milan that it seemed to symbolise the nadir of all the lousy luck they had endured over the preceding decade. At the start of the following season, Revie had rallied his players to summon their defiance. "You lads are good enough to ram

By Greg O'Keeffe So an era of unprecedented Premier League changes could be about to move into new territory — from points deductions to spending constrictions. The asterisks which dot this season’s table in relation to punishments for clubs who have breached the top flight’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR) may soon be followed by question marks on balance sheets across the division. Should a majority of its clubs vote through the proposed hard spending cap for the 2025-26 season, it would not only aid the competitive nature of what is the world’s strongest domestic league, but also enforce a subtle shift in the perceived power base of English football. The cap idea is based on the concept of “anchoring”, designed to limit the amount of money any club can invest in their squad by tying it to a multiple of what the division’s lowest earners get from the league’s centralised broadcast and commercial deals. It would go a step further than the UEFA-mirroring new squad-c

By Matt Slater The Premier League is heading towards another contentious vote on Monday with a majority of clubs keen to add a hard spending cap to the new “squad cost” rules that are being introduced for the 2025-26 season. Based on the concept of “anchoring”, the de facto salary cap would limit the amount of money any club can invest in their squads by tying it to a multiple of what the lowest earners get from the league’s centralised broadcast and commercial deals. Earlier this month, the clubs unanimously backed a proposal to progress talks on the squad cost regime, with a view to finalising the new rules at June’s annual general meeting. Since then, the league has sent out proposals on anchoring and scheduled a meeting on the matter for Thursday. The plan is then to ask the clubs to back the idea in principle at another meeting of the league’s shareholders — the 20 clubs and the Football Association — on Monday. When the idea was first suggested last year, the top-to-bot

Leeds United manager Daniel Farke hosts his pre-match press conference this afternoon ahead of the Whites’ trip to face Queens Park Rangers tomorrow night. By Joe Donnohue Leeds’ penultimate fixture of the regular Championship season takes place tomorrow night with United knowing a win puts increased pressure on Kieran McKenna’s third place Ipswich Town to keep pace with league leaders Leicester City and Farke’s men. The Whites were back to winning ways on Monday night, defeating Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium, but victory came at a cost with Dan James ruled out for the trip to Loftus Road with a costal cartilage injury and torn oblique abdominal muscle. James’ international teammate Joe Rodon also took a knock to his calf in the 4-3 win against Boro and an update on his condition is expected to be provided by Farke during today’s press conference. Farke on players' ability in crunch times I was convinced of the character a few days after I arrived and then when

Daniel Farke's young Leeds United team is treading new and perilous territory and maybe that's not such a bad thing. By Graham Smyth This is all a bit exciting, isn't it? Two games to go, automatic promotion still possible. It's exciting in the same way that a monstrous rollercoaster is exciting when you finally get to the head of the queue. You know you want the experience, you know you should enjoy it but you know there's a reason for your fear. It's that excitement that turns the stomach just a little. And though the proximity to promotion is not unfamiliar to Leeds fans, it most certainly is for the vast majority of the players they'll follow to London on Friday night. There are remnants of the Marcelo Bielsa 2020 Championship-winning side in the squad Farke has available to him. Patrick Bamford, Illan Meslier, Liam Cooper and Jamie Shackleton were all there and played parts of varying significance in that triumph, one that looked quite different t