Mighty Leeds Weblog

Leeds United star Luis Sinisterra has been in fine form for Colombia, adding to his first goal for his nation with two more. By Jamie Kemble Leeds United star Luis Sinisterra has been in sizzling form for his country ahead of returning to Yorkshire this week. Sinisterra arrived at Elland Road on a big-money deal in the summer, coming in to replace Raphinha, who joined Barcelona. And after initial injury issues, he has impressed early on under Jesse Marsch, scoring three times and assisting once from out wide in six appearances across all competitions. Over the last week or so, Sinisterra has been competing in friendly fixtures with Colombia, who will not be involved in this winter’s World Cup in Qatar. And Sinisterra has been in superb form, scoring in a 4-1 win over Guatemala last week ahead of netting a superb brace on Tuesday night - local time. Colombia were two goals down against Mexico heading into half-time, but Sinisterra netted twice in three minutes to get his n...

Leeds United summer signing Tyler Adams says there are ‘no egos’ in the Whites’ dressing room By Joe Donnohue Still a relatively new face at Elland Road, USMNT international Tyler Adams has revealed his ‘shock’ towards the dressing room atmosphere at Leeds. Speaking on the Men in Blazers podcast this month, Adams has discussed his first impressions of the United group and the various personalities in the changing room at Thorp Arch. “Whenever you come into a new team, first and foremost, you’re competition for people that are already there”, Adams said. "You already have a bit of a negative effect on the team because guys are like ‘Who’s this new guy, is he any good?’ “But I was completely shocked by coming into the team and the first couple of guys that talked to me were guys that were in my position and just willing to help ease the transition of coming from Germany, trying to settle into a new team, a new city,” he added. The 23-year-old arrived in July from Germa...

Willy Gnonto will report back to Leeds United training later this week with a few bumps, bruises and a spring in his step. By Graham Smyth A strange twist of footballing irony will see the 18-year-old fall in behind players who could only watch this week's Nations League on television, while he started in it for Italy. Patrick Bamford's injury woes derailed his England hopes last season and left him with a little too much to do at the start of this one, even before that set-back he picked up at Southampton, while Jack Harrison's scintillating start to the campaign, rightly or wrongly, wasn't quite enough to force Gareth Southgate's hand. And while the pair looked on, from the outside, as England stumbled through another awkward week of Nations League action, their new team-mate Gnonto was making further strides in his senior international career. Without making a senior appearance for the club he joined on deadline day, Gnonto has added serious value to hi...

Wilfried Gnonto became only the third player in post-war Italian national team history to make three starts before his 19th birthday last night By Joe Donnohue Leeds United forward Willy Gnonto led the line for Roberto Mancini’s Italy side as they saw off Hungary in UEFA Nations League Group A last night. The 18-year-old was handed his third start in blue, matching the record first set by 1982 World Cup winner and Internazionale icon Giuseppe Bergomi 40 years ago. Gnonto’s sixth cap – and third start – have all came before he turns 19 in November, a feat achieved only by Bergomi and former Newcastle United, Internazionale and AS Roma defender Davide Santon in the post-war era. His involvement paid off for the Azzurri midway through the first half, as the United speedster seized upon a loose pass back to Hungary goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi, and attempted to round the RB Leipzig stopper. In doing so, Gnonto not only put his body on the line as Gulacsi clattered into him, but als...

After weeks of rumours, Dazn have confirmed they’ve acquired Eleven Group, giving them an even greater coverage offering for football. BusinessPeople.it report that Eleven Group, which was founded by the Leeds United owner, is now part of the wider organisation. There’s no indication given of the value of a sale or what this could do for the Italian businessman’s finances. It is stated that Radrizzani will now become an Executive Director of Dazn, obviously having to give up his current role as CEO of Eleven Group. Radrizzani launched Eleven Group in 2015, buying up football broadcast rights in markets across Europe, and also moving into Asia. The assumption would be that Radrizzani will see his wealth rise with the Dazn move, and that may well play some part in the future of Leeds United. Having escaped relegation back to the Championship last season, the Whites currently find themselves eleventh in the Premier League after a summer of change at Elland Road. Further invest...

Leeds United teenager Darko Gyabi has acclimatised well to life at Elland Road since joining from Manchester City By Joe Donnohue When Darko Gyabi’s £5 million transfer from Manchester City was announced, news of Leeds United’s newest recruit was somewhat overshadowed by the man heading the other way. Kalvin Phillips – revered in this part of Yorkshire, and for a time last summer, the whole country – bid an emotional farewell to Elland Road as he sealed a £42 million switch to the Etihad club. Being overshadowed is something the London-born youngster has had to get used to, coming from City’s academy. Gyabi arrived something of an unknown quantity; a player with no senior experience who had seemingly been second or third choice at No. 6 or No. 8 for City’s Under-23 side. Prior to the teenager’s move, there were whispers that should Phillips move across the Pennines, that highly-rated youngster Romeo Lavia would head the other way in a player-plus-cash deal. Manchester Cit...

WATCH MY PINT Written by: Moxcowhite • Daniel Chapman The best thing that happened at Brentford was Luis Sinisterra setting himself up for an all-time thunderbolt volley that could be replayed like Yeboah from now until eternity, or the crossbar was repaired, whichever took longer — then not doing it. Leeds United needed a goal, so Luis made sure, striking hard and safe into the bottom corner. He sacrificed spectacular for security. Is that fun? Kind of! I’d already felt the firmness of his goals against Barnsley and Everton, and now he’s continued this post-transfer hot streak by getting his first goal for Colombia, I feel safe saying Sinisterra is safe at scoring. His goal against Guatemala is another that won’t get many replays outside the Sinisterra family home, but no matter. The ball went in the net, and the way it went in makes me feel like the ball will always go in when it drops to our Luis. It comes from a low cross by Johan Mojica, a left-back who Leeds should probab...

by Tony Attwood In an event of supreme importance in relation to what happened in the future, in September 1919, second division Leeds City FC were summoned to a meeting with the Football League and ordered to hand over their accounts.    Leeds refused to do so on the grounds that the Commission had no legal right to demand them.   The League then removed Leeds City from its membership of the league, and banned five officials for any involvement in football for life. Among those five was their manager, Herbert Chapman. Herbert Chapman had managed Leeds prior to the war but like so many others had taken up war work in industry during the conflict.   He had returned to Leeds City and resumed his work after the war, but before the League commenced in August 1919 he resigned, moved to Selby and gave up football to become a superintendent at an oil and coke works. We have no explanation from him as to why he did this – and it is notable that this action occurred d...

Leeds United midfielder Marc Roca admits he enlists the help of a private fitness coach to keep on top of his game By Joe Donnohue Leeds midfielder Marc Roca reveals he took his personal fitness coach on holiday to Ibiza with his partner earlier this summer, whilst preparing for a first pre-season at United. At the beginning of June, the finishing touches were being applied to Roca’s Leeds move, swapping Bavaria and Bayern Munich for West Yorkshire. The former Spain Under-21 international visited the Balaeric island with his girlfriend and private fitness coach with whom he says he has been working for ‘six or seven years’. "My girlfriend is not happy with this,” Roca told the Official Leeds United Podcast. “Because she wants to spend a lot of time with me, but I think in summer you have a lot of time you can be with your family, with your girlfriend, with your friends you can enjoy – but I think it's a good moment as well for training because you can train hard, you...

Leeds United signed teenage forward Mateo Joseph in the January transfer window from Catalan club Espanyol By Joe Donnohue Leeds’ acquisition of 18-year-old Mateo Joseph shortly after New Year turned out to be the club’s solitary addition at the beginning of 2022. While supporters were left disappointed as the club struggled to add first-team players, Joseph arrived with a reputation as a promising young striker from Spain. The former RCD Espanyol youth team attacker had been prolific in his last full season in Catalonia, leading top-scorer standings before fielding several offers from prestigious clubs. Barcelona were reportedly among them, offering a full ride in the club’s academy setup with a view to progressing into the B team and eventually the first-team at Camp Nou, however they were unable to come to an agreement. Espanyol and Barcelona are local rivals, therefore Joseph would not have been forced to relocate if he had moved across the city. Instead, though, the ...

Chairman Andrea Radrizzani features in the new Amazon Prime Video series ‘Academy Dreams: Leeds United’ By Joe Donnohue Leeds United chairman Andrea Radrizzani is caught on camera offering his verdict on young centre-back Charlie Cresswell in Academy Dreams: Leeds United. The Italian is filmed conversing with director of football Victor Orta at a city centre hotel as the pair discuss the club’s blossoming academy prospects at Thorp Arch. As majority shareholder of Leeds United, Radrizzani is not involved in the day-to-day running of the club at Thorp Arch on the training and organisation side of things. However, splitting his time between Yorkshire, London and Milan, Radrizzani does often cast an eye over the club’s players at various fixtures throughout the season. During Episode Four of the new series, titled ‘Fight Back’, Radrizzani says: “I enjoy a lot watching the Under-23s this year.” "Initially, obviously I got a bit upset when we lose games especially in a si...

By Pranav Shahaney Leeds United are reportedly being handicapped financially for constantly having to pay rent for their Thorp Arch training facility. According to the Athletic journalist Phil Hay, this immediately disadvantages them compared to other clubs that own their training ground. While there are plans to move it closer to the city centre, it does lead to the owners having a tougher time shelling out money for the first team. Speaking on the Phil Hay Show, he said (37:50), “They do want to move to the city centre. There’s been all this talk of a new training ground in the city centre to make it more accessible. “But the fact is that they are paying huge amounts of rent for Thorp Arch as they have been on Elland Road and that handicaps you. “So while other clubs have avoided all these liabilities, Leeds are still dealing with quite of them.” There is only so much that Andrea Radrizzani can do and it’s probably time for new owners to come in and take the club to the...

Leeds United summer signing Sonny Perkins netted a first-half hat-trick during England Under-19s’ 6-0 win over Georgia in U-19 European Championships qualifying By Joe Donnohue Leeds teenager Sonny Perkins has scored in seven consecutive matches for club and country this season. The 18-year-old netted his latest goals in England Under-19s’ demolition of Georgia on Saturday afternoon. Perkins opened the scoring in Denmark, before adding a second from the penalty spot. The ex-West Ham United forward then completed his hat-trick minutes before half-time to cap a fine performance and a continuation of his excellent run in front of goal. Perkins has now scored at least once in each Leeds Under-21 and England Under-19 fixture he has featured in this season, with five in his last three games. In total, the versatile frontman has found the net ten times, already hitting double figures within the first two months of the season. Perkins was signed by Leeds on a free transfer this...

Deane joined Leeds for a club record fee of £2.9million in June 1993. In his mind, Brian Deane had reached the promised land when he signed on the dotted line to join his hometown club Leeds United in 1993. The Whites had paid a club record £2.9million to prise him away from Sheffield United and Deane headed to Elland Road off the back of a goal-laden campaign 36 miles down the M1 at Bramall Lane. Deane notched 11 goals in his debut campaign in West Yorkshire and a further nine times in his second season as Leeds registered back-to-back fifth place finishes. However, by his own admission, the former England international says the weight of expectation was something he'd never experienced before. "Yes [I did feel the pressure], because Leeds had won the title a couple of years before and I was signed to try to help them do it again," Deane told FourFourTwo. He added: "I was also a Leeds lad and still live there, so I had pressure from people I grew up with w...

Leeds United director of football Victor Orta has discussed the Whites’ failed bid to sign Marseille striker Bamba Dieng By Joe Donnohue Leeds’ director of football Victor Orta is no shrinking violet and has addressed the somewhat discomfiting situation surrounding transfer deadline day. United missed out on the signings of Cody Gakpo and Bamba Dieng, for vastly differing reasons, eventually expediting the arrival of teenage forward Wilfried Gnonto from FC Zürich. Dieng appeared on the verge of signing, especially after club chairman and majority shareholder Andrea Radrizzani tweeted urging supporters to get behind their new man, but the Senegalese forward never arrived. An eleventh hour U-turn at an airfield in the south of France meant Leeds were left high and dry in their bid to supplement the squad with another attacking presence. Orta’s initial plan was to allow Gnonto additional time on the continent where he would earn regular first-team football with Swiss champions...

Massimo Cellino's Leeds mad house! The Italian owner's foul-mouthed temper tantrums left staff in fear, he banned the No 17 and colour purple... and once rejected chance to sign Virgil van Dijk! Graham Bean says working at Leeds under Massimo Cellino was a madhouse The controversial former owner would often erupt into severe temper tantrums Cellino ordered Paddy Kenny to be sold due to a superstition over the number 17 The Italian once said that future England star Kalvin Phillips wasn't good enough By GRAHAM BEAN FOR THE DAILY MAIL Graham Bean was the FA’s ‘sleazebuster’ but also worked with a number of clubs in English football, most memorably at Leeds where he worked closely with the club’s controversial former owner… Massimo Cellino’s reputation preceded him when he bought Leeds United. The controversial Italian businessman was known as the ‘Manager Eater’ in his homeland after going through more bosses in his 22 years at Cagliari than he’d had pepperoni p...

FIGHTING RACISM Written by: Rob Conlon It’s always the ones you least expect. Tom Lees was loved at Leeds United for his unwavering commitment to being utterly inscrutable. It didn’t matter whether Lees was just breaking into the team as a promising youngster or trying to hold together a team falling apart around him with over 100 senior appearances to his name, nothing could shake Tom from his permanently morose expression. We all thought it was the face of a defender refusing to get carried away by the highs and lows of life as a footballer, a player who just wanted to be as professional as possible, keep his head down, and avoid the limelight. Then for a brief period in 2012, while he was trying his best to get through Leeds games without being unfairly blamed for defeats by Neil Warnock, he was accused of global criminality, deemed a wanted man by the Serbian police. The incident dates back to the second leg of England Under-21s’ European Championship qualification play-off...

Leeds United director of football believes European football is still some way off making a return to Elland Road By Joe Donnohue Leeds’ charismatic director of football Victor Orta believes a top ten finish in the Premier League would represent a considerable achievement for United this season. The Whites escaped relegation in dramatic fashion last term and despite finishing ninth during the team’s first campaign back in the top flight, Orta asserts that in the long-term, challenging the Premier League’s mid-table hegemony will symbolise the club moving in the right direction. Leeds have been in a state of flux for much of 2022, with the departure of Marcelo Bielsa, Jesse Marsch’s arrival, squad upheaval during the summer and now an unplanned 29-day break between matches. Hardly renowned for keeping a level-head, it is Orta who remains firmly grounded about what the team can achieve. 🚨🆕 Spent the afternoon speaking to Joe Gelhardt & Sam Greenwood today. Both keen for ...

Somewhere down the line, Leeds United's right-back position is going to give Jesse Marsch a problem, a good one. By Graham Smyth A headache, in the form of Luke Ayling, is making its way towards the American and it might just strike in time for the October 2 game against Aston Villa. There was never any danger of Ayling taking the signing of Rasmus Kristensen lying down. This is a man, after all, whose refusal to accept defeat was instrumental in games that will never be forgotten by the Whites in attendance, like a 5-4 win at Birmingham, the 1-0 win at Swansea that essentially clinched promotion and last season's 3-2 win at Wolves. Having clawed his way back to the top of football's mountain from League One, Ayling is no stranger to overcoming adversity and will view the £10m Danish international standing in his path as just another obstacle to clamber over. Kristensen is somewhat mountainous, physically, and arrived at Elland Road with a solid reputation but i...

Leeds United pair Joe Gelhardt and Sam Greenwood sat down with the YEP prior to this week’s release of ‘Academy Dreams: Leeds United’ By Joe Donnohue Joe Gelhardt and Sam Greenwood began the 2021/22 campaign as Under-23 players with an outside chance of first-team cameos in the season to come. On the Premier League’s final day – an occasion fraught with tension and emotion – the pair started for Jesse Marsch’s senior side as top flight safety was secured. Gelhardt found the back of the net with an instinctive finish during the first half, only to see his effort ruled out by a marginal VAR call. Meanwhile, Greenwood’s selection raised eyebrows given the magnitude of the fixture. The decision to name the tenacious England Under-21 forward alongside Kalvin Phillips, as his defensive midfield partner, was a bold call, but one which paid off in the end. Leeds fans will need little reminder of what transpired in west London, but will be treated to intimate, on-the-ground footag...