Mighty Leeds Weblog

Leeds United head coach Javi Gracia hosts his pre-match press conference this afternoon ahead of the Whites’ trip to Arsenal this weekend Joe Donnohue Leeds’ trip to table-topping Arsenal on Saturday promises to be one of their toughest tests this season. The Gunners have been imperious at home and as the season nears a conclusion, Mikel Arteta’s side will be looking to avoid any slip-ups in order to keep their hopes of a Premier League title alive. Javi Gracia will be without Tyler Adams this weekend, whilst Willy Gnonto and Max Wober are both doubts after picking up injuries over the international break. Leeds midfielder Adams underwent surgery on a hamstring injury and is expected to be out for an extended period, which could render him absent until pre-season. Despite Gracia’s reluctance to discuss injured players in previous press conferences, the Spaniard is expected to provide an update this afternoon. Gracia on Wober and Gnonto I’m sorry but I cannot clarify becau...

So much of Leeds United's potential summer 2024 transfer window activity will be dictated by the 'r' word but regardless of their division, there are areas Victor Orta will have to target. By Graham Smyth Dropping out of the Premier League, indeed even the idea of battling against relegation for a second successive season, was deemed 'impossible' by Andrea Radrizzani at the outset of a campaign that has not quite gone to plan. Their Premier League win over Wolves, the second of Javi Gracia's Elland Road tenure, lifted them to 14th in the table and into the positions Radrizzani expected to be competing for, yet they started that day just prior to the international break second from bottom. Relegation fears were at the heart of the decision to sack Jesse Marsch in February and he was eventually replaced by Gracia, after a number of initial candidates elected not to take the Leeds job. Gracia's arrival, which broadly met with the approval of the fanba...

Leeds United are awaiting a post-op assessment of Tyler Adams' hamstring but don't anticipate his absence becoming a long-term one. By Graham Smyth Adams went for surgery last week, having sustained a problem in training that kept him out of the Wolves game at Molineux and the US Men's National Team fixtures during the international break. The midfielder, a key part of Javi Gracia's Whites side and among the candidates for Leeds' Player of the Season, has been on crutches since the operation but the club's medical department will soon be able to determine the length of time he will be missing. Whilst it is currently unknown if he will make it back in time to play any further part in this season's action, the YEP understands his pre-season involvement this summer is not in doubt because the club does not expect him to be a long-term absentee. Leeds also have injury doubts over Willy Gnonto and Max Wober, who both picked up mercifully minor knocks on...

Whites chairman Andrea Radrizzani has reflected on a particular six-year journey within Leeds United Football Club upon a landmark success. Lee Sobot Leeds United Ladies were disbanded in 2014 after their funding was withdrawn under chairman Massimo Cellino but the team reformed as Leeds Ladies and then came back within the club’s umbrella under new owner Radrizzani in June 2017. Six years on and now named Leeds United Women, the fourth tier team have brought back silverware to West Yorkshire having won the FA National League Plate on Sunday afternoon by defeating Division One Midlands leaders Stourbridge Women. The side last savoured silverware 13 years ago and Radrizzani has taken to social media to issue his pride at the team’s continually evolving journey. “We had to restart woman’s football at Leeds United around six years ago,” said the chairman. “Look at our team now. Keep growing, you make your club proud every day. Congrats.” Whites captain Liam Cooper also offered h...

Elland Road reopened on Sunday morning after a 48-hour lockdown. Stuart Rayner Police arrived at the home of Leeds United before most staff had arrived for work on Friday morning and advised that it shut after a security threat was received. The ticket office, club shop and offices of the club and its foundation were immediately shut as a noticeable police presence investigated at the ground. Finally, West Yorkshire Police felt able to give the go-ahead for it to reopen on Sunday morning. Fortunately for Leeds, it had not been due to host a game this weekend. With club football on an international break, the next match at the ground is not due until April 4, when Nottingham Forest are scheduled to visit in the Premier League.

Police have arrested a man in connection with the incident that caused the closure of Leeds United’s Elland Road stadium. Tom Coates Police were called to Elland Road following reports of a security threat to the premises and investigations were launched to establish the credibility of the threat. The club’s offices were closed on the advice of police, as was the club shop. Earlier today, West Yorkshire Police said: “Police were called to attend at Elland Road football stadium following reports of a security threat to the premises. Investigations are currently ongoing to establish the credibility of that threat. The report was received at 9:49pm last night.” A 20-year-old man has now been arrested and a spokesperson for West Yorkshire Police said “enquiries remain ongoing”. An earlier statement issued by Leeds United read: “Leeds United’s offices, ticket office, Foundation offices and club shop at Elland Road will be closed until further notice on the advice of the police. We...

Leeds United released a statement on Friday morning stating that club facilities at Elland Road had been closed following police advice Joe Donnohue Officers from West Yorkshire Police were seen gathered outside the West Stand at Elland Road on Friday morning prior to the football club’s official communication confirming temporary suspension of operations at the ground on police advice. The statement reads: "Leeds United’s offices, ticket office, Foundation offices and club shop at Elland Road will be closed until further notice on the advice of the police. We apologise for any inconvenience and we will inform the public when normal service resumes." West Yorkshire Police have said ‘investigations are currently ongoing’ to establish the credibility of a threat received yesterday evening. In the meantime, staff have been evacuated from Elland Road. “Police were called to attend at Elland Road football stadium following reports of a security threat to the premises. In...

Leeds United have already taken steps towards full compliance with a newly-launched Premier League initiative and confirmed a new facet to CEO Angus Kinnear’s role at Elland Road. By Graham Smyth The division launched its Fan Engagement Standard [FES] on Wednesday, outlining the standards expected of its member clubs with regards to 'meaningful engagement' with supporters. Unanimously approved by the Premier League clubs in November 22, the plan lists five themes seen as integral to a long-term commitment to fan engagement - namely leadership and culture, listening, collaborating and participating, sharing, and learning and improving. A Premier League statement said: "Each theme is linked to a series of core commitments and activities. Collectively these form a baseline for club engagement that sets minimum standards, with defined methods of consulting, reporting and review, each designed to promote transparency and continuous improvement." Leeds, as one of ...

Leeds United forward Willy Gnonto has quickly established himself as a first-team player during his time at Elland Road Joe Donnohue The 19-year-old Italy international joins up with Roberto Mancini’s Azzurri squad this week ahead of UEFA Euro 2024 qualifiers versus England and Malta. Gnonto is expected to feature prominently during this month’s international break and is thought highly of by the former Manchester City boss and Premier League-winning coach. Mancini has previously questioned why no club in Italy chose to move for the former FC Zurich attacker, allowing Leeds to swoop last summer, securing his signature for £3.8 million. Speaking to Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera whilst at the Coverciano training base, Gnonto said: “I will always be grateful to Inter [Milan], but I don't see it as a missed opportunity. I had to make a choice, I went to Switzerland to play and I think I made the right one for me and my family." Gnonto left Internazionale’s ...

Leeds United title winner Tony Dorigo was delighted for one Whites player in particular at Molineux as victory brought a dramatic change in the Premier League table. By Tony Dorigo Javi Gracia's calm touchline presence is so important for Leeds United, especially in these highly pressurised relegation battles. When you look on the sidelines and you do as a player, you look to your manager at certain times for guidance, if he's losing it then it filters through to the rest of the team. I look down at the technical area and Javi Gracia is involved in the games, you can tell he's feeling it but at the vital times he controls himself well. There's no doubt that transfers on and whether it's a message or a calm observation he's the one that can deliver that, because he's composed. He’s Mr Calm. Quite how he managed that at Molineux I don't quite know. The game down there last season was pretty exciting but this one even topped that. The importance was a...

Leeds United have looked to utilise width more often since the appointment of Javi Gracia as head coach which has especially benefitted left-back Junior Firpo Joe Donnohue Leeds’ perceived lack of width under Javi Gracia’s predecessor Jesse Marsch was a bone of contention amongst Whites fans throughout the American’s tenure as head coach at Elland Road. Since arriving, Gracia has delivered seven points from four Premier League games, including wins over relegation rivals Southampton and most recently Wolverhampton Wanderers. The head coach has not explicitly stated his intention to play with greater width, but his team have certainly operated using all available space on the pitch. Combined with a more balanced, level-headed approach – as seen by Leeds’ reluctance to engage Brighton’s central defenders in possession, instead waiting for specific pressing triggers – United have in recent matches resembled a team who appear more mid-table than relegation fodder. There remains a l...

Leeds United Under-21s forward Mateo Joseph says he is keeping a tally of his goals this season as the young Whites eye promotion to Premier League 2 Division 1 Joe Donnohue Joseph has netted on 15 occasions in PL2 this season, firing Leeds to the summit of the Division 2 table with just three games remaining. The young Whites know they will have a fight on their hands to secure automatic promotion and the second tier title, but a three-point gap at the top means it is well within their grasp. Ahead of the international break, Leeds’ youngsters defeated Sunderland by three goals to one in front of close to 4,000 spectators at Elland Road. Joseph scored twice to bring his total for the season across all competitions to 16 in 19 appearances. “We feel really well, the dressing room is very happy, we have three finals to play now if we want to get promoted. We're looking forward to them. Now the international break, [time to] rest, improve our weaknesses and let's keep goin...

YOU can try as hard as you like to fight the craziness of Leeds United, but defeating it is easier said than done. Stuart Rayner It was laid bare in a 4-2 win full of sub-plots. As if six goals and 33 shots was not enough, Wolverhampton Wanderers had a penalty refused by the video assistant referee and two red cards – one for a substitute who never made it on. Marcelo Bielsa and Jesse Marsch were exponents of chaos theory, in-your-face styles playing to the Elland Road gallery, but the current coach prefers control. Leeds had it for large parts of a game they led 3-0 only for substitute Adama Traore to take it off them and run away with it. Once Jack Harrison scored his second goal in as many games, the Whites played as they wanted. As against Brighton and Hove Albion they fell back into a narrow 4-4-1-1. It gave plenty of space wide to work in but this was Wolves. For all Luke Ayling had a hard time and Junior Firpo picked up a booking and escaped the penalty shout, giving...

Leeds United's Under-21 side moved one step closer to top flight football next season with a home win over Sunderland Under-21s at Elland Road on Sunday afternoon. Joe Donnohue Goals from Mateo Joseph (2) and Sonny Perkins ensured Leeds restored a three-point lead at the top of Premier League 2 Division 2 ahead of promotion-chasing Nottingham Forest and Southampton. The Whites named a strong line-up featuring Archie Gray, Perkins, Joseph and in-form Darko Gyabi. The latter, a £5 million summer signing, has established himself as a standout in several fixtures for the Under-21s and produced another imperious performance in the middle. Somewhat less imposing, but equally impactful, winger Charlie Allen added two assists setting up Joseph in each half for his 14th and 15th league goals of the campaign. It was Allen's industrious work down the right flank which yielded the game's opener, slipping in between two defenders before laying finding Joseph, recent England Un...

If the Premier League's fixture computer throws Wolves and Leeds United together at Molineux on March 18 next year then we'll know that it's not only become sentient but developed a cracking sense of humour. By Graham Smyth A second Whites lightning strike in as many visits was conducted by a goalscoring trio who struck on the very same date last year, handing Javi Gracia's men a 4-2 victory and three points that powered them up into 14th. Like its 2022 predecessor, the 2023 meeting featured a Wolves red card and goals from Jack Harrison, Luke Ayling and Rodrigo. Rasmus Kristensen finding the net too, seconds after coming on as a substitute, was every bit as unlikely as all the aforementioned similarities. How deserved a win it was could be debated from here until March 18 2024, not that Leeds will care or even engage with it. The bus was started in the wake of Rodrigo's stoppage-time insurance goal and they were up the road before Wolves could clear their h...

Leeds United at Molineux is a recipe for madness and though there was little method in their work at times, they still had enough to beat Wolves. By Graham Smyth A 4-2 victory, their sixth of the Premier League season, drove Javi Gracia's men up from 19th to 14th in the table, highlighting just how tight the relegation battle has become. Goals from Jack Harrison, Luke Ayling, Rasmus Kristensen and Rodrigo did the job but the goals didn't tell half of the story, with VAR interventions and a pair of red cards for the hosts. Jonny's dismissal for a horrible challenge on Ayling was followed by unused substitute Matheus Nunes' sending off, in the technical area, for anger aimed at an assistant referee. Here's the YEP take on another madcap encounter at Molineux. Good day Crysencio Summerville The winger came into a fractious, physical game and showed his intelligence, using the ball brilliantly to relieve pressure and hurt the hosts. He was creative but h...

Leeds United’s madcap 4-2 win over Wolves at Molineux was a deserved reward for their performance, in Javi Gracia’s eyes. By Graham Smyth The Whites went 3-0 up, scoring with each of their first three shots on target, Jack Harrison, Luke Ayling and Rasmus Kristensen finding the net. But with 17 minutes remaining it was 3-2 and Wolves were piling on the pressure in search of an equaliser. A combination of Jonny’s red card, for a horrible challenge on Ayling, and Gracia’s substitutions helped the Whites to not only protect their lead but strengthen it with a late Rodrigo goal that survived a VAR check. That was their fourth and final shot on target. Wolves, by comparison, had twice as many. Leeds’ three-point haul lifted them out of the drop zone to 14th place in the Premier League and Gracia was delighted for his players. "I think today we got a very, very good win,” he said. "Our players in my opinion did an amazing game and they deserve the reward of three points b...

A year to the day after Luke Ayling scored as Leeds United won a frankly bonkers game 3-2 win at the home of Wolverhampton Wanderers, it looked as if Luke Ayling scored in a frankly bonkers 3-2 win at the home of Wolverhampton Wanderers. By Stuart Rayner In the end it was 4-2, Rodrigo lifting a stoppage-time goal over Jose Sa, and the game went beyond crazy with two Wolves players sent off, one without even making it onto the pitch. Julen Lopetegui was going spare with referee Michael Salisbury at full-time and he was by no means alone. The dramatics were one things but the facts were what mattered to Leeds. On a day when Southampton and Leicester City drew and Bournemouth lost, they moved up to 14th, a point behind Wolves with a game in hand. They have picked up seven in four matches under coach Javi Gracia, another new Leeds coach at the uncomfortable end of the Premier League table 12 months on. Not many teams could be 3-0 up against a side who have not had a centre-forw...

Jack Harrison, Luke Ayling, Rasmus Kristensen and Rodrigo scored in a 4-2 success as Wolves scorer Jonny was sent off. Nick Mashiter Leeds United breathed fresh life into their survival hopes after a manic win at Wolverhampton Wanderers. Jack Harrison, Luke Ayling, Rasmus Kristensen and Rodrigo struck to clinch a rollercoaster 4-2 victory and lift them out of the Premier League’s relegation zone. Jonny’s long-range lob and Matheus Cunha’s first goal for Wolves gave them hope before Jonny’s late red card. Unused substitute Matheus Nunes was also dismissed in stoppage time, with Wolves furious Rodrigo’s goal was not ruled out for a foul on Adama Traore. Exactly 12 months ago Leeds hit back from 2-0 down to win 3-2 at Molineux thanks to Ayling’s injury-time winner. Victory was still not straightforward this time but a frenzied win in a game which threatened to swing either way leaves Leeds 14th, just a point and a place behind their hosts with a game in hand. As much as Wo...

Wolves 2-4 Leeds: Visitors go two points clear of the relegation zone in six-goal thriller as Jonny scores STUNNING 40-yard volley for the hosts before being sent off Leeds defeated Wolves 4-2 on Saturday in what was a thrilling game at Molineux Jack Harrison opened the scoring for Leeds before Luke Ayling made it 2-0   Rasmus Kristensen produced a driving shot in the second half to score their third Jonny's got one back for Wolves with a sublime volley but received a red card Matheus Cunha would strike home a second, making a nervy finish for Leeds By TOM COLLOMOSSE When Diego Costa is acting as peacemaker, you know things really have gone out of control. The Wolves forward has spent his career ready to start a fight in a phone box but this time he was restraining Matheus Nunes, a fellow unused substitute, who had just been shown a red card and was preparing to turn his fury on referee Michael Salisbury. The reason for Nunes' anger was Salisbury's decisio...