Mighty Leeds Weblog

DOWN Written by: Moxcowhite • Daniel Chapman In the end we only got as far as the beginning, and Leeds United going down the way they’ve been going all season: waiting and hoping for someone else to save them at the last moment. Sam Allardyce started with six defenders and an unfamiliar back five, hoping a clean sheet and friendly scorelines at Everton and Bournemouth would help a nicked goal make the difference or set up a late push for safety. Leeds would make the last ninety minutes of the season last as long as they could, hoping for a chance. After the World Cup, Leeds had chances, but instead of taking them, they were always waiting and hoping for the next one until the season had no chances left to give. Maybe at home to West Ham, or at home to Brentford, then surely away to Nottingham Forest, but none of those chances were taken to be wins. So it had to be away to Everton, but wasn’t. There was a brief, stumbling revival but losing to Crystal Palace put Leeds back on the

Negotiations are ongoing for a Leeds United takeover with 49ers Enterprises still keen to become full owners despite relegation. By Graham Smyth The Whites' three-year Premier League stay came to an end on Sunday with a 4-1 defeat at home to Tottenham Hotspur. Sam Allardyce required a win from his fourth game in charge and a pair of results elsewhere to go Leeds' way, but none of those things came to pass. Instead, the Elland Road outfit head into the summer with no head coach, no director of football and no certainty over who will own the club when the Championship season begins on Saturday 5 August. An agreement had been reached between majority owner Andrea Radrizzani and the financial backers of NFL franchise the San Francisco 49ers so that, in the event of Leeds staying in the Premier League, a takeover would be complete. Relegation has voided that agreement, not least because of the difference in price between a top flight outfit and one in the second tier. Th

By Tom Bogert and Phil Hay U.S. international midfielder Brenden Aaronson has a relegation release clause in his Leeds United contract, sources with direct knowledge of the deal tell The Athletic. Leeds’ relegation was confirmed on the final day of the Premier League season with a 4-1 loss to Tottenham. They finished 19th in the table with 31 points and will spend the 2023-24 season in the Championship. The relegation release clause means Aaronson has a much more likely route to departing the club this summer, with interested clubs needing only to trigger the clause to open contract talks. Sources are expecting the clause to be triggered this summer. Leeds signed Aaronson last summer for £25million ($30m) from RB Salzburg, which would have made a transfer this summer more complicated if not for the clause. Leeds will undoubtedly want to recoup their investment or hope the American would stick around for the promotion push. Leeds agreed to sign Aaronson prior to the end of the

Leeds United chairman Andrea Radrizzani has seen a joint bid to rescue Italian club Sampdoria rejected by the Genovese club’s hierarchy. By Joe Donnohue Radrizzani’s Aser Group, in conjunction with Matteo Manfredi of Gestio Capital Partners, submitted an offer to purchase relegated Serie A side Sampdoria last week but have since been rebuffed by the club’s current ownership. In a statement released on Monday, Radrizzani urged all parties to act with expediency in order to secure the club’s future. "It is essential to act quickly," Radrizzani said, as quoted by Di Marzio. "Because every day of waiting means delays and the consequent danger of penalties against the club, also in view of the next championship. "In fact, Sampdoria risks suffering a loss of points or even not being entered in the competitions, which would have devastating consequences for the club and all its splendid and extraordinary fans. "Therefore, it is imperative that all parties

Premier League survival proved beyond Leeds United on a strange and bitterly disappointing final day of the season at Elland Road. By Graham Smyth There was still hope in the air as Sam Allardyce pulled up outside the West Stand and it was there in abundance as the game kicked off. But the manner in which Leeds conceded the opener told a tale about how things were going to go, long before results elsewhere rendered the Elland Road fixture meaningless. Here’s the YEP take on what went down as Leeds went down. Good day Georginio Rutter No one in Leeds colours had a good day, of course they didn’t, but at the very least the young man who was made the club’s record signing in January was given a chance to do something on the pitch. It has been a largely rotten time for Rutter since that transfer move from Hoffenheim and Allardyce declaring him one for next season had to hurt as much as the ‘we didn’t have a centre forward to replace Rodrigo’ comment after West Ham United. When

No one sets out to get relegated but collective failure at Leeds United has delivered the outcome Andrea Radizzani said was impossible. By Graham Smyth After three seasons in the Premier League, the Whites will once again return to the EFL and though this relegation is not the 2004 version, it can be described as nothing more than deserved. An error-strewn, hapless 4-1 defeat at home to Tottenham Hotspur on the final day confirmed what was already all-but inevitable. The final nail, perhaps, but in truth the coffin had been sealed by a raft of decisions over the course of 15 months or so. The succession plan following Marcelo Bielsa's sacking, the identification as Jesse Marsch as the best fit to follow the Argentine, the quality and depth of the recruitment targeted so specifically to the wrong man and his style of football, the opportunity missed to change the manager ahead of a World Cup break and transfer window, the January transfer window, the lateness of Marsch's s

Leeds United were relegated from the Premier League with a 4-1 loss to Tottenham Hotspur By Ben McKenna Junior Firpo was met with boos as he made his way off the Elland Road pitch following Sunday’s 4-1 loss to Tottenham Hotspur. The Whites’ relegation to the Championship was confirmed with their heavy defeat, but even a victory would not have been enough to move them out of 19th as Leicester City and Everton, with the latter clinching survival, both picked up final day wins. It was the third defeat in four games under Sam Allardyce, with the Whites managing just one point from their last four outings as they prepare to join Southampton and Leicester in the Championship. At full-time, YEP chief football writer Graham Smyth revealed how Firpo was booed as he followed behind Adam Forsahw, who was clapping the fans. He reported: “Adam Forshaw walking around applauding Elland Road and being applauded in return. Firpo is being booed as he follows.” The £13m signing from Barcelon

Sam Allardyce wants to sit down and talk about the future with relegated Leeds United but will not yet commit to staying on as manager. By Graham Smyth The Whites went out with a whimper rather than a bang, the 4-1 Elland Road defeat by Spurs on the final day removing all possibility of survival regardless of how results elsewhere went. Everton and Leicester City also went into the final day under the threat of relegation and it was the Toffees who claimed 17th place. Allardyce was brought in with four games remaining but failed to record a victory, ending his short tenure with a single point from a draw against Newcastle United. He has refused to categorically state that he wants to remain in post and lead the promotion charge in the Championship but will happily sit down to exchange thoughts on the future with the board. Prior to that, however, he says the ownership picture must be resolved. 49ers Enterprises are believed to remain keen on becoming full owners but the sale

Leeds United will pour over their unsuccessful battle against relegation from the Premier League over the coming days. By Mark Carruthers, Graham Smyth Sam Allardyce’s side made their way into the final 90 minutes of a long and testing season knowing only a win against Tottenham Hotspur would give them any chance of extending their top flight stay into a third season. But there seemed little doubt over the eventual outcome from the moment Harry Kane fired the visitors in front with just two minutes on the clock at Elland Road. Pedro Porro doubled Spurs advantage in the early stages of the second-half and although Jack Harrison briefly reduced the arrears for Leeds, Kane’s second of the day and a late goal from Lucas Moura condemned the Whites to a return to the second tier that many suspected had been coming throughout a lacklustre second half to the Premier League season. But YEP writer Graham Smyth believes the roots of the Whites’ relegation into the Championship were not so

Leeds United have apologised to supporters but offered no update on the ownership picture following relegation from the Premier League. By Graham Smyth The Whites went down with a whimper rather than a bang in a 4-1 Elland Road defeat on the final day of the season. They required a win and results of two other fixtures to go their way in order to survive but failed to do their own bit, conceding goals within two minutes of the start of each half. Although Jack Harrison hit back to make it 2-1, Spurs scored almost immediately through Harry Kane to restore their two-goal lead. Lucas Moura’s stoppage time goal was salt in the wound and with Everton beating Bournemouth to clinch 17th place, Leicester City joined Leeds in the Championship. Fans made their feelings known throughout the game, singing the name of ex boss Marcelo Bielsa, protesting Andrea Radrizzani’s ownership and chanting ‘sack the board.’ A statement released by the club after the game said: “Everyone connected with

The Leeds United Supporters' Trust (LUST) released a strongly-worded statement against club chairman Andrea Radrizzani and the board of directors following the team’s relegation from the Premier League. By Joe Donnohue “At the start of the season, Andrea Radrizzani brazenly dismissed the risk of a survival battle for Leeds United, claiming relegation was "impossible". “Well Andrea, it all feels very possible right now. “The responsibility for our relegation lies with the people in charge. In another long, frustrating, and depressing season, the club has either made the wrong decisions or taken too long to make the right ones, leading to poor and forced choices. “We won't list the failures and shortcomings here - it's plain to see what has gone wrong. It feels like a lifetime ago since the standards of Marcelo Bielsa turned this club into something Leeds United fans could be proud of, and we are now, quite literally, back in the same place we were 5 years

Phil Hay and Matt Slater To look at Andrea Radrizzani in the tunnel before Leeds United’s penultimate home game against Newcastle United, it was as if the club were demob-happy and headed for a dead rubber in the sun. He was relaxed and full of smiles, joshing with a group of mascots which included his son. He looked like a football club owner wants to look in the closing weeks of a season: calm and free of the weight of the world, like a Premier League chairman whose club are safe. But around him, some of Leeds’ staff were speculating about whether they would see him at Elland Road again. Would it be the last time he was there as majority shareholder, six years after he first bought in? His body language disguised the fact Leeds were on the road to relegation and it was conceivable that if the following fortnight went badly, their final home fixture would be one for him to miss: too toxic, too flammable, a day when frustration might turn on him. Radrizzani had been in tight co

By Patrick Boyland, Rob Tanner and more Leicester City and Leeds United have been relegated from the Premier League after a dramatic final day that saw Everton stay up. Abdoulaye Doucoure’s second-half strike saw Sean Dyche’s side beat Bournemouth 1-0, while Leeds were thrashed 4-1 at home to Tottenham Hotspur. Leicester beat West Ham United 2-1, but it wasn’t enough given Everton’s win. The Athletic analyses a dramatic 90 minutes of nail-biting action at the bottom of the table… Leeds go for six at the back in must-win game… and concede after two minutes in both halves You need a win to stay up, and even that might not be enough. You could do with a big swing in goal difference too. So what do you decide to do? If you’re Sam Allardyce, you name a starting line-up with six defenders in it and very little in the way of recognised attacking players, aside from Jack Harrison and Rodrigo. And then, as you settle into your position in the dug-out, you watch that defence-heavy team