Mighty Leeds Weblog

By Graham Smyth Leeds United welcomed Will Ferrell to Elland Road on Saturday but gave their minority stakeholder little to laugh about as they flopped to a 1-0 defeat to Burnley. The Whites might have dominated play but the difference was in how clinical Burnley were with their one big chance. Leeds missed both of their golden opportunities and then failed to break down the visitors' defensive shell in the second half. This is the YEP take. Good day: Junior Firpo The left-back has started the season well and continued his run of solid outings against Burnley. His and Manor Solomon's early work made Leeds' left flank dangerous. What's more he was solid defending, too. There was some leadership on display too, with words for players not doing their bit properly. Good day: James Trafford This was a goalkeeping performance that made a difference. Foiling Willy Gnonto from close range, tipping Ethan Ampadu's effort over the bar and coming to take crosses und

By Richard Sutcliffe Leeds United suffered a first Championship defeat of the season as two of the early-season favourites for promotion from the Championship went head-to-head at Elland Road. Luca Koleosho, Burnley’s Connecticut-born Italian youth international, settled a hard-fought War of the Roses match with a composed finish, meaning even a red card for Bashir Humphreys in the eighth minute of stoppage time could not take the shine off a great day for Scott Parker’s men. The Athletic looks at some of the major talking points. Mistakes on (and off?) the pitch “I’m in a glass case of emotion,” is how Ron Burgundy — aka actor Will Ferrell — would perhaps have best summed up his first appearance at Elland Road since becoming a minority investor in Leeds United. The lead character from 1970s parody film Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy boasts a number of familiar catchphrases, including “Stay classy, San Diego” and “By the beard of Zeus”. But, on an afternoon when Le

By Graham Smyth Daniel Farke cannot allow Elland Road to become the Championship's bus stop if he and Leeds United are to continue in the same direction of travel. The story of Burnley's visit to LS11 was a familiar one. Missed chances - golden ones at that - at one end and a somewhat gifted goal at the other. A visiting team parking up outside their box and protecting a slender lead without enough hassle. Leeds earned 90 points last season, as you might have heard Farke mention once or twice. Rightfully so, because with that kind of points tally it was fair for him or anyone upstairs at Elland Road to look a little baffled or aggrieved that it wasn't sufficient for promotion. That kind of points tally, a play-off final defeat by a single-goal margin and the expectation that lightning will not strike twice in the second tier meant there was little to no question that 49ers Enterprises would take the matter of promotion out of their manager's hands. From the outs

By Graham Smyth Leeds United boss Daniel Farke was ‘encouraged’ by his side’s dominance despite the obvious frustrations in a 1-0 defeat by Burnley. The Whites were made to rue a pair of missed opportunities in the first half as both Mateo Joseph and Willy Gnonto failed to put the hosts ahead. Joseph went clean through after a minute only to shoot wide and Gnonto was played into a one-v-one situation with keeper James Trafford, who produced a fine save. And when Burnley were presented with a chance of their own, from Manor Solomon’s slip, they made no mistake. Luca Koleosho raced clear from his own half, Jayden Bogle failed to get close enough to stop the shot and Illan Meslier was rooted to the spot. For all their possession in both halves, Leeds struggled to break the visitors down once the goal went in and Trafford responded well to anything that did get through. Referee James Bell gave Leeds a last-gap chink of light with a red card for Bashir Humphreys but it came too late i

By Leon Wobschall LEEDS UNITED head coach Daniel Farke stressed that he was happy with his side’s level of performance against Burnley, despite witnessing a 1-0 reverse at Elland Road as they made a losing start after returning to action following the international break. The only goal of the game came on 18 minutes when Luca Koleosho raced clear after a slip from Manor Soloman and netted in clinical fashion. Clinical was not the word to describe Leeds, with Mateo Joseph missing a huge early chance, while Willy Gnonto missed a one-on-one opportunity later in the first period with impressive Clarets keeper James Trafford making a big save. Trafford also made two key second-half saves to deny Joseph and Ethan Ampadu, whle Leeds saw a very strong penalty shout rebuffed in the opening 45 minutes when Solomon went down following a challenge from behind by Joe Worrall. Despite his side not being as convincing on the resumption, Farke felt that United’s performance, given the fact i

By Leon Wobschall Regarding Leeds’ first performance on their resumption following international business, the mark was a middling to poor C-. Burnley did not have to produce an A-star display, but it was enough on the day. Leeds had a few select moments, especially in the first half, but aside from a couple of occasions, there was an alarming drop-off in the second period. Instead of knocking on the door, Leeds tapped at it tentatively, despite a surfeit of possession. Back in numbers and organised, Burnley were happy enough. There was a lack of urgency and wit from Leeds, it was all too methodical. Burnley weren’t great, but didn’t have to be, more importantly. It made for a frustrating spectacle, much like United’s previous Saturday lunch-time match at West Brom last month, albeit for different reasons. The game-breaking episode came on 18 minutes and it was a Burnley moment, courtesy of Luca Koleosho’s very good finish. From Leeds’ perspective, it was a very poor

By Georgia Goulding The Elland Road regular wants to be sure of something before he puts pen to paper. Leeds United will return to Championship action this weekend when they host Burnley at Elland Road. Just one point currently separates the two sides, who are both leading candidates in the battle for promotion this season. Leeds are unbeaten in their first four Championship fixtures, with two wins and two draws on the board. Junior Firpo has been an ever-present figure so far this season and following the interest shown in him over the summer, there is some good news for Leeds fans who were reluctant to see him leave. Clubs had been monitoring Firpo’s situation while the transfer window was open, as his current contract is due to expire at the end of the season. With January already quickly approaching, rival teams are clear to discuss pre-contract talks with the 28-year-old once the new year rolls in. However, according to TEAMtalk, the left-back is ‘open to extending his s

RIP Big Sol Written by: Calum Archibald In an era at Leeds United where owners and managers came and went quicker than players at times, Sol Bamba was a rarity. Bamba’s infectious smile and positive leadership galvanised a squad and fanbase that was far beyond jaded when he arrived in January 2015. For context on how recent that really was, he replaced Liam Cooper as captain early in his spell for a game in which Alex Mowatt scored the winner. When I first read the news that Bamba had passed away, I didn’t know whether to believe it or not — the truth is that I really didn’t want to believe it. Bamba was the sort of character that Leeds fans love because he was always honest and unwavering in his beliefs. That bore out when he tore into Cellino and the club after his loan spell from Palermo ended in the summer of 2015. “I don’t know what is going to happen with me,” Bamba said. “But it doesn’t matter if I am staying or not. The club deserves better, and I think the person in

by Kris Sanyal Diego Llorente has claimed that it was Real Betis’ insistence on signing him that convinced him to join the Spanish side from Leeds United in the summer transfer window. The Spanish defender moved on from Leeds last summer after he spent last season on loan at Roma but this time, he decided to return to Spain. Roma were also interested in him and several other clubs were keen to sign Llorente but the defender took the call to move to Real Betis on a permanent deal. Llorente was never going to stay at Leeds as Max Wober who also returned to the club from a loan spell and the Spaniard was clear about finding a way out of his Elland Road contract. Llorente insisted that it was the way Betis were persistent about signing him in the summer that convinced him to move to the Spanish club. He admitted that it was very clear early on that Betis were desperate to sign him and made it apparent that he was going to be a key player in their team if he joined them. The S

By Nancy Froston Brenden Aaronson and Joel Piroe are not the same type of footballer. The two players themselves know this. So does Daniel Farke, their Leeds United manager. Farke has been asked about it regularly in recent weeks as his Championship team look for the most effective way to cope with last month’s £40million ($52.2m) sale of Georginio Rutter to Brighton & Hove Albion. Leeds did not sign an outright No 10 to replace Rutter and it looks like Aaronson and Piroe are the candidates for that role, at least until the window reopens in January. Aaronson, Piroe and others have taken turns in the position since Rutter’s exit. Aaronson looks to be a more natural fit there, although he has also been used out wide. When Piroe plays as a No 10, he interprets the role as a deep-lying second striker but he has also been used up front as a classic No 9. With the window now closed and, in Farke’s words, no “traditional Diego Maradona No 10” in the squad, can Leeds get the best

Typical Leeds Written by: Jonny Cooper August seemed to be a month of threes for Leeds: a 3-3 draw on opening day, followed by a 3-0 defeat in the cup, followed by three clean sheets. According to the song, three is a magic number, but it didn’t seem that way after our third game of August, our third goalless draw of 2024. Two lots of three points to end the month suddenly makes everything look a lot better, and our number three is currently the joint most creative Championship player this year with nine assists. Let’s take a deeper statistical look at August. Leeds 3 Portsmouth 3 It may be a little-known fact, and whether you would class this as a record is entirely up to you, but Leeds do hold the longest run in Football League history of unbeaten opening games, a run of twenty between 1990 and 2009 in which Leeds didn’t lose on the opening day of the league season. Since then, there’s been some high points (Luke Murphy against Brighton, Stoke under Marcelo Bielsa) and some l

By Kyle Newbould Archie Gray had been involved with the first-team for almost two years before his Leeds United debut. Stuart Dallas was struck by the commitment of Archie Gray during his formative years in and around the Leeds United first-team, knowing early on the teenager was destined for great things. Gray enjoyed a breakout campaign at Leeds last season, only making a senior debut in the opening-weekend draw at home to Cardiff City before cementing his place in Daniel Farke’s side. The academy prospect excelled at right-back and in midfield, showing the kind of versatility his experienced teammate Dallas built a reputation on. But Gray had been among the first-team squad for a number of years before that debut and was working alongside his more senior teammates at Thorp Arch while completing his studies, often having to balance the two. And it was that commitment to such long and testing days that left Dallas knowing big things would come for the teenager. "Archie

By Graham Smyth Leeds United's squad is strong enough for promotion after a 'B+' graded window, despite unsuccessful attempts to sign Emi Buendia and Gustavo Hamer. That's the view of CEO Angus Kinnear, who sat down for his annual appearance on The Square Ball podcast to discuss the summer transfer business, high profile sales, Daniel Farke's recent comments about the lack of traditional number 10 and stadium redevelopment plans. Kinnear's belief is that Leeds emerged from a window that saw the departure of three key players in Archie Gray, Crysencio Summerville and Georginio Rutter, with a squad that still boasts one of the highest values in Championship history and has one of the top two wage bills in the division. "We certainly think the squad is strong enough for promotion," he said. "I think we have, if you look at the value of the squad, I think it's probably one of the highest valued squads in the history of the Championship. I

Premium experience Written by: Rob Conlon Like the Yorkshire Evening Post reporting on the city of Leeds potentially getting a tram system once a year, Angus Kinnear made his now annual appearance on The Square Ball podcast and provided the latest update on the 49ers Enterprises’ plans to expand Elland Road stadium. On the stadium redevelopment, the big update is that an even bigger update is coming soon, although it sounds like the plans for a 60,000 capacity that Kinnear mentioned on the podcast in 2021 have been revised slightly: “The good news about the stadium is, for the first time in the six and a half years or seven years that I’ve been involved in the club, I think we’ve got some real traction behind the stadium. So the 49ers have committed a multimillion-pound sum on putting together a project team which has environmentalists, transport planners, the design team, the structural engineers, the mechanical engineers. “That team now is meeting two or three times a week

Peppa Pig! Written by: William Almond It’s 2024, three years after Gjanni Alioski last pulled on a Leeds United shirt, and I’m watching a grainy stream of the extended highlights from Faroe Islands v North Macedonia. He didn’t even start. I’m still here though, flying the flag for Gjanni. Playing from the bench, or not at all, is something Alioski has got used to in recent years. His last game at club level came over a year ago, on August 29th, 2023. With Al-Ahli throwing money at Riyad Mahrez, Roberto Firmino and Allan Saint-Maximin — among others — last season, Alioski was left unregistered due to rules limiting the number of foreign players. These days he’s a free agent. And while he had continued to start for his country, this recent international break featured just one substitute appearance over two games. It does feel as if it all might be coming to an end for Alioski on the pitch. The timing is perhaps not ideal for a eulogy. Junior Firpo, brought in as Alioski’s replac