Mighty Leeds Weblog

He's under increasing pressure from the in-form wingers for his place Goals and assists continue to flow from all but one part of Leeds United’s attack, making it hard to ignore Brenden Aaronson as a candidate for the chop. And yet, there is so much more to his role in Daniel Farke’s system than goals and assists, as the manager proudly proclaimed in a defence of the American’s importance. Largie Ramazani’s return to fitness in an already crowded battle for starts down the flanks has naturally led to considering how Farke fits more of those talents into the team. The statistics would suggest Aaronson is not doing enough as a central cog in the division’s best attack, but Farke’s latest assessment would suggest there is little chance of him being supplanted any time soon. On Sunday, for example, Aaronson covered more distance than any player in any Championship game this season, according to the German. That work rate, stamina, resilience and determination is holding the front...

By Leon Wobschall IF ANYONE can vouch for the tactical acumen of John Eustace, it’s Daniel Farke. Leeds United were beaten twice by a team managed by the Midlander last season and on each occasion, Farke’s side lost while failing to get on the scoresheet. Early on in 2023-24, Leeds lost out 1-0 to a Birmingham City side who made impressive strides under Eustace before his hugely controversial sacking, with Blues imploding after his departure. Eustace returned to management at Ewood Park in February and presided over a shock single-goal triumph for Blackburn at Elland Road in April to derail Leeds’ promotion bandwagon. The tactically smart side of Eustace was also showcased at the likes of Leicester and Sunderland last term, while it was in evidence on Wednesday when they stymied a free-scoring Middlesbrough side by virtue of a 1-0 win on Teesside. After impressing in a mid-block in the first half, Rovers’ low-block tactics frustrated Boro on the restart and they nicked a we...

No skidmarks Written by: Rob Conlon Five minutes into the game, my dad turned to me and asked whether Pascal Struijk was playing left-back. Struijk was indeed standing by the left touchline, with Manor Solomon ahead of him on the left wing, begging the question, where the hell was Sam Byram? Eventually, we spotted him: he was spearheading Leeds’ attack as a centre-forward. Obviously. For all the frustrations and criticisms that Leeds are too cautious under Daniel Farke, his players sure do have a licence for adventure. Although that didn’t make what happened a few minutes later any less surprising. We knew Byram was a good footballer from the moment he scored his first ever goal for United as a teenager most of us had never previously heard of, skinning two Oxford defenders before chipping their goalkeeper in a League Cup tie way back in 2012. Really though, Sam, a scissor kick? Where the fucking hell did that come from? Byram returned to Leeds last year a very different player...

Adam Williams Leeds United have long harboured ambitions to expand Elland Road in order to satisfy the demand of one of world football’s most passionate and loyal fanbases. Sell-out crowds are the norm in LS11, where Leeds generated annual matchday income of £29.9m at the last count. That was among the highest in the country. Granted, that statistic is taken from the last published financial year, 2022-23, when Leeds were still a Premier League club. Infographic showing Leeds United's stadium capacity and how much matchday income they earned at Elland Road in the last financial year. But even in the Championship, Elland Road is likely to be the most lucrative ground in 2024-25 – and potentially by quite a margin. But with a flurry of English clubs rolling out plans to either expand their stadiums or potentially even rebuild them from the ground up, the Whites know they can’t stand still. In September, Leeds announced plans to expand Elland Road, from 37,645 to around 53...

By Graham Smyth Leeds United are rolling at Elland Road with six straight wins and just one goal conceded in that time and at the other end unlikely sources are chipping in. It was Swansea City defender Ben Cabango who scored unexpectedly for the Whites on Sunday, before Sam Byram took his turn with a Paulo di Canio style volley in the victory over Luton Town. Leeds were once again well worth their win and went back to the top of the Championship table. Here’s the YEP take. Good day: Sam Byram. One of, if not his best performance this season for Leeds and he capped it with a fine goal. What a full-back is doing scoring a spectacular scissor-kick volley is anyone's guess but the goal settled any potential nerves and took away Luton's hopes of a smash-and-grab. Good day: Ao Tanaka. The Japan international is stringing together a superb run of classy performances and this was another. He oozes class on the ball and wins it back so well when teams are trying to break on Lee...

Here are our five talking points from Leeds United's 3-0 win over Luton Town at Elland Road in the Championship as the hosts dominate from start to finish en route to the top of the table Sunday’s performances across the wingers had painted Daniel Farke into something of a corner going into last night’s win for Leeds United. Daniel James and Manor Solomon looked untouchable after their goals and assists, while Wilfried Gnonto had bagged from the bench and been Farke’s most-used attacker before the Wales trip. It felt like the manager would try to recall his 21-year-old where possible, which left Brenden Aaronson standing out as the most likely route for Gnonto. And yet, it was James, he of three-assist (one didn’t count for the own goal) fame, who dropped out of the side. The 27-year-old has not missed a match since returning from injury in the Sheffield United win. Post-match, Farke confirmed assumptions the rotation was purely a minute-managing exercise, with a third match ...

By Graham Smyth Changing a winning team is one thing, removing a winning team's star performer is quite another. Managers have to get big calls right and right now Daniel Farke is. It was a big call to swap out Daniel James and bring Willy Gnonto back into the starting line-up for the Elland Road clash with Luton Town. At Swansea City James was responsible for seeing up three goals, including Gnonto's winner. But as Gnonto himself pointed out after Sunday's win, there are so many games in the Championship that starting every single one is not a reasonable expectation - not least when there are four very good wingers fighting for two spots. Farke had made a big call to leave Gnonto out on Sunday as he deliberately targeted the space in behind a high Swansea line with James' pace on one side and Solomon on the other and it paid dividends. Whatever the grumbles when it comes to the manager, his style, his substitutions or anything else, there always appears to be mor...

By Graham Smyth Leeds United boss Daniel Farke admits he was nervous about the big selection decision he made ahead of a 3-0 win over Luton Town. An early goal from Sam Byram all-but settled the contest with Luton Town offering very little in the way of forward endeavour. The Hatters did manage to fashion a pair of chances in the first half, taking neither, before Joel Piroe put things beyond doubt in stoppage time. Substitute Daniel James added a third late on to ice the cake. The win sent Leeds back to the top of the Championship table on the merit of goal difference, while level on 35 points with Sheffield United. Leeds have won their last three games and taken maximum points from the last six at Elland Road. Before the game the only real talking point was Farke’s decision to take James out of the starting line-up and go with Manor Solomon and Willy Gnonto. Though both Solomon and Gnonto found the net against Swansea City on Sunday, James set up three goals and put in what t...

Leeds United regained top spot after comfortably beating Luton Town Manager Daniel Farke has explained why he decided to leave Daniel James out of his starting line-up in Leeds United's convincing home win over Luton Town. United moved back to the top of the Championship after racking up a sixth successive home win. Full-back Sam Byram gave them an early lead, scoring his first goal of the season in spectacular fashion. His scissor-kick volley was a thing of beauty. Top-scorer Joel Piroe doubled their advantage on the stroke of half-time. The Dutch forward slammed in his seventh goal of the season after Thomas Kaminski could only parry Pascal Struijk's header from a Joe Rothwell corner. The hosts were forced to wait until the 81st minute to put the contest out of Luton's reach. Substitute James latched onto Jayden Bogle's inch perfect through ball before expertly lifting the ball over the advancing Kaminski. Farke opted to drop James to the bench, despite his ou...

Luton Town remain in the bottom half of the Championship Rob Edwards admits his Luton Town side "couldn't get" near Leeds United this evening. Goals either side of half-time from Sam Byram, Joel Piroe and substitute Daniel James condemned the Hatters to a fifth consecutive away defeat. They are now winless in their last 10 away league fixtures against United (D2 L8). Town boss Edwards said Elland Road is "the toughest place to come in the Championship at the moment". (It) Looked that way tonight," he said. Describing the Whites as a "high-quality opponent", Edwards said the Hatters "couldn't get near them". He bemoaned the timing of United's second goal. Piroe doubled their advantage on the stroke of half-time after the visitors switched off from a corner. Edwards was left "deeply" frustrated by their defending from the set play. Defeat leaves Edwards' side in 16th position, three points above the relegati...

By Kyle Newbould The allegations surround Leeds United’s meeting with West Brom in 2019. Leeds United say they have 'full confidence' in the footballing authorities following allegations surrounding a yellow card shown by referee David Coote in 2019. The Sun claim Coote discussed the prospect of booking Ezgjan Alioski with a Leeds fan before the Championship clash against West Bromwich Albion in October 2019, a game in which the North Macedonian was shown a yellow card for a challenge on Darnell Furlong. The 42-year-old strongly denies any wrongdoing and refuted those allegations on Wednesday. Coote said in a statement: “I strongly refute these false and defamatory allegations. Whatever issues I may have had in my personal life they have never affected my decision-making on the field. I have always held the integrity of the game in the highest regard, refereeing matches impartially and to the best of my ability.” The FA have said they are investigating the ‘very serio...

The Sun newspaper claims Coote booked then-Leeds player Ezgjan Alioski in a match against West Brom in October 2019, then messaged a friend saying: "I hope you backed as discussed"; Coote refutes "false and defamatory allegations" David Coote 'strongly refutes' an allegation he discussed giving a yellow card before Leeds' game against West Brom in 2019 David Coote has refuted allegations he discussed giving a yellow card before a match. The Sun newspaper claims Coote booked then-Leeds player Ezgjan Alioski in a match against West Brom in October 2019, then messaged a friend saying: "I hope you backed as discussed." In response to the allegations, Coote said: "I strongly refute these false and defamatory allegations. Whatever issues I may have had in my personal life they have never affected my decision-making on the field. "I have always held the integrity of the game in the highest regard, refereeing matches impartially and...

By Stuart Rayner DANIEL FARKE knows a thing or two about winning the Championship, so you should sit up and take notice when he gets the whiff of team spirit in his nostrils. Now the job of Leeds United's manager is to relentlessly drive it all the way to the Premier League. The quest continues on Wednesday at home to a Luton Town team who have so far been unable to recreate the battling qualities that were such a feature of their time in the top flight last season. And if Luton made one small step forward by beating Hull City on Saturday, Leeds made a psychological leap at Swansea City. Their defending was uncharacteristically lax in south Wales but the fact they conceded a 90th-minute equaliser then came back to win 4-3 delighted Farke, who commented afterwards that: "This character and this mentality is sometimes more important than the football skills." The dust might have settled and the clothes just about dried out, but Farke's abiding emotion from the...

By Dan Emery Leeds United are currently top of the Championship table and are on course to secure an automatic promotion to the Premier League this season. The Whites are ahead of Sunderland and Sheffield United on goal difference after 16 outings in the second tier, having won in Wales against Swansea on Sunday. Daniel Farke's side scored in the 91st minute to secure all three points in a dramatic 4-3 victory over Luke Williams' team, thanks to a strike from Wilfried Gnonto. The Italian youngster came off the bench to score the winning goal after being selected to start the game on the bench, as Manor Solomon was picked ahead of him and scored two of the team's first three goals on the day. Swansea thought they had snatched a late point against the Whites when they made it 3-3 in the 90th minute, only for Gnonto to score within a minute after the restart. It was the 21-year-old star's third goal, to go along with five assists, in 16 Championship appearances...

This match had every type of typical Leeds goal, for and against, and from that we can conclude — what? By Moxcowhite • Daniel Chapman Hi there, here's something about getting lots of information and no real conclusions — This game might be permission to stop searching for some grand unifying theory of Daniel Farke's Leeds United. Instead you can just watch the games happen and let them surprise you because if you allow them to they might. Against Swansea, Leeds were weaving in and out of their lane. There were goals against them that they brought upon themselves. There were goals for them that bubbled from their habitual dominance. There was life in the game from playing against a team that also values possession, letting us accuse all those six-at-the-back bores elsewhere for dragging Leeds into the ennui of trying to batter a big parked bus. Then Leeds played so well at times in Swansea that the game was forced into that attack against defence mould anyway. There was...

health warning Written by : Rob Conlon Mateo Joseph’s brain was fried and who could blame him? Two minutes earlier, he’d been standing in front of the away end open-mouthed, wondering what the hell was going on, holding onto the only certainty in his life: Willy Gnonto. The last thing Joseph needed was Swansea’s goalkeeper succumbing to an inevitable breakdown, leaving him with an open goal when all he wanted was the referee to blow the final whistle so we could all salvage any last semblance of sanity. When the ball first landed at his feet, the penalty area was empty. By the time he finally shot, he was one of twelve players to have appeared in the box. He didn’t score, but nobody could get too angry. Everyone just needed a lie down. Make no mistake, this was Leeds United at our psychedelic best. Pat Bamford even grew a Sgt Pepper’s ‘stache for the occasion. While Pascal Struijk giddily ran to join the knees-up in the aftermath of Wilf’s winner, brimming with the ecstasy of bei...

By Lee Sobot Whites boss Daniel Farke has already held his pre-Luton press conference. Boss Daniel Farke has provided his Leeds United team news for Wednesday night's swift return to Championship action at home to Luton Town. Winger Largie Ramazani was an unused substitute for Sunday's thrilling 4-3 win at Swansea City having returned to the bench upon recovering from an ankle injury. Ramazani had been out since damaging ligaments in the 2-1 win at home to Watford on October 22 and was thought to be facing up to six weeks out. As part of a welcome boost, the Belgian returned to the matchday squad for the weekend's clash in South Wales, leaving club captain Ethan Ampadu, fellow midfielder Ilia Gruev and also now Isaac Schmidt as the only three men out injured. Farke had revealed last week that Schmidt had recently had surgery on a hernia issue but that he was expected back in training this week having had the operation at the start of the international break. S...

By Graham Smyth The road to promotion went through South Wales and though it was paved with hazards, Leeds United continued to move in the right direction. From now until March Leeds' world is wall-to-wall Championship football with breaks only for more club action when the FA Cup interjects. International football takes a back seat until mid-March and as Daniel Farke put it, the Championship table will now make itself. Leeds set out on this 22-game slog as the league leaders, thanks to what happened in Swansea City. Predictions on how the journey will look or where Leeds will find themselves at the end of it should be based on everything that has been seen so far this season, rather than everything seen in the 4-3 victory over the Swans. This was an outlier. This was a game not to draw conclusions from, but joy. Sometimes, rarely admittedly, but sometimes a game comes along that is so unexpectedly wild and entertaining that it is simply to be enjoyed. This was one of those...

By James Reeves Former Leeds United owner Andrea Radrizzani has defended the work he did during his time in charge at Elland Road, and he has also hinted that he tried to bring Marcelo Bielsa back to the club before they were relegated to the Championship. Radrizzani first became involved with Leeds when he purchased a 50% stake in the club in January 2017 before taking full ownership five months later when he bought out controversial co-owner Massimo Cellino's 50% share. The Italian's first year as sole owner of the Whites was disappointing, and they finished 13th in the Championship table, with both Thomas Christiansen and Paul Heckingbottom failing to inspire a promotion push. However, Radrizzani hired Bielsa as Leeds manager in June 2018, and after losing to Derby County in the play-off semi-finals in his first year in charge, the Argentinian led the club to the Championship title in the 2019-20 season, ending their 16-year Premier League exile. Radrizzani began t...