Mighty Leeds Weblog

By Lee Sobot Leeds will return to action from their Blackburn beating with next weekend's hosting of Derby County. Whites defender Joe Rodon has delivered an angry Leeds United message upon his side "again" falling short in a specific triple aim. Leeds lined up for Saturday’s Championship clash at Blackburn Rovers knowing that a victory would send them back into top spot yet instead suffered a 1-0 defeat that has left Daniel Farke's Whites in third place. The setback arrived on the back of the previous weekend's 4-3 victory at Swansea City and Wednesday night's 3-0 win at home to Luton Town. Speaking to LUTV, Rodon revealed that United's "biggest motivation" at Blackburn concerned recording three quick wins on the spin as the defender expressed his disappointment at failing with that objective. Rodon, though, has quickly set his sights on next weekend's return to action at home to Derby County with an angry message from the Leeds ...

Exclusive: Josuha Guilavogui speaks to LeedsLive about his Leeds United transfer, early Elland Road influences and Joel Piroe's Instagram fun Footage of Eric Cantona and Olivier Dacourt in Leeds United white were enticing, but messages from one of the club’s post-relegation greats only reassured Josuha Guilavogui. The smile on the 34-year-old’s face, through every answer of this interview, only underlines how lucky he feels to be at Elland Road. The midfielder was out of contract after two significant injuries last season and, approaching 34, wondered if the right offer would come. As Guilavogui fleshes out more of his story, you begin to understand why he is such a positive, happy individual. He was knocked out on the pitch with Mainz last season and needed life-saving action from a referee after swallowing his tongue. Then there was the broken neck in 2016, which was only a few centimetres away from leaving him wheelchair-bound. You can see why he marvels at his surrounding...

By Graham Smyth Leeds United supporters were held in the entrance of Blackburn train station for over an hour on Saturday due to the latest rail failure and YEP chief football writer Graham Smyth got caught up in it. Requests for taxi rides to Leeds, Todmorden and various West Yorkshire towns began to ping up on my Uber driver's system. "Something must be wrong with the trains," he said as we made our way from Ewood Park to Blackburn train station at 4.30pm on Saturday afternoon. His inability to pick up a fare coming back the other way prevented him from accepting any of the jobs coming through, but they kept pinging. Upon arrival at the station it became immediately clear that he was right. Leeds fans were milling around the entrance with a trio of police officers watching on. One told me that they weren't letting the Leeds fans up to the platforms because there was a delay of some sort with the train. He encouraged me to try to reach his colleagues at the cor...

By Graham Smyth Leeds United fans have described train issues to and from Blackburn as a 'complete nightmare' as Northern Railway say an employee was subject to assault. Significant delays, overcrowding and hundreds being held back from the platforms at Blackburn station after the game are among the complaints of those impacted on Saturday. Northern have apologised to customers whose journeys were delayed by a track circuit failure on Saturday evening but have appealed for information over verbal and physical assaults to a member of staff who was attempting to convey information to the crowd in the station entrance. A spokesperson for Northern told the YEP: "We apologise to customers whose journeys were affected on Saturday at Blackburn station. Services were delayed due to a track circuit failure at Darwen. As with any large event, we work with British Transport Police and the local police force to help ensure large numbers of people can use the station safely. Unfo...

By Graham Smyth The YEP’s take and off-camera moments from Saturday’s defeat at Blackburn. Leeds United suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Blackburn Rovers for the second consecutive meeting as some of Daniel Farke's big names struggled to shine. The Whites were desperately poor in a first half that saw them go a goal down to Todd Cantwell's penalty. There was increased urgency in the second half but nothing in the way of an equaliser. Here's the YEP take. Good day John Eustace For the third time in succession he celebrated a 1-0 win over Daniel Farke's Leeds. And Rovers could argue it was deserved, given the header against the woodwork and the two golden chances missed by Todd Cantwell. Rovers did a job on Leeds with their physical defending. Subscribe to Inside Elland Road, with Graham Smyth for unique, behind-the-scenes Leeds United coverage, expert analysis and exclusive interviews Bad day Ao Tanaka By his standards this season, this was his w...

By Graham Smyth The YEP verdict is in on Leeds United’s 1-0 defeat at Blackburn Rovers. There are always potential narratives bubbling under the surface of any game, threads of storylines that threaten to become headlines. The players can usually be relied upon for those. At Ewood Park you had Leeds midfielder Joe Rothwell, back at the club where he enjoyed such regular football - 191 appearances to be precise - and blossomed as an attacking midfielder under the management of Tony Mowbray. On the other side you had Todd Cantwell and his Norwich City relationship with Farke. Whether you accept Cantwell's take on the 'barbaric' way he was treated by the Canaries or Farke's interpretation of the midfielder's mental and physical readiness for action, it's safe to say the bond soured. Goals or major contributions from either man would lend themselves to clichéd 'coming back to haunt' narratives. Then there's players returning to the line-u...

By Graham Smyth Leeds United’s slow start to the game and their approach to physical battles cost them dearly in a 1-0 defeat by Blackburn Rovers according to Daniel Farke. Farke found himself on the wrong end of a 1-0 defeat at the hands of John Eustance for the third meeting in a row, thanks to Todd Cantwell’s first half penalty. Ao Tanaka’s foul on Tyrhys Dolan was sufficient to decide the game, with Leeds struggling to show the attacking potency that was so evident in the last two outings. Leeds, who were sloppy in possession, did have their moments but found Aynsley Pears in fine form between the sticks for Rovers. Blackburn, who hit the crossbar before taking the lead, should have put the game beyond doubt in the second half but Cantwell spurned a pair of golden opportunities. The Whites manager congratulated Blackburn on their victory and felt it all stemmed from how the two sides began the fixture. “They had the better start and it was decisive and they deserved to win th...

Todd Cantwell’s first-half penalty clinched Blackburn Rovers a 1-0 victory over Leeds United at Ewood Park as Daniel Farke’s side missed out on the chance to return to the top of the Championship. Sheffield United’s defeat of Sunderland a day earlier meant Leeds came into this clash in second spot. And they fell short in their efforts to leapfrog the Blades after Cantwell’s 22nd-minute spot-kick secured Rovers’ third successive win and boosted their play-off challenge. The visitors pressed hard for an equaliser but when they did find the net, Largie Ramazani’s 82nd-minute effort was ruled out for offside. And had Cantwell made more to two good second-half chances, Blackburn’s margin of victory might have been even greater. John Eustace’s side were boosted by the midweek win at in-form Middlesbrough and they almost carried on where they left off when Yuki Onashi headed against the bar. It took Leeds time to settle but Farke’s side began to threaten once they got into their s...