Harrogate Town boss Simon Weaver declares Leeds United problem with 'laughed at' declaration and Whites plan — YEP 10/1/25
By Lee Sobot
Harrogate Town face Leeds United at Elland Road on Saturday
evening in the FA Cup third round.
Harrogate Town boss Simon Weaver has declared a Leeds United
problem with a ‘laughed at’ declaration and Whites plan.
Weaver’s League Two outfit are heading for a first ever
competitive fixture against nearby neighbours Leeds in Saturday evening’s third
round FA Cup clash for which Daniel Farke’s Championship leading Whites are
massive favourites.
There are 67 places between the two sides in the EFL ladder
and Weaver admits he would be “laughed out of town” by his players if he had
any “giddy expectations” of dominating in United’s own back yard.
Weaver, though, has outlined his side’s “steady mindset”
plan armed with ‘knowing what Leeds do’ - yet faced with the difficult problem
of stopping it.
Asked how to strike the balance of targeting a cup upset but
also knowing that his team won’t see much of the ball, Weaver declared:
"If I went in there with giddy expectations of dominating the game at
Elland Road I think I would be laughed out of town by the players.
"I've got to try and earn the credibility of the
players by preparing them and making them also aware of their strengths and
their patterns of play basically so we can go through that process together as
a team.
"Josh Falkingham (injured captain) has been heavily
involved with that because it has certainly given him a purpose the last couple
of weeks to really delve into the patterns of play for Leeds and the personnel
and they are regular patterns. We know what they do - it's just stopping them
that's difficult for Championship clubs right now!