Mighty Leeds Weblog

By Graham Smyth Leeds United have raised their standards and expectations too high to simply hide behind Arsenal's quality and brush a 4-0 beating under the carpet. Daniel Farke was in no mood to linger in his post-match interviews, keen to move on to games that better represent Leeds' actual fight this season - games like Nottingham Forest at home on Friday night. But having shown themselves to be a problem for just about everyone else at Elland Road this season, Leeds could reasonably have been expected to do a bit better than they did in Saturday's meeting with the Premier League leaders. And even if a hangover is to be avoided at all costs given the identity of the next opponents and the magnitude of the next game, the Gunners' salvo left Farke and the Whites with much to ponder. Arsenal suffered a double blow even before the game. On Friday they suffered the ignominy - nay the horror - of having to travel to Yorkshire on a coach, when fog ruled out a flight t...

By Leon Wobschall LEEDS United manager Daniel Farke took his side's comprehensive 4-0 home loss to title favourites Arsenal firmly on the chin - and acknowledged that the hosts could not contain 'the best side currently in Europe'. The league leaders shrugged off a three-match winless sequence to post an emphatic victory at Elland Road, as they took their goals tally against Leeds this season to nine goals in two matches. The result also constituted Arsenal's seventh successive league triumph over United. Martin Zubimendi headed Arsenal in front on 27 minutes and a clanger from Karl Darlow gift-wrapped a second before half-time. Viktor Gyokeres then scored his third goal against Leeds this season to settle the issue as a meaningful contest and substitute Gabriel Jesus added a late fourth. Farke, whose side lost for the first time in six home matches, said: "First of all, congratulations to Arsenal. It was a deserved win today. We have to accept that the b...

By Leon Wobschall DETAILS are decisive, remarked Daniel Farke ahead of this game and never was a truer sentence spoken. Leeds United’s mask slipped twice from a defensive perspective when the game was live in the first half against the team whom you simply cannot afford to do that against in top-of-the-table and set-piece kings Arsenal. Martin Zubimendi was left unattended to guide in a clinical header to ease the Gunners’ early nerves on 27 minutes and just over 10 minutes later, an atrocious concession doubled the Londoners’ advantage when Karl Darlow horribly punched the ball into his own net. A killer third would arrive on 69 minutes. Again, Leeds defending was poor with the recalled Viktor Gyokeres finishing well for his third goal against United this term. Gabriel Jesus added a late fourth as Leeds’ rearguard palpitated as the half wore on in worrying fashion. It was not the preparation you would wish for ahead of a big home game against Nottingham Forest. All told,...

By Mark Carruthers There are just days to go in the January transfer window as Leeds United look to add a striker to Daniel Farke's squad. A striker is at the top of the agenda for Leeds United as the January transfer window rapidly approaches its final days. With just five days left to complete further deals, the Whites have only added one new face to their ranks after securing a loan deal for Brighton and Hove Albion attacking midfielder Facundo Buonanotte and the Argentina international made his debut as a second-half substitute in Monday’s draw at Premier League rivals Everton. There have been two outgoing loans after Jack Harrison and Harry Gray agreed to spend the rest of the season with Fiorentina and Rotherham United respectively and the latter made a mark with his first senior goal in the Millers 2-1 home win against Northampton Town on Tuesday. For Leeds, the focus is now on securing the services of another striker to provide competition for Dominic Calvert-Lewin ...

No doomscroll Written by: Rob Conlon Leeds United are so close to proving they’re an excellent team that belongs in the Premier League. And that’s what makes winning only a very decent point at Everton so frustrating. After a weekend that sent even the most level-headed of supporters taking a nervous glance over their shoulders at the two sides directly below United picking up precious victories, Leeds went to Everton with everyone bracing themselves for a big dollop of post-match self-loathing. Or I was at least. It’s been a while, to be fair — a little over two months since a fan was so exasperated with Daniel Farke’s inaction during the home defeat to Aston Villa he ran into the dugout to tell Leeds’ manager what everyone else was thinking. Sometimes it’s easier that way. Occasionally I almost miss it. At least you know where you stand when you’re feeling pissed off; even if it’s in a dark room on your own, illuminated only by the light from your phone screen as you doomscro...

By Stuart Rayner Daniel Farke is not a gambler. In the first half of Leeds United's first game at Bramley Moore Dock, their manager saw "one of the best away performances we've shown". In the second, you wondered if his conservatism held them back. A 1-1 at Everton, a 10th undefeated game from 11, was a good night's work. It could, maybe should, have been better, but then again it could certainly have been worse. All football fans like their managers to be gamblers, but only winning gamblers. Tottenham Hotspur loved Ange Postecoglou's buccaneering football in season one as they finished fifth in the Premier League. Not so in season two, down in 17th. There was no Elland Road mutiny when Marcelo Bielsa's second Premier League season took a downturn but the football stopped working. After his sacking, Leeds only escaped relegation on the final day. The fans who loved Bielsa’s bravery are suspicious of Farke’s caution and negativity. The first c...

Leeds United senior figures had a reunion with one familiar name at Everton Isaac Johnson Leeds United reporter Leeds United will wake up this morning satisfied with an away point at Everton, perhaps with a hint of regret that it wasn’t more. But that’s four points taken off a Premier League regular home and away - a good return. James Justin’s goal was ultimately cancelled out by Thierno Barry’s clever finish in the second period, in what was very much a game of two halves. The 1-1 draw sees Leeds go six points clear of West Ham United in 18th - which is better than five. They came to yet another top flight stalwart and managed to bag a result - something not to be sniffed at. That’s now one defeat in 10 games. Leeds continue to roll on their momentum with Arsenal in town on Saturday. First, here are a few moments fans may have missed throughout Monday’s match. Key figures in attendance Paraag Marathe was present for the game, alongside sporting director Adam Underwood a...

By Graham Smyth The Verdict on Leeds United’s 1-1 Premier League draw at Everton on Monday. Leeds United cannot turn their noses up at what they took home from one of the Premier League's fine and fancy establishments. Everton have been pretty indifferent this season as their Premier League position showed prior to welcoming the Yorkshire hordes to Merseyside. They are yet to grace their brand new stadium at Bramley Dock with exactly what Toffees supporters want to see on a regular basis and this game completed an aesthetically pleasing sequence of home results - won four, drawn four, lost four. Consistently inconsistent, perhaps. But this is still Everton, stalwarts of the Premier League, a club who have circled the drain but found a way to stay at the top level. David Moyes knows a lot about a lot. And dotted around a squad full of top flight experience are star men like Iliman Ndiaye. AFCON winner and ball-carrying genius. Ndiaye's first run in the opening couple of ...

By Stuart Rayner For 45 minutes, Leeds United were excellent on their first visit to Bramley Moore Dock, dominating Everton tactically, winning the run of midfield and attacking with verve and energy. But having got themselves in front through James Justin, they did not have the courage to take the final step. Pushed back by the much-improved hosts, a submissive second half forced them to settle for a point which is a good result for them against now-top-half opposition, but ought to have been a better one. On paper, Leeds' team-sheet looked conservative with two midfield bodyguards in Ilia Gruev and Ethan Ampadu but allowed Anton Stach and Duracell Bunny Brenden Aaronson to play in front of them, and Jayden Bogle to find plenty of space on the right. It was only in the second half they slipped into safety-first mode – or rather were forced into it. Everton won two corners inside the first four minutes, but it would prove a false dawn as Leeds quickly took control of midf...

Everton 1-1 Leeds: Thierno Barry cancelled out James Justin’s opener in a game of two halves Richard Jolly at Hill Dickinson Stadium For Everton, it was at least a night when they need not rue letting the most prolific Englishman in the Premier League this season leave on a free transfer. Dominic Calvert-Lewin hit the post in his first reunion with his old club. But Thierno Barry, the striker Everton signed to replace him, scored, a second terrific goal in as many weeks sparing them defeat. While there were a few boos for Calvert-Lewin, Barry’s name rang around Hill Dickinson Stadium. He and his fellow forward Beto have been the butt of many a joke, a seemingly goal-shy pair forever being swapped for each other. But Barry now has four goals in his last five league outings. After failing to score with any of his first 15 shots in the Premier League, he has found the net with five of the last 10. And if, like Everton, he was utterly ineffectual before the break, he was much better ...

By Lee Sobot Leeds United took on Everton at the club’s new Hill Dickinson Stadium in Premier League Monday Night Football. A brilliant first-half display from Leeds United at Monday night’s Premier League hosts Everton ultimately only yielded a point as the club’s first visit to the Hill Dickinson Stadium ended in a 1-1 draw. The Toffees began brightly, Leeds surviving a couple of early corners either side of a Thierno Barry volley being deflected behind. United fired in their first attempt in the seventh minute but it proved wasteful, Pascal Struijk blazing over from the edge of the area with plenty of Whites men in the box. But a better chance arrived two minutes later as a flick from Anton Stach allowed Dominic Calvert-Lewin to get behind the Everton back line, the striker short on time and space but attempting to poke the ball past Jordan Pickford who blocked his attempt. Leeds were now pushing Everton back but another attack ended as James Justin fired well wide from ...

By Adam Pope BBC Radio Leeds reporter My mother would often say, before she died last year, that there was something valuable in the home in which she had lived with her husband George. Was it an heirloom or an antique, I wondered. George Watts, my stepfather, was chairman and director at Everton while also working for the club's owner John Moores at the Littlewoods Organisation. He was an astute businessman and dealt with club finances. As a youngster, I can recall legendary forward Bob Latchford coming to the house to discuss contracts. When George died in 1988, fellow club director and solicitor Keith Tamlin handled his estate. The filing cabinet rammed with club paraphernalia was emptied - except for one key document. It would remain undisturbed for a further 37 years until last summer, when I went through an experience familiar to many people who have lost a parent - one of painstakingly sifting through decades of paperwork. There were long-out-of-date policies...

Leeds United have opted against a sale this January James Smailes Leeds United will wait until the end of the season to sell Joe Gelhardt after opting against trying to push through a January move. The 23-year-old forward is currently on a season-long loan deal at Championship promotion hopefuls Hull City and has enjoyed the best season of his career to date. Gelhardt hasn't played since limping out of a Hull City home defeat to Middlesbrough at the beginning of December, but prior to his absence he had notched 10 goals in an impressive campaign. He is set to make his return to the Hull team this evening in their Championship match at Preston North End as he gets his season up and running once more. While the player expected to stay at the MKM Stadium for the season, Leeds held the option of a recall in January, but that option ended at the weekend as part of the loan agreement and now the player cannot be recalled by the Whites. Despite his impressive form, Leeds had no ...

By Graham Smyth A win was there for the taking for Daniel Farke's Leeds United against Fulham and because he sensed it, they got it. Now survival can be too. Fulham are no joke. A little streaky at times so far in this campaign but a very good Premier League side who brought a six-game unbeaten run to Elland Road with them. Even without their AFCON players and big characters like Calvin Bassey and Alex Iwobi, this was an excellent team and an excellent manager coming to Leeds full of confidence and ability. Beating such an outfit would be a feather in Leeds' cap no matter the wider context, yet the loss on Friday of key players Jaka Bijol and Anton Stach made victory more improbable and therefore all the more impressive. And Farke had big calls to make. Who to bring into the back line was a big decision in itself, but far from his biggest. Deciding to stick with Karl Darlow in goal, essentially dropping Lucas Perri over two high profile errors, was a huge call for the man...

By Graham Smyth The Leeds United manager saw his side win late on against Fulham on Saturday. Leeds United boss Daniel Farke declared the win over Fulham the Whites' best of the Premier League season so far after late injury blows before the game. Leeds were well worth the victory, even if it took stoppage time to secure it. They created enough chances to win the game but were wasteful in both halves. Brenden Aaronson squandered a one-on-one with the keeper in a first half that saw Leeds put pressure on for a spell, sandwiched by two more even periods. In the second half only one side looked likely to create anything and it was the hosts. Gabriel Gudmundsson shot wide from a great position, Dominic Calvert-Lewin did too but Leeds persisted. Farke went for it with an attacking double change and one of the men he brought on grabbed the winner. Ethan Ampadu's cross was volleyed home by Lukas Nmecha to send Elland Road into raptures. The context around the game, including t...

Leeds 1-0 Fulham: Daniel Farke's side continue to thrive at fortress Elland Road- and who's the Whites midfielder who could STAR at the World Cup? By NATHAN SALT - FOOTBALL REPORTER You don't always get what you deserve, not in the Premier League. Here was Leeds, hammering the Fulham door down for 90 minutes, as the Londoners played survival football, desperately trying to make it back to the team bus unscathed. That was until stoppage time began. The Leeds fans roared in hope more so than expectation at this stage and as players fell over as if on a slip-and-slide, the ball broke to Ethan Ampadu, the captain, wide on the right. He barely looked up before swinging his cross in for substitute Lukas Nmecha to score a thoroughly deserved goal that left Fulham and their head coach Marco Silva completely and utterly crestfallen. Leeds didn't get what they deserved down at Craven Cottage when Fulham delivered their own late suckerpunch. Here, in the eyes of Daniel...

Leeds 1-0 Fulham: The result keeps the Whites eight points clear of the Premier League’s relegation zone. Mark Walker Lukas Nmecha stepped off the bench to fire a stoppage-time winner as Leeds marked their tribute to former player Terry Yorath with a 1-0 win at Elland Road against Fulham. Nmecha, an 81st-minute replacement for Jayden Bogle, latched on to skipper Ethan Ampadu’s cross in the first minute of added time to clinch victory, which keeps Leeds eight points clear of the Premier League’s relegation zone. Daniel Farke’s side dominated after an even first half, but after failing to take their chances, it appeared in-form Fulham would extend their unbeaten run to seven league matches. In front of Leeds great Eddie Gray, who celebrated his 78th birthday, the home side wore black armbands in honour of Yorath, who died earlier this month aged 75, while there was a minute’s applause for the former Wales midfielder and manager before kick-off. Yorath’s daughter, TV sports pr...

By Stuart Rayner What went around came around at Elland Road on Saturday as Leeds United did to Fulham what the Cottagers did to them in September. Fulham won that game 1-0 with a stoppage-time goal.; this time it was Lukas Nmecha who left it late for the team in white. Unlike in the reverse fixture, Leeds could this time feel that justice was done over the course of 90-plus minutes. Leeds came into the game off the back of five draws in eight Premier League games. Some of those were good results, some of those excellent, but 0-0 at home to Fulham felt like a wasted opportunity, particularly in light of how Leeds played. Where Daniel Farke made substitutions to try to win the game, Fulham's players plodded off as slowly as possible when Marco Silva made 88th-minute alterations. It looked like his efforts were going to be in vain until Nmecha stretched to volley in an Ethan Ampadu cross just as the fourth official was signalling a minimum of four added minutes. But t...