Mighty Leeds Weblog

Leeds United's record signing Georginio Rutter represents a strategy that CEO Angus Kinnear admits will see the club miss out on other targets. By Graham Smyth Rutter arrived last weekend from Hoffenheim for a £28m initial fee, a significant outlay for a 20-year-old, but his signing lays bare Leeds' plan to get in on the ground floor with players of real potential. "Georginio is a player that we have believed for some time has immense potential and while his availability in January came as a surprise, we were quick to act," said the chief executive. "Our strategy of trying to secure players early in steep development trajectories means we only have two short windows where Leeds United is a viable option. This ambition inevitably means we will frequently miss out on targets, but the upside is, when we are successful, that we secure talent that can materially help the club move to the next level." Rutter could make his Whites debut at Elland Road tod...

Leeds United CEO Angus Kinnear has commended teenage attacker Willy Gnonto’s attitude and professionalism in the wake of his wonder-strike against Cardiff City Joe Donnohue Gnonto’s finish inside 30 seconds of Leeds’ FA Cup Third Round Replay in midweek stunned audiences around the country, and in the 19-year-old’s homeland, due to its striking similarity to countryman Paolo Di Canio’s iconic scissor kick for West Ham United 23 years earlier. The teenager humbly stated he believed Di Canio’s finish was still better than his own, but has won the affections of all at Elland Road due to his affable demeanour and undeniable talent. After the Whites’ midweek cup fixture, strike-partner Patrick Bamford commended the teen, suggesting Gnonto ‘doesn’t know how good he is’. Chief executive Angus Kinnear has become the latest to praise the young forward in his pre-match programme notes ahead of Leeds’ Premier League encounter with Brentford. "It was a great evening for Wilfried Gno...

All of the latest news on Leeds United’s desire to expand Elland Road. By Molly Burke Leeds United secured promotion to the Premier League back in 2020, leaving it nearly impossible to get your hands on tickets at Elland Road. The club arguably doesn't have a capacity that matches the size of the fanbase and stature of the Whites, with a capacity of 37,792. Elland Road is one of the oldest grounds in the country and it's no surprise talk of an expansion has been brought up time and time again of late. And top-tier survival this season would once again be a huge boost for a potential upgrade. We take a look at Leeds United’s latest expansion plans and how their Premier League status will have an impact. Marathe on Elland Road Speaking to the BBC’s ‘Sports Desk’ podcast, Leeds vice chairman and 49ers chief Paraag Marathe has tentatively discussed his plans for the future, in particular his vision for Elland Road. “I’ll be honest with you the main thing is to protect t...

Leeds United and Jesse Marsch looked to be on a collision course with inevitability even before a defeat to Fulham that can only have shortened the time to impact. By Graham Smyth Eight games that have yielded two points and a place in the relegation zone have also cranked up the pressure on a head coach struggling to find solutions to problems at both ends of the pitch. At Leicester City on Thursday night Marsch could hear and feel the fans slipping away from him and at Elland Road on Sunday they separated entirely in the wake of Fulham's second and third goals. He still believes he will hold onto his job thanks to board backing he indicated had been reaffirmed between full-time and his post-match press conference, yet his grasp can only have been weakened by yet another defeat. On Friday, the board's stance was clear - Marsch is under no significant pressure and there are no plans for immediate change. CEO Angus Kinnear's match programme notes insisted that the cl...

Good afternoon and another warm welcome to another sold-out Elland Road. After one of our best Premier League performances since promotion failed to yield at least the minimum point we deserved, we travelled to the King Power Stadium with the squad having renewed confidence and belief in both the collective system and their individual ability to compete with the best. This made the display at the King Power even more disappointing. The result understandably left the travelling support with the feeling we had taken one step forward, followed quickly by two steps back, and everyone at the club is big enough to take the criticism when it is justified. Whilst the overall trajectory during our custodianship has been upward, there have been many short term ‘ups and downs’ and we should remember that the false dawns and depressing defeats have been outnumbered by redeeming performances and inspiring victories.   Whilst nobody can hide from the fact that our winless run is certainly tr...

Leeds United host Arsenal at Elland Road on Sunday and chief executive Angus Kinnear has addressed the club's recent form with the winless run now at five matches Troubling recent form for Leeds United and last season’s close scrape with relegation has not stopped the board from looking up the Premier League table with Jesse Marsch. Angus Kinnear has addressed the Whites’ recent slump in his programme notes ahead of Arsenal’s visit. Leeds have gone five matches without a win and after the September pause it’s approaching two months since the last win against Chelsea. United have dropped to 15th in the table, two points above the drop zone, but with multiple games in hand on some rivals. While Kinnear has acknowledged the recent run of results is concerning, he believes the potential of the squad, with new players still settling, is good enough for everyone to remain optimistic. “While the mental scars of last season’s final-day drama have yet to fade and have naturally prov...

Leeds United chief executive Angus Kinnear has weighed in on the debate surrounding access to tickets and future plans to redevelop Elland Road By Joe Donnohue Leeds chief executive Angus Kinnear believes United ‘could have sold over 70,000 tickets’ for this afternoon’s fixture against Arsenal. The Premier League tie pits two of the competition’s best-supported clubs against each other for the first time this season, provoking Kinnear to become the latest club figure to weigh in once more on the topic of Elland Road’s redevelopment. "The supporter correspondence over the early part of the season has once again been dominated by frustrations over access to tickets,” Kinnear begins in his pre-match programme notes. "Since the start of our ascent to the Premier League we have worked tirelessly with supporters to come up with a system that balances rewarding loyalty while ensuring that all supporters have the opportunity to see the team play live. "However, for t...

The beautiful game and the best league in the world made their long-awaited return to Elland Road when Leeds United hosted Aston Villa, apparently. By Graham Smyth Even at the end of a barely tolerable 29-day wait, this game was no sight for sore eyes and its 0-0 scoreline felt entirely fitting. No game is ever completely forgettable, something always stands out, yet none of this game's remarkable features were remotely redeeming. For a Leeds side who played 46 minutes with 10 men it was a fine result. Aston Villa are exactly the type of club with whom the Whites are competing for mid-table comfort, at best, and Premier League survival, at worst. Beating them felt important, as the game kicked off, but holding them to a stalemate took on a much more satisfactory and appealing look when Luis Sinisterra made his early exit having fallen foul of referee Stuart Attwell. A match official has done his job when his own performance is easy to forget, and no-one can say that S...

Good afternoon and a warm welcome to another sold-out Elland Road. Today marks a welcome return to Premier League action after an unusually long absence that, while both team and fans alike have found frustrating, was justified as the world’s favourite league rightly took a weekend to pay respects to the world’s favourite monarch. The focus this afternoon will be on bouncing back from an error strewn performance at Brentford that ultimately meant, while the vagaries of VAR were hugely frustrating, those vagaries were not decisive. Attempting to influence the process or quality of decision making in the heat of the match is virtually futile, but there has been much more progressive subsequent dialogue with the PGMOL (Professional Game Match Officials Limited) and the Premier League subsequently, with all clubs hoping that such a calamitous weekend of VAR decisions will act as a catalyst for a meaningful improvement. Similarly, the fact that “ball in play time” has reached a decade...

Leeds United’s deadline day move for FC Zürich starlet Wilfried Gnonto appeared to many as a desperate panic buy following a farcical end to the transfer window. The majority of their business had been done early. Americans Brenden Aaronson and Tyler Adams had been brought in from RB Salzburg and RB Leipzig respectively, whilst further midfield depth came in the form of Bayern Munich’s Marc Roca. Aaronson’s former Salzburg teammate Rasmus Kristensen also reunited with previous boss Jesse Marsch in West Yorkshire, whilst Barcelona-bound Raphinha was replaced with Feyenoord star Luis Sinisterra. A striker, namely Charles De Ketelaere, was the final name on chairman Andrea Radrizzani’s wish list and despite multiple club record bids, the versatile Belgian forward would go on to join Serie A champions AC Milan, and with two days left of the window, the circus started to assemble. “The rationale is straightforward: we believe we have three striking options that are better than the m...

I MISS YOU MOST OF ALL Written by: Moxcowhite • Daniel Chapman Here was a beautiful night for football, August ending with warm hints of autumn coming instead of July’s searing klaxons of the planet’s impending death. Autumn is the season when leaves fall and mulch, but first nature gets its one last rage of joy before winter. The pinkening skies over Beeston and the distinctive smell of washing machine repair made the terraced streets and industrial estates a landscape for fond nostalgia, not fear of the future. I don’t think we’ll ever get to the bottom of what happened in Frank Lampard Junior’s past to turn his life choices so petulant and self-destructive. Given the conditions, and the glory that always feels possible in the sport of football, the sourness of this Everton team was spiteful. Lampard is their manager and he isn’t very good at it, doesn’t seem to enjoy doing it, and doesn’t need to do it. Like billionaires who tweet, if I had his life, I simply would not. Lampar...

Leeds United's striker situation was not the only story of their 1-1 draw with Everton, but it was by far the biggest. By Graham Smyth This was a game Jesse Marsch and his players lost control of but wrestled back again. It was a game of needle and spite, played out in a raucous, almost feral atmosphere that felt dangerously close to the edge on occasion. This was a game that called for, but did not always get cool heads. It was a game Leeds could easily have won, such were the chances they created, and a game they could have lost late on, had it not been for Illan Meslier. But it was just a game, just one game and when the discussion of Luis Sinisterra's goal, Everton's time wasting and the technical area dust-ups dies down, talk will once again, inevitably, turn to Leeds United, strikers and the 33 games still to come. The club's pre-Everton rationale for not signing a striker was that they already had three very good ones, but by 8.32pm they were down to tw...

LEEDS UNITED managing director Angus Kinnear has cast doubt on the club making a beat-the-deadline move for a new striker - and says it would take something 'exceptional' for that to change before Thursday's 11pm deadline. By Leon Wobschall Leeds were very active in pre-season, bringing in seven players and spending a combined total of over £90million, while also sanctioning the sales of Kalvin Phillips and Raphinha. The club have made a move to bring in Belgian forward Charles de Ketelaere and were ready to pay a club-record fee, but the player secured his desired move to AC Milan instead. United have been linked with a host of other strikers, but Kinnear, writing in his programme notes before Tuesday night's Premier League home game with Everton, admits that any big business appears unlikely. Kinnear said: "This week, we will see the transfer window close and allow us to reflect on how well we have executed our trading strategy. "Already, we know...

The margins have rarely been finer than the two-goal swing that would have left Leeds United in the depths of despair, instead of the post-survival high at Brentford on Sunday. By Graham Smyth Burnley came within a whisker of one of those goals, Wout Weghorst missing a chance to equalise against Newcastle United only by the length of his studs. It doesn’t bear thinking about the impact the 6ft 4ins targetman could have made on an already nerve-shredding afternoon had he made a slightly heavier connection with Ashley Barnes’ cross. Leeds United came closer to the brink than anyone expected this season and, if you needed evidence of just how relieved they were, it was there in Andrea Radrizzani’s sprint across the pitch to join the celebrations, or Victor Orta sinking to his knees to embrace Raphinha. It’s difficult to picture many Premier League owners racing the breadth of a stadium in honour of finishing 17th but no matter how bomb-proof Leeds felt thanks to their contracted w...

WHAT'S THAT NOISE? Written by: Steven York It wasn’t until the Spurs game in February that we finally heard booing at Elland Road this season. While the fanbase had been entirely enamoured with Marcelo Bielsa and the exhilarating, if volatile, football that came with him, shipping twenty goals in five games was bound to rub some of that shine away. It isn’t like the stands had never seen anger or resentment before. In fact most of my adult life has been spent angry or resentful at someone managing or running the club. But it felt like a watershed moment when the crowd finally turned its frustration towards Bielsa. Fast forward a few unhappy months, and we hit another watershed moment. While the response to life after Bielsa has been mixed, it wasn’t until Leeds were losing against Brighton in a game that desperately needed a different result that we finally heard vocal dissent towards the board. ‘Sack the board’ rang around the stadium as pointed figures in the Kop gestured...

The next week will either relegate Leeds United or hand them a reprieve but, either way, the torture will leave scars. By Graham Smyth Spurs doing their job against Burnley and Leeds’ stoppage-time equaliser against Brighton has taken the fight to the very last game of the season. Even if the Clarets win their game in hand against Aston Villa on Tuesday night, Leeds will, at least, still stand a chance of survival on the final day and, by picking up a point to move out of the drop zone, they have put the onus squarely on Burnley, who now need at least one result from one of their remaining two fixtures. If Sunday was anything to go by, the next seven days will be nothing but fear, loathing and agony and there will be pain even in celebration should things go the way of Leeds, because the post mortem of this season will not be pretty for anyone concerned. The tension that Leeds chief Angus Kinnear hoped would not burden Leeds in their final 180 minutes of football is clearly w...