Mighty Leeds Weblog

Deane joined Leeds for a club record fee of £2.9million in June 1993. In his mind, Brian Deane had reached the promised land when he signed on the dotted line to join his hometown club Leeds United in 1993. The Whites had paid a club record £2.9million to prise him away from Sheffield United and Deane headed to Elland Road off the back of a goal-laden campaign 36 miles down the M1 at Bramall Lane. Deane notched 11 goals in his debut campaign in West Yorkshire and a further nine times in his second season as Leeds registered back-to-back fifth place finishes. However, by his own admission, the former England international says the weight of expectation was something he'd never experienced before. "Yes [I did feel the pressure], because Leeds had won the title a couple of years before and I was signed to try to help them do it again," Deane told FourFourTwo. He added: "I was also a Leeds lad and still live there, so I had pressure from people I grew up with w...

Brian Deane has recalled his time alongside the explosive Ghana forward at Elland Road Former Leeds United forward Tony Yeboah is responsible for arguably two of the greatest goals ever scored in the Premier League. His explosive long-range volley which cannoned in off the crossbar and beyond Liverpool goalkeeper David James has gone down as one of the defining moments in Premier League history. Just four weeks later, Yeboah plucked the ball from out of the air, jinked past his marker and unleashed an unstoppable rocket on the half volley past Paul Heald on his way to a hat-trick at Wimbledon. Both goals added to the legend of one of the most intriguing talents to arrive on British shores and Brian Deane had a front row seat on his journey to stardom at Elland Road. "He had dynamite in both legs! As a player, he was a phenomenal talent," Deane revealed in an interview with FourFourTwo. "One of the best things about Tony was that he’d score a goal out of nothi...

Dermot Gallagher might well be presiding over the Roses derby between Leeds United and Manchester United next week as part of his Ref Watch work for Sky Sports. By Lee Sobot Twenty seven years ago he was the man in the middle and awarding Howard Wilkinson’s Whites an early penalty as the hosts savoured a 3-1 victory against their arch rivals on Christmas Eve. Leeds would go on to experience a disappointing campaign in which they finished in 13th place whereas the Red Devils eventually reclaimed the Premier League title they had won in both 1994 and 1995, Sir Alex Ferguson’s team having been dethroned by Blackburn Rovers in the previous campaign. But Christmas came early for Leeds against Fergie’s side on December 24, 1995 in what remains the third most recent victory against the arch-enemy in the league. Leeds were handed a golden opportunity to go in front when Nicky Butt handled the ball in the area as the Red Devils looked to clear a Gary McAllister corner. McAllister’s ...

Nestor Watach “Coming away from this match I found myself muttering about how shit and boring and lucky Leeds had been,” is how an Arsenal fansite writer described the experience of losing 1-0 at home to Leeds United in February 1997. “We all knew as soon as George Graham left Highbury that he’d be back to out-Arsenal us like this one day.” Arsene Wenger had been appointed as Arsenal’s new manager three months prior and while that writer’s belief was early evidence of the aesthetic, right-way-to-play doctrine that would come to define the Gunners in their prime years, the Frenchman’s revolution was not yet underway: Patrick Vieira was the only non-British or Irish player in their XI as they succumbed to FA Cup elimination to Leeds. Yet there remains an acknowledgement of what Arsenal once were. After all, their fans ironically readopted ‘Boring, boring Arsenal’ and would proudly chant ‘One-nil to the Arsenal’ as Graham delivered two league titles and an FA Cup. They were master...

Nestor Watach Not every footballer gets a chance to return to their hometown club. Brian Deane had to forge his own path, away from Leeds, the city he was born and raised in. He represented Yorkshire Amateurs as a teenager, but broke his leg, and only after a long spell of rehabilitation did he get his break on trial at Doncaster Rovers. Still studying part-time at Leeds City College, Deane broke through at Doncaster, and went on to catch the eye on the third tier – resulting in Sheffield United signing him for £25,000 in 1988. The forward scored 30 goals in his debut season with Blades, firing them to promotion back to the second tier, and from there his burgeoning career ran parallel to Leeds’ ascent. Twenty-four goals followed in Deane’s second season at Bramall Lane, resulting in a second successive promotion. Dave Bassett’s Blades finished second, going up to the top flight alongside champions Leeds. While Leeds went on to win the title under Howard Wilkinson, Deane ...

Sport Deane steps to the four-front for Leeds Leeds United 6 Queen's Park Rangers 1 By Dan Murphy 21 November 2004 The Championship's fourth-least potent attack put nearly half a season's worth of squandered chances behind them as Queens Park Rangers succumbed, rather pathetically at times, to a resounding defeat at Elland Road. It was Leeds' most emphatic victory since beating Charlton by the same score at The Valley in April 2003. For Brian Deane in particular, this was a day to remember. The 36-year-old had never previously scored a hat-trick for Leeds United in two spells at the club spanning 12 years. Yesterday he needed less than half the game to complete the feat and even added a fourth for good measure later on. As if that were not enough, Deane laid on the other two goals for David Healy and Jermaine Wright respectively. Not bad for a man who had hitherto managed one League goal all season. "Deano for England," bellowed the Leeds faithful, bef...

Leeds United Football Club - Matchreport Leeds United vs Queens Park Rangers Leeds 6 QPR 1 Leeds went goal crazy at Elland Road, completely blowing QPR away in spectacular style and hopefully getting the season back on track. Brian Deane was the man who handed out most of the punishment, scoring four - including a first half hat-trick - to defy his critics who had written him off at the tender age of 36! It was the first time United had won by the same scoreline since that famous away win over Charlton Athletic in April 2003, when another big Leeds striker scored a hat-trick, Mark Viduka. At Elland Road, it was the first six goal haul at Elland Road since the 6-1 thrashing of Bradford City in the penultimate game of the 2000/2001 season in which Robbie Keane also hit a hat-trick. Team News Leeds boss Kevin Blackwell named an unchanged side for the third game running, which means he continues to play with three men forward and three in midfield. The visitors ma...

Yorkshire Post Today: News, Sport, Jobs, Property, Cars, Entertainments & More Healy delay sees striker search widenRichard Sutcliffe KEVIN BLACKWELL does not intend increasing Leeds United's bid for David Healy but has stressed the offer remains on the table for the Preston North End striker. United have offered an initial £300,000 that could eventually double, depending on appearances, goals and Leeds achieving success. Preston turned down the bid but with Healy's contract due to run out next summer his value is dropping on a daily basis and North End will soon have to decide whether they can risk the Northern Ireland international leaving for nothing in the summer. Leeds have been caught in a similar situation to the one facing Preston, Lee Bowyer being offloaded for a paltry £100,000 in January 2003 just five months after Liverpool had bid £9m for the midfielder. Blackwell believes the offer represents a fair valuation for the 25-year-old and said: "At th...