Mighty Leeds Weblog

P aul Merson has been presiding over Leeds United’s Premier League return of late. By Lee Sobot The former midfielder is, of course, a mainstay of Jeff Stelling’s Soccer Saturday panel on Sky Sports News. But two decades ago Merson was still battling it out with Leeds, the frame of the goal twice denying the midfielder as United left Aston Villa with a 2-1 success in January 2001. Twenty one years on, Villa will provide United’s next opponents this month for the third fixture between the two sides since their recent top-flight returns. But the two clubs had 12 consecutive seasons of battles between 1993 and 2004, and Merson’s frustration came in one of United’s final triumphs at Villa Park before going down. Leeds had finished the previous season in third place and were on their way to the Champions League semi-finals the following term, the clash at Villa coming one month after a 1-0 triumph at Lazio. But David O’Leary’s side then lost four of their next seven league gam...

BIG NIGE Written by Rob Conlon For better or worse, Leeds United were very often The Big Story under Peter Ridsdale. It could be exciting, but it could also be frightening. Thankfully, we knew that whatever trouble Ridsdale, David O’Leary, Lee Bowyer or Jonathan Woodgate got us into, when it came down to Saturday afternoon, the opposition were going to have to get past Nigel Martyn. He was a calm, stoic, reassuring presence between the posts. Martyn hasn’t changed much since. After interviewing him with Dan Moylan, for The Extra Ball, our Michael Normanton said speaking to Nigel made him feel warm and fuzzy. Listening to Leeds United’s greatest ever goalkeeper speak, I can imagine being a defender in front of him, hanging on to every shouted instruction, knowing it’s the right thing to do because Nigel Martyn says so. It’s equally soothing to hear Martyn discussing some of the more controversial moments from his time at Elland Road. His voice remains forthright, while his takes...

Sport David Conn: Directors in Leeds' downfall expected to escape DTI action 25 September 2004 The administrators' report into the conduct of Leeds United's directors leading up to the club's £100m collapse earlier this year has been delivered to the Department of Trade and Industry. The DTI is expected to take between two and four months to decide whether the report identifies misconduct serious enough to warrant disqualification proceedings against any of Leeds' directors in the previous three years, including the former chairman Peter Ridsdale and non-executive director Allan Leighton, the Royal Mail Group chairman. Garry Wilson, one of the administrators, would not comment on the contents of the report and told me it was "too early" to speculate on the DTI's decision, but other sources suggested that although Leeds' meltdown was mighty it is unlikely to lead to DTI action against any of the directors. In their Premiership and Ch...

Sport  The Interview James Milner: Leeds United's young jewel can glitter just as much as Everton's, but has been seen rather less. Until now. Nick Townsend meets him 04 January 2004 Just one thought taunts you as you journey to Elland Road to meet a Leeds United player: will he still be an employee of the club by the time you arrive? The "knockers" are, by all account, parked outside, all ready for this particularly desirable property clearance. Friday's back pages are festooned with speculation. Alan Smith to abandon the stricken vessel for Old Trafford or St James' Park; Paul Robinson bound for the City of Manchester Stadium; Mark Viduka a target for any number of English and foreign clubs. Even James Milner, the subject of the journey, has, at the tender age of 17 when we meet - hecomes of age today - been mentioned in several dispatches as being coveted by Manchester United. When you arrive, your interviewee regards such reports with the insouciance of ...

Telegraph | Sport | Leeds maintain Gray impetus Man City (0) 1 Leeds Utd (1) 1 Shortly before 8.30 last night Eddie Gray would have raised a glass at his daughter Natalie's wedding. Not to toast the bride and groom but to mark the latest significant step forward of the Leeds United team who were in a dreadful mess when he inherited them from Peter Reid five games ago. Mark Viduka's fifth goal of the season enabled the absent Gray to savour his fourth reward from that short tenure - a precious point which inches them closer to Premiership safety as the teams around them move in the opposite direction. Manchester City are one of those teams and would have slipped even closer to the danger zone but for substitute Antoine Sibierski's late equaliser which quelled growing discontent among the home faithful. Gray was clearly at the City of Manchester Stadium in spirit as his players continue to respond encouragingly to his new approach to the daunting task of arresting th...

Sky Sports - The Best Sport Coverage From Around The World  Monday 22nd December 2003 Manchester City 1-1 Leeds United A late goal from substitute Antoine Sibierski levelled Mark Viduka's first half opener to give Manchester City a 1-1 draw against Leeds United on Monday evening. Viduka had capitalised on a David Sommeil error to put Leeds ahead after 24 minutes and City looked like losing a game they had dominated until Sibierski headed home brilliantly to seal a share of the spoils with less than ten minutes left. City had started the game brightly and opened Leeds up after just 70 seconds when Shaun Wright-Phillips out paced Ian Harte before firing the ball across the area, but it was behind the on-rushing Nicolas Anelka. Leeds then had what would prove to be a rare chance, but it was a great one as James Milner flighted a free kick into the City area - the ball evaded everyone including Viduka at the back post, who only needed to make contact to score. The home side contin...