Mighty Leeds Weblog

The Spanish forward picked up an injury that'll rule him out for six to eight weeks of the campaign Jesse Marsch says he wanted to see Patrick Bamford and Rodrigo play together in Leeds United's FA Cup win at Accrington Stanley. However, it was a decision that had mixed consequences as the Whites made it through to the next round of the competition. It was an easy enough hurdle for Marsch and his men against League One opposition, but Rodrigo picked up a knock that's set to rule him out for six to eight weeks. The Spaniard, who has been the standout performer for the Whites this season, has had an operation on the injury but will miss a large part of the campaign. The 31-year-old has been a key component in Marsch's tactical set-up this season and the game at Accrington gave the Leeds head coach an opportunity to see Bamford, Rodrigo and new boy Georgino Rutter line-up for the first time this season. Rodrigo came off the bench in the 69th minute to replace Luis ...

Before Leeds United's game against Brentford, Jesse March talked the talk about substitutes but when his team needed them, he dithered. By Stuart Rayner The Whites coach says he wants to get to the stage where results can be taken out of the equation but the fact is, his team are a long way from that. So Sunday's 0-0 represented a missed opportunity more than the reason to be cheerful it might have looked like in isolation. Leeds were better than the Bees throughout the second half at Elland Road but when they needed that extra nudge to turn possession into goals, Marsch demurred. In the 79th minute he not unreasonably opted for someone in Patrick Bamford with three goals in his last two appearances over the possibility of handing a debut to Georginio Rutter, who had spent a lot of the afternoon under a blanket. Rutter and Joe Gelhardt never got on. For those that did, it was too little too late. Brentford have been so good since joining the Premier League that a ...

SUPERBIKE Written by: Moxcowhite • Daniel Chapman What a blessed relief this game was. Five goals scored, all good, one we can talk about forever and ever, the game so done after half an hour that everybody could relax and just watch the players doing the football and feel fine about things. It was a sweet sidestep away from that heavyweight foe, narrative, through a wardrobe door into football Narnia. Our favourite team playing well, winning, so we could all have fun. It’s been a while. Obviously bliss couldn’t withstand the post-match press conference, when all the talk about Jesse Marsch’s future and his tactics and his personality came back, because he brought it back, raising without being asked to reports about players being against him — “B.S.,” he said — and claiming again that Leeds fans don’t understand his tactics. His presser clocks in over 2,500 words, and all that talk invited the caveats about Cardiff being poor opponents with a shambolic defence — and I’ve seen ou...

The way Leeds United danced around a Cardiff City shaped FA Cup banana skin represented a step forward for an off-balance manager. By Graham Smyth Head coaches rarely seem to enjoy long periods on solid footing and when they do it's a fleeting moment to be cherished. The other side of the game's patience-devoid sacking culture was laid bare this week in a poignant video featuring Mark Hudson and his kids. It was Hudson who steered the Bluebirds to a 2-0 first half lead over Marsch's Premier League Whites in Cardiff in the initial FA Cup third round meeting of the sides, before Leeds' second half comeback took the tie to a replay. Cardiff drew again six days later, with Championship bottom side Wigan Athletic, taking his winless run to nine games, and was promptly sacked. Hudson only took charge in November following the sacking of Steve Morison, having spent 10 months as assistant manager. It was his family's reaction to his appointment to that role that fea...

Leeds United did it the easy way in their FA Cup third-round replay. By Stuart Rayner Yes, you read that right. From the moment Willy Gnotno scored a stunning volley after 26 seconds, the only team at Elland Road who looked capable of beating Leeds was Leeds. The pessimist who remembered the first game might not have been sitting comfortably when Rodrigo made it two in the 34th minute, but when Gnonto added his second two minutes later, it really was time to get out the cigars. When Cardiff City had a goal harshly chalked by referee Thomas Bramall's review, they could safely be lit. It was if the Whites forgot they are supposed to be the worst team around when 1-0 up, but in case you doubted it was really them, Luke Ayling clumsily let a Sheyi Ojo cross through his legs for former Sheffield United player Callum Robinson to score a not-in-any-way-consoling consolation goal.. In the second half Patrick Bamford helped himself to his second and third goals in two games as...

Leeds 5-2 Cardiff: A late consolation brace from Callum Robinson came after Willy Gnonto had also scored twice Mark Walker Willy Gnonto and Patrick Bamford both struck twice as Leeds United thumped Cardiff City 5-2 in their FA Cup third-round replay at Elland Road. Gnonto gave Leeds a flying start with a stunning volley inside the opening minute and fired home his second after Rodrigo had struck his 11th goal of the season to put his side 3-0 up before the interval. Substitute Patrick Bamford then bagged a second-half double before Callum Robinson scored two late consolations for Cardiff, the second a penalty, as Leeds reached the fourth round of the competition for the first time in six years. Leeds scored five goals for the first time since beating West Brom 5-0 in December 2020 and now face an away tie at Accrington or Boreham Wood. A stoppage-time equaliser from Leeds teenager Sonny Perkins salvaged a replay at the Cardiff City Stadium 10 days ago, but the managerless S...

BEST YET Written by: Moxcowhite • Daniel Chapman In a pleasant but fruitless reversal of recent trends, Leeds United set up to play very well against Aston Villa, and did. Instead of turning in a forlorn half and having to change, they dominated and should and could have scored more and won. The flip was that, as United’s hopes grew into a goal, the changes for chasing the game eroded all the good stuff they’d been doing. Leeds didn’t play worse all night than in the last ten minutes, when they were trying to clinch a comeback draw. It had been chaotic all night, the good kind of chaotic, but by the end, nobody in a Stilton shirt knew where any of their cheesemates were playing, defenders were panicking about nothing at all, Illan Meslier was miles out of goal and slowly clotheslining Philippe Coutinho round his neck. With his thigh. Which was actually quite impressive. With more and more attackers on the pitch in something like a 2-1-7 formation, Leeds lost sight of their one re...

There was no sign of Leeds United's incoming striker, Georginio Rutter, on Friday so Patrick Bamford getting off the team bus at Villa Park had to suffice as a sight for sore eyes. By Graham Smyth A second successive season of injury struggle has deprived the Whites of their 17-goal 2020/21 campaign frontman for nine of 20 top flight games. In previous weeks his return would have been quite the story. The excitement over 20-year-old Rutter's arrival - his Thursday flight was tracked online all the way from Frankfurt to Yeadon by thousands of supporters before the trail went cold as he underwent a medical - took the spotlight off Bamford, however, and the man going deepest under the radar – Rodrigo. The man having the season no one saw coming. Rodrigo wears 19 but his 11 goals, 10 of which have come in Premier League games, have made him Leeds number 9 and vital to their keeping heads above water in the bottom half of the table. A record signing in 2020, the Spain internat...

Aston Villa 2-1 Leeds United: Leon Bailey and Emi Buendia scored for the hosts who held on to the win despite Patrick Bamford’s late reply Nick Mashiter Leeds paid the price for wasteful finishing as gritty Aston Villa snatched an unlikely 2-1 Premier League win. Leon Bailey’s early goal and Emi Buendia’s header grabbed the points, Patrick Bamford netting a late consolation, as the hosts rode their luck at Villa Park. Emi Martinez brilliantly denied Jack Harrison and Wilfried Gnonto while Rodrigo had a shot cleared off the line and a goal disallowed for offside. But Villa hung on, scoring at vital times, to leave Leeds wondering how they left empty handed. The hosts recovered from their embarrassing FA Cup exit to Stevenage, which had taken the gloss off what has been a positive start to Unai Emery’s reign. They needed a performance and result to banish any hangover, especially following last week’s underwhelming derby draw with Wolves. They got a result, if not a stellar...

It was yet another coulda, woulda, shoulda night from Leeds United. This broken record needs changing. By Stuart Rayner For over an hour they were the better team at Villa Park, even if it all evaporated once Emi Buendia headed his team 2-0 up in the 63rd minute. In a season of what-might-have-beens, this loss took the biscuit. Even Patrick Bamford's late goal rubbed salt into the wound, making the final score 2-1 but there was never much danger of an unlikely comeback, for all the good work put in at 1-0. It is probably the fact results are not often reflecting performances which is keeping Leeds coach Jesse Marsch in a job but it is his responsibility to make sure they do. Two wins in 17 games in all competitions is a desperately poor return which would produce a P45 at many a club. It was a long way short of Leicester City away before the World Cup, but there were definite rumbles of "Marsch out!" from the visiting supporters and boos when he went over to t...

Leeds United fell to a ninth loss of the Premier League season as Friday night's clash at Aston Villa ended in a 2-1 defeat despite a host of chances for Jesse Marsch's Whites. Lee Sobot A combination of slack defending, profligacy in front of goal and brilliance from Villa's World Cup winning goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez meant a dominant Whites showing and fantastic display from Willy Gnonto counted for nothing and extended a horrible run of results to just two wins from the last 17 games. Leeds fell behind after just three minutes as Leon Bailey finished off a rapid Villa break which started from a Whites corner. Marsch’s side produced a strong response and Rodrigo raced through one on one only to see his shot cleared off the line before a superb save from World Cup winning goalkeeper Martinez denied Jack Harrison at point blank range. More chances then presented themselves after the interval but Villa doubled their lead in the 64th minute as Emi Buendia headed ho...

CUP MAGIC, LEEDS STYLE Written by: Moxcowhite • Daniel Chapman Should have known, really! Should have known. There was a bit, a short time before kick-off, perusing Cardiff City’s team news, comparing their new stadium to the old and angry Ninian Park, thinking about the quality that exists in Leeds United’s Premier League squad, when I thought: this might be fine. This game could be simple. Leeds could calmly win 3-0. Our opponents, from the bottom of the Championship, were ill and understrength. Leeds United were also understrength. And it was them who made me sick. There was not much to object to in United’s starting line-up, especially once Jesse Marsch reeled off the list of muscular injuries affecting absent players. But sure, give Junior Firpo a shot, bring Rasmus Kristensen back, try Darko Gyabi in midfield, give Joe Gelhardt some playing time, put Pascal Struijk to centre-back — and captain. All moves with merit. But on top of the changes, Marsch asked them to play like…...

No one obsesses over the transfer window more than the English said Jesse Marsch, ahead of a month in which it can feel like the football itself gets in the way. By Graham Smyth Transfer stories dominate in a weird, almost perverse manner. It’s especially weird mid-season when games are coming thick and fast and teams can require so much more than an extra body to eliminate their longstanding issues. People take their eye off the ball to look at the shiny things in the window. And it was amid a tale of Leeds United interest in a young man neither training nor playing, that actual Whites players went to play against Cardiff City in the FA Cup. Georginio Rutter was taken out of training by his club Hoffenheim on Sunday, in a very public fashion. The Bundesliga side expressed concerns over their duty of care to the interests of both the club and the player and though they did not name Leeds United, they referenced Saturday's breaking story about a Premier League outfit. So all...

Cardiff 2-2 Leeds: The 18-year-old netted in stoppage time of just his second appearance for Leeds Phil Blanche England Under-19 international Sonny Perkins kept Leeds United in the FA Cup with a dramatic stoppage-time equaliser earning them a 2-2 draw at Cardiff City. Cardiff looked like inflicting more FA Cup third-round misery on Leeds following first-half goals from Jaden Philogene and Sheyi Ojo. But Rodrigo reduced the deficit with a close-range header and, after the Spanish substitute had been denied from the penalty spot and Cardiff lost Joel Bagan to a red card, Perkins squeezed home from close range three minutes into injury time. The tie had evoked memories of Cardiff’s famous third-round victory in 2002 when David O’Leary’s Leeds were top of the Premier League. Cardiff were in the third tier at the time, but a frenzied Ninian Park saw Scott Young’s late winner deliver one of the competition’s great upsets. Former defender Young was among the guests invited back...

Teenage substitute striker Sonny Perkins bagged a 93rd-minute equaliser to save Leeds United’s skin in the FA Cup third round and seal a 2-2 draw at Cardiff City and Elland Road replay. Lee Sobot Cardiff went ahead with their first real attack in the 24th minute as Jaden Philogene-Bidace fired home after Mark Harris had been played in behind Pascal Struijk and Junior Firpo. The Bluebirds then doubled their lead just seven minutes later as Sheyi Ojo netted from the middle of the box after Andy Rinomhota this time played the ball in behind Diego Llorente. But Leeds finally burst into life following a triple substitution ten minutes into the second half and one of the substitutes in Rodrigo pulled a goal back less than five minutes after coming on when heading home from a short corner after a Sam Greenwood cross. The Whites were then awarded a penalty with ten minutes left as Joel Bagan kept out a Junior Firpo drive with a handball on the line for which he was sent off but Rodrigo...