Mighty Leeds Weblog

IS HE...GOOD? Written by: Rob Conlon When Jesse Marsch talks about Rodrigo, Leeds United’s record signing is made to sound less like a fine young man, and more like a wise old sage — a sensible head, a leader, but still a manly man in a man’s world. Rodrigo has spent most of his time at Leeds looking like an old bloke, a bit sad, a tad morose, and overall quite tired. I don’t like that Rodrigo. I like the Rodrigo who scores goals and celebrates not like a wise old man, but like a giddy toddler who has just spotted a ball pool filled with toy dinosaurs and free sweets and is racing to be the first to dive in. Saturday’s defeat to Tottenham taught me to give up trying to understand Jesse Marsch’s Leeds United, and Rodrigo in particular. I don’t think he’s playing particularly well — prior to Spurs, I thought he was playing terribly — but he’s scoring lots of goals. Luciano Becchio was never a master of football’s fine arts, but he scored lots of goals and did lots of daft celebra...

Leeds United did a lot right against Tottenham Hotspur, as they have throughout part one of their Premier League season. The problem is, the things they are getting wrong are the really big ones. By Stuart Rayner It is why they beat Chelsea and triumphed at Anfield, why they ought to have defeated Arsenal and should have taken something from Spurs, yet will spend Christmas 15th in the Premier League after a thrilling but soul-destroying 4-3 loss. "We've encapsulated our 16-game season in one match," said their coach Jesse Marsch, who walked off with a face like thunder after seeing his players perform very well against one of Europe’s best teams. Poor finishing has often been their undoing but pepped-up by the attacking youth of Crysencio Summerville and Willy Gnonto – who struggled after an early knock on Saturday's full debut and was sacrificed at half-time – they scored four against Bournemouth, three at Spurs. Rodrigo has five goals in four league matches,...

Jesse Marsch will spend Leeds United's mid-season break trying to hammer home the tactical disciplines he feels his players are not fully buying into. By Stuart Rayner Their final two games before the Premier League went on hold for the World Cup were a joy for neutrals – 4-3s, one won, one lost after comebacks – but less so for coaches like Marsch who like to have control of games. Leeds had it for much of Saturday's second half at Tottenham Hotspur once Ben Davies made it 2-2. Rodrigo scored his second goal to put Leeds ahead for a third time with 16 minutes to play but sloppy defending let Rodrigo Bentancur score twice. "We have to stay on top of the discipline and the behaviours and continue to reiterate what we need so we don't do it 90 per cent of the time, we do it 100 per cent of the time," said Marsch. "We've got better. It's a reason why we've been able to flip the script a little bit on our season but we just makes mistakes we...

TWO NUMBER NINES AND A MICROPHONE Written by: Moxcowhite • Daniel Chapman Okay. What’s going on? It’s not only Marvin Gaye who wants an answer. As season 2022/23 breaks for its mundial interruptus, a month after our previous unplanned pause, Leeds United fans are reeling from weekend to weekend, 4-3 to 3-4, late winners to late losers, blindfolded trying to pin a tail on this donkey of a season. Are Leeds good? Are they bad? Is Jesse Marsch good? Is he bad? It won’t stop anybody asking, but there isn’t an answer. It’s a football fan’s failing to treat games like cups of tea to be slurped down hot, taking no time to find a flavour beneath the burning taste on our tongues, hurrying to read the tea leaves and find out our fate. A match ain’t just a match, it’s a plot device with implications not only for our futures but our pasts. Will we be happy, 24 games from now? Or will we be cursing the people who brought us pleasure three years ago, for the sins we could never then foresee? O...

Making sense of Leeds United's game at Tottenham Hotspur was an exercise in futility even before they threw it away. By Graham Smyth The same could be said for their season. Goals are flying in at the right end, despite the struggles and absences of Patrick Bamford, and at the wrong end too. They've been impressively competitive against big six sides but not against a number of teams they count as natural competition. And for a team coached by a man whose watchword has been 'clarity' it's alarming how unclear the picture is after 14 games. Are they, as Jesse Marsch believes, a good side with a plan that will work, or were the Liverpool and Bournemouth wins simply a detour en route to a destination that looked inevitable prior to those games? That's not the question that will occupy Marsch as he heads off to a friend's wedding in Peru during the World Cup break, but he has plenty of others to keep his mind going ten to the dozen. How to maintain...

Jesse Marsch bemoaned an individual error and a VAR decision after Leeds United let the lead slip three times to lose 4-3 at Tottenham Hotspur. By Graham Smyth For the first time in their history Leeds fell to defeat in a league game having led on three occasions. Crysencio Summerville’s opener stunned the hosts, who levelled in controversial circumstances midway through the first half. Illan Meslier was bundled into his net as he attempted to punch clear a corner before Harry Kane hooked the ball in to make it 1-1. Rodrigo pounced on a loose ball in the Spurs area after Liam Cooper and Rasmus Kristensen had headed it on, and drilled in the second just before the break. Six minutes after the interval, however, Spurs were back in it, Ben Davies shooting home after Leeds were cut open on their left flank. With 14 minutes remaining Rodrigo had his second and Leeds’ third, but despite Marsch going to a back five by throwing Luke Ayling into the fray, the visitors collapsed defensiv...

Rodrigo Moreno gave his thoughts to the media after his Leeds United side were defeated away from home, against Tottenham Hotspur. The Whites gave everything throughout the match and lead on three separate occasions, with the Spaniard netting twice. However, the home side came on strong towards the end to come from behind and secure the points. Speaking after the match, Rodrigo shared his view of the game. He said: “It’s a very disappointing moment for us. “I think when you have the chance to score three times in a stadium like this against a top opponent like Tottenham, it’s hard to finish the game with nothing. “But, that’s our reality now, it’s not the first time it happens to us and we have to try to learn from this. “We have a rest now in the break then come back and try to work hard for the come back. “We played today against a top, top team, with top players, at any moment they can make a difference and that’s what happened today. “They are very good players and ...

Leeds United were beaten 4-3 by Tottenham Hotspur despite taking the lead three times during the match in North London By Joe Donnohue Leeds United's tendency to cause problems for the Premier League's 'Big Six' this season is as baffling as it has been entertaining. Victories over Liverpool and Chelsea, as well as a narrow, undeserved defeat to Arsenal at Elland Road, preceded the Whites' arrival in north London to face Spurs before the World Cup break. Within ten minutes, Crysencio Summerville had scored for the fourth time in four matches sending the vocal away support at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium into raptures. The Dutchman's left-footed finish, set up by the electric Brenden Aaronson, set the theme for the game: Leeds going ahead and Tottenham pegging them back. Harry Kane's equaliser required a check by the Video Assistant Referee as it appeared Illan Meslier had been impeded by not one, but two Spurs players at a corner. Leeds' protest...

Plus: Why cool and composed Dejan Kulusevski is the player who elevates Spurs Matt Law, Tottenham Hotspur head coach Antonio Conte has backed Harry Kane to take the World Cup by storm with England, insisting the striker is in “the best physical and mental condition.” Kane was on target in Tottenham’s dramatic comeback win against Leeds United and, just a few days after claiming the England captain had been tired, Conte insisted the 29-year-old will travel to Qatar in perfect shape. “I have to be honest, in this period, especially in the last 13 games, Harry played a really important role,” said Conte. “We had many injuries and I think Harry honestly deserves great praise because he took a lot of weight on his shoulders and he played in a fantastic way. “Now he is arriving to play at the World Cup with great enthusiasm, in good physical condition, stronger mentally than before. I see a player that is ready. I see in his eyes the desire to be a protagonist in the best competiti...

Leeds United finished part one of the Premier League season with a defeat, but not one which needs stewing on in the six weeks before they return to action. By Stuart Rayner The timing of Rodrigo Bentancur's two goals – after 82 and 83 minutes – made defeat hard to take in a game Leeds's Rodrigo had put them ahead twice in and Crysencio Summerville once, and the Whites will certainly not be happy with some of the goals they conceded, but in possession, it was a very good performance to follow up league wins over Liverpool and Bournemouth. They contributed to a hugely entertaining game but that will be of no comfort to coach Jesse Marsch, who looked very unhappy at the full-time whistle. The lack of a VAR intervention for Tottenham's opener and a red card for Tyler Adams probably helped to darken his mood. Just to walk around the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was a reminder of how far ahead the Champions League club are ahead of a club still establishing itself in the ...

Whites boss Jesse Marsch spoke to the media today ahead of Saturday’s final game before the World Cup break at Tottenham Hotspur. By Lee Sobot Leeds are heading to North London seeking a third Premier League win on the spin following last Saturday’s amazing comeback 4-3 sucess at home to Bournemouth on the back of the previous weekend’s superb 2-1 win at Liverpool. The Whites were then knocked out of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday evening through a 1-0 defeat at Wolves in a match for which Marsch made ten changes to his side. Marsch spoke to the press at 1.30pm and here is everything that was said. “I’ll give you a few updates on a couple things. Archie Gray has turned into a little bit of an ankle injury and so we’re in a situation with his age and he’s still growing that we have to shut it him down for about six to eight weeks. It’s a little defect that he has in his ankle that kind of got highlighted when his toe got broken so it’s unfortunate. I spoke to Archie a little bit tod...

Eric Cantona was an incredibly cool footballer. He kung-fu kicked racists, talked Kanye-esque bollocks in press conferences and played the game with a collar-up verve and nonchalance only the very best can pull off. It seems only fitting, then, that Cantona was the man to score the first ever hat-trick of the Premier League era. Yet when the Frenchman plundered three goals in Leeds United’s 5-0 victory over Tottenham in August 1992, he was decidedly uncool. The only way to describe Eric Cantona that night at Elland Road is to use a very un-Cantona word; he was very, very giddy. It’s perhaps understandable. It was Cantona’s second hat-trick within a month, having already put Liverpool to the sword at Wembley as Leeds beat the Reds 4-3 in the Charity Shield. Leeds were the reigning champions of England, the last winners of the old First Division, and his relationship with Howard Wilkinson had yet to reach breaking point. The Peacocks’ defence of their title ultimately proved disa...

Boos and stunned silence at Elland Road for the first time this season as Tottenham Hotspur test Leeds United's patience with Marcelo Bielsa. By Graham Smyth Today was the day patience began to run out at Elland Road. In recent weeks, before and after bitterly disappointing and damaging results, Marcelo Bielsa has made a point of talking about the Leeds United fans and their patience. It's not something he feels he could ever demand, it's something supporters have shown more than he thinks they should have, but he understands it's finite. There had been no calls for Bielsa's head heard during games leading up to the 4-0 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur, and his name was belted out, as it always is, during his walk from the tunnel to the technical area. Yet long after the final whistle, as club staff swept through the stadium filling bags full of litter, it felt very much like Leeds were staring hard at a decision: to bin the man who made a sold-out Premier Le...