Mighty Leeds Weblog

leedsunited.com 11/2/15 Neil Redfearn was full of praise for his side after guiding them to an impressive 2-0 win at Reading on Tuesday night, describing it as "as good of an away performance as we've had". United had never previously won at the Madejski Stadium but second-half goals from Luke Murphy and Sam Byram made it back-to-back Championship wins on the road in a manner which pleased the head coach. "I thought we showed real commitment," said Redfearn. "When the game was tight, I thought we worked really hard to get there. "In the end, the game opened up and we got our chances. We played good football on a difficult surface. "I thought, defensively, the whole 11 pulled together and it’s as good of an away performance as we’ve had." Redfearn made three changes from the home defeat to Brentford, with Liam Cooper and Rodolph Austin missing out through illness so Giuseppe Bellusci and Tommaso Bianchi were recalled, while Alex Mowatt ...

Mail 10/2/15 By ADAM SHERGOLD AT THE MADEJSKI STADIUM Luke Murphy and Sam Byram fired Leeds United to a crucial victory at Reading that boosts their chances of staying in the Championship. Murphy opened the scoring at the Madejski Stadium just after the hour when his shot from 25 yards bounced in despite a strong hand from goalkeeper Adam Federici. And Byram made sure in stoppage time when he headed in Steve Morison’s cross at the back post, sparking jubilant scenes in the away end. The three points will come as a blessed relief for manager Neil Redfearn and his team, who have been sucked into the relegation dogfight amid their off-field troubles. They started the night just five points above the drop zone and knew defeat wasn’t really an option against Steve Clarke’s men, who saw their play-off hopes all but killed off by this result. The hosts made two changes from the team that won 2-1 at Wolves on Saturday, a result that extended their recent run to just one loss in nine gam...

Yorkshire Evening Post 10/2/15 by Leon Wobschall NEIL Redfearn has thrown down the gauntlet to Leeds United’s striking department ahead of tonight’s Championship clash at Reading. United suffered frustration, not just with referee Graham Salisbury but also in front of goal in Saturday’s 1-0 home defeat to Brentford with Redfearn’s 20th-placed side having netted just five times in open play in 10 league matches since the start of December. In that spell, just two goals have arrived from forwards in open play, with Billy Sharp netting a late winner at Huddersfield Town on January 31 and Mirco Antenucci scoring in United’s 4-1 loss at Ipswich Town. It represents an area of some concern for Redfearn, who says that a winger remains on his wish-list in the emergency loan window which is now open for business – and possibly a striker if things don’t change. Meanwhile, recent signing Edgar Cani insists that he is ready for the first-team call after coming on from the bench late on agains...

Yorkshire Evening Post 9/2/15 NEIL REDFEARN is urging Chris Dawson to keep persevering in his quest to be the next young Leeds United starlet propelled into the first team. While the likes of Lewis Cook, Alex Mowatt and Sam Byram are fully recognised as integral members of the United squad, with Charlie Taylor also now establishing himself, Dawson is still awaiting his big breakthrough. Despite being impressive for the development squad this season, the Dewsbury-born midfielder, now 20, has featured just twice for the first team in 2014-15. Both appearances have come off the substitutes’ bench, with his last appearance coming in the 1-0 loss to Fulham on December 16. Redfearn says at this current juncture that being in and around the first-team squad is the best option for the pint-sized schemer, handed his full debut in the home game against Derby County on April 1, 2013. But the United head coach admits that there may come a time in the future when he will need to go out on loa...

Yorkshire Evening Post 9/2/15 by Leon Wobschall NEW Leeds United striker Edgar Cani says that he has fulfilled one of his footballing dreams by playing in England for the Whites. The 6ft 4in targetman, who made his debut as a late substitute in the weekend home defeat to Brentford, is hoping to endear himself with Whites supporters in the coming weeks and months - and is itching to be involved in the Championship clash at Reading. Signed initially on loan for the rest of the season from Serie B side Catania, the Albanian international has revealed his hopes of making a positive impression in his quest to secure a long-term contract at Elland Road. On his debut and his quest to earn himself an extended contract at Leeds, Cani, 25, said: “I love to play here and the feeling you get here is special and I hope to stay here a long time. “I think my characteristics will allow me to play here. “It is a very nice stadium with a lot of fans and it was a really nice feeling (on Saturday)....

LEEDS United’s former technical director has brought a High Court damages claim over his dismissal for sending an email containing “obscene” images of naked women in the shower. Gwyn Williams, 66, who was summarily dismissed for gross misconduct in July 2013, is seeking up to £250,000 in compensation for breach of contract. He claims that the email he sent to ex-Chelsea colleague Dennis Wise, Gus Poyet - now head coach of Sunderland - and Carol Lamb, a receptionist at the club, was part of a “dirty Leeds” joke, referring to the club’s reputation for heavy tackling in the 1970s. His counsel, Daniel Barnett, has told Mr Justice Lewis at London’s High Court that an attachment to the March 2008 email contained some images of a “Benny Hill” or “saucy postcard” nature while others went a little further, showing genitalia and women hugging and caressing each other. “But they fall considerably short of hard-core pornography, or images that are likely to shock and disturb. They are innocuo...

Yorkshire Post 9/2/15 YOU get the impression that only the likes of Peter Ridsdale, Alan Smith and a few selected others will be handed a more hostile reception if they choose to re-visit Leeds United than Graham Salisbury. The Lancastrian official was the villain of the piece, not for the first time at Leeds, with his erratic performance the main talking point as United’s mini-revival came to a frustrating end. Salisbury, who awarded a controversial penalty late on for Charlton in their 2-2 draw at Leeds in November, snubbed several spot-kick appeals for the hosts, most notably one late on in the first half when Moses Odubajo’s clumsy foul on Rudy Austin somehow went unpunished. An indiscretion by the same player on Austin early on in the second half also fell on deaf ears, with matters compounded by a foul and a perceived handball offence in the build-up to the only goal of the game on 65 minutes from Alex Pritchard to rub salt into the wounds. It made for the most frustrating o...