Mighty Leeds Weblog

A look at the stats from the Leeds United star's breakthrough season After winning Young Player of the Year at club and league level in recent weeks, Opta statistician and Leeds United fan Jonny Cooper takes a look at some of the numbers behind Archie Gray's breakthrough season and how it compares to others who have worn the Leeds United shirt at an early age. When Archie Gray made his Leeds United debut in August against Cardiff, he wasn’t just following in the footsteps of a long line of academy graduates to play for the Leeds first team – much more than that, he was the fourth member of his own family to pull on the white shirt, continuing an association with the club that stems back to New Year’s Day in 1966 when his great uncle Eddie made his debut for the club. Following Eddie was his brother and Archie’s grandfather Frank in 1973 and then Frank’s son and Archie’s father Andy in 1995. Andy’s final game – in his second spell – was 47 years to the day after Eddie’s firs...

In this extract from Admiral: 50 Years of the Replica Shirt, contributor Rob Bagchi tells of Don Revie’s Leeds United revamp – with a little help from the away kit. By Rob Bagchi As spring crawled towards summer in 1973, Leeds United were finished. At Second Division Sunderland's homecoming after beating Don Revie's side in the FA Cup final, six of their supporters carried a coffin on to the Roker Park pitch with 'Leeds died 1973' crowingly daubed on the side. The remains of Europe's most consistently strong side over the past nine years were laid to rest in the centre-circle. A few days later Leeds were swizzed out of the Cup Winners' Cup by a refereeing performance of such baroque partiality in the final against AC Milan that it seemed to symbolise the nadir of all the lousy luck they had endured over the preceding decade. At the start of the following season, Revie had rallied his players to summon their defiance. "You lads are good enough to ram...

Leeds United manager Daniel Farke hosts his pre-match press conference this afternoon ahead of the Whites’ trip to face Queens Park Rangers tomorrow night. By Joe Donnohue Leeds’ penultimate fixture of the regular Championship season takes place tomorrow night with United knowing a win puts increased pressure on Kieran McKenna’s third place Ipswich Town to keep pace with league leaders Leicester City and Farke’s men. The Whites were back to winning ways on Monday night, defeating Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium, but victory came at a cost with Dan James ruled out for the trip to Loftus Road with a costal cartilage injury and torn oblique abdominal muscle. James’ international teammate Joe Rodon also took a knock to his calf in the 4-3 win against Boro and an update on his condition is expected to be provided by Farke during today’s press conference. Farke on players' ability in crunch times I was convinced of the character a few days after I arrived and then when...

Daniel Farke's young Leeds United team is treading new and perilous territory and maybe that's not such a bad thing. By Graham Smyth This is all a bit exciting, isn't it? Two games to go, automatic promotion still possible. It's exciting in the same way that a monstrous rollercoaster is exciting when you finally get to the head of the queue. You know you want the experience, you know you should enjoy it but you know there's a reason for your fear. It's that excitement that turns the stomach just a little. And though the proximity to promotion is not unfamiliar to Leeds fans, it most certainly is for the vast majority of the players they'll follow to London on Friday night. There are remnants of the Marcelo Bielsa 2020 Championship-winning side in the squad Farke has available to him. Patrick Bamford, Illan Meslier, Liam Cooper and Jamie Shackleton were all there and played parts of varying significance in that triumph, one that looked quite different t...

Leeds United are expected to have a slight psychological advantage over promotion rivals Ipswich Town heading into the final week of the season, but only if they win on Friday night at Queens Park Rangers. By Joe Donnohue Drawing on wisdom and research into penalty shootouts, Leeds could certainly benefit from the EFL's scheduling of theirs and Ipswich's remaining fixtures as it looks increasingly likely to be between those two sides for who takes second place and automatic promotion to the Premier League. It follows Leicester City's eventual five-goal drubbing of fourth place Southampton on Tuesday evening, 24 hours on from Leeds' own return to winning ways with a 4-3 triumph at the Riverside Stadium. The Foxes moved onto 94 points, four clear of second place Leeds and no matter what will enter the final weekend of the campaign ahead of Daniel Farke's men. There is no such guarantee with Ipswich though, as the Suffolk club play twice before the lunchtime kick...

BY DECLAN HARTE Leeds United are planning to expand their home stadium to a capacity of 50,000 Leeds United have held talks with relevant stakeholders in the city as the club continues to take steps towards expanding Elland Road. According to iNews, the Whites are working on plans to expand their home stadium to 50,000. The Championship side is currently battling for promotion to the Premier League under Daniel Farke, but their place in the top flight for next year is far from guaranteed. Elland Road has proven an iconic home for the club, with a capacity of 37,890. But 49ers Enterprises, who took over full control of Leeds last summer, are hoping to expand the size of the stadium in the near future. Leeds are beginning plans for the upcoming summer, but are unable to do anything concrete until their league status is secure. Farke’s side currently occupies a place inside the automatic promotion places, but Ipswich Town are only a point behind in third and have a game in...

Southampton look set for play-offs with Leicester's thumping win leaving Leeds United and Ipswich Town set to battle for second-place. By Kyle Newbould Russell Martin suggested his Southampton side went into ‘self-preservation mode’ during their dismal 5-0 thrashing at Leicester City. Southampton endured a torrid night at the King Power Stadium with defeat leaving them six points adrift of Leeds United with just two games remaining. Leicester winger Abdul Fatawu was the hat-trick hero on the night, with Wilfred Ndidi and Jamie Vardy also netting on a brilliant evening for the hosts. All of Leicester’s goals were avoidable from Southampton’s point of view as a concerning lack of urgency saw them thrashed. Defeat for Southampton all but ended any hope of a top-two finish, with a vastly inferior goal difference making it almost impossible to catch Leeds. The manner of the defeat will concern Martin, who saw his side carved open all too often. The former Swansea boss has often ...