Mighty Leeds Weblog

By Graham Smyth Leeds United boss Daniel Farke was worried by his side’s lightning fast start against Watford so a 2-1 victory left him delighted. The Whites appeared to be en route to a rout when they raced to a 2-0 lead inside seven minutes. Largie Ramazani’s shot was fumbled into the net by keeper Daniel Bachmann and the stopper then parried a cross straight to Brenden Aaronson who doubled the hosts’ lead. But the floodgates never opened. The first half evened out, Watford stemmed the tide and then made things more interesting with a goal inside 90 seconds of the restart. Leeds had chances to pull further in front - Jayden Bogle hit the woodwork and substitute Mateo Joseph missed a sitter from a wonderful Daniel James cross - but the game finished without further scoring. Farke’s concern was that Leeds had gone ahead so early that a situation he has experienced many times would ensue. “First of all I'm really happy with the three points,” he said. “I was worried after 10...

By Leon Wobschall AHEAD of the game, Daniel Farke urged everyone connected with Leeds United not to get too excited after Friday night’s derby highs - even cajoling the club’s ballboys not to ‘go to sleep’. After the most brisk of first halves from his side - aided by the ineptitude of Watford keeper Daniel Bachmann - and a lightning start which saw two goals arrive in double-quick time, Leeds set themselves a platform to feast in front of the Kop going into the second period and were looking very much alive. Instead, they were caught dozing for a spell and it was nothing to do with the ballboys. Watford improved on the restart and made a game of it after Kwadwo Baah’s early goal. The early risers in the first period were definitely Leeds with Largie Ramazani - who fired a third goal in United colours before soon exiting with an injury issue - and birthday boy Brenden Aaronson, who also profited after Herr Bachmann presented him with a gift as he turned 24, seemingly nailing ...

By Lee Sobot Leeds took on Watford at Elland Road knowing a win by two goals would take them top. Leeds United moved back into the Championship's automatic promotion places as early goals from Largie Ramazani and birthday boy Brenden Aaronson blitzed Watford en route to a 2-1 victory at Elland Road. Whites boss Daniel Farke named an unchanged team for the third game running, fresh from Friday night's impressive 2-0 victory at home to previously unbeaten Sheffield United. With leaders Sunderland and second-placed Burnley not playing again until Wednesday night, Leeds knew that a win by two clear goals would take them from third to first, albeit having played a game more. Watford arrived at Elland Road sat eighth in the table and just three points behind Leeds but with a woeful recent away run, prolonged by the weekend's 3-0 defeat at rivals Luton Town. Tom Cleverley's side were also dealt a fresh blow ahead of kick-off with the news that Fisayo Dele-Bashiru h...

By Harry Mail Leeds United are still open to bolstering their ranks, despite the transfer window being shut Josuha Guilavogui has emerged as a free agent option for Leeds United recently. The 34-year-old, who is a former France international, is available following his exit from Mainz 05 at the end of last season. His contract with the Bundesliga outfit officially expired in late June and he has since been weighing up his options. The fact he is unattached at the moment means the Whites are able to sign him outside of the transfer window. Leeds are looking at signing a free agent midfielder following injuries to Ethan Ampadu and Ilia Gruev. Guilavogui appeared at Elland Road on Friday night as he watched the win over Sheffield United from the stands. Here is a everything you need to know about him.... Where is Leeds United target Guilavogui from? Leeds-linked Guilavogui was born to Guinean parents in Ollioules in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern Franc...

By Joe Donnohue Leeds United's midfield injury nightmare may have inadvertently permitted Daniel Farke to stumble across an approach which takes his Whites to another level. Injuries sustained just days apart to midfield pairing Ethan Ampadu and Ilia Gruev, which will keep them out until the New Year, had the potential to derail Leeds' season. Losing the club captain, capable of playing at centre-half or centre-mid without skipping a beat, and the individual whose arrival into the starting lineup last season coincided with 12 wins from Leeds' next 13, for an extended period was a disastrous scenario. It could still prove to be, considering Leeds only have two senior central midfielders to pick from for the next few months, prior to an anticipated free agent signing, and no out-and-out 'deep six', as Farke likes to call it. In their absence, Ao Tanaka and Joe Rothwell have deputised for Ampadu and Gruev. Whilst the makeshift pairing are anything but well-ac...

Three is the magic number Written by: William Almond Leeds vs Watford. I see that fixture and I think 3-0. I suppose it’s like Pavlov’s dog, if instead of conducting experiments on dogs that included completely removing their oesophaguses, he inflicted the much more serious punishment of forcing them to support Leeds United between 2006 and the present day. There might be some justification for it though. The stats nerds will tell you that a 3-0 scoreline occurs in roughly 6% of football matches, or about once every fifteen games. Leeds and Watford have produced four such scorelines in their last seventeen encounters, or basically one in four. And in their own way, all of these three nils have been significant. So ahead of Tuesday night’s clash, I thought I’d have a look back at them to try to figure out what’s going on here. Leeds 0-3 Watford — May 2006 Of course, there’s only one place to start. The Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, on May 21, 2006. Going into the play-offs ...

Generational talents Written by: Chris McMenamy Joe Rothwell and Ao Tanaka stroked the ball about with ease as Leeds United eased past Sheffield United. Both were unfazed by the prospect of facing an unbeaten side in only their third game playing together and their opponents were forced to watch on in awe, like cavemen watching their mate rub two sticks together for the first time. This was supposed to be a brutal test and the Rothwell-Tanaka tandem were expected to wilt more than Ethan Ampadu might have alongside our other injured midfielder, Ilia Gruev. The imagined battle was anticlimactic. Perhaps we should have seen it coming when, instead of going on one of his vintage tirades, Chris Wilder chose to praise Leeds and even referred to them as a “top six club”. What?! This isn’t the Chris Wilder we know and despise. I was more impressed with Rothwell on Friday night, but only because my expectations were lower. Had we signed a silky playmaking midfielder from Spain rather th...