New models at a new Elland Road
When the old West Stand goes down, almost 70 years of tradition will go with it. Meanwhile Leeds are going up, to the Premier League, where everyone is looking for something new. And expensive.
Tag
Essays
A collection of 124 posts
Parades go by
"Memories like this can’t be bought. There will never be another day like this," Howard Wilkinson told the crowd in the Town Hall, and even the other days like that weren't quite like it.
Merry go round, together
Would Joe Rodon come out in a 1992 Umbro tracksuit? Would Pascal Struijk do a Jon Newsome and nearly drop the cup? Would Illan Meslier say he doesn't know why he loves us, but he loves us?
Daniel Farke, emotions, and the way promotion was won
Leeds fans are, as Farke says, emotional. It doesn't matter how it makes the manager feel, as Howard Wilkinson once said, but it mattered that the team saw their manager using fans' emotions as fuel for his own calm. Since Chris Wilder called his club's fans a 'disgrace', Leeds have won every game.
What do we do about Leeds United being incredibly good for two years?
At some point we have to factor in that these two seasons, dissatisfying as they might feel now or ultimately become, have been once-every-twenty-season experiences, twice.
Ironing the grid
2024 was going to be the Niners' big year, but they swung and missed. Oh wait, that's the other thing isn't it. Um, they dropped the puck? Does that sound right?
Taking the time to build, and protagonism versus pragmatism
Squad rules mean extracting bang from buck is not an easy task. When you only have to beat the bottom three, how do you do it?
Tuftyball, or Leeds United adapting to the realities
The tension of watching Daniel Farke's Leeds was summed up in these moments against Sunderland, football that pushes you to the brink of frustration then seesaws suddenly into giving you what you want.
Fear, fascination, and the 'swelling power' of fans uniting behind players
Football is a game about players watched by fans — monetised by clubs. What happens if fans start cutting clubs out?
The Premier League, managers, and minding the gap
Here was a look behind the scenes of a Premier League club, a chance to taste the sauce they call their science, and it made me wonder if Don Goodman and Andy Hinchcliffe might qualify as deep footie thinkers after all.