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Time to get behind the lads

With so much negativity around the place at the moment, it’s easy to get drawn in and lose sight of the reason you actually dedicate your Saturday afternoons to football. I used to get a real buzz from walking through the turnstile at Elland Road. These days, when I approach the stadium the overriding emotion is one of dread. The atmosphere is nowhere near as passionate and as vibrant as it used to be, the stewards do their best to ruin what atmosphere there is and there are more chants about the chairman than the players on the field. It’s not a nice environment and plays into the hands of the opposition. The atmosphere this season is the worst I can remember. It’s been on the decline for a while now but it’s hit a new low during this campaign. A couple of exceptions aside, the place has been more...

Old boy McCarthy bails Leeds out

Lady Luck shone on Leeds United again yesterday as Ipswich Town imploded in the last 20 minutes of their game at Elland Road. Simon Grayson owes a debt of gratitude to former loanee Alex McCarthy. Up until his inexplicable error, Leeds weren’t in the game. It was dour, to put it mildly. There was no spark, no direction and the side looked devoid of confidence in front of a disgruntled crowd. Again, that’s putting it mildly. Protests before the game showed the ill feeling towards Ken Bates and the protests continued in the stadium. The ‘Bates out’ chants were as loud as I’ve heard them and that was all we heard all game really. There was no real support for the team, which was disappointing, but there is just an air of resignation around the place. The fans feel we can’t move forward with Bates in charge. He is holding us...

Delph deal scant consolation

Leeds United today completed the signing of former star Fabian Delph on an initial loan deal until February 25, but the move will do little to ease tensions between the club and the fans. Whilst it is great to see Delph back, it is yet more short-sightedness by the club. Ken Bates often talks about Peter Ridsdale’s short-termism, but he and Simon Grayson are exactly the same in building a squad. We hedge our bets with loan signings and in doing so risk losing our top players if we don’t achieve promotion, then we have to rebuild again in the summer. Last season, we didn’t invest in January, gambled on Jake Livermore and Barry Bannan and it backfired. We lost Neil Kilkenny, Kasper Schmeichel, Bradley Johnson and Max Gradel in the summer. We don’t seem to have a clear transfer strategy in place. We should be building our squad around...
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Bates dismantling Leeds, brick by brick

Leeds United all but admitted defeat in the Championship promotion race today when they announced club captain and longest-serving player Jonny Howson was on his way to Norwich City. To say this is a bitter pill to swallow would be an understatement. Things just go from bad to worse. The lack of ambition from the...

No incentive to renew Season Tickets

We are over halfway through the January transfer window and recently received Season Ticket renewal forms are lurking dangerously close to the bin in the homes of Leeds United fans everywhere. Each transfer window is a carbon copy of the last. We go from “one or two in before the weekend” to “we’ll only bring in...

Leeds fail to make man advantage count

Leeds United left Selhurst Park with a point after struggling to break down a stubborn Crystal Palace side. Palace took the lead early on through a neat Chris Martin finish, before the returning Robert Snodgrass equalised off the bench as Leeds dominated the second half against ten-man Palace. Unfortunately, endeavour and attitude didn’t translate into...

Leeds praying for Palace cup hangover

Leeds United head to London for the second time in a week to face a Crystal Palace side reborn under Dougie Freedman. The former Leeds man has turned around the fortunes of a struggling side in his year in charge and is within 90 minutes of a Wembley appearance. They will take great heart and...

Cup distraction out of the way for Leeds

Leeds United bowed out of the FA Cup at the third round stage after falling at the hands of a Thierry Henry-inspired Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium last night. It seemed inevitable Henry would be the man to separate the two sides. It came as no surprise to me when he stroked the ball past Andy Lonergan...

Leeds have bigger fish to fry

The FA Cup third round tie at Arsenal tomorrow night is a welcome distraction from the rigours of Championship football, but Leeds United boss Simon Grayson will be hoping it is not the start of an energy-sapping cup run. Don’t get me wrong, he will want to win the game, we all do. Despite what...

Post-mortem does the trick

As Leeds United fans left Oakwell on New Year’s Eve, the discontent was palpable. Many supporters felt Simon Grayson had one game to save his job. Andy Lonergan today revealed the players themselves held an inquest into the embarrassing defeat to our noisy neighbours. It was a terrible defeat and an even worse performance. The fans turned...

Late goals spare Grayson

Leeds United started 2012 with a bang after coming from behind to beat 10-man Burnley 2-1 at Elland Road. After two predictable results on the spin for Leeds at Derby and Barnsley, it was Burnley’s turn to endure their very own deja vu. We seem to have more bogey sides than anybody else in the...

Leeds end year with another horror show

Leeds United brought the curtain down on a frustrating year with yet another dreadful display at Oakwell. It was a case of deja vu for the travelling Leeds fans. Losing to a side like Barnsley is hard to take, getting taken apart by them on their own patch for the second season in succession is...

Review of the year 2011 – Part three

August: After a disappointing summer in the transfer market, Leeds United went into the new season with a threadbare squad. Andy Lonergan, Darren O’Dea and Michael Brown made their debuts on the opening day against Southampton, but could do little to prevent an embarrassing defeat against the Championship new boys. The result and performance left...

Review of the year 2011 – Part two

April: Leeds United took on Nottingham Forest after the international break, with both sides vying for a play-off spot. Barry Bannan started, with Jake Livermore taking his place on the bench after his loan move from Tottenham. Leeds won the game 4-1, but the scoreline flattered them. Forest played the best part of an hour...

Review of the year 2011 – Part one

It hasn’t been the best of years for Leeds United. The first few months of 2011 saw us throw away a golden opportunity, we didn’t compete in the summer transfer market and have been plagued by inconsistency during the opening months of the 2011-12 season. First, let’s take a look at our league form in 2011....