'No weak links'published at 17:19 18 September 2023
17:19 18 September 2023
In the latest episode of BBC Radio Leeds' Don't Go To Bed Just Yet podcast, Jonny Buchan, Adam Pope and Kaiser Chiefs bassist Simon Rix break down the Whites' morale-boosting 3-0 win over Millwall and assess their promotion credentials.
"It was incredible," Pope said on the performance.
"I went into the game more confident of Leeds winning at Millwall than I have ever been. This was consummate and, without being completely well oiled, a really goof performance. Leeds totally did their job.
"Joe Rodon was my man of the match, which is mad when you win 3-0 and pick a defender. He set the tone during a difficult 10 minutes where they had to weather a lot of set-pieces.
"They saw it out and the played some good stuff, the scoreline was thoroughly merited and it was a really, really good victory.
Farke on returning players, number 10 options and 'unbelievable' Graypublished at 14:28 15 September 2023
14:28 15 September 2023
Adam Pope, BBC Radio Leeds
Leeds United boss Daniel Farke has been speaking to the media before the Whites' Championship game at Millwall on Sunday.
Here are the key lines from his news conference:
There was some encouraging team news, with captain Liam Cooper (foot), left-back Sam Byram and winger Dan James (both abductor) are all available to return after injury. There is a chance for Ilia Gruev and Glen Kamara to make their first starts for the club.
However, Djed Spence (knee) is a major doubt and Junior Firpo will miss out, while Patrick Bamford (hamstring) will not feature in the next three matches but is recovering well. Stuart Dallas, who has been out since April 2022 with a broken leg, is improving but remains sidelined.
Farke said the answer to building up the confidence of the misfiring Georginio Rutter has been "hard work" over the international break.
Regarding the number 10 role, Farke said he has several options, with Joel Piroe, Ian Poveda, Crysencio Summerville and Joe Gelhardt all able to play there. However, he added: "Perhaps not like Paul Gascoigne of 20 years ago!"
On Archie Gray, the German said: "[He is] blessed unbelievable ability. He is there with outstanding data. We decided it’s best for him to recover a bit."
He added: "We have to make sure the pressure is not too much. If he carries on this trajectory, it’ll be good for the country too."
From Maguire to Rutter - how do you build confidence?published at 11:31 14 September 2023
11:31 14 September 2023
Adam Pope, BBC Radio Leeds
Club captain Liam Cooper, Whites' academy product and England international Kalvin Phillips as well as current striker Georginio Rutter have and do suffer from vilification.
Scapegoating of players is nothing new but England manager Gareth Southgate was resolute in his defence of centre-back Harry Maguire in the aftermath of his own-goal in the 3-1 defeat of Scotland at Hampden Park this week. Maguire has been pilloried in some quarters for his performances for both club and country, but Southgate hit back at the out-of-favour Manchester United defender.
Southgate said: "This boy has been integral to one of the most successful periods in English football. He's played every game, He's played when he's not been in the rhythm of playing for his club at times. It's a joke, an absolute joke, I've never known a player treated the way he has been."
So why do we need scapegoats or someone to blame for all that is perceived to be wrong? Dr Gillian Cook is a senior lecturer in sports psychology at Liverpool's John Moores University. She told BBC Radio Leeds: "When our team isn't playing how we like them to play we can feel frustrated and angry. It can help us feel an awful lot better about ourselves if we push all those negative emotions onto an individual.
"One element that absolutely impacts on players potentially becoming scapegoats can be when they've been bought for vast sums of money, so potentially the club's record signing.
"That comes with an awful lot of expectation. Supporters and people around the club expect a lot from that individual and if expectations aren't met then that can come with an awful lot of scrutiny and highlight a lot of things that are going wrong. Then you get a self-fulfilling prophecy."
The plight of United striker Rutter, 21, can be aligned with Cook's observations. After arriving in a deal which could rise to £35m he has scored one goal in 18 appearances.
"Fans start to think about a player's mistakes, which are completely normal in every game, but when fans are primed to spot a particular player's mistakes then that's all they remember from that particular game," adds Cook.
"They don't remember the great passes, the great tackles, the great runs, they just remember the negatives. That can create its own narrative which people keep focusing on. When you get into a blame game it can have a huge effect on a player's confidence.
"It's particularly important to keep confidence high because that's the number one factor as it influences performance.
"That's why I was really pleased with Gareth Southgate coming out and backing Harry Maguire and saying how well he'd been playing for England because that is really ramping up the praise, encouragement and the confidence from a source that Harry will trust."
Leeds fans will not be particularly fussed I dare say as to what a player from Old Trafford will be going through but every club has a target individual at different moments. So how does the victim learn to cope?
"One of the main factors in sport is being resilient, dealing with adversity," says Cook. "So when you work with these players you have to normalise the experience that it will be difficult and that it's very normal."
Not being the GOAT should not mean a player is instead a scapegoat.
It will be interesting to see how United manager Daniel Farke, who has persisted with Rutter to date, manages to rebuild the Frenchman's confidence starting at Millwall on Sunday.
'He does wear Leeds shorts when he's training'published at 18:09 13 September 2023
18:09 13 September 2023
Could Leeds fans one day see Erling Haaland playing at Elland Road? Telegraph football journalist Luke Edwards on the Football Gossip Daily podcast doesn't think the idea is too "outlandish".
Don't Go To Bed Just Yet assesses words of Kinnear and Radrizzanipublished at 11:32 13 September 2023
11:32 13 September 2023
Image source, Getty Images
In a meeting with The Square Ball and a Q&A with the Leeds supporters trust, chief executive Angus Kinnear explained the situation around exit clauses for players after relegation.
By way of reply, former chairman Andrea Radrizzani commented on social media that Kinnear ought to be held responsible.
BBC Radio Leeds' Adam Pope and Kaiser Chiefs bassist Simon Rix weigh it up on the latest episode of the Don't Go To Bed Just Yet podcast.
Pope: "I am genuinely trying to see why Andrea took so much offence. I don't think Angus alluded to anything that Andrea had not before. He gets really personal but I thought Angus was making a solid point that Andrea could not take it any further. The time he should have got out was after the Brentford game."
Rix: "It's not a surprise to see Andrea getting involved. We have seen him defend himself from smaller things than this in the past. It just helps us remember that everything Angus said is his opinion and based on having to maintain relationships with people he is working with now. He does not want to throw friends and other colleagues in particular under the bus.
"It feels like Andrea has not taken to kindly to what has been represented."
'They are trying to find the balance'published at 16:12 12 September 2023
16:12 12 September 2023
The Don't Go To Bed Just Yet podcast team from BBC Radio Leeds have been discussing potential plans of the new Leeds United owners to modernise Elland Road while also balancing the need for future progression.
Kinnear 'looking to draw a line'published at 12:01 12 September 2023
12:01 12 September 2023
Image source, Getty Images
Angus Kinnear is perhaps "looking to draw a line" under past failures, said Kaiser Chiefs bassist Simon Rix as he assessed interviews given by the Leeds United chief executive to The Square Ball and the supporters' trust.
Speaking on BBC Radio Leeds' Don't Go To Bed Just Yet podcast, Rix said he felt Kinnear was candid about who should be blamed for the Whites' Premier League demise, but also seemed keen to press forward.
"Props to him for coming out and answering every question," said Rix. "He did not have to do it. The timing was good after the transfer window and he gave some excuses and reasons why things have not worked out.
"It felt the narrative was the club is looking to draw a line under what happened in the past, not just under Jesse Marsch but also under Marcelo Bielsa - and now focus 100% on Daniel Farke.
"It felt like Angus was willing to throw a few people under the bus. He did not think Andrea Radrizzani had done a brilliant job, but he was not willing to go for Viktor [Orta], who I think he has a closer relationship with."
BBC Radio Leeds' Adam Pope agreed, noting that Kinnear said the best time to remove Marsch would have been after the win at Brentford that kept them in the Premier League in the 2021-22 season.
"He said the board was not aligned and that was why they did not pull the trigger then," said Pope, "But that was a fatal error.
"I fail to understand how all of the decision-makers did not realise that then."
'It seems like Farke's got a system and he's not changing it'published at 10:53 7 September 2023
10:53 7 September 2023
In the latest episode of the Don't Go To Bed Just Yet podcast, the team discuss who will make the Leeds squad after the international break.
BBC Radio Leeds' Adam Pope said: "Should Spence start? That is a big call over Luke Ayling. Midfield will be interesting.
"A lot of people are saying Archie Gray's level just dropped off a bit, but he's been great this season. Does Kamara come in and get a start now to change it up while a lot of the team have two weeks rest?"
Simon Rix added: "My problem with it is that there’s not two weeks rest for some players.
"A few players and a few new players won't be around. You would expect they'd be working hard during the break.
"I get the impression from Farke that he's very loyal. I don’t think the starting line-up will be much different, he seems like he's got a system and he's not changing it."
Together. Strongerpublished at 16:29 6 September 2023
16:29 6 September 2023
Image source, Getty Images
Adam Pope, BBC Radio Leeds
Leeds United midfielder Ethan Ampadu is delighted to be surrounded by fellow Wales internationals at Elland Road. where he is feeling very much at home since his £7m move from Chelsea.
Winger Dan James, centre-back Joe Rodon and 17-year-old midfielder Charlie Crew are all working together at Thorp Arch under Whites manager Daniel Farke, as well as Wales boss Rob Page.
Ampadu, speaking about his new club before the international friendly against South Korea in Cardiff on Thursday (kick-off 19:45 BST), said: "I've integrated well. Everyone has welcomed me - fans, players. They've made it easy for me, and easy to play football.
"It's nice when you know a familiar face. It's easier to get along and obviously you learn how each other play. It's good to be around them.
"We know results-wise we can do better, but performance-wise - at the start of the season, with how things have gone so far - we can be pretty pleased with how we've been playing."
Ampadu, who is set to win his 45th cap and predicted to be a future Wales captain, understands what is at stake at United.
"We all know the surrounding feelings of what the objectives are for this year. We know what we have to do as a team, as a squad and as a club," added the 22-year-old.
"Obviously there's a lot of pressure to play at a massive club like Leeds, but it's a pressure we really try to enjoy and embrace."
In what has been a busy summer of incomings and outgoings at Elland Road, Ampadu believes team-mates like Tottenham loanee Rodon will benefit from putting roots down too.
"We both know how loans go. You do that to get game time," he said.
"He's settled in well. If you watch his performances, he's done well. It'll be good for him to settle down week in, week out. I don't need to tell you about Joe's qualities, everybody knows them already."
Ampadu is also impressed with Crew and understands what it is like to be a teenager involved with the Wales senior set-up.
"You can always feel a bit of pressure when you go up to train with the first team, but I think he showed that he enjoyed it and embraced it.
"You don't have to put any pressure on him. It's about him developing and getting used to being around a first team - whether it's here or at Leeds. I'm just really excited to see him embrace it."
James (adductor) will miss Wales' crucial European Championship qualifier against Latvia in Riga on Monday.
Last Saturday against Sheffield Wednesday, Leeds United were up against an 11-man defence they couldn't break down. Leeds had all the possession, and no conductor. Many more teams will play that way against them this season. So who is going to unlock the low-blocks of the Championship?
The last time the Peacocks were promoted they had Pablo Hernandez in the team. A number 10 who came alive in the final third. Since he was released, the calls to replace Pablo have gone unheeded.
"Every time I get the ball I look for Pablo," Kalvin Phillips once said of Hernandez. "He could create space in a 5cm square. I'd love to be able to do that but I don't think it's something you can learn."
Joel Piroe played at 10 on Saturday. It didn't seem to work. Georginio Rutter played at nine, and it's easy to imagine Piroe finishing many of the chances that fell to Rutter.
Daniel Farke's new era needs a conductor. If Phillips was right and what Pablo did can't be taught, Leeds might have to look at free agents or promoting a youth player. If the Whites are to mount a promotion challenge, they need a number 10.
'I can't remember that happening at all'published at 08:09 5 September 2023
08:09 5 September 2023
BBC Radio Leeds' Don't Go To Bed Just Yet podcast have been taking a deep-dive into the tactics used in the Whites' goalless draw against Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday.
🎧 New Leeds podcast out nowpublished at 00:55 2 September 2023
00:55 2 September 2023
It has been a long summer for Leeds United with a huge amount of players coming and going from Elland Road.
In the latest episode of BBC Radio Leeds' Don't Go To Bed Just Yet podcast, Jonny Buchan, Adam Pope and Kaiser Chiefs bassist Simon Rix were live in the studio to guide you through the closing hours of the transfer window.
Bournemouth sign Sinisterra on loan as Anthony joins Leedspublished at 00:02 2 September 2023
00:02 2 September 2023
Image source, Getty Images
Bournemouth have signed winger Luis Sinisterra on a season-long loan from Leeds United as part of a deal which also sees Jaidon Anthony join the Whites for the remainder of the campaign.
AFC Bournemouth chief executive Neill Blake said: "We’re delighted to bring Luis to the club and I have no doubt that he’ll be a superb addition to our squad.
"He’s a player that has already experienced Premier League football and has featured at the top level in Europe too, so we’re really looking forward to having him with us."
Anthony is Leeds' ninth and final arrival of the summer transfer window.
