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Good Morning. It's Thursday 13th July, and here are the latest headlines from Elland Road
Leeds kick off pre-season with loss
Leeds kicked off their pre-season tour of Norway with a 2-0 defeat against Manchester Utd in Oslo. It was almost a completely unrecognisable line-up, when compared to the dross of last season. Many familiar names (or should I say wage thieves) stayed at home, no doubt, never to be seen in a Leeds shirt again. The only players who travelled but were not part of the match day squad were Max Wober and Helder Costa, who only returned to training at Thorp Arch on Monday.
Farke did well to make the match competitive, given their lack of preparation, and mass exodus of players. The red side of Manchester were always in control, but it took them 67 minutes to break down a stubborn Leeds defence. Once breached, Erik ten Hag's team could have grabbed a hat-full, but a combination of last ditch defending and wasteful finishing kept the scoreline respectable.
Earlier in the day, Daniel Farke had deliberately put his players through a debilitating training session, to see how they would perform when tired. Cody Drameh was Leeds only player to register 90 minutes.
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That was a solid start - Farke
Speaking after the game, a philosophical Daniel Farke admitted that despite the loss, there was plenty to be pleased about. Failing to prepare for relegation has seriously hampered Leeds pre-season preparations, but in just six days (of training), the former Norwich City gaffer can already see signs of improvement.
Farke saw glimpses of what he wants to bring to the pitch, and expressed his delight at keeping a clean sheet in the first half, not allowing the opponents too many big opportunities, and looking sharp on the counter-attack.
"I'm always struggling when you lose a football game. I will always struggle during my whole life to accept a loss, but if you're really honest, we also knew this game, and this opponent, came a bit too early in pre-season and just after being together for five days."
"For that, I have to say the lads were there with a really solid start and I liked in the first half we accepted Man United’s a really good side. They had lots of possession and tried to put pressure on us, but it was important to dig in and also to be really, really compact and solid in defending."
"I was proud the lads were able to return back to the dressing room at half-time with a clean sheet. We also looked sharp on the counter-attack, apart from two or three individual errors, we didn't allow them to have too many big chances."
"Second half I liked also our attitude to bring the game more and more into their half. We had good scenes in our pressing, good intensity and it felt a bit [like] the momentum changes and we could even win this game."
"You have to be also clinical and then play without any mistakes in the back and sadly we had one or two individual errors in the situation [and] conceded out of this. I’m not too annoyed with the goals because, in the last six days, we have just worked on our possession and how we want to work with the ball and not at all on what we want to do against the ball."
"To come out against such a strong side like Man United, that was a solid start. I saw many glimpses of what we want to bring on the pitch."
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Galatasaray keen on Firpo
Turkish media outlet 'Fotospor' have reported that Galatasaray have opened communication with Leeds Utd regarding the services of Junior Firpo. The modern day 'Tom Lees' has frustrated the Leeds faithful his his inconsistent performances since his £12m move from Barcelona two years ago. On his day, he can be brilliant, but for whatever reason, the finger of blame is never far away.
He was tipped to join Olympique de Marseille, but the Ligue 1 outfit have now lost interest in the 26yo, opening up an opportunity to potentially mend bridges with Galatasaray. It is believed that Leeds have refused to do business with their Turkish counterparts ever since that fateful night in Taksim Square, 23 years ago, where Kevin Speight and Christopher Loftus were brutally murdered.
Galatasaray are interested in taking Firpo on loan, with an option to buy. Media sources closer to home indicate Leeds are only interested in loan deals, as former club Barcelona have a 20% sell on clause.
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...... meanwhile firpo insists it's a 40% sell on clause 
