Good Morning. It's Wednesday 2nd April, and here are the latest headlines from Elland Road Ampadu could act as mediator between Daniel Farke and the Dressing room Pressure is intensifying on Leeds United manager Daniel Farke to address the glaring issue between the sticks! Illan Meslier's costly mistakes have become a worrying trend this season, prompting imminent action be taken before Leeds trip to Kenilworth Road at the weekend. The criticism reached fever point following Saturday's draw with Swansea City. BBC's Adam Pope didn't mince his words, highlighting Meslier's fumble, leading to O'Brien's goal: "If he doesn’t drop that ball, then it’s another victory." This sentiment echoes the growing frustration among fans and pundits, but the crucial question is: does this lack of faith extend to the Elland Road dressing room itself? Pope even suggested a potential intervention from club captain Ethan Ampadu, acting as a crucial mediator between the squad and the manager. He believes Farke should consult the crocked Welshman to assess the team's confidence in Meslier. "Maybe Farke sits down with Ampadu and says, ‘Ethan, do the lads trust him at all, be honest, look me in the eyes and tell me, do they still want him behind them? Or is it time for a change – will they feel better with Karl Darlow in?'" Pope stated on his 'Don’t Go To Bed Yet' podcast. The truth is, Meslier's errors haven't been isolated incidents. They've been a consistent problem throughout the season, rearing their ugly head in matches against Portsmouth, Hull, Sunderland, and Sheffield United. These mistakes have demonstrably impacted Leeds' results, leading to crucial dropped points and hindering their promotion aspirations. Let's not lay all the blame at Meslier's door. Collectively, Leeds were awful at the weekend, and had it not been for Mes' first half penalty save (his first since 2021) who knows how the match may have unfolded. Ultimately, the responsibility rests squarely on Farke's shoulders. He must make a decisive decision and stick with it, whether it be a change of personnel or a massive show of unity! please log in to view this image Sobering Post-Relegation reality check Following their relegation from the Premier League, Leeds United's financial accounts for the 2023-24 season paint a clear picture of the challenges faced by the club. Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has dissected the figures, offering insight into the immediate impact of dropping down to the Championship. Daniel Farke's arrival at Elland Road was met with the harsh reality of a squad hampered by relegation loan clauses, a legacy of Victor Orta's player contracts. These clauses allowed key players like Jack Harrison, Robin Koch, and Brenden Aaronson to depart on loan, impacting both the team's strength and potential transfer revenue. Maguire's analysis highlights the significant financial adjustments the club had to undergo. Revenue plummeted to £128 million, a substantial 33% decrease compared to the previous Premier League season. While wages were reduced by an impressive 42% to £84 million, the club still carries significant financial obligations. As Maguire summarized, "Leeds United 23/24 accounts published. Key figures. Revenue: £128m, 33% [down]. Wages: £84m, 42% [down]. Amortisation: £60m, 27% [down]. Underlying loss: £70m, 10% [down]." Further details reveal the extent of player trading activity: "Player sale profits: £34m, 54% [down]. Loss before tax: £61m, 80% [up]. Player purchases: £38m. Player sales/departures: £69m. Transfer fees paid for total squad: £281m." These figures illustrate the delicate balancing act Leeds had to perform, selling players to generate income while attempting to remain competitive. Perhaps most revealing are the figures related to transfer fees: "Transfer fee receivables [cash owed in instalments from other clubs]: £69m. Transfer fee payables [cash owed in installment to other clubs]: £142m." While the amount owed to other clubs has decreased from £190 million, it still represents a considerable financial burden. These accounts offer a sobering look at the financial ramifications of relegation for Leeds United. While cost-cutting measures have been implemented, the club faces the ongoing challenge of managing debt and rebuilding for a sustainable future. The massive differential in financial support makes it imperative that Leeds get promoted this time out - or face getting picked apart in the transfer market, player by player. please log in to view this image
I look at two clubs in particular for a comparison to ours at present. Newcastle and Villa. Both clubs in similar messes to us six years ago. This season has seen 300000 Geordies take to the street to celebrate their Caraboa win and rightly so, Villa could yet feature in two finals this season. Between them they have two of the finest coaches in the English game. Compare to our mess. Season after season being hampered by financial problems and for the most part second rate coaches. It's clear even if promoted there wont be any major investment even though some fans think we've billions waiting in a big safe to push us to the next level. Im just pissed off that we can never seem to catch a break and get owners in with a clue what they're doing, it often feels like were supporting a team of accountants and dodgy ones at that
Last chance saloon time... If we mess up again it's another looooooong stretch out of the top division and the stadium plans would be surely mothballed and our 'best' sold off ....7 game mini season from Saturday and just about holding onto 2nd ....you want it punks...well do you
Think one major difference between Villa/Newcastle and us, is that both of those have had the majority of the years since we were relegated from the PL in 2003, in the PL. We’ve had 3 out of the last 22 there. So purely in financial terms we’ve had a far bigger hit than either, especially Villa, who I don’t think they spent much time at all without PL or parachute payments. Newcastle less so, seem to recall they’ve had a few yo yo seasons between Prem/Champs.
Newcastle relegated twice in PL era, bounced straight back as champions both times. Also 1st PL season, they were in the 2nd tier. Villa just the one relegation, but spent 3 seasons in the 2nd tier. 3-3 draw
Morning all Some short memories, some rightful concerns Dangerous ground when you start inviting players to comment on an individual’s performance for so many reasons Most obvious is if 8 players say yes he is ****, 5 players say he’s doing great, you’ve suddenly divided the dressing room into two camps
The biggest difference has been the quality of the recruitment from boardroom right through the playing staff. They both got top quality, we got mediocrity. Don't think its helped our cause either that our past and last owners knew nothing about football when buying their shares and had zero experience
On a more positive note. Our u21's made the national league final at Wembley after beating Altrincham last night. Most of our u21 squad are still eligible for our u18's too. That's a huge positive for the kids and possibly for our future. Final is at Wembley 1st June.
Agreed but still say Saturdays debacle ultimately finished with half a team failing miserably to do the simple thing in the last minute. Neither the Burnley or Blunts keeper would have had to face that shot on goals, they'd have professionally seen that win out
Its clubs under league 2 level. It's a bit like non-league FA Cup. They've allowed Premier League 2 u21 sides in. Suppose it's our u21 side winning the non-league trophy. It's pretty much the u18 team from last season so our boys have been beating men's teams throughout which should stand them in good stead. Like I said, some of our team could still play u18 football so are still kids. I might be over egging it but I think the physical step up to men's football even at that level is a big step up and one that alot of juniors never really get to grips with so having a squad make the final is very impressive to me.
Don’t disagree about the quality of recruitment or for that matter ownership in the case of Villa, but revenue levels help the former so it’s hardly a level playing field (when comparing). With Newcastle think they got lucky under the Bruce/Ashley period. Something we never seem to benefit from.
For all the Howe love in, let's remember the Saudi buy out that really made the difference. Emery has always had a good reputation, but i recall watching the much maligned Jesse Marsh's side destroy Emery's villa at villa park. The difference that day? Some shocking finishing from us and oh yeh, their world class keeper and our dodgy keeper we still fckng have. This isn't a sticking up for Marsch thread. History says consistency and longevity of managerial appointments is what brings success. My personal view is most fans get too wrapped up in what a manager can and can't change on and off the pitch. Most managers have periods of success and failure. Pretty much that same leeds team from saturday has clearly outplayed almost everybody they've played until the last couple of weeks. What's the problem? Fatigue from under-rotation? Bottle? That heavy leeds shirt and the self proclaimed 'best fans in the world' getting nervy and impatient with them? We all love Bielsa, but this happened in season 1 under him as well. So he must be sh*t then yeh? IF. IF we don't get promoted then we choked twice and Farke goes for not finding the solution (not changing keeper is reason enough in my book). Because that's how it goes. It's not happened yet. Let him do his job and judge next month.
I met Paul Reaney briefly on Saturday at the ground. He asked for my score prediction. I said we needed to score early to settle the nerves and we’d be ok otherwise it could be a nervy game. He reminded me how this team can switch off if they score early. He was right I was wrong. No surprise there then. He looked great for 80 btw.
I think it is under estimated how far back Bates, Cellino and GFH set us. We really became a joke of a club and the whole infrastructure was obliterated. From Bates screwing us over renting our own ground, to Cellino asking players to bring in packed lunches and GFH really having no clue and nearly bankrupting us Radz corrected all of this, he undid years worth of damage, he really should be acknowledged for this, yes he stayed on a year too long, under estimating the task in front of him, but Bielsa's first season in the PL caught everyone by surprise so surely we can forgive him that rush of blood to his head After 20 years absence you can't use an excuse that Radz didn't know how to run a football club, he knew how to run a business so employed people who knew how to run a club, if they didn't we wouldn't have been promoted. Compare this to Cellino who supposedly knew how to run a club and made us a laughing stock Ipswich, Southampton and Leicester, none have been able to attract the right players this season, Ipswich back to back promotions League 1 to PL and it looks like they are coming back down, they spent somewhere near £120m similar to us in season 1 so what did they do wrong, it happens. I blame Orta gambling on us staying up with silly loan clause contracts in attempt to sign players who on paper should have been better than they were. Compare that to not offering those contracts and doing an Ipswich, signing the best they could attract and still not good enough You have to get promoted with some promising youth players or a good scouting network or you are screwed, Radz realised this and tried to correct and in many ways he did. It's far too sweeping to keep blaming recent owners and claim they know nothing
Given that we’ll be carrying the can for the wasted decades and owners would instill a lot of hope that the big turnaround in fortunes is anyway close. Suppose as you get on in years you realise you’ve less time remaining to see trophies being lifted again and it’s damn frustrating
