Leeds United v Tottenham Hotspur 4th October 2025 at Elland Road Before I start my blog, I have a message for all our fans who have ordered or are waiting for a Billy Bremner badge which we are selling to raise funds towards his statue in his hometown of Raploch, Stirling. I have ordered some more badges which I should have by the West Ham game but will update on social media once they are in my possession. With over 70 on preorder, it has proved to be a very popular badge. Last night saw me head over to Drax Sports and Social Club for the Legends event with Paul Reaney, Allan Clarke and Eddie Gray along with my sister Erica. I was born in Carlton one of the nearby villages to Drax, so I had to be there. I also remembered working at the club back in the 70s to get extra money to follow Leeds. As always it was another fantastic event with a packed-out support, and it was great listening to the lads as well as catching up with fans there. Meeting up with some of my Selby Whites, some who used to travel with me back in the 80s, it was good to reminisce about trips to Plymouth and stopping off in Bovey Tracey with our double decker Voyager International coach. As I was reminded, lots of other coaches had films on for the lads, but our coach had kid’s films on because my young daughter and son were travelling with us. I had a good bunch in our branch, and I was proud to run the branch for seven years before the death of my baby daughter meant I couldn’t look after them as well as my family. Special times though and the promotion season of 89-90 will always remain one of our great memories as a branch. With the stormy weather and lots of standing water it had been a slow journey over to Drax and I got home after midnight but then couldn’t switch off. Eventually after only a couple of hours sleep it was time to head to the game today, so it was no wonder, I faded after the game. I had to have a kip at my daughter’s before I could drive home, then have another kip before starting my blog. With the stormy weather meaning lots of cancelled flights, I know it affected some of our Scandinavian and Irish fans from getting to the game. It was good to see many long-distance fans had made it there though with my friend Arnie a former Meanwood White and his grandson Fletcher making it from Aberdeen and meeting some fans who had travelled from Iceland, Greece and Scandinavia. I forgot to mention last week that we have a brand-new turnstile at 43/44 going into the Kop and it’s luxurious in comparison to what was there before. As one of the turnstiles that kept malfunctioning last season, it was good to see that this had been taken on board by the club and been replaced. Another word of advice for them would be to take note of the dreadful reception from the speakers in the stands, as last week when trying to listen to both Johnny Giles and Lucas Radebe, meant we couldn’t hear anything they both said which was quite sad. It was great to see them both there but again, that is something else that could do with a refurb in due course although someone thought that had already happened. Team: Darlow, Ampadu, Struijk, Rodon, Bogle, Gudmundsson, Okafor, Aaronson, Calvert-Lewin, Rodon, Longstaff. Subs: Harrison for Aaronson (67), Tanaka for Stach (67), Piroe for Okafor (79), Nmecha for Gudmundsson (79), Justin for Bogle (89). Subs not used: Meslier, Gruev, Bijol, Bornauw. Leeds lost the game 2-1 with Okafor equalising for Leeds (34). Attendance: 36,703 with approx. 2,900 Spurs fans. Referee: Thomas Bramall. Booked: Ampadu, Okafor. Leeds started off well on the attack, coming close on a couple of occasions, when Rodon’s header rebounded back off the post and then Struijk just failed to get on the end of a cross when in a good position to stick the ball into the net. With Spurs first attempt sailing over the bar, we weren’t so lucky with their next attempt when they got the better on the wing, crossed the ball only for it to deflect into the net. That was typical but also showed how important it was to make your chances count by scoring. Leeds tried getting back into the game straight away with Calvert-Lewin picking up the ball in their box but fired over the top of the goal. It didn’t take long for Leeds to equalise with some good play after a cross from Bogle, saw Calvert-Lewin lay the ball off for Aaronson to shoot bringing a save from their keeper. As he parried the ball, Okafor followed up, hitting the ball into the net as the noise around Elland Road erupted from the stands. It was Spurs who nearly took the lead before the break when they rattled the crossbar with a header, but we headed in on level terms. After the first half saw the sun come out, the second half saw the rain come down again as Leeds started on the attack with Calvert-Lewin bringing a save from their keeper. With another tantalising cross into the area missing everyone, it was Spurs with another lucky deflection who took the lead. That was a big disappointment as in reality they didn’t deserve to be in the lead. They used time wasting tactics which were never pulled up by the referee and allowed to take the mick. I’ll give them their due that they did make it look easy when they did get past our defence, but I still don’t like the easy way some of their players went down. Even more so when we were penalised for very little, but when they did the same to our players, the referee ignored it. When Leeds made the second subs, we changed tactics with lots of moving around which made me think, I hadn’t seen us do that before. After attacking before the subs, to me it had the wrong effect as we were very slow to attack from then on. In fact, it looked like predictable Premier League tactics although Piroe came close to an equaliser when the keeper saved his shot then it was a case of where VAR was when you needed it, when I was positive, they punched the ball in the penalty area. It was a disappointing end to the game with us getting nothing from it but that’s football. I know why I don’t like predicting results as I always get them wrong, although I did get the score right today, but it wasn’t us who were the winners sadly. After the game when taking photos at Billy’s statue, some lads confessed to being Spurs supporters but as always, I am happy to take photos of any fans. I am quite glad of a busy week ahead of me as the Gala Premiere of the documentary Paris 75 on 9th October by Harvey Marcus begins. It has been a long time coming about being robbed in Paris of our rightfully trophy being aired. I started panicking a bit about how I appear in it but then I thought, all I did was tell the truth. Having been in both Salonika in 1973 and Paris in 1975 despite the results, I am so glad I was there in person to see both games. I will also be seeing the documentary in Leeds with members of my family and then in Wetherby with my friend Karen. 13th October then sees the first anniversary of my husband’s death. It has been a whirlwind since he died but I cannot believe how quickly it has passed. I have plenty of ups and downs as the emotions hit frequently, but I know I cannot change anything that has happened so have to deal with it. Thank you so much to all those in our support who have helped me through the bad times because that Leeds family as well as my own are priceless. With another international break, we come back to the away game in Burnley so here’s hoping we don’t see many more injuries and can get something out of the game. See you there, LUFC – Marching on Together! https://www.followmeandleedsunited.co.uk/ Sponsored by Clearwell Pest Control https://www.clearwellpestcontrol.com/
