Good Morning. It's Wednesday 7th February, and here are the latest headlines from Elland Road Big guns down Pilgrims after Extra Time drama Leeds had to wait until extra time to exercise their dominance over Plymouth Argyle in the fourth Round of the FA Cup, setting up a mouth watering tie against either Chelsea or Aston Villa in the last 32. 2500 Leeds fans made the 650 mile round trip, only to be greeted by torrential rain, and gale force winds, but dug deep, safe in the knowledge that Daniel Farke's team would hopefully come good. Leeds were by far the better side; had the competition been a crossbar challenge, the Whites would have been out of site by half time, but close isn't good enough, and time after time, the Pilgrims would regroup. Wilfred Gnonto blasted the visitors into the lead from the edge of the box on 66 minutes, not dissimilar to his winner against Bristol City last week. It was well deserved; throughout the night, Leeds had 26 shots on goal, 16 corners, and 74% possession, but to their credit, Plymouth never game up. Their never say die attitude was rewarded twelve minutes from time when Brendan Galloway bundled the ball home from close distance after a well executed free kick. They had looked dangerous all evening when venturing into Leeds final third, but unlike Farke's men, made their opportunity count. Leeds bought out their big guns as the match went into extra time, and finally put the game to bed. Strikes from Summerville, Rutter and a Ryan Hardie own goal put the game out of reach to prevent the game going to penalties. please log in to view this image Renaming Elland Road would bring in much needed revenue 49ers Enterprises have announced a 10 year extension to their NFL stadium naming rights, worth a staggering £135m; prompting speculation whether the Leeds owners will do the same at Elland Road? Elland Road has been Leeds home since it's formation in 1919, and is steeped in football history. Renaming the ground could bring in some much needed revenue, but could anger large sections of the Elland Road faithful for selling their soul! The stadium itself has been better days. Plans are afoot to increase the capacity to 55,000, and give it a much needed face-lift. The cost of this would run into hundreds of millions, prompting many to consider whether it would be better to up sticks, and move to a new purpose build site on the edge of the City! please log in to view this image Roma plan big money transfer of Llorente Media reports from Rome suggest the Giallorossi (Roma) are set to sell Diego Llorente in the Summer for a big profit, as soon as they own him! After pleading poverty, Leeds have apparently agreed to sell Diego Llorente for just €5m, but according to 'romanews.eu', they don't plan to keep him. Instead, plans are afoot to sell the Spanish International to the highest bidder. The well placed media outlet describe Llorente as a 'treasure', and 'one of the most positive notes so far in Roma's season. They scoff at the prospect of such a low price, due to a 'gentleman's agreement' they have with Leeds, and insist his onward sale will go a long way in helping Roma raise €50m this Summer needed for incoming transfers. please log in to view this image
Morning all. Great win. As hopeless as the cup is there’s always satisfaction in seeing Leeds score goals. As for extending stadium, I really don’t think I’ll see it in my lifetime. Feels no closer than five years ago tbh
If true, the reports about the Llorente transfer are sickening. I am so tired of Leeds always seeming to be ripped off when it comes to transfers. It's bad enough having players predated by "bigger" clubs, but if and when the inevitable happens, how about getting proper market prices for them, or, and here's a novel thought, even making a profit.
Morning all. Last night was a really good performace as we dominated opponents who are a difficult proposition on their own patch. We'll have to be on our game when we go there again a week on Saturday as it's worth noting the last two 90 mins in the cup have ended in draws. Hopefully though a full strength side will come back with the 3 points. Other pluses last night were Joffy looking energetic and having some good moments, Cooper getting a full game under his belt and improving as the game went on as well as Joseph showing signs of something up top.
'gentlemens agreement' ...tell them we're no longer abiding by it, let's start to play 'hardball' as the yanks like to say.....sorry gianni that no longer applies, have a nice day
Llorente would have been leaving on a free at the end of this season same as Koch if he hadn't signed a new contract. Bottom line is if we recoup £5M it will be good business given that's all profit with the initial transfer fee being amortized over the last 4 years. Seems to me Llorente played fair by the club which makes him a good professional unlike others who are rats and deserters.
Morning All Frankly couldn't give 2 hoots about last night's victory. So we go to Villa or Chelsea and get knocked out. I would rather concentrate on the league to be honest. Regarding Elland Road the stadium is old and needs improving. I don't know if anyone else knows this but Holbeck Rugby Club used the stadium before use. Frankly I don't like the idea of renaming the stadium. It's Elland Road and will always be. Yes it will bring in a Sponsor will bring in revenue but do you want to go to the BOXT Bowl every Saturday. Smells a tad bit American to me. As for moving to a new location where the heck are Leeds Council going to allow us to build one or where is there any space left in the city limits? I remember this convo has come up twice in the last 20 years. If the Llorente story is true then jeez that really does put the business credentials of the 49ers under the microscope if they're gonna let Roma do that.
Time some fans got over the Willy business. If 2500 fans are willing to travel 650 miles and sing the lads name then that's good enough for me. None of us will ever know the reasons behind what went on in the summer, most likely a kid being very badly advised by a crooked agent, but he's shown his commitment and is improving with every game. Should be treated as a new signing in my opinion. Good on the lad
Our 5th round tie will take place on Wednesday 28th Feb and will be live on ITV4 (KO to be decided). Incidentally that nets us a £125,000 fee from the TV company plus whatever we get from the competitions prize fund for reaching that stage of the competition. Now that might not seem a lot but so far our FA Cup run will have seen us earn well in excess of £1 million which is surely better than going out in the 3rd round.
This is my take on the FA Cup There's a child like dream that you could go all the way and win it but when it comes to the cold light of day that's not going to happen. In the last 10 years there's been 1 maybe 2 teams outside the big 4 that have won the final. For us in the lower leagues we know that we're going to get knocked out eventually say it be by a Premier League side. Yes the money for a decent cup run is nice but £1 million is jack **** in the bigger picture of things. If we can get promoted it's more financially viable to get back in to the Premier League. If we start picking up injuries in this cup run then that' might not happen. Give me promotion over a cup run.
We can put that money together for the millions we've missed out on for Llorente, or perhaps instead of a loan fee for Harrison, or a fee for Koch, or a very small percentage towards the JKA fiasco...
Who knows we might get promoted and make it to Wembley, but a cup run defintely brings an incredible amount of joy to the players & fans. Then we have other things like our main sponsors getting primetime exposure on national TV and raising our profile both at home and internationally. You gain new fans and admirers in the process and it's all win win. Worth the risk of the odd injury in my opinion, especially as our lot get injured in training anyway.
