Leeds Banter

03 Jun 2026
New image uploaded to the
Leeds Player Sightings page entitled, Next season away kit ?

Click picture for larger image

03 Jun 2026 11:52:53
Another beauty imo!

03 Jun 2026 12:16:33
Loving the retro badge.

03 Jun 2026 13:18:43
Is this an official LUFC photo?

DJ and BA here next seez then.

03 Jun 2026 13:34:17
Don't like it. Anything can happen between now and then, Baz. Think 3 of the 6 could be gone maybe. Don't get why they use players. Should use youth or models. Anyway. Don't like it.

03 Jun 2026 14:05:05
What's not to like, Aus?

It's yellow! As it always should be!

It's a billion percent improvement on the monstrosities of the 2nd and 3rd kits of 25/26. Kits in which we again failed to win even one EPL game!

All eleven of our EPL wins in 25/26 were in our white kit. Let that sink in.

03 Jun 2026 15:28:00
I don't get this home and away kit business. We should play in all white, every game, home and away, except where there's a clash with the home team (eg Fulham) . Liverpool never come to Er and play in anything but all red, so why should we go there and play in anything but all white? It's all about money really, to sell more versions of the replica kit to supporters.

03 Jun 2026 17:30:52
Photos were supposedly taken over a month ago, so I don't think it guarantees anyone's stay at the club.

02 Jun 2026 20:19:31
Leeds keeper making more mistakes we definitely need a replacement.

02 Jun 2026 23:08:12
I haven't seen Wales match, Whitey..

But Darlow's been very good this season.

And he is the exception to the rule of utterly appalling Leeds United recruitment of goalkeepers in past 8 years or so.

Step forward the horror 5.

Perri
Meslier
Kiko
Klaessen
Wieldwald

Be careful what you wish for, Whitey.

03 Jun 2026 08:12:30
Yes, Darlow hit a purple patch this season after getting the number one spot.
He deffo should be starting next season, but he is not the long-term solution. Perri showed early promise, shot-stopping, and stature. But he never really commanded his box, and on crosses never really came to collect.
On the other side, my opinion on the Man U goal Perri was caught out on was that the ball into the box was a good one, and it didn't travel as far or as fast as the keeper thought.

It may have caught one or two goalies out.
Newcastle game, yes, not good enough.
On the other hand, Perri played with a dodgy back four, and Darlow played mostly with a solid back 5.

03 Jun 2026 10:57:00
And don't forget Marco Silvestri - some say he must have been a vampire because he couldn't deal with crosses.

03 Jun 2026 11:57:42
Despite his purple patch, Darlow is sometimes still a bit slack with his distribution, imo. Defo a great back up, but not a reliable #1. As others have said before tho, can we afford to get another first choice of quality when other areas need strengthening more? Do we stick or twist? I just dunno. Sales will decide that probably.

03 Jun 2026 12:52:32
Baz, I am not saying he's bad, but the blunders he continues to make in games show he just cannot keep concentration for 90 minutes. I'll give it to you, he has made some really fine saves, but we want consistency, which he doesn't seem to have.

03 Jun 2026 12:53:19
What Bright said.

03 Jun 2026 13:25:09
Whitey, pal, so what 'blunders' has Darlow made? Any that led to goals conceded? I can't think of one.

He has been consistently good all season, Whitey.

We have seen our recruitment teams' efforts re other gks .. they aren't good. 😕

03 Jun 2026 13:28:35
Bright,

Ere, Darlow's 'purple patch' was the entirety of his games played all seez.

He was uber consistent, in the top 5 of our players of seez imo.

And yes, we defo need to spend our transfer budget on far more pressing areas, namely up front etc. We need more goalscoring players!

03 Jun 2026 14:36:18
Darlow was good. Took his chance. But my grandmother was better than Perri. Good enough? Probably not. Depends on said owners' ambitions. So do you give Darlow a new 3 year contract, which I'm pretty sure he will want. Or realise he will most likely be redundant in 6 months to a year?

03 Jun 2026 16:19:31
I would be tempted to concentrate on outfield players this next season and let Darlow have another season, and then see at the end of next season.
Apart from the Liverpool game, I can't remember a real goal giveaway by Darlow.

One or two misplaced passes, maybe.
For me, don't mess with the back line at all, only if someone goes. They have all been solid.
Add to full-back cover. Then get some more firepower into the team.

03 Jun 2026 16:36:48
Ben, I agree.

Absolutely, we should concentrate on outfield players recruitment and leave Darlow as our number 1 for next season.

By the way, it was Perri (not Darlow) who blundered for a goal giveaway in the Liverpool match.

03 Jun 2026 17:42:01
Baz, tried to tap a ball to Rodon and gave it away 2 feet away from goal. Mad, just a total lapse from the man.

02 Jun 2026 09:11:20
New information released about Southampton's spygate saga reveal the extent of involvement within the club and the lengths the manager and others would go to in order to gain a perceived advantage.
Undue pressure was put on junior staff, disguises were used including wearing Eastleigh kit and evidence was deleted.
The Club and individuals consistently lied - denied that the manager and senior staff knew about it, said no footage was taken or distributed and was not used in the preparation for matches and also said, untruthfully, that they were unaware it was against the regulations.


It was summed up by the commission's comment that it was "unimpressed by some of the club's witnesses, including Eckert".
The decision to expel was taken on the grounds that public confidence and the integrity of the competition would be seriously diminished if a non sporting sanction such as a fine was the outcome.
Probably still more to come once the investigation into the conduct of Southampton staff is completed. Although the club's Chairman has today said he stands behind his manager and wants him to stay, in the end it may not be his decision.

02 Jun 2026 10:38:59
And....?

02 Jun 2026 10:57:54
....They got what they deserved. Shame the Premier League can't take the same line with any sense of urgency.

02 Jun 2026 11:12:42
There's a good chance that the FA will mandate a substantial suspension from football related activities for Eckert (and others) . If he gets a 12 month ban (possible) , they're going to have to find a replacement, like it or not.

02 Jun 2026 14:10:29
Perhaps, the FA will face its own internal inquiry into the unjust disadvantages Leeds United have received from referees in their decisions, which is clear for all to see.

02 Jun 2026 15:58:18
What Whitey said.
If only that would blooming happen.

Football needs an independent body to monitor / regulate the FA and EPL.

01 Jun 2026 13:34:39
The summer transfer window opens on Mon June 15th and closes on Tues September 1st, but why?
The season ended on Saturday night with the Champions League final so there's no reason why the window should not be open now - in fact negotiations are already taking place, but just cannot be finalised for another 2 weeks. Then the 26/7 season will kick off in mid August (Aug 17th last year) , but clubs face having their preparations into disarray by losing key players up to the window closing 2 weeks later.

The window should open the day after the last match of the old season and close the day before the first match of the new season - how hard can it be?

01 Jun 2026 14:59:40
Hear, hear JR.
Baz does lurve logical proposals.
Sadly, though, far too sensible, fair and logical for the rarely fit for purpose FA, EPL etc.

01 Jun 2026 17:26:01
I mean, deals can be done and signed now.

01 Jun 2026 17:45:37
How will the new financial rules affect our ability to stay up?

01 Jun 2026 18:06:33
Spot on, JR!

01 Jun 2026 19:57:45
The issue is you need every country to agree when to close the window, and they don't all start on the same day. If we close two weeks earlier than everybody else, you run the risk of having star players unsettled and then sold without being able to replace them.



I agree, though in principle, that it would be best that the window closes before the first game!

01 Jun 2026 22:56:49
I don't think we need to be concerned at what other countries do. We simply choose start and finish dates to suit ourselves, and then stipulate that no transfers to or from English clubs can take place outside those dates "in or out".

If, say, other countries choose to have a finish date later than ours, English clubs will not be permitted to sell to them after our chosen end date. How difficult is that?

01 Jun 2026 23:38:53
What JR exactly said.
It's not rocket science fgs.
Our leagues determine deadline dates for buying and selling our players.

02 Jun 2026 07:22:14
But it's an ecosystem. Lots of transfers depend on others happening. We might want to sign a player in Germany, but he can't move until they've secured a replacement (from say Spain) , who won't move until they've got a replacement. If all the clubs in the chain have two weeks longer to sign a player than we have, we don't get our player, and he goes somewhere else, and all other transfers in the chain go fine.



It's just not really practical without putting English teams at a disadvantage.

{Ed001's Note - the best way to do it is to get rid of the windows altogether, like we used to have until recently. The only clubs who benefit from this system are the bigger ones who can stockpile players. It also makes it much harder for young players to come through, clubs can't afford to take a chance on leaving a gap for them, in case they flop. So instead they buy extra players to cover for injuries. If there is no window, you can leave space in the squad for the youngsters to get a chance and then buy if they are not working out after being given a run.

It is very telling that the teams that rely heavily on their academies, such as Crewe, dropped right down the leagues the moment the window system was brought in. It is silly as it was an Italian idea and about corruption anyway. They like it in place as the smaller clubs borrow players from the bigger clubs to plug holes in their squad, then those bigger clubs lean on them for 'favours' later.}

02 Jun 2026 10:32:04
Agreed Ed, better if everyone does it at the same time (or at least all the "big" leagues) . I'd also like to see some measure to stop the rich clubs "stockpiling" players but not sure what as yet. I hear what you say about the effect on clubs like Crewe that rely on their academies, but no window at all would see those same rich clubs snatching key players from ambitious up and coming clubs (like us) mid season - how long would we have retained Raphina with no window in place? If he'd been at Crewe they'd have been happy to sell, us less so.

{Ed001's Note - yes but that money would be coming in midseason, after you had the benefit of them playing and then sell at their peak price. Whereas with windows you are limited to when you can sell them, which can mean value dips.}

02 Jun 2026 12:14:29
But what if you do not want to sell your best players mid-season and thus destroy your own chances of winning promotion or avoiding relegation or qualifying for Europe, etc. etc?

{Ed001's Note - same problem as there is now though really, but you can always promise to sell them the moment you have achieved your aims. Also, the chances are that you would have had to sell them before the season started or in January otherwise.}

02 Jun 2026 14:30:05
Promising to sell them the moment you've achieved your aims would not be an issue, neither would selling them before the season started or in January. However, if it's mid April and you're in 17th place, desperately trying to avoid relegation, and only kept afloat by the achievements of your leading striker, and a club in 6-8th place sees their top man sustain a ruptured ACL, which risks them not qualifying for the CL, they could snatch your man away, thus solving their problem but condemning you to relegation.

Ok for the big money clubs, but not for the smaller fry.

31 May 2026 22:04:12
I wonder if Leeds shouldn't try and appoint the recently departed Maximilian Hahn as director of football. I get we have Adam Underwood. But Hahn scouted Disasi, Diouf, Magassa, Fernandes and Taty Castellanos were mainly his signings. He left of his own accord and West Ham didn't want him gone.

31 May 2026 23:17:50
Well LUFC defo should be recruiting a masterly DoF (above Farke, not equal to Farke in authority like Underwood is) .

Also.

Firstly, surprised a tad that Director of Football Maxxy Hahn is only 30 years of age!
These DoF are gettin younger, it makes me feel a little old.



Secondly, what happened to the red hot insider info of a few weeks ago that Nicky Hammond was returning to Leeds United from Everton?

Thirdly, can we get a Raphinha type in this summer window please. We need some quality flair. Where's Uncle Victor when you need him!

01 Jun 2026 07:00:38
The Hammond thing was a rumour, I believe. I recently read a statement that 99.5% are false. Try reading a book called "The Baz Book of Likelihood", which someone rated as 10/10. 😄😂

01 Jun 2026 09:28:43
Now, now, Bright. Don't stir the beast. 84.7% sure he won't like that post.

01 Jun 2026 10:59:53
Dasasi is on loan, and Fernandes cost over 40 mill from Southampton, so not sure you can call him scouted.

01 Jun 2026 12:11:35
Haha, I actually lurve Brighty's post, Aus. ..92.5% funny.

And, the "Baz Book of Likelihood" is a good read, Brighty; ideal Christmas present.

01 Jun 2026 13:30:42
That's cause the 10/10 Baz.

01 Jun 2026 14:04:53
I would see that as fiddling around, without any clear advantage, apart from Fernandez, who wasn't cheap as Corky pointed out. Those players took West Ham down to the Championship, which I wouldn't consider myself as great recruitment.

I'd buy the Baz Book of Likelyhood. Where can you buy them? Good chuckle material for the summer.
No offense, Baz. 😉

01 Jun 2026 15:03:50
OP, in all good bookshops..
Best seller section (non fiction) . Naturally.

But tell yer what, OP, especially for you, I'll send you a signed copy for your birthday. 🎂

01 Jun 2026 17:35:23
Knew you'd see the funny side, Baz, which is how it was intended!

01 Jun 2026 21:49:44
Baz, is there a sequel book maybe of Baz's Predictions/ Past, Present and Future? I'm holding out for that one especially.

01 Jun 2026 22:11:28
OP, not just a book sequel.

But, a forthcoming West End musical entitled 'Baz the Oracle'.

You'll love it.