Leeds Banter 4

02 May 2026 09:07:06
Comparing De-Zerbi’s demeanour with Farke’s, I genuinely don’t believe spuds will win another game this season.

Brighton at home will be tough, but no tougher than Devon, Bournemouth, Liverpool away.



As for Spuds and West Ham away, other than the already relegated teams, that’s exactly who you would choose to play if you could pick. I personally think we will pick up between 5-7 points before season ends.

02 May 2026 12:08:08
Not for me, Class. Away games in London have never been a happy hunting ground for us, and two in succession that we can't afford to lose is not my idea of fun.

Hopefully, by the time we get to play Wet Sham, the result will be irrelevant, but at least a point at Spuds next week, and the fat lady can start warming up her voicebox.

02 May 2026 13:14:20
We can play with a bit more freedom, which may help us against the London club, hopefully to a win.

02 May 2026 14:13:05
JR, it's worth noting this season we've only had two defeats in London, the obvious one being the hammering by Arsenal and the other being a very fortunate Fulham win with the unfortunate last minute o.g by Gudmundsson.
I don't think we have that monkey on our back in London anymore.
I'm only seeing a Leeds win against a broken Tottenham Hotspur.

02 May 2026 17:38:28
I'm feeling 6 of the best London points!
Both are gonna have to go at us, which we will exploit!

02 May 2026 18:07:29
If Spurs lose to Villa tomorrow, then they're really up against it, and at best can only draw level on points with a worse goal difference, but the big one is if Arsenal beat West Ham in 8 days' time. Then, we're safe, and can go to Spurs the following day with confidence and play them off the park.

02 May 2026 19:15:08
Yes OP, you're correct, we have done a lot better than hitherto in London this season, so maybe I'm fretting unnecessarily. Today's results have probably made the issue irrelevant, as Wet Sham are now 7 pts behind us with 3 to play, one of which is Arsenal, so I can't see them catching us now. Spuds maybe, or maybe not. We shall see.

02 May 2026 20:58:34
We haven't won in London all season.

Seven 7 matches so far.

Including semi-final FA Cup at Wembley and QF at West Ham.

Plus 5 EPL matches.

So not sure why some peeps suddenly think we are doing a double away win at Spuds and West Ham. 🤔

{Ed025's Note - i cant see the significance of where you play in England Baz be it north west, north east or the north bank highbury mate, its not as if the team are walking there or going by horse and cart..its just another ground..

02 May 2026 21:21:53
* Correction.. we did win on penalties vs West Ham in FA Cup, so one win in seven.

02 May 2026 21:30:26
In reality, if Whu even draw with Arsenal, our much better GD makes us safe. Can't see anything other than a win for the Gunners based on today's result, though. Will be away until last game of season, likely with little to no internet, so very happy we are as good as safe.

02 May 2026 22:27:22
True, Baz, we've not won in the smoke all season, apart from the FA Cup quarter-final, but, crucially, apart from Arsenal and a freak result at Fulham, we've not lost either. For us to be relegated, we'd need to lose both our away games at Spuds and Wet Sham, and our home game against Brighton, whilst the three teams below us win most or all of theirs.

As time goes on, this is looking ever more improbable.

02 May 2026 23:21:07
Fair points JR16

I take your point Ed025.
But.it is what it is.Leeds United used to be pretty good away vs London teams decades ago but not really at all in more recent times.

02 May 2026 07:39:13
{Ed's Note - Postklopp has posted a new article entitled, Liverpool's Tactical Shift Under Slot Is Not Working

01 May 2026 22:43:36
Good 3 pts. But I have to say, that was one of the worst refereeing performances I've seen.
Tanaka was pushed and kicked so much it was a joke. But the one that really annoyed me was a great tackle by Longstaff given as a foul right in front of him. Pathetic display if you ask me.

01 May 2026 23:33:07
Totally agree, Canada, truly appalling refereeing. We think we have problems with VAR? Think again. Embarrassing officiating for Premiership standards.
In my mind, I'm thinking, how low can this go?

02 May 2026 05:40:44
In case anyone has forgotten, that was the same incompetent who gave Gabby a second yellow card in the Palace game, after forgetting he'd already given him one, but then let Brennan Johnson get away with 2 clear infringements, which together should have seen him get a red.

02 May 2026 07:06:57
Spot on, Canada! Yet another shocking joker! Where do they dig them up from?

02 May 2026 09:08:14
Never seen a ref be so quick to pull out a yellow card for the Leeds players!
Shouldn't be allowed to officiate a Leeds game again, especially after the 1st game!
Shocking!

02 May 2026 09:49:06
He carried on where he left off at Palace. Awful refereeing display.

01 May 2026 22:37:41
Farke finally realized Stach a better and more dangerous AM than Aaronson? Only took 34 league games!

Great to see players getting shots off from outside the box and not getting deterred by XG, which is actually a thing from coaches these days.

Great 3 points, disappointing last half hour. Excellent points return from last four matches.

02 May 2026 00:00:00
Yes, Corky, 10 points from 12 in last 4 matches have been crucial.

02 May 2026 07:09:20
Not just the last 4. Our form from December (which is often the case for Farke teams) has been excellent too, tho, the delivery over the last 4, under intense pressure, has been impressive!

02 May 2026 09:18:49
Is that a Farke statistic, Bright?

02 May 2026 10:34:31
No, it's Farketastic, Aus. 😁

02 May 2026 11:28:48
Hilarious vid. Get your coat.

01 May 2026 21:41:01
We've become very passive after the third goal. Burnley are not a good team but we are slowly letting them back in.

01 May 2026 22:17:27
Certainly, took the foot off the gas, and let them get a goal back, but the job was done by them. 9 points up on Spuds and +5 GD. Also up to 14th above the Barcodes.

{Ed025's Note - who could ask for more JR?..

01 May 2026 22:18:53
Agreed, Dune.. Disappointing we regressed so much last 30 mins.

{Ed025's Note - glass half empty is not a good look tonight imo Baz..

01 May 2026 22:23:36
Good in parts.

Vital 3 points. Yesss.

Man of the match Dan James, lol.

Over to Villa, Brentford, Chelsea and whoever Saudi Barcodes are playing.

01 May 2026 22:27:47
Very happy to win that game and secure our future in the Premiership, although not mathematically.
Anybody thinking that Burnley would just roll over and let us win 5-0 would be, in my estimation, very naive.
You could see, in the way they gave everything, even at three nil down.
Fortunately for us, we got the better of them this time.

01 May 2026 22:52:34
We got the all important win Ed025 I am very happy with that.result all important as I stated above

But moving forward we need to address this.it's happened a lot this season.too much

{Ed025's Note - i just thought you would be happier Baz, this season was a learning curve mate and you passed with flying colours, just enjoy it and worry about the next chapter when it comes..

02 May 2026 08:51:57
Yes Ed025 fair comment 👏

01 May 2026 19:56:29
Tonight, Okafor will send Walker into retirement.

01 May 2026 20:31:06
Tonight's lineup exactly as I predicted on Wednesday. One up after another Stach special. So far, so good.

01 May 2026 12:19:50
I still think it can wrong even at this late stage. It's different from previous season when points tally was a good guide. This season all three clubs in the mix are starting to pick up form and it's more than possible that all three could win two more games than us before the end of the season.

I know it's more than just one player but if Okafor is absent we tend to drop points and lack penetration up front. If he's injured and we decide to play James I think we could be in trouble.

01 May 2026 11:33:13
Good day gentlemen,

Fortune favours the brave and tonight we have will have to be, to break down a potentially very stubborn ten man Burnley defense.
Even though they have no coach, I still think they will make it very difficult for us.

Glad to welcome back one of our star players in Stach and although Gudmundsson is out I can see Justin doing a very competent job even though he is not left footed.

This is the game that I feel we can put this relegation story to bed once and for all.
I still believe Spurs even with their very narrow win over the worst team in the league will not get the points required to survive.
By the way anyone thinking that is arrogance on my behalf, it's not, just my opinion is all.

I decided after some thought that i would continue to post on here, there's enough good posters on here to still do that and enjoy some good football banter.
For the others, looks like as Ed1 reminded me, I got a lot of scrolling past posts to do.
As I do admit, I do get very wound up be some of you habitual moaners on here.
Not anymore 😉.

{Ed001's Note - good to see you back and that is the best way to deal with it. No point letting people with vastly different viewpoints get to you.}

01 May 2026 13:27:34
Welcome back OP, I concur, good post.

01 May 2026 14:03:49
I didn't even want to see you go, and said that in a post. 🤣 You're an integral poster to our group.

Agree or disagree, that's irrelevant.
Welcome back (often went to shops longer though) . 🤣

Nah, seriously.
Welcome back.

01 May 2026 14:51:44
Great to have you back, mate! I sincerely mean that.

01 May 2026 16:36:50
Appreciate the comments fellas and to you too Ed. Last thing I wanted to be on here was annoying, I don't usually get wound up in general, but football and especially Leeds United it sometimes gets the better of me.

Just so you know it's not that I wanted to change anyone's opinion on here, even if it looked like it. Surprisingly Aus is one of my favorite posters on here who is pretty much totally opposite to my opinions, long may that continue 😀
Enough of all that for now, tonight is the night we book our ticket for another season in the Premiership, tough or frustrating game maybe, but one I see us winning.
It's Dom for me and I'm hoping for a brace from him.

01 May 2026 17:29:42
Glad you changed your mind, pal!

01 May 2026 18:28:05
Glad you changed your mind, OP. Always enjoyed your posts. MOT.

01 May 2026 18:52:24
Great to have you back OP.

01 May 2026 19:37:29
Apologies OP - hadn't spotted you'd gone but glad you're back anyway. : )

01 May 2026 20:20:21
I thought you'd miss us and change your mind, OP. There's nowt wrong with having different opinions to some (or all) of us. You may not set out to change anyone else's opinions, but politely challenging their arguments, so that they do so, is the essence of friendly debate, which is what this site is about.

If you disagree with me, I do hope you'll say so. I won't take offence.

02 May 2026 06:52:38
Welcome back OP, always good to read you mate.

01 May 2026 07:50:36
If we have 100 coin to spend in summer. No fringe players please. Three signings. Up to 50 on striker. 30 am and 20 on central defender. 3 starters. Shift the loanees although I'd like to keep rams. And the no good to us anymore in squad which amounts to about 5-6 players. Our starting 11 has to be better next season.

01 May 2026 12:07:49
Need to splash on a decent keeper too, Aus. I would make that first on the list, get it done early doors. The imponderable, of course, is the World Cup. Doubtless there will be a frenzy to sign players that shine, but it's late in the off season to do that and prices will be inflated, and what if you sign before and they have a stinker or get injured? I would hope we already have our targets and are working on it.

01 May 2026 12:27:42
Nothing wrong with Darlow, Vid. Personally, would strengthen in other areas!
Carnt see us getting Trafford, too many clubs after him!

01 May 2026 13:09:23
Yeah. I'd give Darlow bit longer. He has been able.
Think we should have our targets before the World Cup, vid. All I ask. Make an offer. Put a deadline on it of maybe a week and move on. Once clubs see us move on, they will be more likely to say yes or no. Not maybe.

01 May 2026 13:30:20
No problem with Darlow, Aus, but we need another good calibre keeper, which it seems Perri is not. Would you want to go a season with him as the only alternative?

01 May 2026 15:14:04
Strange as though it may be, Dubravka has been outstanding this season according to my Burnley mate. He's 39? But maybe a good no. 2.

01 May 2026 15:19:01
I.e., I think Darlow has done ok.

01 May 2026 16:36:33
This is by no means an exhaustive list, but the first thing I do as the end of the season approaches is scour the contract expirations list.

I judge it by: what could be realistic (ie Lewandowski out of contract, but impossible) , and what we could use or need. It doesn't mean I think we should shop there exclusively, but if we can find what we need without a fee, it just means we can redirect the finances to other areas. I've come up with a few names. I basically use Transfrmarkt so if some of the players listed have agreements more or less sown up with other teams and not reflected there, apologies.

Danilo Doekhi - he's been linked for a long while, out of contract, and everything we seem to hear about him sounds like an upgrade on Bornauw.

Eric Martel - a giant defensive minded midfielder at Koln - would compliment alongside Stach and could backup Ampadu for injury/suspension or positional rotation. A likely upgrade on Gruev, Longstaff and Tanaka.

Rico Henry/Andrew Robertson/Ben Davies - Gabby is the No.1 choice and yes Justin can fill in there. But he isn't left-sided. Henry is still sort of finding himself after rough injury years, and Robbo in the twilight with good experience and the system with three at the back could hide his declining pace. One or the other to backup Gabby would be a nice shout. Davies is really getting on now but decent back up to Gabby, you get the sense he wouldn't complain about it and could cover CB in a pinch too. Think Byram +10% and could be great with the Welsh lads.

Harry Wilson would be nice, but with a superb season I don't see it now unless the Welsh lads have a bigger sway than I thought. Part of me thinks he's overachieved this yr and based on his career to date that form isn't sustainable.

Jonas Wind - 6'3 Target man type. Perfect for our set pieces and the Amps long throws. Has had a bit of a stop start season with injury, but played 35+ games in the two seasons before this one, 20 goals across those two years.

Wildcards - Myron Boadu - young prodigy who never hit predicted heights, Ross Barkley - age beginning to show but some flair there, Nabil Fekir - was extremely talented but been in Saudi or similar so question marks on how high his level remains. But a flair player certainly in his prime.

Recognisable names I WOULDN'T touch: Vincent Janssen (31, strk formerly of Spurs) , Allan Saint Maximin (formerly Newcastle) , Raheem Sterling (should remember) , Stones (too old, would command too much money for decline and too injured) . Adam Webster (similar to Stones) . Patson Daka (Leicester) .

Things could change. If we sold Bornauw and a too good offer for Struijk for example came in, then trials for Webster or Stones if they wanted a chance to prove their fitness, Stones especially probably wouldn't do that, then fair enough.

If I could choose two players from the list I provided, I think Wind is the player that could help us position/depth wise the most despite the fitness question mark. He wouldn't backup DCL and Nmecha I think he competes directly with them, maybe winning the starting job. I think Martel is the best-quality player there. Other higher quality players like Julian Brandt and Bernardo Silva obviously out of contract, but fell into the category of not realistic for us.

Looking at goalkeepers, its a real thin market there especially this yr.

02 May 2026 07:15:27
Another excellent post, Ealing!