Blackburn - 1st January - 24/25

January 2, 2025

Leeds United v Blackburn Rovers

Wednesday 1st January 2025 - Elland Road, Leeds

2024/25 Season


I hope everyone managed to bring the New Year in the best was possible. Personally, as I’ve been ill, I came back round home at quarter to eleven last night, went to bed and just read. I suppose after the year we’ve had in 2024 I was glad to see the back of it, but I didn’t feel like welcoming a New Year in. After the croaky voice I woke up with on the day of the Derby game, I’d gone to the doctor for something unrelated but was checked over as I wasn’t looking well. It was a surprise to hear I’d got a temperature of 38.4 and some sort of flu bug, so have done nothing but rest. It also meant that we didn’t leave home until 1pm today to give me chance to come around. Well, I wasn’t going to miss the game, was I? That said, within 15 minutes of the game I nearly went to the front of the stand to sit down but luckily drank lots of water so managed to stay upright. It was nice to catch up with friends at the Holbeck Club and thank you to everyone for their kind thoughts and messages which were greatly appreciated.


Team:  Meslier, Struijk (Captain), Rodon, Bogle, Byram, James, Piroe, Tanaka, Aaronson, Rothwell, Solomon.

Subs:  Wöber for Byram (45), Ampadu for Bogle (51), Gnonto for Rothwell (69), Joseph for Piroe (69), Bamford for Solomon (69).

Subs not used:  Darlow, Schmidt, Guilavogui, Ramazani.


Leeds drew the game 1-1 with Struijk scoring from a penalty (88).


Attendance:  36,646, 1,972 Blackburn fans.


Referee:  Oliver Langford.

Booked:  Tanaka, Aaronson.


I was under no illusions that it was going to be a tough game today as they had beaten us not too long ago at Ewood Park. They would defend in numbers which always proves a challenge for us. Also it was New Year’s Day….. (happy birthday to my sister Erica by the way). The first half didn’t disappoint as it proved to be very hard going plus you could hear a pin drop in Elland Road it was that quiet. How I long for the days when the crowd got behind the team from start to finish with singing and chanting, as it makes the match going experience so much better plus it buoys the team on. After the horrendous rain over the last 24 hours, it started again during the game, so the conditions weren’t great but when their keeper slipped when trying to kick a ball back, I was only sorry that Solomon had stopped running forward as he thought he’d got the ball. If only he had kept going, he may have been able to get there when he slipped and capitalised on the mistake. Piroe had already nearly caught him out when he was clearing the ball. With chances for either side few and far between it was 0-0 going into the break.


At half time we stayed in the stand as Liam Cooper was back after his recent transfer to come and say hello on the pitch with his two children. He was in the Peacock earlier, but he had already gone by the time we got there. Byram who had a knock on the head didn’t come out for the second half and was replaced by Wöber, it also saw the fans start to get loudly behind the team. Bogle went down injured six minutes after the restart and was also replaced, this time with Ampadu coming off the bench. James and Solomon were seeing plenty of the ball, but we couldn’t find a way through their defence. The referee then made a few decisions that were unbelievable. Their player was “injured or time wasting” but was off the pitch in front of the Kop but he stopped play when we were attacking to come back to see him. For crying out loud it wasn’t a head injury plus he was off the pitch. He had already shown bizarre decisions when one of ours went down at this end as we were attacking towards the South Stand and again, he stopped play instead of playing advantage. The third thing was Leeds were awarded a free kick when Gnonto was fouled. As the defensive wall lined up, Aaronson was told to go and stand next to the wall by a teammate. The referee went up to him and it looked as if he said, “you can’t stand there!” Aaronson then moved to the right and left a gap! Now if it was anything different then fair enough but that was the interpretation of a lot of us as we shrugged our shoulders at the decision. There were a lot of bad fouls committed by Blackburn who were very physical and when Joseph was brought down in the area, the referee pointed to the spot with two minutes of normal time remaining. As we all wondered who would take the penalty, Bamford had hold of the ball. I knew he was kidding them and told someone there was no need to panic as he wouldn’t be taking the penalty. I was right, it was Struijk who stepped up to take it and put the ball into the net to give us the lead. I thought it was lovely seeing both Rodon and Tanaka racing to the far end of the ground to celebrate the goal with Meslier. Straight away some of our fans started singing about us being top of the league but I felt it was too early to sing it as there was still a long way to go. It turned out we had 10 minutes of extra time added on but in fact it only took Blackburn two minutes to equalise from a corner. At this moment I haven’t seen a replay, but I was always worried about a sucker punch, mainly about being caught out too high up the pitch. I’ve seen others say our defending was poor but once we had made our last subs, it was obvious that our shape had gone. When Ampadu came on as sub, it looked like Farke had changed his habits and was bringing on an early sub alongside him.  Gnonto was coming on to the pitch for Rothwell and it was even announced, but then he went to sit back in the dugout. Whether it would have livened the game up earlier I’m not sure but the last 15 minutes had probably more entertainment than the rest of the game with Wöber unlucky not to get a winner in extra time. A draw was probably a fair result though.


When the final whistle went, I was more than grateful that we hadn’t lost the game as it was important for me. At least we got a point and as it turned out stayed at top of the table which I wasn’t expecting to hear. All in all, getting 10 out of 12 points over the Christmas period is excellent and whilst some may think it is two points dropped, realistically, we are never going to win every game.

As we came out of the Kop, it was kicking off between our own fans this time. Apparently, someone nicked a hat off someone who reacted badly to it. Despite it being handed back relatively quickly, things carried on as someone in a white jacket lashed out at others. Then a woman in yellow joined in lashing out too. Well, it’s all been happening at games over the Christmas period as this is the third instance in the last three games. The stewards handled it well though as they “forced” them out towards Lowfields tunnel, and they then headed to the buses. Maybe it was an overreaction especially as lashing out can cause serious damage to people but if the hat wasn’t taken in the first place it wouldn’t have happened at all!



See you at Hull – LUFC - Marching on Together!

Promotion Party- 21st April - 24/25

April 22, 2025
Promotion Party! Monday 21st April 2025 - Elland Road 2024/25 Season At the end of the game, we went back to the Holbeck Working Men’s Club before heading back down to Elland Road to celebrate our promotion as Burnley were winning Sheffield United. Great scenes as we celebrated with the team and other fans although the flares let off stunk to high heaven. A nice gesture was my granddaughter being given a Leeds scarf to cover her face when the smoke was overpowering. The smoke lingered in my throat long into the night too. It was also very humbling to be told that I am an inspiration which were amongst some of the lovely words said to me by our fans today. With the hugs and thoughts about my late husband, I couldn’t ask for more support from so many of you which is why Leeds United supporters are second to none. Thank goodness we don’t have to go into the play offs as thousands of Leeds fans cancelled their hotel bookings including my daughter. To be able to go into the last two games knowing we are already up with no pressure on is immense. Saying that, I want to go up as Champions as we were robbed of celebrating properly last time due to covid. I had a film crew with me that night and now we’ve had a good result, I will be heading to Elland Road for 6pm tomorrow for an interview with ITV.  I’d like to dedicate this promotion to all those Leeds fans who have died this season and are unable to celebrate this with us including my husband Phillip/Captain, Halifax White. To everyone else, enjoy your celebrations as United Are back again, and we are promoted back to the Premier League. LUFC – Marching on Together!

Stoke City- 21st April - 24/25

April 22, 2025
Leeds United V Stoke City Monday 21st April 2025 - Elland Road 2024/25 Season I’d woke up at 3am and found I couldn’t sleep for hours. My mind had started racing thinking of all the permutations of what could happen at the game today. We could actually be promoted if things went our way and the excitement rising in me meant I’d gone into overdrive, which all contributed to the sleeplessness. Speaking to others at the game, I wasn’t the only one feeling this way. The worst thing was dropping asleep for an hour before getting up then feeling like I’d been hit by a bus and all my enthusiasm had waned so what would be, would be. Before heading to Elland Road, we went for our traditional bank holiday visit to Selby market and to get a Doubtfire’s ice cream. Leeds fans were out in force which was good to see. One a stall holder shouted to a Sheffield United fan who “wasn’t impressed” to see me, a Leeds United fan. There again we had a conversation, and he told me that we would win 4 or 5 nil today which I said I’d take. Never in a million years would we have expected to be 5-0 up at half time especially after being turned around at kick off. Team: Darlow, Ampadu, Rodon, Bogle, Firpo, Gnonto, Aaronson, Solomon, Piroe, Gruev, Tanaka. Subs: Ramazani for Gnonto (66), Bamford for Piroe (66), Byram for Firpo (77), Schmidt for Bogle (77), Harry Gray aged 16 making his first team debut for Aaronson (86). Subs not used: Meslier, Joseph, Guilavogui, Wöber. Leeds won the game 6-0 with Piroe getting four (6, 8, 20, 41), Firpo (26) and Gnonto (59). Attendance: 36,644, with approximately 1,900 Stoke fans. Referee: Darren Bond. Booked: Ampadu. Turning us round at the start of the game didn’t have the effect that Stoke thought there’d be. Leeds were on fire as Gnonto then Solomon with Piroe hitting the final ball into the net saw us take an early lead. Within two minutes we had doubled our lead when Bogle carried on running past the Stoke player taking the ball with him passed into the box for Piroe to score a second goal. Piroe then completed his hat trick after Tanaka sent a great ball into the box for Gnonto. He hit his shot at the second attempt which brought a save out of their keeper then Piroe came in at the far post and scored from a narrow angle. Wow, unbelievable scenes at Elland Road as the fans erupted hardly believing our eyes. We hadn’t finished yet as Bogle once again getting involved, got round their man in the penalty area and his pass saw Firpo hit a fourth into the net. Gnonto saw another shot saved by the keeper before Bogle once again saw his shot bounce back off the upright and Piroe hit the rebound into the net. It looked like a Stoke player and Aaronson tried getting a toe onto the ball, but it looks like Piroe was given the goal. It felt very surreal going into the break 5-0 up. Stoke had their first shot on goal but straight at Darlow just before the whistle blew. The second half saw Stoke bring on three subs and although we took a little while to settle, a fantastic cross by Solomon saw Gnonto head the ball into the net for a sixth goal on the day. There was no coming back for Stoke from the score then as we started to believe we were going up. They did have another shot on target on the 80th minute but in reality it was one way traffic for most of the game which was great for us fans too.  It was lovely to see the Gray family dynasty carry on when Harry Gray younger brother of Archie, came on as a sub at 16 years of age. A special moment especially for Eddie Gray who was extremely proud and full of emotion on seeing him come on to the pitch. LUFC – Marching on Together!

Oxford- 18th April - 24/25

April 19, 2025
Oxford United V Leeds United Friday 18th April 2025 - The Kassam Stadium 2024/25 Season After a couple of bad days, I’d felt more upbeat on my way to Elland Road when a lorry with a lest we forget cab, passed me with a big Leeds United badge on the side. I automatically gave it the Leeds salute as I go onto autopilot when I see other Leeds fans. Listening to music helped me so in my reel I said I wanted Leeds to go and enjoy the football, forget about our target of automatic promotion but to keep fighting. My thoughts were that it would take the pressure off us. After other results didn’t help again (not that I expected any to), winning the game had to be a priority. At our pub stop it was nice to talk to some Oxford fans who still wished us good luck despite wanting their team to win, as they’d be fighting for the points as they were near the relegation zone. The last time we’d come to this ground was for a pre-season friendly, but I couldn’t remember when but was reminded that it was for Bielsa’s first game. It’s still unique with only three stands in place but it gave some Leeds fans the chance to watch from the car park and others in the distant trees. This was another ground where we were treated well as far as I was concerned. The only issue was getting soaked before the game when I switched the tap on in the ladies sink only for a torrent of water to overflow everywhere. I wasn’t the only one to find that out the hard way. Team: Darlow, Ampadu, Rodon, Bogle, Solomon, Gnonto, Gruev, Tanaka, Aaronson, Firpo, Piroe. Subs: Bamford for Piroe (75), James for Gnonto (75), Schmidt for Solomon (87), Guilavogui for Aaronson (90). Subs not used: Meslier, Joseph, Byram, Ramazani, Wöber. Leeds won the game 1-0 with the goal scored by Solomon (32). Attendance: 11,537, 1,434 Leeds fans. Referee: Dean Whitestone. Booked: Gruev, Bogle. I knew it wouldn’t be an easy game which turned out to be the case and very tense for us Leeds fans. Oxford were the first on the attack which saw Darlow make a good save before their keeper was called into action to save a shot from Aaronson. Oxford were having plenty of possession, looking quite dangerous at times. Instead of the flying Leeds fan at an Oxford game in the past, it was a flying Leeds player when Tanaka was pushed in the back. After soaking up the pressure, Leeds took the lead when Rodon sent an excellent ball for Bogle to run onto who sent a great pass across the box for Solomon to race in and put the ball into the net. That was a welcome relief to take the lead and meant we were in control then as we went into the break. The second half still saw Oxford with a lot of possession, and we had to be really patient in our build ups (not that us fans were), but we did manage some good play down the wing. We started attacking more as Farke was looking to bring our first subs on and a Firpo shot went over the bar but was not that far away. Darlow threw a long ball out to Solomon on the wing, and he would have been away bearing down on goal only for the game to be stopped for a foul. Tanaka was so unlucky not to score as his long shot hit the bottom of the post and bounced away sadly not near a Leeds player. From a free kick their keeper was able to make the save from Gruev easily. Oxford tried getting back into the game, but we were standing firm in defence and there were plenty of sighs of relief that we were one step closer to automatic promotion when the final whistle blew. It is still all to play for, and Monday will have a big bearing on the outcome of the table positions, as Burnley and Sheffield United play each other after our game has finished. Keeping us in pole position will be vital and put even more pressure on those two. As long as the challengers implode and not us, I’d be happy. I’d have no problem us all going up to have local derby games, but we have to go up automatically whereas one of them can go up via the playoffs I’ve tried for exchange tickets for Monday without success so it will be just the three of us with season tickets being at the game. I’m looking forward to a bouncing Elland Road, but we must get behind the team for the full 90 minutes. On the way home, I had a few tears as my husband won’t be there to share the chance of Leeds going up. We first met at a pre-season friendly in Molenbeek in 1977 so go back a long way. There are many more Leeds fans who won’t be there to share this with us either so the emotions and nostalgia will be hitting many of us if we succeed. See you there, LUFC – Marching on Together!
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