Stoke - 26th December - 24/25

December 27, 2024

Stoke City v Leeds United

Thursday 26th December 2024 - The bet365 Stadium

2024/25 Season


I’m hoping you have all had a lovely Christmas and given your loved ones a special hug as you never know what is around the corner. If you are struggling, then please reach out to others in the Leeds United family who are there to support you, as they have to my family and I since my husband’s death in October. I know I struggled yesterday and was glad when my family took over the Christmas dinner cooking when things got too much. I hadn’t felt brilliant this morning and when my granddaughter came round to set off to Leeds at least it gave me the push I needed. After spending the last month listening to Christmas songs and then since my return from Berlin a week ago listening to German Christmas songs, I decided to go back to listening to love songs on the way to Stoke. Well maybe that wasn’t the best of ideas because as soon as we got on the coach and I started listening to the music, the tears fell all the way to the pub stop. That was the best thing that could have happened, as having the break and something to eat meant I overcame the sadness with the help of our fans. As we walked into the pub in Burton, we were met by comments of “Leeds” by West Brom fans who were in there. They left after 10 minutes as they had an earlier kick off than us.


When we reached Stoke, we parked in a different area than usual as the away fans had been moved to the corner to the right of the goal so could no longer use the coach park.  We then headed to the Power League, because as usual we were meeting up with my friends Ian (a Leeds fan) and Leslie his brother (a Stoke fan) and some others. We go back a long way but it’s unbelievable when I realise how many years have passed by since we first met. Travelling with Wallace Arnold coaches in the seventies brought long time friendships. At least these Stoke fans were nice and not like the woman going nuts after the game as we came out onto the road. I’ve no idea what had happened, but she was very aggressive trying to attack a young lad then walked away. Suddenly she came charging back at him and the next thing a bottle came flying through the air hitting another lad from my coach, then me firmly on the jaw! Whether it was her or someone with her who threw it I couldn’t say, but luckily it was plastic and half full so didn’t cause any damage. I’d certainly recommend some anger management for her that’s for sure. Having endured being ambushed at the graveyard when going back to the station for the football special when Stoke played at their old Victoria ground, this was nothing in comparison thankfully. Thank you to the Stoke Supervisor for his help in getting us into the same area rather than different areas of the ground.


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

Subs:  Gnonto for James (76), Ramazani for Solomon (76), Joseph for Piroe (79), Tanaka for Rothwell (79), Schmidt for Byram (90).

Subs not used:  Darlow, Bamford, Guilavogui, Debayo.


Leeds won the game 2-0 with a brace from Piroe (43, 63)


Attendance:  24,738, 3,383 Leeds fans.


Referee:  Stephen Martin.

Booked:  None from Leeds.


The Stoke fans had told us that if things didn’t go well today that things could turn very toxic. They also said that they hadn’t been playing well but with it being Boxing Day too, no doubt they would raise their game because it was against Leeds. With bad visibility due to fog that had affected travel to the ground, we couldn’t see the opposite goal very well but Stoke attacked the goal in front of us. As it was Stoke came out of the starting blocks very quickly and Meslier made a good save with his feet then getting the ball, when their speed got them through our defence. Aaronson hit a long strike that the keeper saved then with another attack, James made a good run down the wing, crossed into the middle only for Solomon to mishit it altogether. That was a good chance as it was an open goal and the shot should have at least been on target. The man next to me said that he was getting nervous the nearer to half time it was getting without us scoring. As it was, he needn’t have worried as Rothwell picked out Aaronson who put a perfect ball through for Piroe to run onto to. Their keeper got the ball at Piroe’s feet, but he got to the rebound first then smashed the ball into the net from a narrow angle off the underside of the crossbar to give us the lead. We had to watch the replay of the goal on a phone next to us to see who had scored as we couldn’t see through the fog. That was a good, timed goal for us just before the break.


I said in the second half that I wanted all the action to be down at our end so at least we’d be able to see. Although Stoke had a couple of corners and one attack where they got in front of our defence, but their header went wide, most of the play came from Leeds as we put some excellent runs together. Solomon was running them ragged in front of us, but we came close to making it two when a header from Struijk from a Rothwell corner caused confusion in the box. Bogle sent James down the wing, he beat their defender then crossed a perfect ball for Piroe to head in our second goal of the game.  It was disappointing to see Piroe run to the opposite corner to celebrate instead of coming to the Leeds fans, but then the team did come over to us thankfully. Solomon and Aaronson came close to scoring with the latter’s shot being tipped over the top of the goal by their keeper. I had hoped for win so we could sing jungle bells, so it was good to hear it get an airing as we got another win and three points to put us at the top of the league going into the last game of 2024 away at Derby. As someone said, 23 games to go but as always, I will never take anything for granted where Leeds United are concerned as we have seen things go wrong and been there too many times already. Despite looking way better than other teams recently, there is still a long way to go.


See you on Sunday, 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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