CHAT - SHARE - TALK - DEBATE - LUFC

Who cares? We should. Tonight could seal our fate, so tune in with everything crossed. If Arsenal win that could end our fight. It would guarantee them the 4th place, meaning Spurs can mail it v Burnley on Saturday and Arsenal can mail it v Everton next weekend. If Spuds win, then Burnley and Everton have all on to get anything from those games and we're still alive.

WOW. 9 and a half years, nearly 260 games in charge - the board decide to axe him now! Can't wait to see who they have lined up and how anybody else gets a tune out of that squad.

“It's been emotional”, in the words of the one and only Vinnie Jones. We all know how much Bielsa did for our great club and how much he'll remain a part of our folklore. But the future begins today. Jesse Marsch, 48 year old American former manager of RB Leipzig, RB Salzburg and MLS clubs joins as our new manager. I believe from the pundits he's a believer in a high energy, high press, attacking game which will wean us away from Bielsaball without reinventing us. We must hope a new voice galvanises the players and that a little bit more defensive balance will see us out of our current predicament. This feels like the start of the 49ers regime and the twilight of Radz tenure, it would mean more money for the squad if they do exercise their option to buy, but equally we are now a conventional club trying to prosper in the PL, just like everyone else. Sadness and optimism live together in me this week. Leicester City away is live on BT sport - what will the "new Leeds" look like? We'll soon see.

So, admit it – what’s the first game that you look for in July when the annual fixture list comes out? We all know the answer! it's when this lot, the hated tribe from across the hills, come to mighty Elland Road. We must be honest it doesn't feel like a fantastic run of form to be facing them in, and even though they are not exactly ripping up trees themselves we've had enough bad experiences in the last season and a half to know what can happen if we don't sort it out. On the plus side, you have got to think about the following: they had to play in midweek and they have to play again next midweek: we have finally had a break and it sounds like we might have some injury relief on the horizon: the final thing to bear in mind is that we all just ******* hate them! If the fans and players aren't up for this battle then there is no hope. They didn’t beat us on their last trip over….. Unfortunately, his time around there are clouds over us that we can’t ignore – what the solution will be only time will tell. Firstly the future of the Bucketgod himself – more and more it seems that this relationship has run its course and if that is the case is it reducing the belief in the team? More and more clickbait falling over itself to “reveal” arguments in-house over who did and didn’t want signings. Then there’s that infamous Plan B debate….. Secondly Raphinha’s form and alleged refused contract talks – god, we need him on fire come Sunday. Finally, when and how will the U23’s move up the gear we need them to – on loan or finally on the big stage? If the 10 wantaways story is true, then do we have an issue for the future. I’m not even going to bother with an historical comparison, or any great players that played for both clubs, or any kind of nicities around that bunch. Famous Scum Fans include: Judy Finnegan, aged spouse of less aged but ill Richard Madeley Lee Dixon, of Arsenal fame Those tw*ts from Oasis (maybe?) The third Chuckle brother The Lineup I wanted: Meslier Drameh Llorente Struijk Dallas Phillips Raphinha Klich “New Signing” Harrison Bamford Subs used from: James, Rodrigo, Cresswell, Summerville, Gelhardt, Firpo What we’ll get: Meslier Ayling Llorente Struijk Firpo Koch Raphinha Klich Rodrigo Harrison James Subs used: Roberts, Forshaw Weather forecast: Storm Dave has blown over this week, but Storm Esmeralda is wreaking havoc over Friday. By Sunday it’ll have demolished large parts of the Manchester slums and maybe less troglodytes will be able to crawl over the Pennines. The temperature will be somewhere between 7.6 and 7.7 degrees C, with a 45.3% chance of precipitation, of which it’s 98% likely to be rain. Windchill should be around -4 degrees due to the 6.4mph South by South-westerly winds coming into the stadium via the large screen corner. Those in the Revie Stand are advised to combine 2 thinner layers with a larger overcoat and perhaps a hat. Other attendees are recommended to wear a jumper and hat combo as long as they have a scarf and bought chips or a hot pie. Prediction Leeds 3 – 0 Man Utd (Roberts hat-trick) Let battle commence!!!

Because it's ACE!! And with no footy this weekend we get to enjoy an uninterrupted opening weekend. Now I'm guessing I can have some fun with Bully here - C'MON ENGLAND!! This has the potential to be one of the classic competitions this year - there's so much competitiveness around 5 of the 6 teams (obviously Italy excepted). I'm an unashamed egg chaser (or was) so getting well excited! So for those who want their appetite whetting...... https://youtu.be/WIpu1Kmhq94

NO TC10, not the 69ers thread..... Clearly we have US ownership on a minority basis now and possible full ownership on the horizon so I thought I'd start a thread to follow the progress of the 49ers this year. Last night the San Francisco 49ers won their divisional playoff match to progress to the Conference Championship game and a shot at a place in the Superbowl. Lots on here won't give a toss about Gridiron which I respect, but it's worth noting that the game in America is amazingly communist in its approach - All 32 teams pay a flat salary cap to their squads every year, the same for all 32 teams - A fixed percentage of gross income caps what can be paid - it's about 62% of commercial income goes to players - Even shirt sales revenue is pooled as the shirts are made by one supplier centrally and sold centrally - As a result owners make money on a stable basis out of the sport, which may explain why Yanks get confused when they buy "soccer" clubs in Europe. Of course, the 49ers get these post season games as an extra that may mean more revenue for the owners...... should the 49ers win that Conference Championship game then the Superbowl awaits and all that goes with it. 🏈💲 Wonder if that will give them the "assistance" we need in the transfer market? All makes me sick as I became a die hard Dolphins fan in the 80's and SF49ers were the arch enemy in red....

C.L.O.S.E.D. Incomings Confirmed: Mateo Joseph Fernandez (Espanyol) 3.5 year deal Outgoings Confirmed: Edmondson joins Port Vale on Loan Drameh joins Cardiff on Loan Josh Galloway joins FC United of Manchester on Loan Bobby Kamwa joins Dunfermline on Loan Rock 'n roll 😕

Great article on the BBC website now - clarifies the challenges he's been facing. He dropped out of the internationals in September through a combination of COVID and bereavement. We can put the "playing away" rumours to bed. Glad to see he's coming back to his usual best now. MOT

This Saturday sees the visit of some cheeky cockney types to our green and pleasant lands. The hordes of pearly queens will descend upon Elland Road full of beans after their last trip to the North – last night’s very creditable defeat of the Scum in their own back yard. I’ve no doubt they’ll be in good voice as they sing along to that Michael Jackson classic “I’m forever blowing Bubbles”, although why they have such affection for a monkey is beyond me. As for The Mighty Whites, after a positive result against a different bunch of cheeky cockney types, we really don’t know who will be fit and on duty to counter the obvious threat Wet Spam will present. We believe Llorente might be back (but we don’t know if his legs will be working yet), we definitely expect no Ayling, Koch or Struijk at the back so at least a space on the bench for Cresswell again. On the wings the bucket god has much more of an interesting choice: Harrison or James, Rapha on the right or push him central and play Summerville again. And what to do about the Centre Mid…..? The hammers did the double over us last season, we had no answer to the aerial threat they posed from set pieces, but they’ve shown they have plenty to offer on the deck too, so this one will rely on us being able to get down the flanks and turn them round facing their own goal – we’ll need to retain possession much better than we have so far this season too. Once again we find ourselves in a position were we really can’t afford to lose – getting that first win is becoming a bit of a monkey on our own back…… So – the tale of the tape: League Position last year 9th Leeds Pts 59 Gd 8 6th Wet Spam Pts 65 Gd 15 League Position this year 17th Leeds Pts 3 Gd -7 8th Wet Spam Pts 8 Gd 4 Squad valuation in the PL - Transfermarkt 12th Leeds £227.43M 11th Wet Spam £317.93M Wage Bill – according to Spotrac.com 19th Leeds 8th Wet Spam As with last week this sentence remains: not sure on the back of those stats why we’ve suddenly become European contenders, but it shows how much our manager and squad overachieved last year. Wet Spam’s celebrity fans include: Danny Dyer Russell Brand Ray Winstone Alf Garnett Matt Damon Keira Knightley 😍 Peggy Mitchell Phil Mitchell Ricky!!! Well ‘Ard the dog Douglas “Awroit Mate!” Bader Mouseman – admit it, you have a sneaky passion of long MDT’s 😊 Prediction for the weather: a pleasant 21 degrees C, clear skies and a welcoming gentle breeze in God’s Own Country. Prediction for the match: The Mighty Whites 2 – 0 (James and Cresswell from a corner after he comes on for Llorente after 12 minutes). - Or more likely the end of my MDT run 😣 Predicted Line-up: Meslier Shackleton, Llorente (for 12 minutes), Cooper, Firpo Phillips Rapha, Rodrigo, Dallas, James Bamford Once again - over to you lot, the unwashed masses, to stick your twopence in.

One of the great Northern cities, born from the industrial revolution, founded on the hard work of the working classes, with an identity and culture to be proud of. A city with a special character and dialect and of course a great football tradition plus every reason to be positive about the future. But enough about Leeds, because on Friday The Mighty Whites have to travel up to that cold, coal covered stinking poverty hole that calls itself “the Toon”. Newcastle – the self-styled boozy weekend student capital, with its fog on the Tyne, Gazza obsession and bizarre rusty angel thing on the motorway – is home to one of the barest trophy cabinets in top flight football, but still 50,000 dedicated fans will pour into St James’ Park every weekend to watch a team that is claimed to be underfunded and definitely starved of success – personally I admire that – feels like us for the last 17 years if only ER had that kind of capacity. This game could be a real sliding doors moment for our side. Right now, you could split our fanbase in half: 1/2 see the glass half empty and 1/2 see the glass totally empty. I'm not going to judge who's right and wrong, but rather accept either way because I understand those who see the glass as empty are looking at both our league position and our performances so far and in both cases we are far short of what we did last season. Personally, I’m a glass half full guy because I can see that we’ve played two of the big four (the Champions league 4) where we would not have expected to get anything and I'm mindful that Bielsa himself has said our season will not be defined by those big matches. What we have done is played two teams outside of the big four and not been beaten by either of them. Indeed, Everton have beaten everybody they have played this season except us. Whichever way you see our start to the season, we can all agree that the game on Friday night against Newcastle is one we cannot lose. If your glass is empty, you may already be getting very nervous. If, like me, your glass is half full then you will be full of hope that this is a game we will win, or at least won't lose. So – the tale of the tape: League Position last year 9th Leeds Pts 59 Gd 8 12th Newcastle Pts 45 Gd -16 League Position this year 17th Leeds Pts 2 Gd -7 19th Newcastle Pts 1 Gd -7 Squad valuation in the PL - Transfermarkt 12th Leeds £225.72M 14th Newcastle £217.26M Wage Bill – according to Spotrac.com 12th Newcastle 19th Leeds Not sure on the back of those stats why we’ve suddenly become European contenders, but it shows how much our manager and squad overachieved last year. The Toon’s celebrity fans include: Paul “Gazza” Gascoigne Cheryl Cole Ant and Dec Mark Knopfler Peter Beardsley Tim Healy (the little fat fella out of Auf Wiedersehen Pet) The rest of the cast of Auf Wiedersehen Pet The Fog on the Tyne Sickly Sausage Rolls Douglas “wa’hay man” Bader Mouseman – if you read this far many congratulations Prediction for the weather: -2 degrees Celsius, biting frosty sleet and a strong 40mph wind (well, it is grim up there). Take your Arctic jacket and flask of cocoa if you’re heading into the frozen wilds. Prediction for the match: Toon Army 1 – 3 The Mighty Whites (Raphinha, Bamford x 2) Predicted Line-up: Meslier Shackleton, Ayling, Cooper, Firpo Phillips Rapha, Rodrigo, Dallas, Harrison Bamford Disclaimer: this is predicted, NOT what I’d like to see…… so over to you lot, the unwashed masses, to stick your twopence in.

And so we get the last minute twist...... good for us and Raphinha, but of course even better for Liverpool....all the Brazilian boys are now eligible to play this weekend.

Brazil have invoked the ban on 8 players, including the Liverpool trio and Rapha. Apparently they've let Richarlison off because he was playing at the Olympics when he didn't have to..... I bet Radz will review this - he has said only yesterday it was Rapha's choice not to travel, therefore we didn't technically block his travel.

They were dead dull normally, but I always liked this one - Luke 15:11 - the prodigal son There was an Agent who had two good footballers. The younger one said to him, “Boss, give me my share of the money.’ So they devised a transfer between them. Not long after that, the younger one got together all he had, set off for a distant county and there squandered his ability on the right wing. After he had tried everything, there was a shocking transfer in that vile county, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to the U23’s of that county, who sent him to the fields to feed pigs with crosses. He longed to fill his heart with goals and success but no one gave him anything. When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my other suitors have a spot in the first team to spare, and here I am bored to death I will set out and go back to my Agent and say to him: “Mate, I have sinned against my better judgement and against Yorkshire. I am no longer willing to be called a Manscum player; make me a Leeds player.” So he got up and started walking down the M62. But while he was still a long way off, the Lord Bielsa saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to the lad, threw his arms around him and kissed him. The lad said to him, “Marcelo, I have sinned against Yorkshire and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called a Leeds player.” But the Bucket god said to his servant Victor, ‘Quick! Bring the best 4 year deal and put it on the table. Put an 8 on his shirt and Adidas on his feet. Bring the fattened Costa and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this winger of mine was gone but is here again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

Breaking news on SKY

Breaking news, he's got the call :-)

Looks very likely now! Wolves have to overturn an 8 point deficit and now Villa 4 points away with just 2 to play. There's an outside chance we can nick 8th or 9th, but 10th is almost banked. What a first season :-)

Worth checking out the BBC website - baller!!!! (and winner of the skills challenge) Leeds and England youth player Ronnie McGrath smashes MOTDx skills challenge - BBC Sport

This is a messy, grubby financial thing again, but it's breaking this evening that there's to be a possible breakaway from our "big 6" plus 3 from Spain and 3 from Italy. I believe they plan to run a competition midweek instead of the Champion's league and open it up to 15 permanent members and to 5 invited teams each season. Obviously the timing is vile, the plan is anti-competitive and deeply unpopular with the authorities. Said authorities appear to be ready to hit the nuclear button if the clubs don't back down, but there may be a statement from the signed up clubs this evening. The problem here is that the idea keeps resurfacing and the foreign owners who want a franchise competition aren't going away. Where will this end?

You may have seen today the financial results last season - over £60M loss. The SKY money at the end of this season and the injection from SF49ers cover it off, but it does leave us with less than we think to spend in the summer - unless there's another slice of ownership cash coming in. These numbers include about £45M of money spent on players and that means there's another £45M or so spent more recently still to account for. I'm square, but I'll look forward to seeing the detail.....

COVID positive with Poland :-( That's the midfield anchored by Dallas, hope Rodders is fit for Sunday