Leeds United push for promotion under Daniel Farke

William Cooper on 24 October 2023

It’s fair to say that Leeds United’s 2022/23 Premier League campaign was one to forget. The combined efforts of Jesse Marsch and Javi Garcia, alongside survival specialist Sam Allardyce’s last-ditch rescue attempt, were not enough to save the club from the embarrassment of relegation.Supporters were left to rue underwhelming transfer windows after they were sent down by Spurs on the final day of the season.


There was a distinct lack of optimism around the city ahead of the summer window, despite
the appointment of new manager Daniel Farke in July. As expected, the playing squad saw an
extensive overhaul, with key players Rodrigo and Tyler Adams leaving permanently, paired with a deluge of loan departures. Regular first-team starters including Brendan Aaronsen, Rasmus
Kristensen, and Robin Koch all exited the club for the season, leaving Farke with a massive rebuild on his hands.


Going into the season opener against Cardiff in August, little had been done to change fans’
opinions. New midfielder Ethan Ampadu came into the team, but could only help his new club to a 2-2 draw. This was just the start of a rough month, as defeat away to Birmingham and a draw to West Brom left Leeds languishing 19 th in the table. Just to add to the team’s teething issues, exciting young winger Wilfried Gnonto was angling for a move away and was subsequently left out of the squad for the start of the campaign.


If things couldn’t get any worse, Leeds were travelling down to face in-form Ipswich for their
next game. In contrast to their Yorkshire opponents, Ipswich had made a perfect start to the season, having won all three of their games to begin their promotion push. This trend looked set to continue, when new-signing Spurs loanee Joe Rodon turned the ball into his own net, giving Ipswich the lead after only 7th minutes. However, Leeds responded instantly with three goals in under ten minutes, including a strike from the new £10 million striker Joel Piroe, the prolific Swedish goalscorer signed from Swansea. Leeds eventually came away with a 4-3 win; Farke’s men left Portman Road with a huge statement victory, that they hoped would kickstart their season.

Things were not smooth sailing from here, however. Just three days later, Leeds were unceremoniously dumped out of the League Cup by League Two side Salford City. A chaotic transfer deadline day followed, where the loss of Luis Sinisterra was softened by the arrivals of dynamic midfielder Glen Kamara and tricky winger Jaidon Antony. Slowly but surely, the players started to gel as the squad began to adapt to Farke’s tactical demands. Since the last international break in September, Leeds have picked up 13 points from a possible 18, only dropping points away at Hull and fellow relegated side Southampton. In a world of inverted full-backs and false nines, Farke’s tactical setup is a wonderful throwback. Leeds effectively play a 4-4-2, with Piroe playing in a deeper role alongside the pacy Rutter, who looks to stretch the opposition defense with his pace. When paired with two direct wingers, Leeds are a force to be reckoned with in attack. A 3-0 win away at Millwall confirmed the devastating goalscoring ability of their attacking quartet, as goals from Piroe and Rutter capped off sweeping counter-attacking moves.

Going the other way, the four-man defense is protected by a couple of all-action midfielders,
usually two of Kamara, Ampadu, or 17-year-old Archie Gray. Four clean sheets in their last six games, including shutouts at home against QPR and Watford, have demonstrated their defensive resilience in the last few weeks. The international break has perhaps come at a bad time for Leeds, with them sitting 5th in the table as they hit some good form. Leicester and Ipswich may already be pulling away in the automatic promotion spots, but there’s no need for fans to panic. If they can continue scoring goals and maintain some defensive rigidity, there’s no reason why Farke’s Leeds side can’t finish in the top six, giving themselves a chance to immediately bounce back to the top flight through the playoffs.

Looking forward to: Varsity 2023

Will Heaver on 3 May 2023

Rugby Union Varsity between the University of Leeds and Leeds Beckett is one of the most anticipated sporting events of the sporting calendar for students in Leeds. This year is no different as we build up to kick off at 7:30 on the 3rd of May.

The University of Leeds will be incredibly confident with an unbeaten home record this season in the BUCS Northern Prem. This includes an eye-catching victory against Nottingham Trent and a brilliant draw against League Champions Newcastle. They are led by captain and second row Jake Aldridge, who will be ably supported in the pack by last year’s stand out player, flanker Greg Jones and another returner in Ollie Kenyon. The Gryphons play an expansive game and key to that is fly half Daniel Troup who will be charged with directing the team around the park and putting exciting backs Owen Dudman, Finn Cook and Greg Kitson into space. They will hope their experienced players will bring that bit of extra nous in the game’s big moments.

Their opponents Leeds Beckett have won the last three encounters at Headingley but this year the game looks set to be on a knife edge. Beckett, led by captain and hooker Madison Hunting, are a much-changed side to the one that were victorious last year.  Hunting is the only returning member from the dominant starting pack last year. However, they do still have plenty of talent and size in England Students prop Callum Hancock and dynamic back rowers Khalik Kareem and Olly Mullarkey. They also do not lack for X factor out wide with the Harlequins’ rapid Conor Oresanya, and classy full back Matt Salisbury both players to watch.

Beckett have had a tough season in BUCS Super Rugby this year, finishing bottom of the league but they will be buoyed by a victory in the relegation play off against a much-fancied Brunel side. That game was played in terrible conditions but was won through a great team try finished off by inside centre Alex Green.

This game promises to be incredibly tight and with both sides pushed on by partisan support the game could go either way and will be decided by the finest of margins.

Before the men’s game is the third edition of the Women’s Rugby Varsity with both sides having one a game each. Leeds Beckett won last years game and will be hoping to go back-to-back led by captain Georgia Naylor. Back rower Lotte Westerlaken and back Holly Veitch both are players to watch out for. Uni Of will be no push over however, led by scrum half Pippa Gammer and with Premier 15 players, such as prop Leah Romain and utility back Charlotte Lacy. Leeds certainly have the fire power to match Beckett.

Independent Panel finds UEFA and French Authorities responsible for Champions League Final Chaos, absolving Liverpool fans

Billy Stewart on 27 February 2023

The 2022 Champions League Final in Paris was one of the most eagerly anticipated finals of recent years. The game itself was not the spectacle it was billed to be, with Real Madrid edging out Liverpool 1-0. However, events on the pitch were to be overshadowed events by off it.


Fans were subjected to dangerous crushes, excessive use of tear gas, muggings, and assaults by local gangs. It was clear that the authorities were woefully unprepared for the event, and what preparation they had done had contributed to the chaos which almost ended in disaster.


Shockingly, the French police intelligence report on the Liverpool fans wrongly associated the Hillsborough disaster of 1989 with football hooliganism. According to a report by Michel Cadot, delegate from the French sports ministry, this shameful misconception informed the authority’s decision to deploy riot police and utilise the heavy-handed policing that Liverpool fans fell victim to.

Image credits: Flickr

Even before a ball was kicked, UEFA and French authorities began to deflect blame onto the Liverpool supporters. A message was displayed on the TV screen inside the stadium, explaining that the delay of kick-off was ‘due to the late arrival of fans at the stadium.’

This was simply not the case. Liverpool fans had been outside the ground in their thousands for hours. Sky Sports News chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol stated that he arrived at the ground four hours before kick-off, and that he was “shocked at how many supporters had turned up.”

The issue was in fact caused by the funnelling of thousands of fans through narrow bottlenecks, and through minimal turnstiles, creating dangerous crushes.

The chaos continued after the game. Both Real Madrid and Liverpool fans were again subject to muggings, robberies, and attacks by local gangs. UFC star and Liverpool supporter Paddy Pimblett likened it to a scene from The Purge, as many of the gang members wielded baseball bats, machetes, and knives. Many fans have since stated that police were nowhere to be seen, yet another example of the gross neglect and lack of preparation that had put supporters’ welfare at risk on numerous occasions.


Charlie Pyne, a third-year student here at Leeds, was in Paris on that day. He told me about his experience.


After the game whilst looking for a hotel, he was attacked by a local gang and robbed, and was rejected from hotel rooms because he was bleeding. Whilst looking for a place, he was attacked again and ended up spending the night in the hospital. Charlie told me that ‘some people saw some pretty messed up things and the police did nothing about it’ and that Paris on that night was ‘one of the few places I’ve been where I felt unsafe.’

All the while, UEFA and French authorities continued to try and deflect blame from themselves, and onto Liverpool fans. The response of authorities in the days following events at the final only fuelled the overwhelming sense of anger and injustice amongst fans.

Take this tweet from Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, French Minister for Sport, after the Final:

Similarly, French Interior Minister, Gerard Darmanin, blamed “fraud at an industrial level,” claiming that over 70% of fans outside the stadium were either ticketless or possessed fakes. Darmanin held British fans entirely accountable for the problems, stating that “difficulties arose only from the entrance relation to the Liverpool supporters and not the other entrances.” His statement was strongly condemned by Liverpool and the French left and right wing. Polling found that 76% of the French public did not believe his statement.

On May 30th UEFA announced they were commissioning an independent report into events surrounding the final. The panel published their findings in a 220-page document on Monday 13 th February.

The panel concluded that there were two key organisational failures that led to the chaos. These were the UEFA ‘model’ for organising the final, as well as the safety, security and service model used which was used on the day, based on incorrect assumptions that Liverpool fans posed significant threats to public order. The panel made 21 critical recommendations to ensure the safe passage for all football fans at future UEFA matches.

You can read the full review, including all 21 recommendations issued by the independent panel by using this link.

Liverpool FC stated that it “welcomes the report into the chaos” and they have urged UEFA to “do the right thing and implement the 21 recommendations.” Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has stated that he thought “Paris was the worst possible (choice) in that specific arena on that day.” Liverpool supporters’ group ‘The Spirit of Shankly’ said that they “expect an apology for the lies and smears UEFA so quickly aimed at supporters.”

UEFA welcomed the findings of the report, stating that they are “currently analysing the findings of the Review” and that it intends to “announce a special refund scheme for fans.” UEFA General Secretary Theodore Theodoridis said, “On behalf of UEFA, I would like to apologise most sincerely once again to all those who were affected by the events that unfolded.” He also extended a further apology to Liverpool fans for “unjustly blaming them for the situation leading to the delayed kick-off.”

However, the efforts of UEFA and French ministry members to deflect blame from themselves is shameful, and their ‘special refund scheme’ will do little to erase the horror witnessed by peaceful football fans that day.