Search
On FM Scout you can chat about Football Manager in real time since 2011. Here are 10 reasons to join!

Leeds United: Do It For Redders

Started on 19 October 2014 by Jack
Latest Reply on 7 March 2015 by OMGItsToddzy
  • POSTS68
  • VIEWS27061
Pages  

October: Unstoppable


Another epic month from the Whites in October.

Neil Redfearn led his continental Leeds side out to gain thirteen points out of a possible fifteen as well as a Capital One Cup 5th Quarter-Final tie with Premier League high-flyers Everton, who sit in 4th place in the Premier League. Mirco Antenucci was the catalyst for the great form over the course of the month, bagging a hat-trick against Wigan in the Capital One Cup, along with one against Sheffield Wednesday and two against Reading and Norwich.

The Leeds vs Sheffield Wednesday fixture was definitely a highlight, in front of a full-capacity Elland Road as Neil Redfearn's soldiers ran out 2-0 winners over their Yorkshire rivals with goals coming from Souleymane Doukara and Mirco Antenucci.

Fixtures
Leeds United 3 - 1 Reading

Sky Bet Championship
Elland Road
Att. 27,710


Pavel Pobgrebnyak (4)
Mirco Antenucci (pen 36, 73)
Jason Pearce (61)

Leeds United 2 - 0 Sheffield Wednesday


Sky Bet Championship
Elland Road
Att. 37,890


Souleymane Doukara (54)
Mirco Antenucci (58)

Rotherham United 3 - 3 Leeds United


Sky Bet Championship
New York Stadium
Att. 11,868


Frazer Richardson (pen 16)
Souleymane Doukara (pen 25)
Ben Pringle (34)
Jordan Bowery (52)

Brian Montenegro (79)
Frazer Richardson (own goal 87)

Norwich City 0 - 3 Leeds United


Sky Bet Championship
Carrow Road
Att. 26,267


Mirco Antenucci (16, 23)
Rodolph Austin (45)

Leeds United 1 - 0 Wolverhampton Wanderers


Sky Bet Championship
Elland Road
Att. 30,423


Tommaso Bianchi (10)

Leeds United 4 - 1 Wigan Athletic


Capital One Cup 4th Rnd
Elland Road
Att. 31,700


Mirco Antenucci (pen 8, 14, 58)
Souleymane Doukara (46)
Emyr Huws (52)

League Table



After almost losing out on three points to Rotherham, we could've been one less point away from second place, which puts us eight points ahead of Wigan but instead we're three wins ahead of them. In November we're against some good quality sides but we've proven too many times how superior we are. I'd like us to go into Christmas possibly twelve points ahead of second.

November



We're against some good quality sides in November such as Cardiff, Blackburn and Derby. They will all be wanting a win against top of the league desperately. But along with the good quality sides come the relegation battlers who want to send out a signal that they will be staying up by beating top of the league.

Awards


Manager of the Month - Neil Redfearn


After a great month of no losses, I have picked up the Manager of the Month award for October, after beating the likes of Norwich and Wolves, both high end sides, comfortably. Middlesbrough's Aitor Karanka came in second, after defeating the threat of Fulham 4-1 and Watford 4-0 but lost out on the 2-1 defeat to Wolves at the Molineux. Likewise, 3rd placed Neil Adams led his Norwich side to three wins including a 3-0 win over Rotherham but snatched a podium place after that 3-0 loss to league leaders Leeds.

Player of the Month - Mirco Antenucci


After he took apart every defence put in front of him, our striker from Termoli, Italy, eased his way to win this award. He linked up brilliantly with strike partner Souleymane Doukara over the course of October and hit five goals in four games, a marvelous feat only top class strikers can produce. Antenucci picked up an average rating of 8.10 in October. Bournemouth winger Marc Pugh came trailing behind Antenucci following two assists and three goals in four games throughout October, he picked up an average rating of 7.80. Finally in third place behind his fellow Italian Antenucci came Watford's Matej Vydra, on loan from Udinese. He hit four goals in four this month for the Hornets and picked up an average rating of 7.85.

Estrada Joins as Pavoletti Agrees Terms




On the free transfer deadline day, Neil Redfearn has done his final bit of business in the window available to him.

Chilean defensive-midfielder Marco Estrada flies over to Yorkshire after a very short spell in the United Arab Emirates last season with Al-Wahda Football Club. He joined for a shock £12.5m from Montpellier Hérault. Only ten appearances later and his contract ran out which left him available on a free transfer to any club.

Unfortunately for Leeds, Estrada requires a work permit to actually play for the club, and Leeds can only apply for a work permit in 74 days. This means effectively, Leeds boss Redfearn can only use him in three months - that's if he's lucky.

Luckily for Leeds though, Redfearn has worked his magic and got Estrada down to a minimal wage of around £2,000. An outstanding wage for a player of Estrada's quality, it was only a few months ago that he was worth £12,500,000 and on a massive wage only a middle-eastern club could afford.




Next is Sassuolo striker Leonardo Pavoletti. The Italian has agreed terms with President Massimo Cellino after being first spotted by sporting director Nicola Salerno during his loan spell at Serie B's Varese, in which he scored 20 goals in 36 games last season.

Since then, the striker has returned to his parent club Sassuolo in Serie A and has made just one appearance for the first team since then, a 15-minute substitute appearance in a 3-0 loss to Juventus. The rest of the time Pavoletti has been rotting in the reserve team, making three appearances and scoring five.

But now Pavoletti seems to have a breakthrough in Leeds, as manager Neil Redfearn will look to mould him and Estrada into a title-winning side by the time of May. Sassuolo are currently flying high in Serie A, achieving a seventh place rank. But they aren't the best in the league, and right now, Leeds seem to be unstoppable in the Championship at the moment and Pavoletti will be counting down the days until he can formally arrive at Elland Road and call himself a Leeds United player.

Leeds have reportedly paid just over £600,000 to gain the strikers services, with a wage of just over £10,000 to entice the striker to come to Yorkshire.

November: Ups And Downs


The Whites suffered only their second league loss against Charlton this month

With fifteen points available at the end of the month - Neil Redfearn's men only managed to pick up ten. The quality of the performances were to a very high standard, but against the likes of Derby County and Charlton Athletic The Whites could not convert the effort into enough goals to defeat the side put before them. However, Leeds still remain top by a very lengthy margin on second placed Wigan Athletic coming into the final month of the calendar year which is a massive positive.

Fixtures
Cardiff City 1 - 2 Leeds United


Sky Bet Championship
Cardiff City Stadium
Att. 26,270


Javi Guerra (9)
Adryan (44)
Souleymane Doukara (57)

Leeds United 0 - 1 Charlton Athletic


Sky Bet Championship
Elland Road
Att. 28,008


Lawrie Wilson (59)

Leeds United 3 - 0 Blackpool


Sky Bet Championship
Elland Road
Att. 29,552


Mirco Antenucci (24)
Sam Byram (28)
Souleymane Doukara (63)

Blackburn Rovers 1 - 3 Leeds United


Sky Bet Championship
Ewood Park
Att. 17,442


Jordan Rhodes (9)
Souleymane Doukara (28, 70)
Mirco Antenucci (61)

Leeds United 1 - 1 Derby County


Sky Bet Championship
Elland Road
Att. 28,492


Chris Martin (pen 45+2)
Mirco Antenucci (70)


December



In December we have a long set of fixtures coming up - six games in the space of thirty-one days. Times like these would call for rotation, especially when you have a cup fixture but I believe our players can pull through all the fixtures with the strongest side possible throughout the month. We want to go into the new year with as many points on the board as possible and for that to happen we must win all games put in front of us. Along with this would be for our League Cup run to continue further with a win against another Premier League outfit in Everton.

Awards
Manager of the Month


Winner: Billy Davies (Reading)
2nd Place: Mark Warburton (Brentford)
3rd Place: Uwe Rosler (Wigan)



Player of the Month


Winner: Troy Deeney (Watford)
2nd Place: Souleymane Doukara (Leeds)
3rd Place: Albert Adomah (Middlesbrough)



Young Player of the Month


Winner: Jordan Obita (Reading)
2nd Place: Sam Byram (Leeds)
3rd Place: Ben Gibson (Middlesbrough)

awesome update and your flying, keep up the great updates and hopefully you will get promoted

Whites Look to Italy in January



Palermo first-teamers Sol Bamba and Granddi N'Goyi have been identified as Massimo Cellino's main targets for the January, and according to some reports there has already been contact between the two clubs.

Centre-back Bamba and midfielder N'goyi have been lined up for half-season loans at Elland Road and should seal their moves from Italian club Palermo before the end of the window.

A deal for Bamba - the former Leicester City and Hibernian defender - has been on the cards for a very long time after President/Chairman Massimo Cellino shortlisted the two after being recommended by Director of Football and Cellino's right-hand man Nicola Salerno.

Bamba and N'goyi are due to be added to United’s squad early on to secure international clearance and compete for places in Neil Redfearn’s squad.

N'goyi came onto United’s radar during the early stages of December and an agreement between the two sides have still to be finalised but according to some reports in Italy there has been contact made by Leeds already.

The 26-year-old Frenchman has been with Palermo for the past 18 months, his first stint outside of the French league.

N'goyi - a defensive midfielder - started his career at Paris Saint-Germain and also played for Troyes before departing for Italy in 2013. He won promotion from Serie B with Palermo last season.


Granddi N'Goyi in action for former side Paris-Saint Germain

Bamba was one of the Italian club’s signings following their rise to Serie A but despite accepting a three-year contract in August, the 30-year-old has only made three league appearances in the current Serie A season.

The pair’s potential arrival in Leeds is likely to be followed by at least one further signing with United continuing to look for a new striker. Catania’s Edgar Cani and former White's fan favourite Luciano Becchio are the club’s main targets for January.


Former Leeds fan favourite Luciano Becchio

Head coach Neil Redfearn said earlier this month about the upcoming transfer window: “We want to bring players in but we don’t want to bring players in who are just as good as what we’ve got.

“They need to be better because the players here are playing extremely well already."

December Update




The Whites enter 2015 at the top of the table - leading by ten points

In the last month of 2014, Neil Redfearn's men have nothing to be ashamed about - picking up ten points out of the fifteen available. One of them three points included an emphatic 4-0 win over second placed Wigan Athletic that made us go ten points ahead of them as well as putting their automatic promotion spot well in doubt, with third placed Middlesbrough in-form and looking ready to pounce on that second place spot at any given moment. Enough talking about Wigan's chances - as long as we can keep consistent for the next five months I can see us getting many, many more points.

Fixtures


Ipswich Town 2 - 4 Leeds United


Sky Bet Championship
Portman Road
Att. 14,769


Mirco Antenucci (19, pen 82)
Daryl Murphy (36, 89)
Rodolph Austin (45+2)
Souleymane Doukara (47)

Leeds United 1 - 1 Fulham


Sky Bet Championship
Elland Road
Att. 27,921


Patrick Roberts (54)
Adryan (67)

Everton 1 - 2 Leeds United


Capital One Cup Quarter Final
Goodison Park
Att. 34,194


Christian Atsu (22)
Sam Byram (24)
Souleymane Doukara (70)

Nottingham Forest 1 - 2 Leeds United


Sky Bet Championship
The City Ground
Att. 18,727


Britt Assombalonga (12)
Kevin Wilson (51)

Souleymane Doukara (70)

Leeds United 4 - 0 Wigan Athletic


Sky Bet Championship
Elland Road
Att. 25,828


Souleymane Doukara (13, 38)
Mirco Antenucci (pen 29)
Tommaso Bianchi (88)

Derby County 1 - 2 Leeds United


Sky Bet Championship
iPro Stadium
Att. 33,010


Sam Byram (70)
Brian Montenegro (87)
Chris Martin (88)


January, 2015



In the New Year we have a very busy schedule of games which include two dream ties against distant rivals Manchester United in the Capital One Cup 3rd Round. It's the first time we have faced each other since our 3-0 Carling Cup defeat to the Red Devils back in September, 2011. It was Leeds United team which consisted of former stars Robert Snodgrass, Ross McCormack, Luciano Becchio and Jonny Howson - the captain. They faced a Sir Alex Ferguson Man United which contained the likes of Paul Pogba, Dimitar Berbatov, Ryan Giggs and Michael Owen. Owen went onto score a brace with Ryan Giggs scoring the third. It was the first time the two had met since Leeds' 1-0 win at Old Trafford which is still ripe in the memory of Leeds fans and will be for a very long time. Redfearn's men will look to repeat such a feat with a win there on the 27th when they play in the Capital One Cup 3rd Round. The Whites will also start their F.A. Cup campaign against fellow Championship side Wolves who Leeds have already beaten in the league this season with a 1-0 victory at Elland Road back in October after Tommaso Bianchi scored in the 10th minute to ensure three points for Leeds. To complete such an interesting array of fixtures is a Yorkshire Derby as Leeds take on Huddersfield Town at The John Smith's Stadium in their last fixture of the month.

Awards

Manager of the Month

Winner: Neil Redfearn (Leeds)
2nd Place: Bob Peeters (Charlton)
3rd Place: Aitor Karanka (Middlesbrough)




Player of the Month

Winner: Britt Assombalonga (Nottm Forest)
2nd Place: Souleymane Doukara (Leeds)
3rd Place: Steve Morison (Millwall)




Young Player of the Month

Winner: Sam Byram (Leeds)
2nd Place: George Williams (Fulham)
3rd Place: Rob Hall (Bolton)



Leeds Snap Up Six Players


Leeds United manager Neil Redfearn has wasted no time in strengthening his foundations at Elland Road, adding five more players to The Whites' ranks

The first to arrive at Leeds' training complex Thorp Arch was Italian striker Leonardo Pavoletti who signed a pre-contract with the club in November. Pavoletti parted with his former club Sassuolo for just over £600,000 and featured in Leeds' 2-0 win over Wolves on the 3rd.




The list of arrivals continued with Palermo duo Sol Bamba and Granddi N'Goyi joining just three days into the transfer window - just in time for United's F.A. Cup tie against Wolverhampton Wanderers later that day - a fixture which Bamba featured in as the Whites ran out 2-0 winners at home with goals from new signing Leonardo Pavoletti and Lewis Cook.






Neil Redfearn then proceeded to shock the entire fanbase of Leeds United by signing fan favourite Luciano Becchio on loan until the end of the season with a view to a permanent return to Elland Road should the loan be successful. The striker is out of contract at Carrow Road this summer so Redfearn may be looking to pounce on that option when it arrives. Becchio had previously spent five years at Elland Road from 2008 until January 2013 when he left for Norwich City in exchange for the now-Millwall striker Steve Morison.




Leeds continued their Winter spending by adding one-time Belgium international Dedryck Boyata from Manchester City after appearing just eleven times for the Barclays Premier League leaders in the seven years at the Etihad Stadium. Boyata has yet to make an appearance for Leeds after being the most recent to be signed up by Leeds for a fee of just under £400,000. The Belgian spent last season at Eredivisie side FC Twente, making five appearances for them.



Wow, into the semi's of the Capital One Cup! Great signings as well
2015-02-08 23:08#207697 Pauker : Wow, into the semi's of the Capital One Cup! Great signings as well
Cheers Jeremy :D

Leeds Face Spurs in League Cup Final



Championship leaders Leeds United shocked the footballing world today by beating bitter rivals Manchester United four goals to one at Elland Road.

The first leg at Old Trafford ended in a 3-1 victory for the Red Devils but exactly one week later Neil Redfearn applied a new tactic that worked wonders for his men as they took apart Premier League title-chasers Man United in Yorkshire.

Fixtures between the two sides are always fierce, known nationally as the Roses Derby as historically, a Yorkshire/Lancashire divide has resulted in tensions rising in every aspect, sport, opinions, you name it - the two sides hate each other with a passion.

But nowadays, as a result of the financial self-destruct by Leeds around one decade ago, the tie is seen as old-school now with not many youngsters paying attention to the mutual hatred between the two so the fixture has definitely softened up a lot since the days of David O'Leary, Howard Wilkinson and Don Revie. The last tie was four years ago when Sir Alex Ferguson led his side to a 3-0 win over the Whites which contained the likes of Robert Snodgrass, Jonathan Howson and Bradley Johnson.

1st Leg:
MUFC 3 - 1 LUFC

Old Trafford
Attendance: 75,483



Wayne Rooney (pen 3, 52)
Tyler Blackett (62)

Leonardo Pavoletti (81)


It's fair to say Louis Van Gaal's United took apart Neil Redfearn's men in the first leg. 59/41% possession emphasises Man United's grip on the game and despite having just one shot less than the Red Devils, Leeds were uncapable of finishing their opportunities.

2nd Leg:
LUFC 4 - 1 MUFC

Elland Road
Attendance: 40,287



Alex Mowatt (15)
Sam Byram (16)
Mirco Antenucci (31)
Sol Bamba (48)
Antonio Valencia (70)


Despite playing the diamond all season until this fixture and staying top of the league in doing so, I think it's public opinion that Neil Redfearn sticks with the 4-2-3-1 Wide formation after absolutely destroying Van Gaal's 4-2-1-2-1 system. The width applied more space down the centre for the likes of Rodolph Austin, Antenucci and Cook to burst down while having a constant option out wide in the form of Byram and Mowatt.

Following the 5-4 aggregate, Leeds United will face Tottenham Hotspur in the Capital One Cup Final at Wembley on 1st March 2015

January: Losing Momentum




Ups 'n' Downs for The Whites

Leeds started the New Year excellently with 2-0 wins against Wolves in the F.A. Cup and Bolton Wanderers in the league but lost their touch a bit against Birmingham City - losing 1-0 at home to The Blues which influenced a 3-1 defeat to bitter rivals Manchester United in the Capital One Cup Semi Final 1st Leg. Neil Redfearn then picked up another 2-0 win over League One outfit Oldham Athletic in the F.A. Cup 4th Round. Then Leeds recorded a historical 4-1 win over Manchester United in the 2nd leg of their Capital One Cup Semi Final tie. The month finished badly with a close 3-2 loss to Huddersfield Town in a fiercely contested Yorkshire Derby.

Fixtures


Leeds United 2 - 0 Wolverhampton Wanderers


F.A. Cup 3rd Rnd
Elland Road
Att. 17,320


Leonardo Pavoletti (17)
Lewis Cook (44)

Bolton Wanderers 0 - 2 Leeds United


Sky Bet Championship
Macron Stadium
Att. 13,589


Luciano Becchio (45+1)
Brian Montenegro (73)

Leeds United 0 - 1 Birmingham City


Sky Bet Championship
Elland Road
Att. 27,032


David Cotterill (pen 6)

Manchester United 3 - 1 Leeds United


Capital One Cup Semi-Final 1st Leg
Old Trafford
Att. 75,483


Wayne Rooney (pen 3, 52)
Tyler Blackett (62)

Leonardo Pavoletti (81)

Oldham Athletic 0 - 2 Leeds United


F.A. Cup 4th Rnd
Boundary Park
Att. 10,904


Brian Montenegro (15)
Rodolph Austin (pen 64)

Leeds United 4 (5) - (4) 1 Manchester United


Capital One Cup Semi-Final 2nd Leg
Elland Road
Att. 40,287


Alex Mowatt (15)
Sam Byram (16)
Mirco Antenucci (31)
Sol Bamba (48)
Antonio Valencia (70)

Huddersfield Town 3 - 2 Leeds United


Sky Bet Championship
The John Smith's Stadium
Att. 24,590


Lewis Walters (35, 86)
Nahki Wells (36, 65)
Radoslaw Majewski (84)


February



In February we are in a very congested fixture list - playing seven games over the course of the 28 days given to us. The only top six side we play is Middlesbrough who are sixth placed, just six points behind second place Wigan Athletic. Also this month we play against rock-bottom Premier League side Stoke City in the F.A. Cup 5th Round, who, in technical terms are only one place above us if the Championship and Premier League joined together.

Awards


Player of the Month


Winner: Bjorn Sigurdsson (Wolves)
2nd Place: George Williams (Fulham)
3rd Place: David Cotterill (Wigan)




Young Player of the Month


Winner: George Williams (Fulham)
2nd Place: Chris David (Fulham)
3rd Place: Reece Brown (Birmingham)




Manager of the Month


Winner: Karl Robinson (Birmingham)
2nd Place: Sami Hyypia (Brighton)
3rd Place: Eddie Howe (AFC Bournemouth)


February: Poor, But Unbeaten



The Whites were far from picking up maximum points but consolidated top spot ready for March

Despite recording two wins in the league throughout February, Neil Redfearn's army of men did not lose any more than two points per game, that along with securing an F.A. Cup 6th Round tie with Manchester United via a replay against Stoke which we got through with a 2-0 victory at the Britannia were the foundations for a very solid month.

Fixtures


LEEDS UNITED 4 (Byram 13, 16, 45+1, 85), AFC BOURNEMOUTH 1 (WILSON 53).

LUFC:
Silvestri, Wootton, Bamba, Cooper, Taylor, Byram, Mowatt, Adryan, Cook, Murphy, Walters.

AFCB: Camp, Cook, Elphick, Ward, Fraser, MacDonald, Gosling (O'Kane 45), Pugh (Stanislas 76), Ritchie, Aranda (Kermorgant 45), Wilson.

Referee: C. Berry

Attendance: 24,626

LEEDS UNITED 0, BRENTFORD 0.

LUFC:
Silvestri, Wootton, Bamba, Cooper, Berardi, Byram, Mowatt, Austin, N'Goyi, Murphy, Walters.

BFC: Button, Quinn, Dean, Craig, Bidwell, Odubajo, McCormack, Douglas (O'Connor 56), Judge, Wordsworth (Pritchard 45), Proschwitz (Smith 66)

Referee: M. Jones

Booked: Wootton, Berardi (Leeds), Quinn, Craig, McCormack (Brentford).

Attendance: 26,613

READING 3 (Pogrebnyak 13 Silvestri O.G. 83 Karacan 90+1), LEEDS UNITED 3 (Mowatt 21 Adryan 61 Antenucci 65)

RFC:
Federici, Kelly, Ferdinand (Hector 65), Pearce, Cummings, Williams, Norwood (Karacan 45), Akpan, Taylor, Mackie (Cox 81), Pogrebnyak

LUFC: Silvestri, Wootton, Bamba, Cooper, Taylor, Murphy, N'Goyi, Byram, Adryan, Mowatt, Antenucci

Referee: K. Wright

Booked: Pearce, Kelly (Reading)

Attendance: 13,675

LEEDS UNITED 1 (Byram 66), STOKE CITY 1 (Diouf 26)

LUFC:
Silvestri, Wootton, Bamba, Cooper, Berardi, Byram, Austin, N'Goyi, Mowatt, Walters

SCFC: Cillessen, Cameron (Vilsvik 67), Wilson, Shawcross, Muniesa, Whelan, N'Zonzi, Walters, Assaidi (Arnautovic 83), Diouf, Bojan (Crouch 67)

Referee: L. Probert

Booked: Berardi (Leeds), Wilson, Muniesa (Stoke)

Attendance: 39,809

LEEDS UNITED 2 (Mowatt 45+1 Adryan 88), MILLWALL 1 (Dwyer 25)

LUFC:
Silvestri, Wootton, Bamba, Cooper, Taylor, Murphy, N'Goyi, Byram, Adryan, Mowatt, Walters

MFC: Forde, Dunne, Williams, Beevers, Briggs, Twardek (Eagles 79), Ángel, Upson (Morison 45), Wright, Gueye, Dwyer

Referee: D. Whitestone

Booked: Bamba (Leeds)

Attendance: 32,245

MIDDLESBROUGH 0, LEEDS UNITED 0

BORO:
Kuszczak, Damiá, Omeruo, Ayala, Gibson, Whitehead, B Halliday (Fredericks 75), Adomah, Tomlin, Wildschut (A Halliday 64), Vossen (Bamford 70)

LUFC: Silvestri, Wootton, Bamba, Cooper, Berardi, Murphy, Cook, Byram (Adryan 80), Austin, Mowatt, Walters

Referee: A. D'Urso

Booked: Whitehead (Middlesbrough)

Attendance: 23,039

STOKE CITY 0, LEEDS UNITED 2 (Dawson 39, 79)

SCFC:
Cillessen, Cameron, Shawcross, Huth, Assou-Ekotto, Whelan (Wilson 63), N'Zonzi, Arnautovic, Walters, Moses (Assaidi 68), Diouf (Odemwingie 63)

LUFC: Silvestri, Wootton, Bamba, Cooper, Berardi, Murphy, Dawson, Byram, Austin, Mowatt, Walters

Referee: A. Marriner

Booked: N'Zonzi (Stoke), Berardi (Leeds)

Attendance: 28,384


March


I have put the squad on fitness excercises in training at the end of February, we will need as many fit players as possible as we head into the busiest month of the season, with nine games to be played in the space of thirty-one days we want to pick up as many points as possible. We have the Capital One Cup Final on the first day of the month which will be a historic event for the club and old-school fans. It will remind the world that Leeds United, after all our downfall in the past ten years, we are still ready to come back up and challenge with the big boys and, should we win the tie, challenge with some of Europe's finest. We also play ANOTHER game against Manchester United - this time in the F.A. Cup 6th Round, so hopefully they will be ready for another thrashing. Regular service.

Awards
Player of the Month


Winner: Sam Byram (Leeds)
2nd Place: Martyn Woolford (Ipswich)
3rd Place: Hugo Rodallega (Fulham)




Young Player of the Month


Winner: Todd Kane (Blackburn)
2nd Place: Chris David (Fulham)
3rd Place: Callum Reilly (Birmingham)




Manager of the Month


Winner: Slavisa Jokanovic (Watford)
2nd Place: Gary Bowyer (Blackburn)
3rd Place: Steve McClaren (Derby)


Leeds vs Spurs: LIVE


Hello and welcome to BBC Sport's live coverage of the League Cup Final, sponsored by Capital One.

Today, Neil Redfearn's Leeds United will be looking to provide a shock to the system against sixth placed Champions League chasers Tottenham Hotspur. Leeds haven't won a piece of silverware since 1992, when Howard Wilkinson led his side containing the likes of Gary Speed, Gordon Strachan, Gary McAllister and Vinnie Jones to the First Division. They were known as The Last Champions as they were the last team to win the old First Division before its rebranding to the F.A. Premier League in time for the 1992-93 season. Neil Redfearn will be looking to end that drought today.

All 90,000 tickets put on sale have all sold out according to the Wembley ticket office and the atmosphere will be roaring as Leeds fans will be wanting to make the most of their trip down to London today and be walking away with a second League Cup title in their history.

Pochettino's Spurs are 4-5 favourites ahead of the match according to Sky Bet as they look to walk away with the club's fifth League Cup title in their history.

As team news goes, only one missing for Leeds and that is cup-tied Luciano Becchio who had previously played for Rotherham in the tournament. However, for Spurs there are four doubts. Them doubts being Paulinho and Benjamin Stambouli out suspended and center-back Younes Kaboul (torn hamstring) and Mousa Dembélé (damaged foot).

The weather is set to be drizzly and at a typical English temperature of just 9 degrees celsius with no sign of getting warmer throughout the game.

In the past five games, both teams have been very on form. Leeds' record going as WDWDD which included a win against Premier League strugglers Stoke City whereas Tottenham's goes WLWWW with a 3-1 loss to London rivals Q.P.R being the loss.

Leeds have the Capital One Cup top scorer in their ranks in the form of Mirco Antenucci who tops the goalscoring charts with eight goals throughout the tournament - followed by fellow Leeds strikers Souleymane Doukara and Brian Montenegro with four goals. The Italian has been kept out of the team for a few weeks now by academy striker Lewis Walters who has just come back from a successful loan spell at Burton Albion which saw him net 5 times in 10 appearances for the League Two side.

The team line-ups have been released by both sides now and it goes like this:

LUFC:
GK: Silvestri, RB: Wootton, CB: Bamba, CB: Cooper (c), LB: Berardi, CM: N'Goyi, CM: Murphy, RW: Byram, LW: Mowatt, AM: Austin, ST: Walters. Subs: 6. Bellusci, 7. Cook, 9. Antenucci, 10. Adryan, 11. Doukara, 13. Taylor, 15. Dawson.

THFC: GK: Vorm, RB: Abate, CB: Fazio, CB: Dier, LB: Davies, CM: Horvath, CM: Capoue, RW: Townsend, LW: Chadli, AM: Mason, ST: Adebayor Subs: 1. Lloris, 3. Rose, 9. Soldado, 11. Lamela, 12. Yarmolenko, 14. Munir, 40. Walker.

The teams are in the tunnels now, they're ready to come out to a grand reception from the 90,000 packed into Wembley Stadium today. A chance of silverware and Europa League status next season is at stake here. Here they come!



1' Adebayor will kick the final off here.

7' Leeds have won their first corner of the game. Alex Mowatt to take. The inswinging corner is nodded away by Fazio. Austin regains possession for Leeds and sprays it out right to Mowatt. A weak foot cross is fired in at knee-height... GRANDDI N'GOYI HAS PUT IT IN!!! 1-0 TO THE WHITES AT WEMBLEY!!! LEEDS ARE OFF TO A FLYING START!!!

15' Vorm will take the goal kick. Fires it straight onto Liam Coopers head, Rudy Austin for Leeds now. It's Mowatt on the left now. Mowatt completes the one-two by feeding the Jamaican a through-ball in the centre of the park. Lewis Walters is playing off the shoulder of Fazio at the moment. It's played into Walters who's one-on-one on his left-foot! Parried to the feet of Mowatt in the box here for Leeds! Danger isn't over yet! Dier blocks any danger and plays it direct to the feet of former Leeds winger Andros Townsend. Here's Emmanuel Adebayor. A pass is intercepted by Cooper once again. Great pass to find Byram by the Leeds captain! A cross is blocked off by Ben Davies.

19' Wootton takes a throw-in in Spurs territory. Byram cushions the ball on his knee, he has his back to goal but twists majestically to put in a searching cross... LEWIS WALTERS HAS NODDED IT IN! IT'S 2-0 TO LEEDS UNITED! I DON'T BELIEVE IT! WALTERS WAS PLAYING IN LEAGUE TWO NOT SO LONG AGO AND NOW HE'S FOUND THE NET IN THE LEAGUE CUP FINAL! WHAT A STORY FOR WALTERS AND LEEDS! LEEDS UNITED 2, TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 0 IN THE CAPITAL ONE CUP FINAL!

27' Mowatt again with a corner on the right side for Leeds. Cooper sends a header goalwards. Blocked. It comes back for Luke Murphy on the volley... Blocked again. Ignazio Abate clears any danger with a hoof towards Townsend which the Italian left-back Gaetano Berardi heads away. Murphy comes to collect.

31' Vorm hits a goal kick which ends up at Austin's head. Murphy has the ball now. Here's N'Goyi who hits a first-time pass towards Walters, taken under control excellently by the 19 year old. Federico Fazio makes the sliding tackle which has ended up on the right-wing at Abate's feet. Townsend now. Adebayor takes it under control and looks up for his options. Leeds' Austin makes a wonderful challenge on the Togolese striker. Silvestri has it in his box now. Floated into Alex Mowatt's path. Berardi is found on the overlap. It's moved into the centre now with N'Goyi in dangerous territory on the edge of Spurs' box. Chipped into the path of Lewis Walters for a volley!!! What a save by Vorm! Dier clears to Wootton's feet. Here's Bamba on the halfway line with time to look up. Finds Murphy - the short option. Austin to N'Goyi. Mowatt makes a darting run inside begging for the ball, which he now has on the edge of the box. Lays it off for Walters to strike! Hits it low and accurate! IT'S FOUND THE BOTTOM CORNER! IT'S 3-0 LEEDS! IT'S MAGIC! LEWIS WALTERS AGAIN! THE TRAVELLING LEEDS FANS ARE GOING WILD IN THE WEMBLEY STANDS! THEY DON'T BELIEVE IT! LEEDS UNITED 3, TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 0.

38' Mowatt looks set to whip a cross in from this free-kick. Powerful defensive header by Fazio. Berardi regains possession and hoofs it into the area... Walters is unmarked! HE'S GONE AROUND THE KEEPER! HE'S PUT IT HOME! IT'S 4-0 TO THE WHITES! LEEDS FANS ARE IN DREAMLAND! IT'S LEWIS WALTERS WITH THE HATTICK! UNBELIEVABLE SCENES AT WEMBLEY!

45+2' The referee has called time on an exhilarating first half of football by Leeds United. What a day for the 19 year old Lewis Walters, not many 19 year olds in the country can say they scored a hat-trick in the League Cup Final but the young man from Harrogate has something to brag about now. I bet Neil Redfearn's boys can't wait to get back out on the field again! Pochettino has a lot of work to do to save this horror show at the back for Spurs as well. You can't accept that from a top six Premier League side.

46' Walters kicks off the second half for Leeds United.

51' 19 year old Munir takes to the field in place of Adebayor in a tactical change from Tottenham

54' Murphy looks to send a ball into the box from this free-kick. Davies gets to it first and clears but there's no one up top to contest Wootton who brings it down pressure-free. He boots a ball back over... And oh! It's found the center-back Sol Bamba who's now one-on-one! He's broken free of the offside trap! He's in! He shoots... He misses! He's spooned it! Bamba has missed the perfect opportunity to go five up on Spurs! Unlucky on the man.

63' Double substitutions by both sides here. Andriy Yarmolenko comes on in place of Andros Townsend as Lamela comes on for Chadli. For Leeds, Mirco Antenucci comes on for young Lewis Walters who's been outstanding today and has earned his standing ovation. The other change is Rodolph Austin - who's had an incredible game also, comes off for the young Brazilian Adryan.

65' Wootton with the throw-in deep in his own half here. Byram knocks it back to Murphy who's given it to the feet of Adryan. It's found it's way back to the converted right-back Wootton. N'Goyi has it in space now. A poor pass has led to an interception by Abate who's played it down the right flank towards Lamela who's beaten both Berardi and Cooper. He's cut inside in the box here. An eventual shot has only found it's way into Silvestri's hands. Poor shot from the Argentinian winger.

66' Murphy about to take a corner here. Aimed towards the back post where Byram is lurking, headed away by Davies. Antenucci's now beaten Lamela to the ball now, only to be tackled by the Argentinian now. Through ball down the left has found Munir who's skipped past Scott Wootton utilising his pace, Bamba comes across now. A cross is put in near post... Ryan Mason runs forward...GOAL! RYAN MASON HAS GOT ONE BACK FOR SPURS FROM A MUNIR CROSS! BUT IS IT TOO LATE FOR A COMEBACK?! WE'LL SEE! LEEDS UNITED 4, TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 1!

67' Berardi to take the throw-in inside Spurs' half. Mowatt with his back to goal lays it into Adryan. Chipped up for N'Goyi! Hits it on the volley here! Great save from a great shot! But it's fallen to Byram with Vorm trying to regain his balance! IT'S A GOAL! INSTANT REPLY FROM THE WHITES, SURELY GAME OVER NOW! SAM BYRAM HAS PUT A FIFTH PAST MICHEL VORM! LEEDS HAVE GOT A GRIP OF THE TROPHY NOW ALREADY! IT'S LEEDS UNITED 5, TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 1! GAME OVER.

70' Silvestri takes the free-kick in his own half. Only to find Fazio. Bamba lays it off for his center-back partner Cooper. Granddi N'Goyi now. Berardi finds Mowatt on the inside now. A low cross for Antenucci! Saved! Held! Great work by Vorm! Booted away by the keeper, finds Cooper, Berardi launches a switch over to Byram! Byram one-on-one yet again! ANOTHER GOAL FOR LEEDS! ABSOLUTE SCENES HERE AT WEMBLEY! SCENES! IT'S LEEDS UNITED 6, TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 1 COURTESY OF SAM BYRAM, LEWIS WALTERS AND GRANDDI N'GOYI. SUPERB PERFORMANCE.

90+2' IT'S DONE! THE 23 YEAR DROUGHT IS OVER! LEEDS UNITED HAVE WON THE CAPITAL ONE CUP! AND WON IT EMPHATICALLY AT THAT! WHAT A WIN BY THE WHITES AND ONE THAT THEY'LL REMEMBER FOR YEARS TO COME. AND WHAT AN ACHIEVEMENT IT IS FOR NEIL REDFEARN, HIS FIRST PERMANENT FIRST TEAM MANAGERIAL ROLE AND HE'S WON ONE OF THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS DOMESTIC AWARDS OUT THERE. HE SHOULD BE PROUD OF HIMSELF.

Terrific Win! Well done Leeds
1

March: Losing Points



Despite netting many goals, Redfearn's men are struggling to put points on the board...

Heading into the most vital part of the season, this is the place where we least need to be dropping points which is what we've been doing many times over the course of March. We dropped what seemed an easy three points against Watford early in the month, but due to our extreme complacency we allowed a 3-0 lead in the first half slip to an eventual 4-4 draw. Another game we let slip was a 2-0 lead against Fulham, which we had held up until a 43rd minute goal by Patrick Roberts. The finishing scoreline was Leeds 2 - 2 Fulham which was another opportunity for three points missed.

We still hold top spot in the league with two games in hand we have a six point lead on second placed Watford who have just six games remaining. Wigan however who are in third place have two games in hand on Watford which may move them up to 78 points should they win both games. If so, we have a fixture against The Latics which is our third last game of the league campaign. Hopefully we will have automatic promotion (at least) secured by the time we turn up at the DW Stadium on 21st of March.

In terms of cups, we were knocked out of the F.A. Cup by Manchester United in a 3-1 loss played out at Elland Road. Falcao with a hat-trick for The Red Devils and Lewis Cook with the goal for us. As you will probably know, the 6-1 thrashing of Champions League chasers Tottenham Hotspur in the Capital One Cup Final has led to qualification to the Europa League next season. The first time we have appeared in a European competition since 2003 when The Whites were knocked out of the UEFA Cup in the Third Round by Spanish side Málaga after a 2-1 aggregate loss.

Fixtures


LEEDS UNITED 6 (N'Goyi 7 Walters 19,31,38 Sam Byram 67,70), TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR (Mason 66)

LUFC:
Silvestri, Wootton, Bamba, Cooper, Berardi, Murphy, N'Goyi, Byram, Austin (Adryan 64), Mowatt, Walters (Antenucci 64)

THFC: Vorm, Abate, Fazio, Dier, Davies, Capoue, Horvath, Townsend (Yarmolenko 63), Mason, Chadli (Lamela 45), Adebayor (Munir 51)

Referee: M. Dean

Booked: Austin (Leeds)

Attendance: 90,000

LEEDS UNITED 0, IPSWICH TOWN 0

LUFC:
Silvestri, Wootton, Bamba, Cooper, Berardi, Murphy, N'Goyi, Byram, Austin, Mowatt, Walters (Doukara 57)

ITFC: Gerken, Chambers, Kilgallon, Berra, Parr, Anderson, Skuse, Donadel (Murphy 45), Tabb (Bru 81), Woolford, McGoldrick (Lassad 81)

Referee: N. Miller

Booked: None.

Attendance: 24,490

LEEDS UNITED 1 (Cook 62), MANCHESTER UNITED 3 (Falcao 39,41,83)

LUFC:
Silvestri, Wootton, Bamba, Cooper, Taylor, N'Goyi, Cook, Byram, Adryan, Mowatt, Antenucci

MUFC: De Gea, Valencia, Jones, Martínez, Shaw, Herrera, Fellaini (Rooney 74), Fletcher (Di María 80), Mata (Januzaj 83), Wilson, Falcao

Referee: P. Dowd

Booked: Cooper (Leeds)

Attendance: 40,287

LEEDS UNITED 4 (Byram 14 Becchio 21,33 Adryan 73), WATFORD 4 (Vydra 60,61 Forestieri 66,76)

LUFC:
Silvestri, Wootton, Bamba, Cooper, Berardi, Murphy, N'Goyi, Byram, Adryan, Mowatt, Becchio

WFC: Bond, Paredes, Ekstrand, Cathcart (Angella 60), Anya, Murray, Munari (Medo 51), Andrews, Tozser, Pudil (Forestieri 45), Vydra

Referee: A. Davies

Booked: None.

Attendance: 25,082

LEEDS UNITED 3 (Becchio 49,90+1 Berardi 56), NOTTINGHAM FOREST 0

LUFC:
Silvestri, Wootton, Bamba, Cooper, Berardi, N'Goyi, Phillips, Byram, Austin, Mowatt, Becchio

NFFC: Darlow, Halford, Lascelles, Wilson, Cohen, Hobbs, Tesche, Burke, Lansbury, Paterson (Reid 45), Wright-Phillips (Assombalonga 57)

Referee: D. Deadman

Booked: N'Goyi (Leeds), Wilson, Lansbury, Cohen (Forest)

Attendance: 27,822

FULHAM 2 (Roberts 43 David 79), LEEDS UNITED 2 (Becchio 10 N'Goyi 16)

FFC:
Király, Zverotic, Mateos (David 57), Amorebieta, Stafylidis, Parker, Ruíz, Williams, Roberts (Burn 45), McCormack, Rodallega (Woodrow 64)

LUFC: Silvestri, Wootton, Bamba, Cooper, Taylor, Murphy (Cook 85), N'Goyi, Byram, Adryan (Austin 64), Mowatt, Becchio (Doukara 31)

Referee: G. Sutton

Booked: Stafylidis (Fulham)

Attendance: 18,671

BLACKPOOL 2 (Delfouneso 35 Miller 71), LEEDS UNITED 4 (Cooper 12 Mowatt 34,37 Becchio 51)

BFC:
Lewis, Ramage, Clarke, Dunne, Oriol, Lundstram, Cubero (Perkins 51), Cywka (Mendy 51), Orlandi, Ranger, Delfouneso (Miller 65)

LUFC: Silvestri, Wootton, Bamba, Cooper, Berardi, N'Goyi, Phillips, Byram, Austin, Mowatt, Becchio

Referee: S. Attwell

Booked: Cooper (Leeds)

Attendance: 16,201

BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION 2 (Crofts 66 Forrester 90+1), LEEDS UNITED 7 (Walters 3,24,28,42 Adryan 22, Byram 45+1,79)

BHAFC:
Stockdale, Bruno, Greer, Delaney, Bennett, N'Guemo (Crofts 61), Stephens (Ince 61), Holla, Teixera, Forrester, Baldock (Agustien 20)

LUFC: Silvestri, Wootton, Bamba, Cooper, Taylor, Murphy, Phillips, Byram, Adryan, Mowatt, Walters

Referee: M. Clattenburg

Booked: Forrester, N'Guemo, Bennett (Brighton) Red: Holla (Brighton)

Attendance: 23,849


April & May



In April and May we face some extremely tough fixtures to end the season on. We play three (current) top six teams in Blackburn Rovers (6th), Wolves (2nd) and Wigan Athletic (3rd). However - we do play already relegated side Rotherham on the last day of the season, as well as eighteenth placed Sheffield Wednesday and twentieth placed Cardiff City. We must try our best to secure maximum points by the time we face Charlton - our fifth game out of the eight to be played. We can gain a possible 24 points from these games which would put us well up to 105 points. Draws against Balckburn, Wigan and Wolves will do but the rest are definite must-wins.

Awards

Player of the Month


Winner: Bjorn Sigurdarson (Wolves)
2nd Place: Nahki Wells (Huddersfield)
3rd Place: Sam Byram (Leeds)




Young Player of the Month


Winner: Sam Byram (Leeds)
2nd Place: Alex Pritchard (Brentford)
3rd Place: Alex Mowatt (Leeds)




Manager of the Month


Winner: Chris Powell (Huddersfield)
2nd Place: Kenny Jackett (Wolves)
3rd Place: Gary Bowyer (Blackburn)


You are reading "Leeds United: Do It For Redders".

FMS Chat

Stam
hey, just wanted to let you know that we have a fb style chat for our members. login or sign up to start chatting.