The Nearly Men

Excellent stuff thus far. More or less guranteed a Play-Off spot. Just need to maintain your form to gain the all important automatic promotion.

Transfers

With the window opening it was time for a few cosmetic but minor changes to see us through to the end of the season. Eunan O'Kane was shifted on to Hull having made no appearances all season for £150k. Callum Nicell a midfielder in the U23's who was Ok at best was moved on to Barnsley in League One for £120k but the biggest move was saved for Polish central midfielder Mateusz Klich who was unhappy with his game time. A £2.6m deal was agreed with Sheffield United and we freed up some much needed wage budget as well as boost our coffers.

On top of the permanent signigns we moved 5 more players on loan to get some game time including Halme and Roberts who were in the main first team squad but not getting a lot of game time. So onto the incomings and there were just two new faces to supplement the squad moving forward. Both incoming on relatively cheap little deals meaning we end the season with a nice lttle transfer profit for the season.

I said we needed some more options up top with Bamford taking on a lot of the goalscoring burden with Roofe underperforming and in the end i went with a little cheap option which has minimal to no rish. Meet Lawrence Shankland who signed from Ayr for a paltry £65k. His contract was up at the end of the season and he has been banging in the goals in the Scottish Championship and i think he has all of the potential to get among some goals this season. Even if he doesnt make it, i will surely be able to sell him for a little profit.

The final signing came in the form of Andre Wisdom who was unloved at Derby. Luke Ayling at right back was struggling with fatigue with Berardi injured and therefore we needed a ittle more cover at right back and with Halme on loan we were down to 3 centre halves so a 4th option in the cenre of the defence also seemed a sensible idea. Some great physical stats means he should be a bargain at just £500k


So there we have the business. Good or Bad? I am not so sure but it could have been bigger with Kemar Roofe being the subject of a bid from Swansea of £10m and Pablo Hernandez coming to me saying he wants to go back to Spain as his homesick. Both are here for the rest of the season and their futures will be sorted in the summer.

On the field

Whilst all of that was going on we had action in 3 competitions and the strain was tough on what is still a relatively small squad. In the League things though went pretty well as we picked up 10 points from a possible 12 with two cracking victories over Derby and Rotherham where we raced into 5-0 and 4-0 leads quickly as we flexed our muscle. However, the best news came from the fact Norwich started to falter as they lost two more league games leaving a table looking like this


There is just 1 point in it and we have a massive 12 point cushion over the play-off spots. We have to be a sure on bet for Premiership football next season and with our first game in February at home to Norwich can we finally hit top spot and push on as Champions.

Well we will no longer have the Carabao Cup final to look forward to / distract us as we valiently lost 2-0 and 1-0 to Man City to end our hopes there. Still these performances were against their full strength side and we held our own. Maybe the Premiership won't be a huge a step up as i first feared? We will though still have FA Cup action as we beat Barnsley 2-0 to go into the 4th Round where we faced West Ham. Fatigue was a factor here though as we went 3-1 up before getting pegged back to 3-3. A Kiko Casilla penalty save stopping us from losing the tie. Therefore we have a 4th Round replay to fit in at Elland Road to see who gets to face Crystal Palace in the 5th Round


Time to finish this off

Two very astute signings in Shankland and Wisdom. The former is a great player, who has a magnificent goal tally in the Scottish Championship. I'm keen to see whether he can make the transition from the Scottish second tier to the English second tier - that's a huge margin between the two. The latter is a player with decent experience, despite his age. Some great results which continue your march towards the Premiership - with encouraging results in the FA Cup, too. A replay against West Ham will be an exciting test. Also, well done on not getting embarrassed by Manchester City, I think that's the biggest achievement.

On the field

I have to say February and March were a little bit of a slog as fatigue and tiredness plagued the team. Games came thick and fast and it was a real struggle to keep things ticking along having to rotate a lot especially at the back. In the 11 games played we kept just 2 clean sheets and we blew two goal leads in back to back games as our defence and concentration slipped. Yet there are positives and things are still on track.

It did start well though as we avenged our defeat to Norwich earlier in the season beating them 2-1 with Jack Clarke and Kalvin Phillips both scoring decent goals to give us the victory and put us top of the table for the first time. However, we than had West Ham in a replay and despite going ahead through Shanklands first goal for the club we lost 2-1 sending us out of the FA Cup. A hangover took over as we than finally got beaten in the League as Middlesbrough beat us 2-1. We dominated against Swansea but could only draw 1-1 and things were starting to look a little ropey. Luckily Norwich were not firing on all cylinders either.

Than a nervous 2-1 victory over QPR was followed by a supersub performance from Shankland as he scored his first two league goals in a 2-0 win over struggling Bolton. Had the corner been turned? Were we back to ourselves? Well i thought it was the case against West Brom as Shankland scored two in the first 10 minutes in his first league start to put us 2-0 up. However we blew the lead and ended up with just a point in a 2-2 draw. It was the same again away to Bristol City as Shankland started to ramp up with another brilliant performance to put us 2-0 up but we lost the lead again as our defence was rattled and really struggling to stay fit.

I could see our title chances slipping if we couldn't correct it and with Reading up next we needed a decent performance. We got one decent performance from one player as Jack Harrison scored two to give us a 2-0 win and a much needed clean sheet. Than it became a goal fest as our defence shipped in two goals in both our next two games but we smashed in 11 as we beat Sheffield United 5-2 and Millwall 6-2 with Shankland scoring 4 goals across the two games. It leaves the table like this


A play-off spot is guaranteed and automatic promotion is just 6 points away. The Premiership is nearly reality but now i want that League title. It is going to be one hell of a fight and there will be some twists and turns as neither us or Norwich are quite at our best. We have survived thanks to new man Lawrence Shankland. A gamble at £65k and having not played at this level before but 10 goals in 12 appearances of which just 8 are starts is an immense pay-off and without him we would have really struggled. Roofe and Bamford are just not firing at the moment and Shankland has had to lead the line. Looking through the squad, you can see we are doing well because of the massive range of potential scorers we have. Five players are in double figures with 3 more just 1 or 2 goals away from getting there and that is an encouraging sign. We will need a 20 goal a season man for the top flight to survive and we will need to strengthen in depth especially as i have agreed to sell Allioski to Burnley in the summer for £4.3m and Hernandez will also likely leave as he is home sick and i want to keep a happy squad. However, things are looking ok right now.

Youth Intake Day


On paper it looks ok without being spectacular. Martyn Josey and Karl Lee are not world beaters but with high determination (18) and good personalities (Driven and Determined) they do have a chance of meeting their potential with the right tutoring and mentoring. I signed the top 6 to boost out the U18's as there should be a massive clearance in the Summer as we start turning Leeds into a Premiership force.

See you next time for the Championship title run in!

Aaaaand top of the league! It looks like promotion is nearly secured, but I can imagine that the title will be tightly-contested! The intake looks quite good too, given FM's habit of letting us down in that regard

Promotion is all but done, let's be honest. Now the focus has to turn to looking secure the league title - which won't be easy given the quality Norwich possess amongst their ranks. I'm glad to see Shankland performing, he was a low risk signing, but he could reap huge rewards with this form. A decent crop in the intake, too, not bad!

On the field

The expected promotion was sealed with 5 games to go with two relatively comfortable victories over Birmingham and Preston with Norwich matching us step by step. With the Premiership in the bag it was time to wrap up the title. Sheffield Wednesday were demolished 5-0 with the team putting in the performance of the season so far. Again Norwich were matching us step for step.

Then we entertained Wigan at Elland Road. A place where we were undefeated all season. They were struggling, it should have been an easy 3 points, Right? Well no we cocked it up as we lost 2-1 thanks to a last minute goal and we had given Norwich a chance to catch us. Luckily they also lost keeping us 3 points clear with just 3 games to go. We rebounded with a nice 3-1 victory over Brentford but than back at home again to Aston Villa we slipped up for just the 2nd time at home and lost 2-1. This time Norwich didnt slip up. Leaving the table going into the final game of the season like this.


Our superior goal difference is keeping us top of the table. We now need to match their final result to take home the title. We are away to Ipswich whilst they are away to Aston VIlla. The title rests on 90 minutes of football. Could we do it?

Wow, what an end to the season! Congratulations on winning the league and earning promotion, I'm sure you lost a few hairs in the process though!

So we know how i got on during the 2018/19 season but was redemption on the cards for any of the other sides? Here is a quick run down of their performances last season


So there you have it and a real mixed bag of fortunes. With Leeds now in the Premiership at least all of the clubs are in their respective top flights next season even though most will not even be competing in the Champions League final next season. Talking of the Champions League, here is how the knockouts went


Man City are the Champions of Europe and as they have now won the tournament for the very first time they are now exempt from this challenge in the future. Inter of course having won the tournament three times previously do not qualify. No massive surprises as expected but as the years come around could we see some new teams available to be redeemed.

The perfect way to capture the title, with final day drama! Norwich will be far from happy with their bitter rivals, Ipswich, for allowing Leeds to beat them to the post!

Transfer Window

So my first window as a Premiership manager has been finished and what a window it has been as there have been lots of incomings as well as lots of outgoings. Records were broken and i still have no idea how i am going to share with you everything that has happened, but here goes. Firstly we will start with the easy piece as we released 6 youngsters who were never going to make it at the club. For the rest i will break it down by position

Goalkeepers

I was expecting very little movement in this area and really something would have only happened should someone come in for Kiko Casilla with an offer that i just couldn't refuse. No offer came in so we will be keeping Casilla and Peacock-Farrell as No.1 and No.2 this season. We did though add a young regen Sherwin Greaves from Blackburn for £900k. He is already capped at U20 level for England and could become a star. He will be 3rd choice this season so is likely to stay with the U23 side this season.

Defenders

Now the action starts to ramp up. We have kept the majority of the defence that got us promoted. Douglas, Ayling, Jansson and Cooper are still here. Boubacar Kamara's loan was extended for another season and Andre Wisdom is still around as a backup. However, we do have some new blood for the side. Jordan Lukaku was bought for £4.4m from Lazio to compete with Douglas at left back. He is lightening quick and going forward he is going to be a massive handful whilst i think Douglas is a slightly better defensive option it will give me good options this season as to who we play. This has lead to young Tom Pearce going out on loan to Wigan for the season to get some game time.

In one of my first dealings of the season we bought in 22 year old South African centre back Rivaldo Coetzee from Sundowns for £650k. He has been immediately loaned out to Feyenoord to help him with the pursuit of a Work Permit but i am hoping he can be this generations Lucas Radebe and is certainly one for the future. However, the big transfer in this area was a Leeds transfer record as we signed Lewis Dunk from Brighton for £20m surpassing the £18m record of Rio Ferdinand made nearly 20 years ago. My original target was Tarkowski of Burnley and an Algerian defender called Mandi but neither could get wrapped up. Tarkowski wanted stupid money despite being with a relegated Burnley and Mandi chose Athletico Madrid over me but Dunk is an able ball playing defender and he can form a nice partnership with Jansson with Cooper and Kamara providing stern competition should form dip for either man.

The final signing was young Jayden Bogle signed from Derby for £2m to compete at right back. At 19 he is a younger fresher option than Ayling and Wisdom and he will get a chance this season but most likely i have next season pencilled in for him to be in the first team.

Outside of that we had an army of returning loan players we had to deal with and pretty much every single one was shifted back on. Tyler Denton (£200k), Gaetano Berardi (£3.5m), Hugo Diaz (£68k), De Bock (£900k), Coyle (£250k) and Halme (£425K) were all shifted on surplus to requirements.

Midfielders

As i previously mentioned i had already agreed deals for Allioski (£4.3m), Dallas (£1m) and Hernandez (£1.5m) to move on as all wanted something i couldn;t guarantee and it meant we needed to rebuild the midfield particularly in the attacking roles as a matter of urgency. Jack Harrison was secured for another year on loan from Man City which was a great start. Jack Grealish was the first man in through the door and after Aston Villa's failed attempt of promotion he was picked up for just £10m. Brilliantly versatile as he can play in a number of positons to a high level he is likely to play mainly as the No.10 but will go out on the left wing or even drop deeper in the midfield from time to time. Our highest earner now at £40k per week but i am chuffed with this deal.

Francis Amuzu is a much cheaper option than Grealish for that left flank as the 19 year old Ghanian signs from Anderlecht on a free transfer. He can play both wings and has great pace and can dribble with the ball. He should be a handful and might be the surprise package of all of my signings. The final attacking midfield option was Romanian Olimpiu Morutan signed from Steaua Bucharest for £2m. The 20 year old has a couple of caps already for the National team and is already very well rounded. Nice dribbling and agility stats should mean he becomes a little danger man in the No.10 slot and is also capable of going into a deeper midfield slot if we need to. A nice bargain deal if i say so myself.

Moving further back into the midfield slots we managed to keep Joe Willock for another season on loan. Labelled a wonderkid in the game, i didnt see a lot last year but with that sort of label on him i would be amiss to let him go back to Arsenal. Maybe i missed something the first time around? There will be one new face as Mattia Viviani joins for £3.5m from Brescia. I had stiff competition for the Italian from some of the big Italian clubs and some bigger Premiership sides but the playmaker has decided to join us. A potential great talent at 18 and another that could become a superstar with the right game time. Another potential massive signing for Leeds.

Just like with the defence we had an army of returning midfielders to sell of. So leaving Leeds we had Bouy (£230k), Saiz (£4.4m), Sacko (£300k), Anita (£1m) and Ideguchi (£4m), all of which raised some much needed funds, so i thank them for that.

Strikers

The big outgoing here was Kemar Roofe who failed to impress last season and so was shifted on for £13.75m to fellow Premiership side Huddersfield. The fans were not that impressed but hopefully they will be impressed with his replacement as Raul de Tomas joins from Real Madrid for an Initial £3.8m with £1.1m due if he scores 20 league goals. I think we have the better deal if i am being honest but time will tell to see if de Tomas adapts to the league. Young Alejandro Marques was also picked up on a Bosman after being released from Barcelona and was immediately loaned out to feeder clup Cultura de Leonesa to get some game time. The Venezuelan is a little bit of a gamble as to whether he can make it but with no money involved it was a simple choice.

Tyler Roberts was once again loaned out for the season with Sunderland his new destination whilst two other players were sold having come back from loan. Wiliks (£825k) and Grot (£4m) being moved on.


After all of that it was a total transfer bill of around £47m but £40m was recouped from incomings. There are still more outgoings that need to be processed as i try and keep the wage budget down and the U23 and U18 sides down to players who i genuinely want to try and bleed into the Leeds team. I will probably need another window or two to get that done but that was the window

How do you think it went?

On the field

Once all of that was done we had the month of August to see how we would cope in the top flight. It wasn't going to be easy with our first game at home to Arsenal. We drew with them last year in our amazing League Cup win but this year it wasnt the same as Aubameyang scored twice to give the Gunners a fairly comfortable 2-0 victory.

Still we dusted ourselves off as we went to Selhurst Park and the duel was a much more even affair but we came out the victors with a 2-1 victory with Morutan scoring his first for the club before Harrison adding a 2nd. Palace got one back but we held on to get a vital 3 points. At home to Everton though we exploded into life as we brushed the aside in a 3-0 demolition with Jack Grealish scoring twice and setting up de Tomas for his first goal in a masterclass performance.

Our 4th game against Norwich is on the TV so falls in September and it means at the end of August the league situation looks like this.


The board want us to avoid relegation for the season but i want a mid table finish with relegation never a possibility. So for me that means 15th and above with the magic 40 point mark being met around the March time. If we can do that i can build it from there and get ourselves into Europe. One thing is for certain though and that is European football will not coming based on the League cup as we lost embarassingly to Millwall 3-1 with an admitedly reserve side but it was one that would have finished them off last season in the league.

Can we keep our spot in the Premiership this season and have we bought well? Time will tell but the story keeps rolling on!

Some great business made! Obviously, your two marquee signings are the standout deals. Both Grealish and Dunk are excellent signings - vastly improving on what you had in the squad previously. I think they'll both be key to your success. Some really shrewd acquisitions in Bogle and De Tomas, especially the former. I'm surprised you managed to get him for such a minimal fee. He'll certainly be someone you can sell on in the future for a profit, a large one I suspect! Even on the departures, I think you've done well to maximise the money you've received for players like Roofe and Grot.

Two great results from your opening three games, with the loss to Arsenal nothing to frown about. Great going so far!

Some very good additions to the squad which will make you a force to be reckoned with. Two wins from three to start off the PL is a major boost. You have a squad now capable of continuing a rise in stature and standing!

On the field

The Premiership at time can be a cruel place and we found that out here as we picked up just 4 points from the last 7 games as we were largely outplayed. It started well enough as we scrapped to a 1-0 win over fellow Promoted side Norwich in a dire game with Willock getting his name on the scoresheet. A 1-0 defeat to Man Utd is a respectable result in many ways but we were just not in the game but that was a minor problem in the grand scheme of things.

The 2-1 defeat to Bournemouth was heartbreaking as we conceded a late goal to lose a game we should have won before we let a 3-2 lead go against Chelsea with a 89th minute goal preventing us geting a famous victory. Now bear in mind September was the highlight of this review as October was dire.

We lost all 3 league games, getting thumped by West Ham (3-1), swept aside by Man City (2-0) before conceding late again to lose to Wolves (1-0). It just wasn't good enough as we looked toothless up top and leaky at the back leaving us in one of them positions where the season could easily go the wrong way.


We need a victory and we need it quick as this form is horrendous. 10 Points at this stage is around the right mark for safety but it will be cutting it fine. Things are a little nervy so fingers crossed we can correct this form quickly.

A tough couple of months there, in terms of results and with injuries. Unfortunately once you starting dropping points, it becomes a habit and from there it's difficult to improve morale. A victory is essential and hopefully you can build on it.