retired_jkat116

Saturday 30th November
Premier League Game 15
Blackburn Rovers vs. Leeds United
Starting XI: Robinson, Kelly, Harte, Radebe, de la Cuesta, Milner, Morgan, Batty, Johnson, Viduka (Bridges ‘79), Smith

The first ten minutes of this game were completely dominated by the home side, Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole combining after 7, only for Yorke’s effort to be tipped round the post by Robbo. A goal seemed inevitable.

And that goal came after 13 minutes. Brett Emerton’s curling near post corner was flicked on by young Steven Reid into the roof of the net. It was a stupid goal to concede from our point of view, which was evident by Lucas berating Gary Kelly who should have picked up the Aussie winger.

After the goal, Rovers showed no signs of taking their foot off the pedal. Emerton looked to terrorise Ian Harte at every opportunity, creating chances for Gary Flitcroft and Dwight Yorke; both spurned in the space of 3 minutes. And it was his corner that led to another goal in the 32nd minute. Another attempt at a near-post routine was cleared by Kelly, which Mark Viduka latched onto, to lob the on-coming Friedel and give us an undeserved equaliser.

Our response caused a subdued opening to the second half, however we were indeed lucky not to be behind when Matt Jansen was sent crashing to the ground inside the area after 69 minutes. Jeff Winter shook his head, as Souness erupted on the sidelines, explaining his theories on the referee’s spare-time activities to fourth official Alan Wiley.

The crazy Scotsman would therefore have been distraught with 13 minutes to go, when the outstanding Jose de la Cuesta leapt magnificently to head home another dangerous Lionel Morgan corner.


Blackburn Rovers 1 – S. Reid ‘13
Leeds United 2 – Viduka 31’, de la Cuesta 77’
Attendance: 31344
MoM: Jose Julian de la Cuesta (9)

I knew beforehand that I would have been content with a draw, so I was extremely pleased to have come away with all 3 points. What made victory even sweeter, was that we had not even deserved one point, so to take maximum rewards was certainly a pleasant occurrence.

retired_betrbody22

great sorry so far :thup:

retired_jkat116

Thanks thepain, glad to know people are still reading. Thank you for your kind words

Monday 2nd December

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>
FourFourTwo
‘Jose shines in Leeds’ Cuesta for survival’

FourFourTwo Starwatch: Jose Julian de la Cuesta

When Jose de la Cuesta signed for Leeds United at the beginning of this season from unknown Atletico Nacional in Colombia, few expected him to be anything other than a bit-part player for O’Brien’s side. However his fantastic displays in the Premier League have seen him form a superb partnership with captain Lucas Radebe, and left plaudits all over England praising the ability and undoubted potential of the young Colombian star.

Since his arrival at Elland Road, he has earned his first 12 caps for his national side, in which he managed to find the net twice from centre back. FourFourTwo caught up with the Premier League’s November Player of the Month on how he is finding life at Leeds United Football Club. Gary Phillips reports:

GP: Jose, thanks for joining us today. Firstly, how hard was it to settle in at a club like Leeds United, a club so much bigger than Nacional whom you signed from?

JdlC: It was very easy to. They have a special set-up at Leeds, which is such that all the players and staff are very welcoming to any new players.

GP: And what about the language barrier and lifestyle, surely it would have been such a stark contrast to what you were used to?

JdlC: As for the language, I already spoke English as I spent 4 years studying it from the age of 14. However the lifestyle, although it was very different, I was able to adapt to it very well, as all my family have moved across due to my 5-year contract.

GP: How have you found working with your new boss, Dan O'Brien?

JdlC: He's been brilliant. He has given me time to settle and told me if I ever have any probelms, that I should just knock on his door. Himself and Lucas Radebe have proved to be the perfect advertisement for joining Leeds United

GP: Surely when you joined Leeds, bearing in mind you were, and still are, only in the early stages of your career, you couldn’t have anticipated your sudden introduction to the starting eleven?

JdlC: Absolutely, Mr. O’Brien told me when I joined he would be looking to bring me into the side to aid my development, but thankfully I played OK and was able to find myself in the side quite frequently.

GP: And what are your short-term plans for Leeds United?

JdlC: Well for me it’s got to be to stay in the side. As for what I want us to achieve, well a good cup run and as high a league position as possible. We are all confident that the sky is the limit for Leeds.

GP: Jose thanks for your time, and congratulations on your award for Player of the Month.

JdlC: Thank you very much Gary, its been a pleasure.
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retired_pahuja_satish

good stuff :thup:

retired_jkat116

Thanks a lot SoS, I hope you keep reading

Wednesday 3rd December

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>
Sky Sports News

Dan O’Brien has urged his players to continue their recent run of good form that has resulted in their climb up to 5th position. Leeds have only lost once in their last 6 league games, with their last two victories coming away from home, an area that O’Brien has previously stated they needed to improve in.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | | Chelsea | | 15 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 34 | 10 | +24 | 39 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Arsenal | | 15 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 25 | 13 | +12 | 34 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Everton | | 15 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 23 | 15 | +8 | 26 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Man Utd | | 15 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 22 | 8 | +14 | 25 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | LEEDS | | 15 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 20 | 16 | +4 | 25 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Newcastle | | 15 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 24 | 24 | 0 | 24 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>

Here we see Leeds could go as high as 3rd with a win against 19th-placed Bolton on Monday, and you can see that live, no-where else but Sky Sports 1, kick-off at seven forty-five.
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retired_jkat116

Thursday 4th December

A long time had passed since I’d heard any grumbles from Viduka & co. No transfer bids had been received, and as far as I was concerned, as long as that was the case, he could talk to as many clubs as he wanted. I arrived back into my office at 1.15pm, upon returning from Gregg’s with a Chicken Bake, to find that Professor John McKenzie needed to see me urgently. I found this odd, as I was scheduled to meet him the following Monday for a meeting on the side’s progress anyway. Apparently this matter couldn’t wait till Monday.

‘Come in,’ Prof. McKenzie replied to my eager tapping on his door. As I entered, two members of the Board of Directors got up and headed for the exit, both without acknowledging my presence.

‘Don’t leave on my account,’ I smirked, in an attempt to patronise them after their blatant ignorance of my arrival.

‘Now Dan,’ Prof. McKenzie’s voice was stern and somewhat impatient. ‘We’ve had a written offer for Mark Viduka.’

My heart sunk as I realised that despite my previous attempts to hold on to him, now that things were starting to move along, money could prove to be the deciding factor.

‘Barcelona have tabled a bid of nearly 8 million Euros. That comes out to 5 and a half million pounds,’ he informed me. ‘We are seriously considering accepting it, but I wanted your opinion.’ I immediately shook my head.

‘Reject it, I strongly recommend you reject it,’ I pleaded. ‘Look at where he’s taken us so far. 5th place.’

After another 10 minutes or so of re-enforcing my argument, I left assured that this time Mark would not be leaving for Barcelona. We had rejected their bid, however if they went much higher, there would be no room for manoeuvre on our part.

retired_jkat116

Saturday 6th December

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Daily Mail Exclusive


Viduka fury as Leeds reject bid

Mark Viduka has threatened to walk out on Leeds United football club after the club rejected a £5m bid from Barcelona.

Barca President Joan Laporta made the bid yesterday, however the Leeds board turned down the approach despite their crippling debt.

Mark Viduka’s agent told Sportsmail: ‘Mark is very angry that Leeds are stopping him from playing at a higher level. Playing for Barcelona would help him to improve as a player, however it seems that Dan O’Brien does not want this to happen – he is more bothered about his own success at Leeds.’

‘If things don’t change then Mark will have to seriously consider why he is still at this club – Mark wants to be playing in Europe, something Leeds can’t offer him.’

It beggars belief as to why Mark Viduka would want to cause such a fuss at a time like this. His club are currently in a rich vein of form, and with Alan Smith and Michael Bridges ready to fill in for Viduka at any opportunity, such an outburst surely is not good for either party.
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retired_jkat116

Saturday 8th December
Premier League Game 16
Leeds United vs. Bolton Wanderers
Starting XI: Robinson, Kelly, Harte, Radebe (Matteo 76'), de la Cuesta, Barmby, Morgan, Batty (Morris 67'), Johnson, Bridges, Smith

As a result of his eagerness to leave the club, I decided to leave Mark Viduka out of the squad to face Bolton. Alan Smith and Michael Bridges led the line in what turned out to be one of our finest performances of the season.

We were right into Bolton from the first whistle. Lionel Morgan deserved a goal after only 5 minutes, ghosting past 4 defenders to fire a shot off the crossbar and out. His goal came however with 19 minutes gone, nodding home a cross from Nicky Barmby to put us in front.

Lionel was involved in the second goal of the match, only three minutes later. Once again he terrorised the Bolton defence with his pace and dribbling skills, before cutting back to the penalty spot where Alan Smith drove the ball into the roof of the net to give us a comfortable cushion.

Half time began exactly as it finished; we were on the front foot and looked like scoring with every attack. But to be fair to the visitors, what happened next could not have been stopped by Maldini, Nesta and Buffon, let alone by Bruno N’Gotty, Emerson Thome and Jussi Jaaskelainen. Ian Harte took a throw in on the halfway line on the left hand side, into the feet of Michael Bridges. A small bounce before it got to him, meant the ex-Sunderland striker was able to lift the ball over the oncoming N’Gotty, and turn. As the ball was still in the air, no fewer than 30 yards out, Michael sent a driving volley crashing in off the post past the despairing Jaaskelainen. A truly special goal.

Youri Djorkaeff did his best throughout to try and get his side a consolation; the best effort however was no more than a drive from outside the box, dealt with comfortably by Robinson.

The game’s last piece of action came after 85 minutes; Nicky Barmby reached the by-line, and pulled back a cross, which Lionel nodded down for Smithy to convert a simple tap-in. It was a great team goal; evident of the type of football we had played all day.

I was thrilled; not only by the score line, but also by the performance and confidence with which we had played. 4-0 was by no means flattering on our part, as we now needed only 4 points to be assured of safety.

Leeds United 4 – Morgan 19’, Smith 22’, 85’, Bridges 46’
Bolton Wanderers 0
Attendance: 37,439
MoM: Alan Smith (9)

retired_jkat116

Sunday 9th December

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>
Sky Sports News

Leeds Chairman Professor John McKenzie has expressed his delight at Leeds’ emphatic 4-0 win over Bolton yesterday, however claimed the club could still go down.

‘The lads were marvellous,’ Prof. McKenzie said. ‘It could have quite easily been seven or eight. That performance showed we deserve to be occupying a high position in the league.’

But despite his elation at his side’s win over Bolton, McKenzie remains realistic about staying in the Premiership next season.

‘We’ve started the season well, all we need to do now is get to this forty-point marker we’ve laid down for ourselves. When we have done that, only then can we start aiming higher. We’re not safe just yet.’

As you saw here on Sky Sports News around an hour ago, Leeds were handed a home tie against Fulham on the 3rd January in the F.A. Cup 3rd Round, however Leeds’ primary target is to get a result against Everton this coming Saturday.
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retired_jkat116

Saturday 13th December

The 40,000 that turned up to Goodison Park could not have wished for a duller fixture. A total of 6 shots were registered on goal throughout the whole match, with one of the 3 on target being an Alan Smith header with 4 minutes left to go in the match. Man of the Match went to Robbo, for two good saves in the second half. It was an award that was just about deserved, due to the fact that no outfield player seemed prepared to take the game ‘by the scruff of the neck.’