QPR - Saturday 9th November - 24/25

November 10, 2024

Leeds United v QPR

Saturday 9th November 2024 - Elland Road, Leeds

2024/25 Season


After parking up, my daughter Danielle went to the Peacock whilst my granddaughter Alexis and I walked to the Holbeck Club. It takes me back in time going there, as it reminds me of our earlier days of going into the Fullerton Park Supporters Club before games. I’m glad there’s no Mr Pigeon on the doors here though as he accused us of being hooligans because we wore our scarves around our wrists.

An impeccable silence was held before the game whilst the last post was being played in remembrance of those who gave their lives for us. As soon as it started, Alexis broke down in tears which started the tears falling for me. We stood there at the front of the stand hugging as our own recent loss of my husband and her Opa hit home. There was also an applause in the 12th minute for young Jack Johnson who had been a recent mascot who died of cancer. RIP.


Team: Meslier, Struijk, Byram, Rodon, Bogle, Joseph, Rothwell, Aaronson, Tanaka, Solomon, Gnonto

Subs: Piroe for Joseph (72), James for Solomon (72), Guilavogui for Rothwell (84), Schmidt for Gnonto (90)

Subs not used: Darlow, Bamford, Crew, Chambers, Wöber


Leeds won the game 2-0 with Bogle (19) and Piroe (90+5) scoring the goals


Attendance: 36,011 with approximately 1,500 QPR fans

Referee: Matthew Donohue

Booked: Byram


Early in the game QPR started strongly and it felt like it was going to be a difficult game. The referee was pulling us up left, right and centre and gave Byram an early booking although it was for a very tame challenge. QPR were dropping like flies which didn’t help. Suddenly we took the game to them and got on top with Aaronson hitting a great shot from outside the box that clipped the crossbar and came back into play, when I was expecting the ball to hit the back of the net. When we did get the first goal, it was like playing ping pong as we had a great build up with Bogle running up the centre of the pitch before passing to Rothwell on the wing. He took the ball into the penalty area, passed it into the middle where first Solomon hit it into the air, then Gnonto got a toe to it, then Joseph had a go that was kicked off the line only as far as Bogle who lifted the ball high into the net. That was a welcome relief to take the lead. We thought we had a second goal when Byram received the ball on the wing from Aaronson and passed into the middle for Solomon to score, only to see it disallowed for offside.


I thought the second half passed very quickly as Leeds looked threatening with a great run through the middle towards the Kop. Gnonto released the ball to Solomon on his left slightly too far forward giving the keeper the chance to block the ball going into the net. We had another chance where Aaronson took the ball into the box and Bogle saw his shot saved by the keeper. As the game neared the end, we were all on tenterhooks thinking that QPR were going to get an equaliser and deny us a win. Thankfully, for once it worked in our favour as we attacked again with Schmidt taking the ball forward and passed to Piroe who ran to the left of the box hitting the ball into the net to ensure we got the win on the day. There were a few anxious moments today but in reality, Meslier didn’t have too much to do. I hadn’t seen the table before the game so until it was mentioned, didn’t know they were near the bottom of it. As always in football though, we know that it doesn’t matter where a team is, anyone can win on the day. Another three points and a clean sheet keeps us up at the top as we head into the international break.


The day before Swansea, we say goodbye to my husband Phillip/Captain as we celebrate his life. He will get a great send off from family, friends, workmates and Leeds fans and we are very grateful for the support given to us. Next week though will be very tough too as we take a trip with the youngest grandchildren that we were going to do with him. No doubt we will have plenty of tears throughout these next two weeks but I’m a great believer in talking about things and crying if you have to. Good luck to anyone else in this situation as I know how tough it is.


See you after the break, LUFC – Marching on Together!

Leeds United, We'll Support you ever more, We've only got one song!

June 6, 2025
A selection of Leeds United Songs from 1960 to the present day, sung by Leeds United fans Friday 6th June 2025 On 2nd September 2023, I was lucky to be invited into the director’s box at Elland Road to watch the game against Sheffield Wednesday alongside Mick Hewitt, Gary Edwards and Tony Winstanley. We had finally achieved our ambition of recording Leeds United Chants and Songs from the terraces, that had to overcome the hurdles of being curtailed during the covid pandemic and many other challenges. Both the Leeds United Foundation and the Leeds United Academy received equal shares of the £6,605.16 proceeds of our CD sales after costs had been taken, and we were extremely proud to hand this amount over to officials at Leeds United. As always, none of us were gaining anything personally from sales, it was always going to be for the good of our club. The good news is that 99 of these songs and chants are now available on Spotify HERE for anyone who prefers to download their music. Again, any money raised will be shared between the Leeds United Foundation and the Leeds United Academy so please continue to support the club. Below is the introduction for the songs to give some context to the recordings plus the thank you to all those Leeds United fans who took part. Sadly, we have lost some of those who were there for the recordings since then.

Paris 1975 - 50th Anniversary

May 28, 2025
Paris 1975 – 50th Anniversary 28th May 2025 I cannot believe it is 50 years to the day that I set off for Paris for the European Cup Final. Initially I didn’t get one of the 8,000 tickets for the game despite it being my 70th game of the season but ended up with two. I was going with or without a ticket and got mine through my friend Carole’s season ticket as she got one with her programme tokens as well. By travelling with the club to the final it meant I got a further ticket as we’d travelled to Barcelona in the previous round with them. One lucky Leeds fan who I knew was the recipient of the second ticket for face value outside the ground. Sadly, when we finally got to our hotel, we had to wait to be allocated our rooms before heading to the ground which took ages. I always regretted not going with the Harrogate trip as we did to Anderlecht earlier in the competition as I felt we missed out on the build up to the game by getting there late. We did manage to walk around the ground to soak up the atmosphere once we arrived and it was good to get photos and have our photos taken by loads of Leeds and German fans before going into the ground. I had a fantastic view behind the goal on the front row of the upper tier next to the clock. The whole night was magical from the start, and it had been perfect, with Leeds fans singing na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey, Leeds United for the first time. It was an incredible feeling being in the stadium and when Peter Lorimer smashed the ball into the net in front of us, I immediately looked at the linesman and referee only to see them both award a goal before celebrating. It was only when Beckenbauer went over to the referee that things started to change and we couldn’t believe it when the goal was disallowed. I’ll never forget being cheated out of our rightful trophy and we will always be Champions of Europe. WACCOE. My first book Follow Me and Leeds United includes all my recollections from this game and the previous rounds for those interested. Watch out for the Paris 75 documentary which I’ve been interviewed for with the official trailer released at 8.30pm, Wednesday night - PARIS 75 - Official Trailer  . The finished film is now coming out end of August/early Sept by independent filmmaker Harvey Marcus. PARIS 75 Official Trailer out May 28. My new independent documentary, PARIS 75 - the final football tried to forget. A film about a season, that match, and those fans that shaped the identity of what it means to be a Leeds supporter. Please join/share the PARIS 75 - The documentary FB group for more info and cinema dates and a chance to win a PARIS 75 print signed by Allan Clarke. WACCOE.

Elland Road - Redevelopment Plans Pt.1

May 22, 2025
Elland Road Redevelopment - 2025 Wednesday 21st May 2025 Now that things have settled down with our promotion to the Premier League, I’ve had a chance to look at the plans for the development of Elland Road into a 53,000/56,000 stadium. This has been a long time coming and it’s not before time. With Elland Road being sold out every week and I know personally that I haven’t been lucky in getting any extra tickets for family all last season despite trying online unsuccessfully, the capacity increase must be done. As well as the West Stand deteriorating every year and the facilities in the Kop leaving a lot to be desired, I‘m looking forward to what will be done to replace these stands. I was given the chance to look at the stadium video that was released and I can honestly say that it looks impressive. Although I would have liked a one stand Kop, I can understand why it was done the way they designed it as there will be disabled places available in front of more boxes. The lower part of the Kop remains the same size as it is now which I feel is a good thing. The one thing that is needed is space on the concourses which looks to have been taken into account plus improved toilet facilities. I would love to see the south stand seats put back in once the boxes can be relocated with the development. A stand like the Kop design would be a good way forward in future but obviously we need to concentrate on the West first then the Kop. It’s exciting times going forward and I’m looking forward to capturing the developments with my regular photos when attending games at Elland Road.  The one thing going forward is to ensure that the loyal every day fan is not priced out of attending games there. We have a fantastic loyal worldwide fanbase which needs to be nurtured. When things are good as they are now, you have no need to encourage fans to come back as they will always try to get there when they are able. I’ve been there through the good and bad times and only a few years ago, you couldn’t give a ticket away for love nor money so the club can never take anything for granted on that basis. I’m looking forward to seeing the development get off the ground and although there has been a fans’ representation group, I am look forward to the wider fan base given a chance to air their views. LUFC – Marching on Together!" LUFC – Marching on Together!
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