Sheffield United - 18th October - 24/25

October 19, 2024

Leeds United v Sheffield United

Friday 18th October 2024 - Elland Road, Leeds

2024/25 Season


First of all, before I start my blog, I want to give my heartfelt thanks to everyone who has taken the time to send love and support to my family and I after my husband Phillip’s death from cancer last Sunday. We have been overwhelmed but knowing our Leeds United family as we do, this is them at their best. It’s been an emotionally tough and challenging time for us all over the last few months, but Phillip got his wish to die at home with us by his side. He is at peace now and no longer in pain. We will be having a celebration of his life with his ashes as he didn’t want a funeral, and I will share those details with those who want to attend shortly. We’ve also just received the great news that my baby granddaughter Pippa has just got out of hospital too, after being admitted again a couple of days ago due to RSV. We are in dire need of some respite as a family especially as my legs could hardly carry me this morning. The greatest therapy was being at Elland Road tonight amongst out fans, to see a great win.


Team: Meslier, Struijk, Rodon, Firpo, Bogle, Tanaka, Piroe, Gnonto, Aaronson, Rothwell, Ramazani

Subs: Solomon for Gnonto (68), James for Aaronson (68), Joseph for Ramazani (79), Byram for Firpo (90), Bamford for Piroe (90)

Subs not used: Darlow, Schmidt, Debayo, Crew


Leeds won the game 2-0 with goals from Struijk (69), Joseph (90)


Attendance: 36,695, approx. 2,900 Sheffield United fans

Referee: Lewis Smith

Booked: Firpo


My mothering instincts kicked in when the turnstile next to me malfunctioned with a man still outside the ground but his small son in tears already in the ground. I got through on my side and stayed with the boy until they let his dad into the ground through the gates after common sense took over. Lewis although distraught was very brave once he knew he wasn’t on his own and was reunited with his dad a few minutes later thankfully. After not seeing or hearing anything regarding the team after the international break I could only go to the game with an open mind and judge things on what I saw. There was a minute’s applause for a Sheffield United player, George Baldock who died recently. I took the opportunity to take on board my own poignant memories during this time before heading to my seat.


Sheffield started the game the stronger of the two sides, but it didn’t take long before Leeds got into their stride. We started to put together some good moves and Tanaka put his body on the line when he came under pressure. He started to build up a good relationship with Rothwell in midfield which was good to see. Ramazani had a shot saved by their keeper which was our best chance of the half.

We stayed in the stand at half time to see Lucas Radebe come out onto the pitch. It was disappointing to see the sprinklers put on before he left the pitch so we couldn’t see him properly. At least I managed to get a selfie with him yesterday at the Leeds United Supporters Trust meeting.


The second half saw Sheffield start on the attack again, but Leeds took charge very quickly as they continued to attack towards the Kop. We won a corner and Farke made a double substitution with instant results. Rothwell took the corner as Struijk met the ball in the middle of the box hitting a sweet strike into the top of the goal to take the lead. A great through ball from Piroe saw Joseph get in front of the defender and sheer persistence saw him put the ball into the net in injury time to give us a second goal. That put the game beyond Sheffield as Leeds took the three points and the win.


I thought we played very well tonight with some good football and didn’t really look under too much pressure. Thank you, Leeds, and that win was for you Phillip. See you on Tuesday for the Watford game.


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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