Leeds United v Villareal Saturday 2nd August 2025 - Elland Road 2024/25 Season - Pre-season Friendly. With our only home preseason game taking place today against Villareal, we arrived at Elland Road after a trip to Castleford Junction 32 outlet first. It was a family affair today with my eldest daughter, three eldest granddaughters and my grandson attending with me and by the time we had parked up and walked to Billy’s statue, there were still thousands of fans making their way to the ground. We only waited at the statue for a few minutes as we wanted to get into the ground and with so many fans still outside the turnstiles with 30 minutes to go to kick off, it was obvious there were going to be queues. I wasn’t wrong either as it took us until just before kick-off to get into the ground. With so many still to get in I wondered whether there would be a delay to kick off as there was in Stockholm, but it never happened so I’m sure some will have missed the start of the game. Team: Darlow, Ampadu (captain), Rodon, Gudmundsson, Aaronson, Schmidt, Gnonto, Nmecha, Stach, Longstaff, Struijk. Subs: Meslier for Darlow (46), Bijol for Struijk (46), Gruev for Longstaff (46), Piroe for Nmecha (46), Byram for Schmidt (63), Tanaka for Stach (63), Ramazani for Gnonto (63), Gray for Aaronson (81). Subs not used: Cairns, Crew, Chadwick. Leeds drew the game 1-1 with Piroe equalising for Leeds five minutes after Villareal had taken the lead (67). Attendance: 35,273. Unsure whether any away fans attended as I never saw any outside the ground. Referee: Sam Barrott. Another signing we have made is: 27-year-old Brazilian Lucas Perri, a keeper signed from French side Lyon on a four-year deal. I wasn’t in my usual season ticket seat due to bringing family with and instead were four rows from the front. At first, we thought we were going to have the sun blazing down on us but luckily soon found ourselves in the shade. It was a beautiful day for our first game back as the teams came out onto the pitch with the fans singing marching on together a bit further down the pecking order. With being back in the Premier League, we must play their anthem first as we come out onto the pitch. Leeds looked lively at the start of the game with Nmecha put through with a great ball out of defence with his shot easily saved by their keeper. We were up against a strong team who nearly took the lead but were denied by Darlow. We did put on some impressive passing displays which were good to see. Struijk put the ball out for a corner as Darlow had a man bearing down on him and he had to make sure their man didn’t get to the ball first. There were quite a few strong tackles going in on our players, but we did have some and it’s a good job one from Rodon didn’t connect. It looked like two dying swans when two of their players ended up on the floor although I’m sure they collided with each other rather than a foul from us. No doubt someone will put me right on that. Aaronson put pressure on their player in the penalty area who cleared the ball to Schmidt which gave Nmecha a chance to shoot low and hard which the keeper pushed along the line. Stach made a tackle in the penalty area which had their player claiming for a foul, but it was greatly timed although their player stayed on the floor. We were unlucky not to be awarded a penalty as Gudmundsson had his back leg taken from underneath him, but we played on eventually being awarded a free kick on the left-hand side after another foul on Gnonto. A great cross into the middle by Stach missed everyone but it had some power in it. Villareal with a counterattack saw a fantastic header saved by Darlow as the scores were evens as we went in for the break. Trying to get downstairs at half time was a nightmare as no one seemed to move as it was that packed, and I can’t say I’ve ever had that problem before. We caught up with friends before heading back to our seats for the start of the second half. We made four changes with Bijol getting involved making a crucial tackle as Villareal came out strongly. They had another attack as the cross from the byline was met with a header. Meslier made a great save onto the bar, but the rebound fell to their player who was the first to react to put the ball into the net. We had been looking to make changes at that point, but you could tell the difference once Tanaka came on. It looked like Aaronson had lost the ball, but he kept going, put the cross in which was cleared straight to Piroe who put a close range shot into the net to equalise. Ramazani saw a shot saved by their keeper then Gray saw his header tipped over the bar, but it was flagged offside anyway. Whilst in many ways it was a typical preseason friendly, the score stayed at 1-1 at the final whistle. Hopefully there won’t be any lasting effects as Gudmundsson was on the end of a few of the fouls, requiring lengthy treatment for one of them. With one of the ladies’ loos already out of action at the start of the game due to a broken handle, I was able to report it at the end of the game so fingers crossed that gets remedied before the home game against Everton. I’ll admit to taking a bit of a back seat this week as the 23rd would have been my wedding anniversary. I was due to go to a funeral for one of the Kippax lads on Monday then couldn’t face it as I also had an extended family one yesterday plus a death this week. My thoughts go out to John Redmond one of our Irish Whites who is facing a big battle at this moment in time, and I was honoured to be asked to do a video for him wishing him well. With my big birthday coming up on my return from Dublin, it is also the first anniversary of finding my husband collapsed in the shower and the start of his downfall, so the emotions have been going haywire with plenty of ups and downs. I was thankful that my family were able to have a photo with his stone in front of the Pavilion before the game. I also delayed my blog from Sweden as I was hoping to have everything on one link on my website as there was so much to post but sadly there has been a delay. I will continue to post that in stages during the week as there are so many photos to share of a great trip. With the last of the preseason games taking place next week in Dublin with a near sell out 52,000 crowd against AC Milan, I’m looking forward to catching up with many of our fans there. See you there, LUFC – Marching on Together!

P re-season 2025-26 Sweden 17th – 20th July 2025 As our Stockholm preseason comes to an end, it was great to see all our fans there and thank you for the hospitality once again shown from LUSCOS and our Scandinavian friends. Thank you to Alex and Mick for all the organising they have done to get us here and the Thames Valley Whites for looking after me, giving me the confidence to go out on my own the last couple of days. Really enjoyed it. See you in Dublin. LUFC - Marching on Together! We headed out to Sweden early morning on Thursday to Stansted airport having been picked up by coach in Leeds. I was travelling with a group of Leeds fans with the group organised by the South Kirkby Supporters Club. We had a good trip down until we were 45 minutes from the airport when everything ground to a halt on the M11. The longer we waited due to an earlier lorry fire and a crane being moved, the more anxious we all got that we were going to miss our flight. As luck would have it, we started moving again but once at the airport it felt very rushed. As I’d never travelled from this airport before, luckily, I tagged on to some from our group who were able to ensure I went to the right place. We did have an hour to spare once through but when we went to board the plane, we ended up being kept on the stairs onto the runway for at least half an hour if not more and it was stifling in there. When they finally opened the doors, it was lovely to have a breeze but then we waited outside the plane for another 15 minutes before boarding. At least the flight went well although I was deaf for a while until my ears popped once we’d landed. We were picked up by coach at the airport and taken to our hotel next to the Strawberry Arena where we would be playing man u on the Saturday. As the driver pointed out the round windows on the hotel, he said that was where we were staying. As the coach left and we went into the reception, it turned out to be the wrong hotel but the one on the other side of the ground The Comfort Hotel, Solna. It was a lovely hotel though and once we had been allocated our rooms, we all met downstairs before heading to the Lion Bar nearby where we were able to get something to eat. It had been a long day so eventually I left at 11.15pm to go back to our hotel not before catching up with friends in there. Friday morning after a good breakfast, the majority of our group waited at the hotel to travel into Stockholm centre together. As I’d no idea how to get there I waited there with them. We walked 15 minutes to the train station where it was only two stops before we reached the centre. We came out of the station next to the Bishops Arms pub and then I left most of our group to join up with Thames Valley Whites who were going sightseeing. That was a good decision because although we didn’t have enough time to pay to go into places, it gave me the confidence to go out on my own over the next two days as I knew what I was doing. As one of our groups needed a chemist, we were given directions to an amazing place with paintings on the ceiling, marble walls and original wood cabinets. It looked fantastic and we were so lucky to get the chance to see it plus lots of other great architectural buildings. I left them all back at the Bishop Arms pub to head back to the ground where LUSCOS had arranged an evening for us at the hotel where we were staying. It was great seeing so many people that I knew, and it was another enjoyable event. LUSCOS did another event before the game on the Saturday, but I’d got up, had an early breakfast and headed into Stockholm centre to O’Leary’s where Gary Kelly, Michael Bridges and Dominic Matteo came to mix with fans. Again, it was great to catch up with fans before I headed back to the LUSCOS event where the Leeds trio turned up to mix with fans at our hotel. The good thing was that I didn’t have far to go to the ground, and our entrance could be seen from my bedroom window. It turned out that Fanatics were selling our new away shirt outside the ground but by the time I found out they’d already sold out of my size. I did say to the girl serving that if they brought the home kit out with blue bulls on then they’d sell very quickly, and she was going to pass it on. Luckily, I managed to get our shirt inside the ground, and I love it. When queuing to get into the ground someone asked me if I’d got a contract with Sky as they always zoomed in to where I was standing in the ground. I laughed but said no it is all free gratis. Someone had bought the ticket for the game for me so once we’d all created a Ticketmaster account getting into the ground was very easy. What can I say about the ground? It was very impressive that’s for sure with a large hanging scoreboard cube in front of all four stands as well as tv screens on our level. With it being a beautiful day, the roof was opened. With Leeds fans behind the goal where we were sat, the majority of the other stands were red. Please Leeds, next season get us playing someone else and a team that does not play in red! Before the game started which was delayed for 10 minutes due to late arrival, everyone in our stands did a TIFU – holding up blue and yellow sheets of paper which spelt out MOT and it looks fantastic on the screen. Well done to LUSCOS for organising this and any man u fans in our stand will be pleased to know they joined in with promoting Leeds United. Our new signings making their first appearances in a Leeds shirt were: 26-year-old German, Lukas Nmecha an over 6ft forward signed from German side WfL Wolfsburg, on a two-year deal. 26-year-old Slovenian, Jaka Bijol a central defender signed from Italian side Udinese, on a five-year deal. 26-year-old Belgian, Sebastiaan Bornauw a 6ft 3” defender signed from German side WfL Wolfsburg, on a four-year deal. 26-year-old Swede, Gabriel Gudmundsson a left back signed from French side Lille, on a four-year deal. 27-year-old Englishman, Sean Longstaff a midfielder signed from Newcastle United, on a four-year deal. 26-year-old German, Anton Stach a 6ft 4” midfielder signed from TSG Hoffenheim, on a four-year deal. Sam Byram signed a one-year contract extension Dan James signed a long-term deal for another four years Max Wöber loaned to Werder Bremen for the season Bamford will be leaving as he is no longer in Farke’s plans. Latest news is that Mateo Joseph has asked for a transfer. Leeds United v man u Team first half : Karl Darlow, Ethan Ampadu (Captain), Joe Rodon, Jayden Bogle, Willie Gnonto, Sam Byram, AO Tanaka, Ilia Gruev, Jack Harrison, Lukas Nmecha, Jaka Bijol. Team second half : Illan Meslier, Pascal Struijk, Dan James, Largie Ramazani, Sean Longstaff, AO Tanaka (Harry Gray 77), Jayden Bogle (Sam Chambers 77), Ilia Gruev (Charlie Crew 86), Jӧel Piroe (Rhys Chadwick 89). Subs not used: Alex Cairns, Rory Mahady both keepers. Leeds drew the game 0-0. Referee : Adam Ladebäck. Attendance: 45,345 with a large contingent of Leeds fans from Scandinavia, Finland, the UK and other areas mainly sat behind the goal. Venue : Strawberry Arena, Stockholm. Our new blue away kit was worn by the team as they came out into the heat of the stadium. What was good to see was that we had a strong team and were looking to take the game seriously. Leeds started strongly with Bogle running down the wing and his cross was kicked off the line after a deflection. To say it was a “friendly” there were plenty of heavy challenges on our players with some things not changing, no free kicks given. Darlow made a good save before a deflected shot hit the crossbar as the sides when in 0-0 at the break. The second half saw many subs made and Bogle continued where he left off in the first half and was unlucky not to score as the keeper saved the shot and also saved shots from Ramazani twice. We didn’t have it all our own way as with the final late subs made, you could see the difference in the team, and we weren’t as strong. Meslier made two good saves as we battled to keep them out and as the final whistle went the score was the same as at half time 0-0. I thought we played well and looked quite strong. I’m hopeful that we will be fine going into the season back in the Premier League although at this stage we still don’t know who will be going. After our six new players joining us, there will be some outgoings soon, I’m sure. With security nets up behind the goal (which impacted on the view of the game in my opinion) and the players’ coach underground, it’s such a shame that the players couldn’t get near to our fans as there were plenty of young children who would have loved to meet them. This should be remedied for future trips. The only young Leeds fan who got lucky was because Gnonto got under the security net to come round and sign this little boy’s shirt. I’d heard a man u lad got on the pitch and got a shirt but was apprehended by security. Outside the ground I saw one showing a shirt off so assumed it was the same one. With our fans not being allowed to travel to Germany next, I hope we don’t go back to no interaction with our players as it was before Pontus Jansson started the revival. The irony is, that I travelled to Berlin at Christmas wearing all my Leeds things as usual with no issues and made welcome in my parents’ home country. Put me down to go and see Leeds United there as a football supporter and find I’m banned? Having just seen the ground where we played our first friendly game behind closed doors today in Germany, the ground had plenty of seats and looked perfectly okay to hold fans not like the field we played on against Frankfurt in 2015. Please make it make sense. After the game it was great to be able to freshen up at our hotel before I walked the 20 minutes to the Longhorn Steakhouse where we were booked in for a meal after the game. Taking things steady, everyone else had gone back to the Lion Bar near the hotel but I called it a day after walking back having done 21,000 steps. As we were leaving the hotel at 3pm Sunday, I wanted to make the most of the time we had left so had an early breakfast and headed back into Stockholm on my own. I hadn’t realised some of my Selby Whites who travelled with me when running the branch were still there so missed them sadly. I walked the same route down to the water as I had with the Thames Valley Whites but because it was a Sunday, most boats weren’t sailing until 11am. I decided to walk towards the Old Town and get as near as I could to see sights before walking back to the station. Some from our trip were in the Lion Bar as I passed it but as I’d already checked out of the hotel, took the time to get my luggage and charge my phone up before the coach came to pick us up to go to the airport. Everything was straight forward but we had to go to gate 68 a 30-minute walk when we got there. I took my time and then was going to get a drink but went to see what lay ahead and realised it was passport control. I’m glad I went there then because a few minutes later queues were snaking all behind me. Once through I’d gone into the shop before heading to the gate only to look on the board and see we’d been moved. Luckily, I’d enough time but was glad I’d noticed the change before getting to gate 68. When we finally boarded one of our fans said there were loads behind him in the queue, but the passport controller had said he was the last one being let through. Someone had said you can’t leave 70 people behind, and the answer was, yes, we can. As it was everyone on our trip were accounted for so we will never know if anyone didn’t make the flight. We had another good flight with only a slight bit of turbulence, and the coach made great timing without us stopping before arriving in Leeds. It was a good job we were a few hours behind the torrential downpours that had been happening in Yorkshire and beyond. The A1 had flooded at Knaresborough and the M62 had been shut at Brighouse due to the heavy rain. Luckily it was all drying out by the time I was heading home. Monday saw me get up early for an appointment then head to two double sessions of Aquafit. I was questioning my sanity when I realised that I could only go at a slow pace and although late to the first session in the morning and the second session in the afternoon, I managed to complete the classes. Overwhelming tiredness took over then, so it was home time and chill out time. Thank you once again to everyone I saw in Sweden who took the time to talk to me or have their photos taken. With being dressed liked a Christmas Tree, it did cause some tourists to ask if they could take my photo!! Getting home brought reality back to me as it would have been my 37th wedding anniversary this week. It is also coming up to my big birthday which will be a year to the day that I found my husband Phillip/Captain collapsed in the shower with a stroke which started his demise and his death from cancer. I was a mess in the morning and went out for the day with my two youngest daughters and grandchildren. It was nice to catch up with one of our long-standing fans at the kid’s play area in Tingley as well as seeing young children with their Leeds kits on. I’d planned to get my grandson the new away kit for his birthday but that had sold out at both Elland Road and the White Rose so will have to try again. With Dublin being our next trip, I look forward to catching up with many of our fans and will be heading to the Camden Pub to catch up with some of our Irish fans and friends. See you there, LUFC – Marching on Together! As well as photos from this trip, there are photos and videos from our 2015 pre-season trip to Oslo. We had a great time in Oslo and the hospitality from our Scandinavian friends was second to none so watch the videos I took at the pub in Lillestrom to take you back there. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m39ixR8xBdY Marching on Together in Norway pre-season 2015 in Kultur pub Lillestrom https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVZJ_ySs5KU&t=36s Leeds fans singing in Norway pre-season 2015 in the Kultur pub Lillestrom