Leeds Banter 3

01 Jun 2026 07:39:13
{Ed's Note - EHL2020 has posted a new article entitled, Rangers and the Dutch-Belgian Squad Blueprint

31 May 2026 22:04:12
I wonder if Leeds shouldn't try and appoint the recently departed Maximilian Hahn as director of football. I get we have Adam Underwood. But Hahn scouted Disasi, Diouf, Magassa, Fernandes and Taty Castellanos were mainly his signings. He left of his own accord and West Ham didn't want him gone.

31 May 2026 23:17:50
Well LUFC defo should be recruiting a masterly DoF (above Farke, not equal to Farke in authority like Underwood is) .

Also.

Firstly, surprised a tad that Director of Football Maxxy Hahn is only 30 years of age!
These DoF are gettin younger, it makes me feel a little old.



Secondly, what happened to the red hot insider info of a few weeks ago that Nicky Hammond was returning to Leeds United from Everton?

Thirdly, can we get a Raphinha type in this summer window please. We need some quality flair. Where's Uncle Victor when you need him!

01 Jun 2026 07:00:38
The Hammond thing was a rumour, I believe. I recently read a statement that 99.5% are false. Try reading a book called "The Baz Book of Likelihood", which someone rated as 10/10. 😄😂

01 Jun 2026 09:28:43
Now, now, Bright. Don't stir the beast. 84.7% sure he won't like that post.

01 Jun 2026 10:59:53
Dasasi is on loan, and Fernandes cost over 40 mill from Southampton, so not sure you can call him scouted.

01 Jun 2026 12:11:35
Haha, I actually lurve Brighty's post, Aus. ..92.5% funny.

And, the "Baz Book of Likelihood" is a good read, Brighty; ideal Christmas present.

01 Jun 2026 13:30:42
That's cause the 10/10 Baz.

01 Jun 2026 14:04:53
I would see that as fiddling around, without any clear advantage, apart from Fernandez, who wasn't cheap as Corky pointed out. Those players took West Ham down to the Championship, which I wouldn't consider myself as great recruitment.

I'd buy the Baz Book of Likelyhood. Where can you buy them? Good chuckle material for the summer.
No offense, Baz. 😉

01 Jun 2026 15:03:50
OP, in all good bookshops..
Best seller section (non fiction) . Naturally.

But tell yer what, OP, especially for you, I'll send you a signed copy for your birthday. 🎂

01 Jun 2026 17:35:23
Knew you'd see the funny side, Baz, which is how it was intended!

01 Jun 2026 21:49:44
Baz, is there a sequel book maybe of Baz's Predictions/ Past, Present and Future? I'm holding out for that one especially.

01 Jun 2026 22:11:28
OP, not just a book sequel.

But, a forthcoming West End musical entitled 'Baz the Oracle'.

You'll love it.

31 May 2026 20:57:18
Konate 'deeply saddened' by Liverpool exit. If he's asked for elite money or Liverpool were playing hardball depends. If it's the former deeply saddened that a mercenary didn't get to say goodbye not having it.

{Ed001's Note - he wanted over 300k a week.}

31 May 2026 23:19:00
£300k a week, nearly £16 million a year! Outrageous.

01 Jun 2026 01:21:21
A Pool friend said good riddance cos he's always got a mistake in him.

01 Jun 2026 07:01:36
World's gone maaaaaad!

01 Jun 2026 08:06:41
£300k a week for what is a bang average defender. 🤯🤯🤯🤯
I certainly wouldn't swap him for Bijol.

01 Jun 2026 09:31:20
Isn't Gordon getting like 425k a week at broke Barca? Just don't get it. This is serious money. Understand players should be rewarded for their hard work and dedication. But, we are talking obscene money. That's like over 4 years of my wages in a week. wtf.

01 Jun 2026 12:14:05
Dave, 100%.

In fact, I wouldn't swap 2026 Konate for Charlie Cresswell..

Or even a retired Liam Cooper.

01 Jun 2026 17:28:20
Coops is a bit of a stretch, Bazaldinho. 😂😂😂

31 May 2026 11:17:52
Arsenal had the lowest possession of a Champions League finalist, since the last time they were a Champions League finalist!

How they decided to play that way is unbelievable!

31 May 2026 11:55:41
Shocking, wasn't it! And I hate those stuttering run ups on penalties! It puts the player off balance more than it puts the keeper off. They deserved to lose with those tactics tho.

31 May 2026 12:12:31
After just winning the PL and feeling on a high, I expected Arsenal to have a real go last night, having nothing to lose. But, to play as they did in such a negative fashion, they got exactly what they deserved. Nothing.

31 May 2026 12:21:06
No Arsenal fan, but in 2006 you can excuse it by Lehmann being sent off, so lack of possession was then understandable.

31 May 2026 12:29:10
Gooners eras under Arsene Wenger, Bertie Mee and Terry Neill played mostly very attractive, entertaining football..

Not so under Georgie Graham, and even less so under Arteta.

Unpleasant, unlikeable, dull to watch, this Arteta Gonners side..

Very effective on the dark arts, set pieces.

But, in my opinion, one of the worst footballing teams to win the league title in the past 6 decades.

31 May 2026 12:31:13
..And still can't fathom how Farke's Leeds United rolled over not once but twice for this Gooners side.

Conceding 9 goals in 2 matches to that team was ridiculous.

Change of mentality needed.. or change of manager.

31 May 2026 14:15:41
That is baffling. How my dad's Gooners creamed us both times. No other team did. They slaughtered us, but hey.
He is 86 yrs old and has waited over 20 yrs for this. I'm happy for him.

31 May 2026 18:08:48
Arsenal have little threat up front and decided to let PSG have the ball and hope to snatch a goal from a breakaway, a set piece or one of the occasional times they had the ball in the PSG half. They are good defensively but won't be a very good team until they find a top class striker.

They've tried and paid big money but not found the answer.
In our two encounters this season with the Gunners, the players were either rabbits in the headlights or headless chickens. Those were the only two occasions when we surrendered before we walked on the pitch. Don't ask me why.

31 May 2026 05:06:29
Never liked gooners - can’t stand that whiner Arteta.

Arsenal and big clubs no longer really English and PSG not really French, ( only 3 English staters and 2 French I think ) .

Gooners still trying to cheat at corners ( hands up if you enjoyed the timing of first half whistle ) .



I’m old and tired and lament the game, the pitches and attitudes of my youth.

Maybe they should of saved a lot of time and gone straight to penalties, just a thought.

31 May 2026 08:49:46
1970,
Yes, I fully agree, mate.

31 May 2026 09:04:08
Certainly prefer penalties to the bore draw of extra-time where no team dare stray over the halfway line, for fear of leaving space at the back!

Have a horrible feeling that the World Cup is going to serve up more of the same!

31 May 2026 10:15:00
Can't understand why so many Arsenal fans expect everyone to have their support and love in for their club just because they hadn't won a major trophy for a very long time.
Then they don't understand why other fans, radio and media pundits heap a load of abuse on them.


They are so weak: take the banter, even be self-deprecating. It's unbelievable the self-indulgence they take upon themselves.

They are becoming the fans and club with their anti football who are setting themselves up to be abused regularly.

31 May 2026 12:38:51
Penalties were the only interesting part of that UEFA drabathon, tedious UCL final.

And..

What an absolute blooming contrast to the exciting semi final matches between PSG and Bayern..

I don't like either club (especially Bayern for obvious historic reasons) , but I have to admit both clubs were supremely entertaining in semi finals, serving up fab football matches.

That deserved to be the final..

01 Jun 2026 07:35:55
The worst thing that happened was Arsenal taking an early lead, cos after that they just stopped trying. I can't believe they thought they could hold PSG back for near 90 mins, but that was how they were playing. After the equaliser, there was only one team likely to win in normal (or extra) time, and then a penalty shoot out is always a bit of a lottery.

Gyokeres is not a world class striker, but he is the best they've got, so to start him on the bench seems strange.

31 May 2026 07:39:13
{Ed's Note - PatrikBurgher has posted a new article entitled, Where Liverpool's Season Went Wrong Under Slot

31 May 2026 10:00:50
That was a fair, balanced and reasoned summary of what went wrong for Slot last season.

31 May 2026 14:47:40
Happy with that post Ed. If only we all learn by our mistakes but generally owners are beyond that cause they got someone to blame.

30 May 2026 20:03:07
On a brighter note Football won the football.

30 May 2026 20:16:29
Indeed Class.

30 May 2026 20:35:59
Arsenal averaged just over 2 passes a minute!

Be honest, who let out a little yelp when Gabriel missed?

30 May 2026 20:52:33
Me, can't stand Gabriel, such a whining, whinging player. Was surprised he was taking the 5th penalty, Arsenal bottlers.

30 May 2026 22:36:37
Would always prefer the English team to win, but agree regarding Gabriel as Opti says, and football winning as Class says.

31 May 2026 11:52:25
All the stats - possession, shots, xG, etc, say that PSG were much the better team, but how many times have we seen games where we've been in that position but ended up losing. Having taken it to a penalty shoot out, Arsenal were only two kicks away from winning. Such is football.

30 May 2026 19:42:08
Following on from the over-saturated market, I can see players attempting to install clauses in their contracts where they make it possible they don't play certain competitions.

If a top six side is in League Cup, FA Cup, Premier League, Champions League, a player will install a 'I don't feature in League Cup til semis earliest unless I decide I say so'.

Or I don't play FA Cup before quarters unless it's a Premier League team.

They'll frame it as protecting against overuse and fatigue. Now this sort of thing happens already logically - City rested Haaland through most of the FA Cup apart from the Liverpool game and most of the League Cup until the final. But the players will want the call.



Top players might also resist featuring in pre-season tours as prominently. I.e. a three game tour in the Far East, they might say I'll play one and I don't care about the sponsor money. Players will hire personal doctors who will attest that the player is injured in contrast to a club.

These are just theories but I think this World Cup might see an influx of post tournament ACLs etc. There was anger after Rodri, there could well be again. I'm trying to predict what the Players Association might try and do.

And I should say, against FIFA and UEFA I'm firmly in their favour, but traditional competitions like League and FA Cup are likely to be targeted first.

30 May 2026 22:39:48
Disagree with what you are saying, but that's on the clubs to decide if they want to sign a player who doesn't want to feature as and when they choose. But, I think it's only the "elite" clubs and players that would suffer with this problem if it was to ever happen.

31 May 2026 11:57:59
Always a possibility, Ealing! They're running the game a lot more, as well as ruining it!

30 May 2026 13:23:44
Does anyone else thinking Liverpool sacking Slot was incredibly harsh?

I think the protracted summer chase for Isak, the heartbreaking death of Jota, ego outbursts and form drop off from Salah, and disproportionate injuries make it hard.

Yes they spent about £450m but recouped about £250m so a net summer spend of £200mish isn't exactly outrageously outlandish. That's a 'busy' window for a top club.

Salah forced Slot's hand and any other player you'd back the manager but Salah's status saw people turn on Slot even with a title under his belt. Salah also clearly was not the player of previous years.

I guess his biggest criticisms are the style of football and not integrating Wirtz that well.

It's not to suggest 2025/ 26 was a good year for Liverpool far from it, just that with all the mitigation, he achieved the minimum of CL qualification which other fancied teams with far less hardship utterly failed to secure.

Considering that the Van Dijk heir Leoni suffered ACL on his debut, and that the Liverpool board will basically fail to recoup almost anything from the departures of Van Dijk, Salah, Robertson, Trent and Konate is financially irresonsible too. There'll be a lot of pressure on Jeremy Jacquet and Leoni next season.

{Ed001's Note - no, he should have gone months ago. He refused to integrate himself into the club or the city, living near Manchester Airport so it was easier to get a flight back to the Netherlands every few days. Absolutely 100% had to go.}

30 May 2026 13:44:56
I think Salah has to be given some credit. A top player for Pool over the years, and although getting on, he still needs respect.
Slot came and went, doing nothing really in comparison.
Bit like, was it 10c, bringing Ronaldo on in the 89th minute.

Players rarely get sacked; they continue to earn their wages.
When players have earnt that respect, and the manager hasn't, the door opens sooner or later.

30 May 2026 13:55:15
Fair enough ed, as fans of other clubs we don't always know what goes on. Just thought the injuries summer and especially Jota would have made doing any better this year tough on any manager.

{Ed001's Note - the injuries were his doing, he reduced the intensity and number of training sessions and so the players were unfit.}

30 May 2026 14:46:46
I would've been more surprised had they kept him. Iraola is a much better fit.

30 May 2026 16:35:18
If they get Iraola in, I believe Liverpool will immediately jump to serious top three title contenders, and their players will be ten times fitter (nobody pressed harder or recovered the ball more than Bournemouth) , and it will be a far more entertaining brand of football.

Honestly, cannot believe it's taken this long.

Not certain it's a done deal, though; he's a stubborn individual, and his family comes first.

30 May 2026 19:23:27
Interestingly, Leeds United approached Arne Slot in Feb 2023 to replace Jesse Marsch, but he rejected the approach, stating he wanted to finish the season with Feyenoord.

We then tried to get Andoni Iraola, and he was interested in the job, but Rayo Vallecano refused to release him mid-season without his EUR10m buyout clause being met, so we went instead for Javi Gracia, and that ended well, didn't it?

30 May 2026 19:20:19
Champions in his 1st year, 5th place and Champions league qualification in his 2nd, most clubs would be ecstatic at that, but clubs like Liverpool have such an exaggerated idea of their own status and entitlement to regular successes that even that is deemed inadequate. And then of course everything that goes wrong is laid at the door of the coach.

Sorry Ed, but I think he is more than a tad unlucky, and won't be surprised if his successor does no better. In any case, Iraola was already in discussion with Bayer Leverkusen about taking their coaching post, and may fancy that more than a poisoned chalice at Liverpool.

{Ed001's Note - no need to be sorry, you have no idea what you are talking about. You are pontificating out of ignorance and then trying to claim things that are absolute nonsense and lies. Did Klopp win the league every season? He was backed because he knew what he was doing. Slot was sacked because the club knew he had destroyed the fitness levels of the players with his incompetent ideas of periodisation and constantly giving days off to the players. He was lucky to survive this long. Poisoned chalice? Omg you are deluded. You sound like an Everton fan, so bitter.}

30 May 2026 19:58:05
Oh boy, I really rattled your cage there Ed didn't I.
We'll both see who takes the job, and how well he does.
FYI, I probably hate Everton almost as much Pas you do, only surpassed by Man United and Chelski.

30 May 2026 20:20:28
Toffees are ok.. well below my disdain / dislike of.

Man U, Chelski, Bayern, AC Milan, Barca, Gooners, Sunderland, West Brom, Villa, Spuds, Southampton, and so on.

30 May 2026 21:45:06
I also don't think Liverpool are as 'poisoned a chalice' as jobs in Chelsea or Manchester United, for example!

30 May 2026 21:43:46
Sorry Ed i didn't mean to start this!

Irrespective of the Slot discussion, I think the Liverpool hierachy haven't planned all that well for end of this Klopp team.

Allowing the likes of Trent, Salah, Van Dijk (possibly soon) , Robertson, and to a lesser degree Konate all leave for a combined pittance seems hard to take. Again I don't know the full ins and outs, reading that Konate was demanding huge sums to stay. Jota's tragedy could not have been predicted obviously.

It does mean that there is enormous pressure on Van Dijk to lead a hopefully well recovered from ACL Leoni and Jacquet before leaving or signing a new deal and transitioning to a veteran rather than everyday. Not that Van Dijk isn't up to it.

Not a dig at Liverpool Ed, just on a interesting day for the club some observations from a neutral-ish (we all hate Manchester after all) .

{Ed001's Note - personally I don't think Virgil is up to it, he is not a good captain at all. Fine when things are going well but awful when they go wrong. He was a big part of the problem this season by running away when the team tried to press.}

30 May 2026 23:44:04
All those you mention (and more) are on my dislike list too Baz, but Everton are higher up because of their repeated financial jiggery pokery for which they somehow managed to avoid the punishment deserved. Ed was upset at my choice of the phrase "poisoned chalice" which is just a standard term to describe someone taking over a failing organisation.

For the next head coach at Liverpool anything outside the top 4 of the PL will be a failure, and doing it 2 seasons in a row will inevitably mean dismissal. Ealing you're right that the chalices at Man United and Chelsea are much more heavily poisoned - hence the much higher levels of managerial turnover.

31 May 2026 07:15:18
Slot's time was up after the Salah fiasco. One of their best players was treated badly. I like Iraola, I think he could do very well as Liverpool will back him in the market.