Leeds banter 7

03 Jul 2026 08:53:10
Manzambi of Switzerland now there's a player we should be in for. 42 mill so not impossible.

03 Jul 2026 09:59:24
He's close to a move to Newcastle, I believe, Corky.

03 Jul 2026 10:43:08
Exactly Dave, he's close but not signed.

03 Jul 2026 12:22:49
Great player. Well impressed.

03 Jul 2026 13:10:47
We will have our targets and budgets aligned already. I can't see our months of planning being disrupted unless a real bargain becomes available. Can't see that move personally, and we won't want to be drawn into a bidding war with another club.

03 Jul 2026 16:27:17
Barcodes are reputed to be offering £47M, and have £100M from Spuds for Tonali to play with, so probably not worth thinking about.

03 Jul 2026 19:49:25
Probably correct, JR.
No harm aiming high though.

02 Jul 2026 21:05:59
I hope all this talk about spending £25 million in a goalie is nonsense, when it could be better spent elsewhere on the pitch. I will be pissed off if this happens.

02 Jul 2026 22:01:49
If we'd have been 6 pts better off this season we'd have been 4 places higher.
4 places higher in each of the next 4 seasons (keeper contract length) would mean the keeper cost nothing due to increased prize money!
So, could a 25 million keeper get us an extra 3 wins instead of draws? Absolutely, they can, in my opinion, so it's well worth it.


Of course, it doesn't mean they will be that could, but, likewise, they could also do better than that.

02 Jul 2026 23:12:02
The worry is an expensive goalkeeper could turn out to be another Perri, and then we will be very upset.

03 Jul 2026 00:10:52
Same applies to any player or position.
They can all be duds or all over-perform against our expectations.

03 Jul 2026 01:23:05
Aye, remember us spending a modest £17M on some guy called Raphinha that none of us had heard of, and look how that panned out; another one like that would be good. 😀

03 Jul 2026 06:18:16
Yep, we lost him to. 🤷🏻‍♂️

03 Jul 2026 08:27:27
If he delivers the goods, as Canada intimated, I'm sure we'll all be over the moon. Darlow is stalling: replace him.

03 Jul 2026 12:52:23
Fully agree. Don't sign, ask him twice, then on your bike. Man utd going to take both keepers, just shows the money they waste.

03 Jul 2026 14:09:10
I really hoped the Darlow situation had been resolved by now.. It's a worry. Perri is not good enough, and I'm not convinced by our recruitment team to attain better. 😟

02 Jul 2026 20:49:51
Have any of you travelled to watch Castellon? What airport would you leave from and fly into? Then train or car? I'm wanting to go with my son to pay homage to Pablo.

02 Jul 2026 23:21:03
He'd probably prefer Disneyland.

03 Jul 2026 01:27:56
Never been there myself, but it looks like a flight to Valencia followed by a train would be your best bet. It's about 45 miles up the coast.

03 Jul 2026 08:45:46
His son is 38, Cork! 🤣

03 Jul 2026 10:21:31
Haha, close, Feath, he's 37 1/2 actually.

03 Jul 2026 19:50:24
I'm 54 and love Disneyland!

02 Jul 2026 16:42:14
The doubts about our recruitment department still remain. What the hell are they doing? No club statement about Harry Wilson. Until it’s officially announced, it’s not a done deal.

02 Jul 2026 17:58:51
Agree, Mick. We are in July, he is out of contract with Fulham, so why the delay? Come on, Leeds, give the fans a boost and announce it.

02 Jul 2026 18:15:43
Just ironing out some details in the contract. Patience.

02 Jul 2026 19:02:28
Ironing out the wedge of a signing on fee!

02 Jul 2026 19:10:27
He's on holiday.

02 Jul 2026 19:11:06
Patience, Alf! They've had many weeks to sort out the contract so that they could unveil him on July 1st when he officially became a free agent, and yet still they're not ready. Doesn't exactly fill us with confidence in the other deals that we urgently need getting done. Get your fingers out!

02 Jul 2026 19:12:08
This one should go through. If it doesn't, then the recruitment team will lose all credibility.

02 Jul 2026 19:35:42
Indeed, Mick. Doubts do remain.

I expected/ hoped that the 49ers would bring in an experienced, successful European Director of Football with a strong track record for this vital 2nd season EPL summer window.

Alas, it is not to be. and instead we worryingly still just have Head of Recruitment Alex Davies and former youth academy geezer Adam Underwood to recruit and move on players effectively and successfully.



We lost, in the past year, Nicky Hammond and Gretar Steinsson. Their experience is greatly missed, imo

Leeds United owners can do much better on these issues, and defo need to do so going forward!

Aimo.

02 Jul 2026 21:10:00
Both of them had left before 1st July last year, so we're not overly involved in last summer's recruitment, Baz.
I think we did Ok last summer in the main (Perri a definite miss) , with Okafor, Stach, Justin and DCL being very good, and others being decent, such as Gudmundsson.

03 Jul 2026 13:05:41
The faces in the recruitment team are effectively puppets - they do not make the decisions on who we buy; that is all done based on data now. This info landed us some great players at decent prices last season, yet we are willing to lose faith based on whether one transfer succeeds or fails? How fickle the fans! If by any chance we don't get Wilson, we will have other targets, don't worry.

03 Jul 2026 13:08:59
The faces in the recruitment team are effectively puppets - they do not make the decisions on who we buy; that is all done based on data now. This info landed us some great players at decent prices last season, yet are we willing to lose faith based on whether one transfer succeeds or fails? How fickle the fans! If by any chance we don't get Wilson, they will have other targets.

Don't worry.

03 Jul 2026 14:12:45
Puppets, Alf? .. that might explain why Leeds recruitment aren't good at moving on players and attaining good transfer fees.

Skilled, savvy peeps attain this.. Data on a computer can't do that.

03 Jul 2026 16:10:10
It worked last year didn't it, Baz?

03 Jul 2026 16:29:10
Not really, Alf.. certainly in terms of moving players on / attaining transfer fees..

Exhibit A: Joel Piroe for starters ..Last summer was the optimum window to sell JP.

03 Jul 2026 16:45:17
JP didn't want to leave. We had offers, but he is under contract, and that means, without cooperation (or buying out his contract) , we can't just tell him to get lost. Honestly, it beggars belief how much info is out there that you ignore Baz because it doesn't fit your agenda.

03 Jul 2026 17:38:01
Yes, JP wanted to stay and play little to football.

Point remains, Leeds United aren't great sellers. Paraag admits it too.

03 Jul 2026 20:38:55
We were lumbered with a load of tosh on high wages due to the previous regime. Can't sell if nobody is buying.

Back to same old negative Baz after a brief respite

02 Jul 2026 07:39:08
{Ed's Note - MK Scouser has posted a new article entitled, A Squad Deep Dive as Iraola Takes Charge

01 Jul 2026 20:48:57
Anyone else concerned that Spurs and Brighton buying and unveiling big money signings and we are yet to unveil Wilson who is free?

01 Jul 2026 22:40:18
Worries me more that it's meant to be the same rules for everyone in the EPL, and yet Spuds can spend £180 million plus on just Two players.

We are having to sell first, just to scrape together £80 million for our whole season spend!

01 Jul 2026 22:50:52
My thoughts exactly this morning when I heard about Tonali. 200 mill on a pair, and it's only Spurs.

Yet here we are with we oh "We're Larry Flynt" line already.

02 Jul 2026 06:56:54
Absolutely. £185m on 2 players, while our entire budget is a rumoured £80m, is alarming.
The gulf is alarming & worrying.
I'd take 17th next season, given that those who were around us last season are clearly not going to mess around in the transfer market.

Sadly, we have to, given our tiny budget.
I guess we have to hope those coming up do not do what we and Sunderland did.

02 Jul 2026 08:14:40
Plus, Spurs spent big money on Van Hecke, although they'll get some back if Vuscovic goes to Brighton. Vuscovic will be Brighton's fifth signing. They certainly are not messing around.
Rumours that Newcastle are considering making an offer for Archie Gray. After selling Tonali and Gordon, they've got plenty of cash to strengthen in several areas.

02 Jul 2026 09:30:17
And Spurs linked with El Kroupi.

02 Jul 2026 09:42:12
Why would they go to Spurs. Surely they could get euros elsewhere. 🤔

02 Jul 2026 11:12:19
Shows exactly what it's all about.

Coin.

02 Jul 2026 11:32:26
I'm more interested in how Spurs are financing this? They are £120m in debt, with an estimated income of around £50/55m a year. Their spending over the last couple of seasons has been ridiculous. How have they not fallen foul of the old PSR rules?

02 Jul 2026 11:39:19
Sorry, a net debt of £830m..

02 Jul 2026 11:47:44
Spuds have a net debt of £830 million, you say, Finch. Woah.

I will be very, very surprised if Tonali agrees to join Spuds. Surely he can do much better!

02 Jul 2026 12:01:35
Baz reports are it's agreed, and he's flying in for a medical.

The worry is Spurs signing a Championship midfielder for £85m will naturally inflate the Championship market now as well.

Think we need to be shopping around Europe, South America, Asia and Africa now.

Or we could hope that Fernandes makes it 3 relegations in a row after Southampton & Wet spam.

02 Jul 2026 12:14:47
The £275K a week the clincher then, Dave. Money money money. 💰

02 Jul 2026 14:02:24
It absolutely stinks, lads, to be honest.

02 Jul 2026 14:04:47
Finch, Spurs' income is more like 500 million than 50.

02 Jul 2026 15:35:11
That makes more sense. I just double-checked, & it is over £500m per year.
Still, the debt from the stadium, and the over inflated price of the players they are buying, surely makes it unsustainable. I so wish they'd have gone down last season.

02 Jul 2026 15:39:48
Spurs article

02 Jul 2026 16:07:09
Spurs' income 24/25 was £565m:
TV - 127
Match receipts - 126
UEFA - 34
Commercial - 277

Our income was £137m. TV was 47, match receipts 32, and commercial 58. Admittedly, we were in the Championship, but if we'd been in the PL, only the TV would be similar. Our match receipts and commercial would be far less.

At a guess, if we were both in the PL that season, with UEFA income excluded, our income would be somewhere around 50% of Spurs' figure.



The difference is the commercial income. Spurs' ground has become a major venue for sporting events (NFL) and concerts. Last year, they had 16, which generated about £60m income. This coming year, the council, Haringey, will allow up to 30, which is going to add another £50m plus to the coffers - £110m plus in total. It makes money, but it winds the supporters up.

02 Jul 2026 16:09:14
Spurs' debt is irrelevant to the new SCR rules. All that matters is their revenue (sales income) . This will be in the region of £550-£600m. The rules allow them to spend up to 85% of this on player costs & manager salary (they are at the 85% level, as they're not in UEFA competition next year) without any penalty.


That means spending of between £468m and £510m on player and manager costs. Compare that to Leeds, who will have between £200 to £250m revenue, so will have between £170m and £213m to spend on player and manager costs. That's how the rules work. Don't shoot the messenger.

02 Jul 2026 16:45:17
Good knowledge, Yorker. Depressing reading, but still good knowledge. : )

02 Jul 2026 17:15:20
Increased stadium capacity much needed to help our numbers.

02 Jul 2026 17:21:42
Sorry, Chris, I didn't see your post, or they crossed whilst I was typing. I think they're both making the same point.

02 Jul 2026 18:18:21
Spuds owners have huge amounts of money. As long as they are allowed to spend it under the rules, they will have no issues at all finding the money.

02 Jul 2026 19:38:57
The owners of Spurs have been criticised for several seasons for not pumping money into the club, but they have built a new high-capacity stadium.
As mentioned earlier by Yorker, the debt doesn't matter. What is important is the size of your ground, how much you charge for season tickets, where you finish in the league (which might mean European competitions) , and your ability to generate income from commercial sources such as concerts, sponsorship, etc.

Spurs may have debt, but they generate income.
We're probably somewhere on a par with Brighton, but way ahead of Bournemouth.
The trick is to manage to stay in the PL for a few seasons, improve the commercial side, develop your ground, increase capacity, and be good at buying and selling. The three B's are adept at that - Brighton, Bournemouth and Brentford. Those three have good data analyst departments.

03 Jul 2026 12:59:54
The ownership model has changed recently with Levy being bought out, etc. Plus, the shift from PSR to SCR has made a big difference to what Spuds are able to spend, as it gets rid of the 3 year past accounts element.

01 Jul 2026 10:36:05
Question is if we will get as far as facing Mexico? Our toothless wonders could go out on penalties to DRC - not long before we find out though.

01 Jul 2026 12:31:37
That is exactly the worst case scenario I'm kind of expecting '70!

01 Jul 2026 12:46:28
Yep could easily happen. We have been tragic so far and there are no easy games. Hopefully, we start to find out form.

01 Jul 2026 14:16:27
Hopefully, we get what we deserve. A mauling. So many teams have entertained and scored spectacular goals. We just bore. Only team in the World Cup that has the dehydration break in their match highlights. Move on. Nothing to see here.

01 Jul 2026 14:31:48
Bit harsh, guys - I think Germany, Holland, Italy, and Uruguay would swap with us right now. No prizes for winning your group games in style. No excuse for not beating DRC, though - their best player, Wissa, can barely get in the Newcastle team. I expect a much improved display and result.

01 Jul 2026 19:16:36
Well, as the Duke of Wellington famously said after the Battle of Waterloo, "that was a damned close run thing." The most appropriate phrase I can think of is "lucky, lucky, lucky." And to Harry Kane, sorry, that was not a penalty; you were on your way down before the goalie touched you.

01 Jul 2026 19:20:50
XG 2.04 v 0.8 - seems like a fair result to me, rather than lucky lucky lucky.

01 Jul 2026 19:37:03
With JR on everything.

01 Jul 2026 20:00:48
England being carried by Kane. If DRC had made it 2 - 0, it could have been curtains. Big improvement required against Mexico.

01 Jul 2026 20:13:11
Kane is a bit like Sheringham. No pace, but his brain is two steps ahead of the opposition. Remarkable season for him. No wonder Barcelona are interested in signing him, but seemingly Kane and his family are happy in Munich.

01 Jul 2026 21:03:10
We were woeful imo. Their keeper played a blinder, and they looked to take the game to us, which was refreshing. Bellingham, Kane, and that Irish man, Rice, are carrying us. The rest have zero bite, and zero creativity, and our defence takes the breath away for the wrong reasons!

02 Jul 2026 10:17:11
How contradictory is that? We were woeful, yet we forced their goalie into playing a blinder to keep them in the game. We were woeful for 23 minutes, then TT tore into them, and we were by far the better side for the last 3 quarters. Not a Gordon fan, but thought he was excellent when he came on - lovely weighted cross for the first, rode 2 tackles, and slipped a lovely ball to Kane for the second rather than taking the easy option and playing backwards as Gashford did for the first hour.

02 Jul 2026 12:31:51
So, we should be the better side! It's on that basis that my "woeful" descriptor stands! Probably, a billion quids worth of "talent" on that oak, and only 3 of them showed anything! Yes, their keeper had a blinder, but we were still crap!

01 Jul 2026 09:59:16
West Ham certainly know how to get top dollar for their players even after a relegation.
85 million for Fernandes!

01 Jul 2026 12:47:00
That's what can happen when you hold all the cards, and there is lots of interest.

01 Jul 2026 14:17:21
Coulda got more interest in Struijk if we waited a bit.

01 Jul 2026 14:34:52
Read the club announcement, Aus. We needed a sale before today for PSR reasons, so we had no cards by the sound of it!

01 Jul 2026 19:03:36
Can only be Leeds Utd.

01 Jul 2026 07:19:36
Arsenal looking to snap up Mez on a free. Good luck to him, I say!

01 Jul 2026 07:56:06
Wow. That's weird.

01 Jul 2026 10:45:56
I always said there's a good GK in there somewhere. It just needs to be brought out, mebbe Arse will be more successful than us doing so. He was unfairly blamed for some errors that were not his fault, and the defenders (especially Joe Rodon) lost confidence in him, so he had to go. A fresh start is just what he needs.

01 Jul 2026 11:49:31
Unfairly blamed, JR ??
He made some right howlers!

01 Jul 2026 12:17:05
I really hope I'm wrong but I can't see Mez playing at a high level anymore.

01 Jul 2026 12:26:08
Read my words. Unfairly blamed for some errors that were not his fault, some, not all.

01 Jul 2026 19:05:58
Mez will show us what we're missing. I like him, hope he gets on well.