Good Morning. It's Thursday 15th October, and here are the latest headlines from Elland Road
49ers rule out dynamic pricing plans after fan backlash
According to Leeds Live, the 49ers have no current plans to introduce dynamic pricing or any kind of AI structure into ticket sales at Elland Road. Club sources have clarified that chairman Paraag Marathe’s recent remarks were not intended as a concrete blueprint for the future, following a wave of supporter reaction. Leeds United fans lit up X after Marathe floated the idea of airline-style ticket pricing during a Leaders Week conference appearance at Stamford Bridge.
He suggested the club could use artificial intelligence to vary seat prices according to how often a supporter attends and how much they spend with the club, making tickets more affordable for loyal fans while marking up casual buyers and hospitality areas. “There’s probably an opportunity to do it in a way that does increase revenue, but also makes it affordable for your most hardcore fans,” Marathe said. He noted that Leeds already prices in tiers by judgment and that AI is not yet making those calls. The comparison he reached for was the airline industry.
The reassurance did not land well with supporters. Posts questioning the plan drew replies within hours, with fans arguing that any model built on demand would hit the people who already buy tickets every week. The reaction echoed wider unease about dynamic pricing in sport and entertainment. When Oasis put reunion tickets on sale in 2024, standing places advertised around £135 were pushed, under Ticketmaster’s “in demand” system, to more than £350 and in some cases near £500. Nothing about the ticket changed; demand did.
Fans who had queued for hours were offered a product indistinguishable from what a tout would have charged, except the mark-up was now official. Football Supporters Europe have described dynamic pricing as blatant greed. The Football Supporters’ Association, after the Oasis backlash, warned that the version being discussed in English football is a tool for driving prices up, not down, and that it exploits loyalty. The Premier League still has a partial brake. Clubs must publish ticket prices at the start of the season, and about 70% of top-flight tickets are season tickets rather than walk-up sales.
American sports have used dynamic pricing for years, and several US owners have described Premier League tickets as undervalued. Elland Road currently holds 37,645, with a season-ticket waiting list reported at 32,000 when work on the West Stand began. The approved redevelopment lifts capacity to about 53,000. Those extra seats could cover just under half the current queue, though not all of them will be going to season ticket holders. The local supporter who fills the ground when results are poor is told the algorithm has recognised their loyalty, yet that same loyalty is tested hardest against the most attractive fixtures. In those matches the highest bidder, rather than the regular, is best placed to secure a seat.
Simon Jordan warns Manchester United: “Leeds will batter them” at Elland Road
talkSPORT pundit Simon Jordan has warned Manchester United that they will struggle at Elland Road on Sunday if they repeat their recent poor performances. After a 2-0 defeat at Atlético Madrid that extended their winless run to five games, Jordan said: “They have got Leeds United at the weekend. If they turn up at Leeds and think they can put half a performance in, Leeds will batter them.” The Whites have been solid this season, with their only league defeat coming against Arsenal, and will benefit from a full Elland Road crowd.
The fixture carries a long-standing edge. The last time Leeds beat Manchester United at Elland Road was in September 2002, when Harry Kewell headed the winner in a 1-0 victory. Since then, results at the ground have largely favoured the visitors, including a 1-1 draw in January this year, though Leeds did win 2-1 at Old Trafford in April. Elland Road is expected to generate a hostile atmosphere for a side already short of confidence. A home win would end Leeds’ 24-year wait for a victory against their bitter rivals, and help cement their great start to the 26/27 campaign.
Adam Pope: Farke’s Leeds Using Wingbacks ‘Just Like Bielsa’
There were genuine fears that Daniel Farke was not cut out for the Premier League, but he has steadily proven otherwise. The Leeds United manager has adapted his side to cope with the demands of the top flight, and supporters at Elland Road are once again enjoying Premier League football. A key part of that adaptation has been the shift to a back three, which has maximised the contributions of wingbacks Jayden Bogle and Gabriel Gudmundsson. The pair were prominent against Arsenal, with Gudmundsson picking up an assist as Leeds showed they can compete at this level.
After the game at the Emirates, BBC Radio Leeds reporter Adam Pope highlighted the similarity in how this Leeds side deploys its fullbacks compared with the Marcelo Bielsa era. “I love it,” Pope said on the Don’t Get to Bed Yet podcast. “I mean, it does remind me a bit about the Bielsa time where you’d get Alioski coming flying in the back post, we were seeing it loads on both sides. And you’re seeing it with Leeds now, so not saying a mirror image, but it does remind me of that.“And hence you’re seeing runs being made; I mean, we’re so used to it now, particularly Bogle, aren’t we? Seeing a diagonal run or a back post run. And it’s really hard to pick up, isn’t it?”
There are clear differences, particularly in attack. Bielsa’s teams were more gung-ho, frequently flooding the box with numbers in search of goals. Farke’s side also thrives on transitions but scores in different ways, leaning more heavily on set pieces where Leeds possess some of the Premier League’s better dead-ball specialists. Pope’s comparison on the wingbacks is well judged. Bogle and Gudmundsson have become integral to the way Leeds attack and stretch opponents, much as the wide players did under Bielsa. Defensively the contrast is sharper. Farke’s team is more compact and better organised at shutting opponents out, whereas Bielsa’s sides could struggle to keep clean sheets even though dominating possession.
Nobody holds a candle to Bielsa as far as the emotional connection between manager and fan base is concerned. The Argentinian’s intensity and principles created a unique bond that still resonates at Elland Road. Farke has not (and perhaps cannot) replicate that feeling, but he has delivered something more pragmatic: a side that can compete in the Premier League while still producing the kind of energetic wide play that supporters recognise from the recent past. The result is a Leeds team that feels familiar in certain moments without being a straight copy of what came before.
