Good Morning. It's Thursday 8th February, and here are the latest headlines from Elland Road...
Special bond could give Leeds the edge
The Leeds players have undoubtedly developed a special bond this season, which could give them the edge over Southampton and Ipswich, come May! Their body language, hunger, enthusiasm and all round mentality is obviously far stronger than that of last season. It's difficult to be positive when you're fighting for your lives at the wrong end of the table, but Leeds have developed a closeness, reminiscent of the Bielsa days.
Quite simply, Farke's men aren't just winning, but they're having fun in the process, something which is far less evident from their direct competition. They are playing as a team, and for each other. Their delight at winning is genuine, not just a relief at getting the job done. This connection could be the difference between a play off place and automatic promotion.
Photo credit https://depositphotos.com/
1970 FA Cup final - Mk2
ITV4 will be in attendance when Leeds visit Stamford Bridge later this month (Wednesday 28th February), following Chelsea's unlikely demolition of Aston Villa in the fourth Round reply of the FA Cup last night. Blues supremo Mauricio Pochettino has been under all kinds of pressure this season. His side currently sit 11th in the top flight, 15 points away from the top four. Having lost 4-2 at home against Wolves at the weekend, his tenure looks bleak, even if he wins a stay of execution for his sides Cup exploits.
Leeds fought it out (literally) with Chelsea in the 1970 FA Cup final. Jackie Charlton and Mick Jones had given the Whites the lead twice, but Dave Sexton's men came back to earn a replay, the first FA Cup final to do so since 1912. Chelsea went on to win the replay 2-1.
Bamford recalls death threats
Speaking with comedian Joe Wilkinson on his 'My Mate’s A Footballer' podcast, Patrick Bamford spoke of the abuse he received last season, after glaring misses on the pitch, developed into death threats. The 30yo recalls being confronted outside his own home by vigilante (so called) fans, leading to the club to put security in place around his home. Paddy was even less safe online. Trolls had threatened to stab his dog and push his infant daughter down the stairs. This led to him disabling his twitter account, and trips to his psychologist.
The situation Leeds were in was pretty diabolical one, we looked like we were going down which eventually we did. I was on Twitter, not actively Tweeting – until about mid-March. The abuse got so bad, threatening, even my little girl. In the end I came off Twitter and deactivated the account. I spoke to David [psychologist] and he said just to ignore it, and gave me coping ways. We played Newcastle at home, I missed a penalty but ironically played well – Big Sam said shame about the penalty but that’s what I need from you.
I was in the car after the game, crazy traffic and Michaela [partner] rang me. She said there’s people outside the house. I said, ‘what do you mean?’. They were parked outside and hadn’t moved. As I’ve come up, I’ve rang and said get Dad to walk down now. Two cars blocked the entrance to my drive. Put my window down, they put their windows up and stared at me. The gate opened as Dad had opened it, and they drove off. It was a culmination of the last few weeks – I took the flak for it, rightly or wrongly. The way they expressed it was crazy. Michaela didn’t feel safe in her own home.
I rang David afterwards and he said, ‘how do you feel’. I said, ‘I feel like I want to kill someone’. I’m angry, that someone has come to the house. The club put security on the house for the whole night. David gave me coping mechanisms to shut out the noise.
Photo credit https://depositphotos.com/
...That Ayling goal and "You couldn't script it 
" - Dirty Leeds B@stard.
I like that, tickled me that has.
