🎧 Bam! Could Bamford make the difference?
"I don't know if we should pin all our hopes for getting promoted on Patrick Bamford. It would be an amazing story arc."Adam Pope and Kaiser Chiefs' bassist Simon Rix discuss the worries that plague Leeds fans as the season approaches its conclusion - from finances to tired players to lacklustre results seeing them drop out of the automatic promotion spots.Could the return of Patrick Bamford to the starting XI even prove be the answer to promotion?Listen to the full episode and more on the Don't Go To Bed Yet podcast.
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Daily Record
a day ago
- Daily Record
Russell Martin broke my heart but as a Rangers diehard this is how I think he'll fare at Ibrox
Leeds United hero Stuart Dallas has swapped the pitch for the stands as he follows Gers across Europe Stuart Dallas has Follow Followed Rangers across the continent. And the former Leeds ace is convinced that with Russell Martin leading from the front, his Ibrox heroes are now heading back to the promised land. The retired Northern Ireland defender may be a legend at Elland Road but he grew up idolising the Light Blues. And since hanging up his boots last year, the 34-year-old has had plenty of spare time to join his big brother Marcus on foreign jaunts cheering on Gers in Europa League action. He was among the thousands of jubilant fans who celebrated last term's memorable away wins over Nice and Fenerbahce and has been a regular at Ibrox too down the years. Now Dallas can't wait to see how far Martin's new-look line-up can make it this season as they begin their Champions League quest with next month's multi-million-pound Panathinaikos clash. Dallas witnessed just how difficult it is to put the breaks on Martin's high-risk passing philosophy himself when he was given a front-row seat during his final injury-hit season at Leeds. He may not have been out on the pitch for the Lillywhites' fateful 2024 play-off final clash but he certainly felt for his team-mates as they were given the runaround by Martin's swashbuckling Southampton side on the day they clinched promotion to the Premier League with victory at Wembley. And he's vowed to be in among the Ibrox legions again this term as Martin's Rangers set out on the long road back to Uefa's top tournament. 'I think it's a great appointment,' he said. 'I was injured for the play-off final against Russell's Southampton team, but I've come up against his sides before. I'm a big fan of his. 'I know the appointment has caused a bit of divide in the fanbase because of how he fared in the Premier League. 'But if you give him the right tools, he's a very, very talented manager.' Russell's refusal to budge from his possession-heavy tactical plan cost him his job at St Mary's as Saints' lack of firepower was brutally exposed by their ruthless top-flight opponents. But Dallas expects to see the new Light Blues boss stick to his guns again at Ibrox. He said: 'He has a clear style of play. He knows exactly what he wants. 'This thing about him not being able to adapt is based on the fact he didn't do so well in the Premier League. 'But the year that Southampton went up, they beat Leeds in the play-off final, in fact they beat Leeds three times that year. "He was able to change his shape and adapt to different situations. So I think it's a great appointment. I'm excited again to see how he gets on. 'People think it's just passing, passing, passing for no reason, but that is mentally draining a player if you're having to chase the ball. 'I get it. There's a fine line in passing the ball around and doing nothing with it, but Russell Martin knows how to break down a low block. 'Ninety-five percent of the time in Scotland, you're going to come up against that, bar maybe when you're playing Celtic. 'He takes risks at the back, but with the high risk comes reward as well, doesn't it? I think it's good. 'Obviously, he's going to need players. Of course, he has a squad that needs an upgrade but again, I'm very excited for how it's going to go.' And Dallas is looking forward to taking in a few more European away days this season. Recalling his recent trips with Gers, the Bluenose from Cookstown said: 'I went to Fenerbahce, I was a Nice as well. Sadly I wasn't in Seville. I was supposed to go to Bilbao, but I was on holiday. 'But I've done Anfield, Old Trafford, a lot of away games. 'Obviously when you're playing, it's difficult to get up to games at Ibrox. 'But my brother's been a season ticket holder for years and all my pals are big Rangers fans. Going to more games with my brother was always something I said I'd do whenever I retired. 'It's enjoyable going away. My first game at Ibrox was back in 2002. It was Rangers-Hearts. 'I went with my brother, my mum and my granny. My grandad brought me over to the game. Me and my brother went. "I think we won 2-0. I would have liked to have been able to get more games throughout my career but it just doesn't work out that way. 'I took my kids up to the Bilbao home game. I drove all the way up there for a 0-0 draw! 'But the penalty save that night was worth it. It will be great to see Rangers back competing on all fronts. 'They need to close that gap to Celtic.'
The Guardian
a day ago
- The Guardian
Leeds sweep Leigh aside as title charge gathers momentum
Leeds Rhinos underlined their Super League title credentials with another eye-catching and entertaining victory, this time against third-placed Leigh to climb above the Leopards and close the gap on second-placed Wigan. The Rhinos have made enormous strides under Brad Arthur in 2025 and after languishing in mid-table for much of the last few seasons, look entirely capable of at least challenging for the Grand Final for the ninth time in the summer era. Led by an imperious display from Jake Connor here, who put in another performance to suggest he should be in contention for the England squad in this year's Ashes, Leeds were far too good for a Leigh time that although were below-par themselves, had no answer for what the Rhinos threw at them on occasions here. Most of the pre-match buildup had been about the battle between Super League's two most creative players in 2025, Leigh's Lachlan Lam and the Rhinos' Connor. And it was Connor who struck first after five minutes with a wonderful kick to allow Kallum Watkins to open the scoring. The Leopards replied when Isaac Liu capitalised on a rare Leeds error to force his way over but the Rhinos soon responded, and in some style. Harry Newman's half-break was halted by a Leigh defender but the centre's offload to Lachie Miller was sublime, allowing the full-back to score from inside his own half. Leeds thought they had a third try of the evening when Alfie Edgell appeared to miraculously touch down in the corner under pressure, but he was ruled to be in touch. And two minutes later Leigh had reduced the deficit as a fine team move led to Keanan Brand crossing. Gareth O'Brien couldn't convert though and as half-time approached, Leeds put daylight between the sides for the first time with two wonderful tries. Cameron Smith's fine solo effort was then followed by Newman's finish in the corner after a superb break from Brodie Croft. Connor converted both, and despite the game being in the balance for large stretches of the half, the Rhinos had suddenly forged a 14-point lead to take control. The see-saw nature of the game continued after the break when O'Brien claimed a fine offload from Umyla Hanley but Leeds would then emphatically settle matters with a blistering five-minute passage of play that yielded two more sensational tries. First, Newman claimed his second after Ryan Hall's clever work to pat back a Miller kick before an incredible pass from Connor sent Kallum Watkins away, and he dummied past O'Brien to make it 36-14, with Connor duly obliging from the tee for the sixth successive occasion. The Leopards, to their credit, pushed for points until the end. Brand would complete his hat-trick with two tries in four minutes but either side of that brace, Leeds had scored two of their own through Tom Holroyd and Mikolaj Oledzki, the latter after yet another sensational assist from Connor. There was one more late try for Leigh, this time Hanley claiming a Ben McNamara kick, but this night belonged to Leeds.
BBC News
a day ago
- BBC News
Leeds up to third with emphatic win over Leigh
Betfred Women's Super LeagueLeeds (20) 48Tries: Northrop, Walker (2), Howard, Dainton, Whitehead, Bruce, Brown, Cousins, Nuttall Goals: Howard 4Leigh (4) 12Tries: Blackwood, Howard, Taylor Leeds Rhinos moved into third place in the Women's Super League table with an emphatic 48-12 victory over Leigh Leopards at table-topping Wigan Warriors have scored more points than the Rhinos this season and added 10 more tries to their tally as Leigh struggled to contain their tries from Izzy Northrop, Mel Howard and two from Ruby Walker were followed the other side of the break by scores from Bethan Dainton, Liv Whitehead, Ruby Bruce, Shannon Brown, Evie Cousins and Sophie who had taken a fourth-minute lead when Toryn Blackwood went over, added two of their own in the second period through hooker Katie Howard and centre Mackenzie in truth, they had few answers to the superior running patterns of the Rhinos who led comfortably at the break and were always in to follow. Leeds: Stead, Whitehead, Nuttall, Greening, Cousins, Howard, Walker, Northrop, Bennett, Donnelly, Brown, Boyd, Sykes, Bruce, Short, Dogus, Blackwood, Taylor, Cobain, Johnston, Burke, L. Morris, Dainty, Howard, Baggaley, K. Morris, Melvin, Fisher, Johnson, Higson, Owen Taylor
