Sam Alker

Central Midfielder - Free Agent
7 Oct 2029
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Marked for Sam Alker

134 Edition

The Leeds United Courier

19 Feb 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad19 Feb 2029

14 days out for Sam Alker after a fracture

A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Leeds United will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.

Player ratings19 Feb 2029

Largie Ramazani runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 30. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

The dugout19 Feb 2029

Raffaele Spanò: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Leeds United have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Market19 Feb 2029

Morgan Gibbs-White wants European nights

The general version of this complaint is that a player wants more. The specific version names the thing: he wants to walk out under floodlights against clubs from other countries, and he has stopped pretending otherwise.

Market19 Feb 2029

Louie Sibley is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Leeds United is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad19 Feb 2029

Words exchanged at Leeds United

Morgan Gibbs-White and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

Match17 Feb 2029

A bad afternoon for Leeds United against Middlesbrough

0‑1 to Middlesbrough, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

The dugout19 Feb 2029

The manager makes an example of Jayden Bogle

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Squad19 Feb 2029

Words at Leeds United training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Raúl Rangel is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

In brief

Back issues
133 Edition

The Leeds United Courier

12 Feb 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad12 Feb 2029

Sam Alker breaks a bone — 23 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 23 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Market12 Feb 2029

Raúl Rangel hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Leeds United can pretend not to have heard.

Squad12 Feb 2029

A falling-out at Leeds United

Morgan Gibbs-White and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad12 Feb 2029

Ousmane Diomande falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Market12 Feb 2029

One of our own: Simon Spencer joins the Leeds United first team

Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Simon Spencer is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.

Market12 Feb 2029

One of our own: Jonathan Mitchell joins the Leeds United first team

Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Jonathan Mitchell is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.

Market12 Feb 2029

Leeds United promote Simon James from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Simon James has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.

Match10 Feb 2029

Leeds United come up short against Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Player ratings12 Feb 2029

Oscar Bobb was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 16. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.

In brief

  • The dugout the manager: “No excuses”
  • The dugout Jaka Bijol knocks on the manager’s door
  • The dugout No hiding place for Patrick Agyemang
132 Edition

The Leeds United Courier

5 Feb 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match3 Feb 2029

Cruel end for West Ham United as Leeds United pounce

There is no crueller way to lose a football match. Leeds United scored in the 93th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.

Squad5 Feb 2029

Sam Alker breaks a bone — 31 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 31 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Market5 Feb 2029

Jayden Bogle asks to leave Leeds United

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Boardroom5 Feb 2029

The silence upstairs is getting loud at Leeds United

Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.

Squad5 Feb 2029

6 saves: James Trafford was the team

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.

Boardroom5 Feb 2029

Window shuts: 5 in, 6 out at Leeds United

The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 5 arrived, 6 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.

Squad5 Feb 2029

Morgan Gibbs-White in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Leeds United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad5 Feb 2029

Words at Leeds United training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ousmane Diomande is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Player ratings5 Feb 2029

Gabriel Gudmundsson runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

In brief

131 Edition

The Leeds United Courier

29 Jan 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad29 Jan 2029

39 days out for Sam Alker after a fracture

A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Leeds United will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.

Market29 Jan 2029

Leeds United say no — this time

The offer from Atlético Madrid for James Trafford was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.

Market29 Jan 2029

Louie Sibley agrees terms with Newport County

The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Leeds United people have started saying his name in the past tense.

Market29 Jan 2029

Leeds United sell Maximilian Wöber for $10.7M

Maximilian Wöber has left for Arsenal in a $10.7M deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.

Squad29 Jan 2029

Tempers go at Leeds United

Morgan Gibbs-White was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

The dugout29 Jan 2029

No hiding place for Ousmane Diomande

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ousmane Diomande, and the manager let it.

Squad29 Jan 2029

Appearance number 200 for Largie Ramazani

200 games in this shirt, through managers and relegations and everything else. Service like it is disappearing from the game and the crowd knows what it is watching.

Match27 Jan 2029

Arsenal snatch it back from Leeds United

A goal on 87 minutes turned three points into one and a good afternoon into an argument about game management that will run until Saturday.

Squad29 Jan 2029

Words at Leeds United training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Raúl Rangel is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

In brief

130 Edition

The Leeds United Courier

22 Jan 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match17 Jan 2029

The cup run ends for Leeds United

0‑1 against Arsenal, and the road stops here. Cup exits are quick deaths — no second leg, no next week, just the league from now until May.

Squad22 Jan 2029

46 days out for Sam Alker after a fracture

A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Leeds United will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.

Market22 Jan 2029

Leeds United say no — this time

The offer from Slavia Prague for Ethan Ampadu was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.

Market22 Jan 2029

James Justin asks to leave Leeds United

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Market22 Jan 2029

Eyes on James Trafford again

The phone has started ringing about James Trafford again, and this time the name on the line is Atlético Madrid. Leeds United are listening politely and promising nothing.

Squad22 Jan 2029

Words exchanged at Leeds United

Morgan Gibbs-White and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

Market22 Jan 2029

Curtis Nelson has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Leeds United they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad22 Jan 2029

Words at Leeds United training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ousmane Diomande is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Transfer targets22 Jan 2029

Millwall tell Leeds United: Estêvão is not for sale

The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.

In brief