Marked for Brenden Aaronson
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match3 Nov 2026
A 1‑0 win over Wycombe Wanderers, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Jayden Danns, 20, steals the show — 8.13
Marked 8.13 at 20, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Market9 Nov 2026
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Brenden Aaronson, and the manager let it.
The terraces9 Nov 2026
At 20 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Match7 Nov 2026
The goal that put Bournemouth ahead was still being replayed on the concourse when Leeds United equalised, 1 minutes later. Leads are only worth what you do with them.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Oliver Hawkins after 1‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Leeds United may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Josh McDonald is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 19 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Match17 Oct 2026
Three points for Leeds United, 1‑0 the final word against Sunderland in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
A performance of 8.15 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
No hiding place for Ao Tanaka
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ao Tanaka, and the manager let it.
Squad19 Oct 2026
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.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Oliver Hawkins on a 1‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Words at Leeds United training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Paul Dixon 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad12 Oct 2026
At 20 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Market12 Oct 2026
Ao Tanaka told to find a new club
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Ao Tanaka has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Leeds United.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
Joe Rodon gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Devon Brockie 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.
Looking ahead12 Oct 2026
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Sunderland in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
Squad12 Oct 2026
The language has come, the shrug has gone, and he argues in training like a man who expects to be here next year. None of it shows up on a fee and all of it shows up on the pitch.
Looking ahead12 Oct 2026
Next up on the road: Sunderland, position 7. The supporters who go will talk about it all week and the ones who do not will check their phones at ten to five.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad28 Sep 2026
There were 13 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Match26 Sep 2026
Beaten 0‑3 by Arsenal, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Anton Stach and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Dominic Calvert-Lewin, and the manager let it.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Anton Stach reaches 200 appearances
200 games in the shirt. Nobody sets out to build a record like that; it happens to a certain kind of player at a certain kind of club, and this town knows what it has.
Market28 Sep 2026
No place for Joe Rodon in the plan
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Joe Rodon has his answer from Leeds United; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Boardroom28 Sep 2026
The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
The manager has not finished forgetting Daniel James's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑3, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Two goals and a mark of 8.68 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Brenden Aaronson, and the manager let it.
Match19 Sep 2026
A 2‑2 draw with Brentford leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 15. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad21 Sep 2026
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.
Market21 Sep 2026
Leeds United have let the market know Brenden Aaronson can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 2‑2 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
The plan did not have a place for Noah Okafor
Nobody at Leeds United is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
Joe Rodon knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Joe Rodon trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market7 Sep 2026
“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.
Market7 Sep 2026
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Leeds United have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Transfer targets7 Sep 2026
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.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Deadline passes with 6 signed and 5 gone
That is the business done at Leeds United until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
Squad7 Sep 2026
It will be explained as a change for the team and it may even be one. Nobody who has worn one believes that, and neither does the man who has just had it taken away.
The dugout7 Sep 2026
Daniel James asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Melvin Bard moves up the pecking order
Nothing is announced when this happens and everybody knows. He is a bigger part of the plan at Leeds United than he was a month ago, and the training ground worked that out before the team sheet said so.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Words at Leeds United training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Paul Dixon 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.
Market7 Sep 2026
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Dominic Calvert-Lewin signs something — a contract at Leeds United or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Transfer targets3 Aug 2026
The offer went to Brentford this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Market3 Aug 2026
The offer from VfL Wolfsburg for Anton Stach 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.
Market3 Aug 2026
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Leeds United heard it as anything else.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Harry Wilson and Leeds United agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Anton Stach 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.
Market3 Aug 2026
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Leeds United have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.