There is a poster on my wall of Marcelo Bielsa holding the Championship trophy, surrounded by his adoring players. Of fourteen players visible, half are no longer at Elland Road. Pablo Hernandez, Leif Davis, Ben White, Barry Douglas, Gjanni Alioski, Ian Poveda and Helder Costa have all been cast aside….

There’s nothing better in football than an injury-time winner; finally getting what you have ferociously desired for 90 minutes, just when it seemed all hope was lost. Last minute equalisers are a little different. They always bring relief, but avoiding defeat and gaining just a measly point are rarely ferociously desired. Saturday was one such rare occasion.

I knew, like the vast majority of Leeds fans, exactly what to expect when the 2 pm team news was revealed. I immediately stuck a tenner on Southampton to win, told my mates to do the same, and told my dad Leeds would struggle to build any attacks without Phillips anchoring the midfield and with Roberts at ‘10’.

Finally a win in the premier league against Watford. We catch up on our previous run of fixtures, injuries and latest contract talks. I'd like to write something here, to see if anyone reads these bits. Paul doesn't know we're writing this, but my big question is - Why on earth were you in the bogs during the Watford game Paul?

I wrote recently about my enjoyment of watching this Leeds team regardless of the result, but you just can’t beat the warm glow of that winning feeling. It had been 19 weeks since Leeds United last won a match, and 19 months since they last won in front of a packed Elland Road.

‘To have only picked up four points from 18 is a negative cycle.’ Marcelo Bielsa’s words came after West Ham triumphed 2-1 at Elland Road in December 2020, and after a repeat result on Saturday Leeds have now picked up only three points from 18 available.

People often defend Bielsa by pointing to where we were when he took over, but even as a staunch El Loco fan that argument leaves me a little uneasy

A game where we dropped 2 points, and a game where Newcastle probably gained one in their eyes. A rare warm night on the toon. We talk high seats, Dan James starting, a bald man heads the ball and Mike Dean couldn't spot a zebra amongst a sea of flamingos (not sure what that analogy is about). Join us for our matchday podcast guest featuring Rocco Dean.

They say it’s easy to be wise after the event, but in the aftermath of a high-octane battle measured reasoning is often replaced by a concoction of panic and desperation, which tends to provoke knee-jerk conclusions. Hence, I chose to write these articles pre-game rather than post.