The Square Ball: Season 36, Issue 01

Written by: The Square Ball
Cover artwork by: Rob Palmer

This is the first issue of TSB’s 36th season and Leeds United’s 2025/26, erm, title-winning campaign? Well, at least we can still dream.

The Square Ball magazine is back and so are Leeds United, rebranded as Big Lads FC and celebrated in Rob Palmer’s excellent cover artwork.

Inside the mag, you’ll find from your favourite regular contributors:

Rob Conlon on Mark Viduka wanting to fight the world in a blue and yellow away shirt
Chris McMenamy heads to Dublin to experience Leeds United in their home away from home
Will Keany on why opening home games mean so much and so little at the same time — especially when Tommaso Bianchi is playing
Calum Archibald delves into WACCOE and loses his mind amid the joy and drama of transfer ITKs
Plus the latest on Red Bull, dodgy shirts, excellent jackets, overhead kicks and loads more
Subscribe to get this issue cheap with TSB+ — click here for info

How do I subscribe? Or read online?

Click here for more info on subscribing, and choose either TSB+ Mag or TSB Magazine.

Getting the magazine delivered to your home is a very good idea, as it will arrive free of beer stains and torn corners, unless your postie is having a bad morning.

The best way to buy The Square Ball is to subscribe and get every regular issue delivered to your home for the next twelve months.

That way we know how many to print, and we have the money up front to pay the printer. We’ll post anywhere in the world and you won’t miss an issue.

You can get £10 off a subscription to the paper magazine if you buy an annual membership of TSB+. TSB+ gets you all our podcasts advert free, early access and live streaming video of The Match Ball podcast, a digital sub to the magazine, a daily email, discounts and more — and that tenner off getting the paper version delivered.

If you don’t want to subscribe — why not?! — you can buy this issue on its own by clicking here, and we’ll post it out as soon as it’s printed.

Can I buy the magazine at Elland Road?

As always since 1989, barring pandemics and badly timed World Cups, The Square Ball magazine will be on sale outside Elland Road, for the match against Everton on Monday 18th August 2025. Just look out for our windswept but friendly sellers by the Lowfields tunnel, Billy’s Statue, the Kop gates, and anywhere else someone is holding a fanzine in the air, until about fifteen minutes before kick-off.

I’m a TSB+ member, where is the online magazine?

TSB+ members can read the magazine online now, either of two ways:

Download the PDF here

What else is in this issue?

Our now twelve times-nominated and two-times FSF Award winning fanzine, plus one for the podcast and as of 2022 one for ‘Fan Media’, includes lots of pages of articles and artwork about what used to be the pain but now is the glory which still involves pain of being a Leeds United supporter, for more than 100 long, long years.

Can I read something now? For free? Ah go on?

Free to read from this issue is Chris McMenamy on his trip to Dublin to witness Leeds United playing in their home away from home — click here to read that for free.

Also free to read from this issue is Paddy Gunn on Leeds’ proud links to Scandinavia, and how he hopes Gabi Gudmundsson can finally live up to our support in Sweden. Read that for free here.

You can order paper copies of issue one from our online shop now, and they’ll be sent out as soon as they’re printed. To read a digital version online, please become a TSB+ member, with a one month free trial, here.

As Howard Wilkinson always used to say, thank you for your magnificent support.⬢