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The eleventh episode of The Square Ball brought Dan Moylan, Michael Normanton, Daniel Chapman (Moscowhite), and Paul O’Dowd (Oddy) back together for the first podcast of Leeds United’s return to the Championship — a step up in level that the promotion celebrated in the previous episode had made possible.
The episode opened with a Paul Gascoigne story. A much-reported incident involving a chicken and a fishing rod had entered the news cycle and gave the panel a suitably bizarre point of entry for the new season. Dan Moylan followed with a first-person report: a visit to a local gym had turned into an unintentional encounter with members of the Bradford City first-team squad, an experience recounted with enough specific detail to leave little doubt about how awkward the situation became.
The majority of the episode was devoted to Leeds United’s summer transfer activity. Seven new signings arrived in the close season. Departures first: Jermaine Beckford, Tresor Kandol, Andy Robinson, Lubomir Michalik, Casper Ankergren, Rui Marques, and Alan Sheehan all left. Replacements arrived in sequence. Kasper Schmeichel took over in goal. Billy Paynter returned as a striker. Paul Connolly came in from Derby County. Federico Bessone, an Argentinian left back, joined from Swansea City. Neil Collins added to the defensive options. Lloyd Sam arrived from Charlton Athletic. Alex Bruce, son of manager Steve Bruce, completed the summer signings in defence. The panel assessed each acquisition with the level of rigour the occasion demanded — some welcomed without qualification, others received more cautiously.
One topic in the episode carried particular weight. Robert Snodgrass had been injured during a pre-season friendly in Norway against Brann Bergen. The challenge from Brann Bergen player David Nielsen had caused the injury, and its potential effect on Leeds United’s Championship campaign was examined at length.
Additional topics included a dispute over LUTV’s pay-per-view model, which was generating strong supporter reaction; the presence of Brazilian trialists in pre-season; and a tactical shift that Simon Grayson appeared to be moving towards, with a 4-5-1 or 4-3-3 formation replacing the previous shape. The opening fixtures were previewed: a home game against Derby County on Saturday 7 August, live on Sky Sports, then a League Cup first-round tie against Lincoln City, followed by an away fixture at Nottingham Forest on 15 August, also broadcast on Sky.
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