Another bloody season

The Square Ball: Season 35, Issue 01

Written by: The Square Ball
Cover artwork by: Vicky Siviter
The cover of TSB 24-25 issue 1, featuring a drawing of Dan James battered, bruised, and bloodied at Wembley, by Vicky Siviter

Weโ€™re back! This is the first issue of TSBโ€™s 35th season, and the first of Leeds Unitedโ€™s title-winning campaign.

Our cover art is a reminder/exorcism of those painful memories from bloody Wembley in May, by Vicky Siviter.

As well as all your favourite regular contributors, weโ€™ve also revamped the front section with a lot more fun, shorter bits and pieces that would look great if you posted photos of them on your Twitter or Instagram pages. Just sayinโ€™!

  • Rob Conlon writes about his trip to the Copa America, trying to chase after Marcelo Bielsa and outrun Jesse Marsch
  • Paddy Gunn with the first instalment of a series revisiting the chaos of Cellino, Hockaday, and the 2014/15 season, ten years on
  • Jonathan Peel on falling in love with Leeds, Andy Robinson, and Enoch Showunmi during a pre-season friendly at York, which may have included the away end stealing a bin and pretending it was the FA Cup
  • Wayne Gamble documents the history of Red Bull ruining football clubs, having followed their insidious workings since their first involvement with SV Austria Salzburg
  • Plus Mateo Josephโ€™s new haircut, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink sticking his tongue out, and David Batty in his underpants
  • Subscribe to get this issue cheap with TSB+ โ€” click here for info

Support The Square Ball

Subscribe to TSB+ Mag

โฌข Yearly TSB+ membership
โฌข Regular issues of the magazine for ยฃ1 each (+p&p)
โฌข Ad-free podcasts, extra episodes, The Match Ball Live video, daily emails and more
โฌข Click here for one month free trial

 

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 ยฃ10 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 โ€” and that tenner off getting the paper version delivered.

If you don’t want to subscribe โ€” why not?! โ€” 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 Portsmouth on Saturday 10th August 2024. 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
Read the articles online here

What else is in this issue?

Our now eleven 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.

Click here to preview everything inside this issue

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

Free to read from this issue is an article by Rob Conlon about chasing Marcelo Bielsa around at the Copa America, wanting to experience the magic of Bielsaball one last time โ€” click here to read that for free.

Also free in this issue, Jonathan Peel on falling in love with Leeds in the inauspicious surroundings of a pre-season friendly at KitKat Crescent โ€” click here to read that one โ€” and Wayne Gamble on the Red Bullification of football clubs around the world, including a tale that might sound worryingly familiar. Click here to read that..

 

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. โฌข

DON'T MISS ANYTHING FROM TSB

Pick your emails:
Martine McCutcheon
Not tonight, Illan!
The cover artwork of issue six, featuring a beautiful illustration celebrating our 7-0 win over Cardiff, featuring Jayden Bogle, Mateo Joseph, Wilf Gnonto, and all the lovely lads of Leeds next to the number seven
Seventh heaven
The Lovely Lads of Leeds celebrate one of the many goals we've scored in recent weeks. This was one of many at Watford
TSB
Barnsley DVDs
Our Problem Chimp, who looks a lot like Michael Normanton, doing a really quite disturbing pose pumping his fist and appearing to grunt
TSB
Andy Chincliffe
A collage of classic Leeds deadline days and transfer windows โ€”ย Dan James holding the shirt before his failed move from Swansea, Harry Winks โ€”ย our never-ending midfield option under Victor Orta even though nobody wants, and Cody Gakpo, the striker we almost signed and would have almost certainly broken
TSB
We tried FC
Luke Murphy hugging Alex Mowatt in the midfield of my early 20s' dreams
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Screamers only
A collage of famous faces wearing the 2004/05 home shirt โ€”ย Julian Joachim, Michael Ricketts, and Sean Gregan. Glory days.
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Sweat patches
Artwork by Niamh Nevin of Jock Stein sitting in the Elland Road dugout. Newspaper headlines from his 44 days in charge of Leeds United are scattered around the image of Stein.
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Another Damned United
A picture of Raphinha looking characteristically aggressive in celebrating, presumably after scoring yet another Barcelona goal. Learned it all at Leeds though didn't he?
Golden balls