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Leeds United are back in the Premier League and if there’s one thing we can bring then it’s pure unadulterated spite.
So without further ado let’s kick off a new series on our upcoming opponents this season by answering the question, what’s not to like about Everton?
In a word: yes. Dirty Leeds’ breakout moment as the label went mainstream can be traced back to a 1964 meeting between the two teams that became known as The Battle Of Goodison Park.
It all started after four minutes, when Johnny Giles left stud marks on Everton left-back Sandy Brown’s chest. Brown responded not-so-subtly, cracking his assailant with a left hook and getting sent off. Giles went unpunished, much to the fury of Everton fans, who were throwing coins and spitting at Leeds players by the time Willie Bell headed the game’s only goal from Billy Bremner’s cross.
It all got too much for the home supporters when Bell collided with winger Derek Temple and they knocked each other out, forcing referee Ken Stokes to take both teams off the pitch with the crowd on the cusp of a riot.
The People’s Jack Archer described the game as ‘spine-chilling’. As Giles later said: “You had to establish a reputation that would make people think twice about messing with you.” More innocent times, you see, which is why the FA suspended Sandy Brown and punished Everton for the behaviour of their fans and Leeds avoided any sanctions. Because we’re the good guys in all this.
Welcome, Jack Grealish! Grealish has joined Everton from Man City just in time to potentially make his debut at Elland Road, where he has always been given a, erm, warm reception — if you’re definition of warmth is being pelted by scrunched up paper (which was possibly the most fun part of Jesse Marsch’s entire reign at Leeds).
The more ineffective and uninvolved Grealish became at Man City, the more other fans seemingly started to like him as a Jack The Lad, doesn’t-take-the game-too-seriously type. That’s because they’ve forgotten how annoying he is on the pitch, a whining, cheating poser who was previously lauded in the media for winning fouls as if that’s the same as scoring goals.
I’d have liked Grealish at Leeds, mind. At least there’s an element of pantomime villainy with him that we could have embraced. Idrissa Gueye, on the other hand, can simply get fucked.
After sacking Sean Dyche last season, Everton returned to their favourite Trainspotting extra David Moyes to stave off relegation while looking as grumpy and tired as their fans.
Moyes is an emblem of the fourteen Premier League clubs outside the ‘big six’ shitbags. Nobody particularly enjoys the football his teams play nor finds him a particularly engaging personality, but he generally does well enough to keep a side in the league and justify getting another decent gig after he inevitably gets sacked. That’s why whenever he’s out of work there are often Leeds fans clamouring for him to take over at Elland Road.
I’m not so keen on that idea, although I did enjoy him getting the Scum job and immediately turning everything to shit.
I’m sure Jack Harrison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin will get great receptions from everyone at Elland Road on Monday night.
Leeds do have Everton to thank for thinking Bobby Collins was past it and letting him drop down to the Second Division to become the on-pitch leader of Don Revie’s revolution, while Gary Speed was beloved in West Yorkshire before moving to Goodison Park to play for the club he supported growing up.
Olivier Dacourt endured a largely unhappy season at Everton riddled with disciplinary issues. Having started as a fan favourite, by the end of the campaign he was booed by Toffees supporters after giving an interview in France saying he was unhappy on Merseyside. After a year at Lens, Dacourt rocked up at Leeds and made his league debut for United in a 2-0 win over Everton, before scoring a late equaliser upon his return to Goodison Park with a thirty-yard daisycutter, celebrating by shushing the crowd alongside a grinning David Batty in what must have been one of the great shithousing duos to grace a midfield.
Yesterday was rubbish, wasn’t it? But I have just found this photo of Batty laughing at Dacourt shushing Everton fans at Goodison. #LUFC pic.twitter.com/3sAmIF6DgF
— Rob Conlon (@RobConlon25) May 26, 2017
In more recent years, Leeds were made to regret letting Nigel Martyn move to Merseyside — particularly when he came back to LS11 — while Jermaine Beckford did good things for both clubs, even if he only spent a season at Everton. I can never forgive them for lumbering us with Matthew Pennington, although I suppose we’ve got our own back by giving them Angus Kinnear this summer.
Even while playing in the Championship, Leeds have had beef with Everton, threatening legal action after the Toffees were found to have twice breached PSR spending limits, including the 2022/23 season when United were relegated and Everton finished one place above the bottom three.
In truth, Leeds were so bad that year and played all the hits of a relegation season it was hard to argue with. And Everton’s ‘reward’ for staying up has been two more years of purgatory under Dyche and Moyes. Relatively constrained in the transfer market, they had to give up on any idea of signing Wilf Gnonto and were desperate enough to loan Jack Harrison for two years instead.
With a brand new stadium and another 14th to 17th place finish to aim for, they’ve spent a bit more cash this summer after starting pre-season with only fifteen senior players. West Yorkshire’s premier wedding venue Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has relocated to the blue half Merseyside, although Moyes warned ahead of the opener at Elland Road:
“The club have done brilliantly to build a new stadium. I think now there has to be a building of a football club back inside it, to get it back to where it was and more importantly to get the team back to where it was. We are a long way off at the moment.”
Turns out they’re not all bad, though:
Beware of Scousers bearing gifts 😉
Any Blues heading up to Elland Road for our opening game against @LUFC, please consider making a donation to @LUFCFoodbank #HungerDoesntWearClubColours Our tribal differences put to one side, at least until KO pic.twitter.com/6BKANQ5ibG
— FANS SUPPORTING FOODBANKS #RightToFood (@SFoodbanks) August 17, 2025
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