Leeds United

Image source, Getty Images

Leeds United have announced an open-top bus parade on Bank Holiday Monday to celebrate winning promotion to the Premier League.

The club said large crowds were expected throughout the afternoon on 5 May as Daniel Farke and his team make their way around Leeds city centre.

In an announcement on Tuesday, external, the club confirmed the parade would follow a mile-long route to "take in the full length of the Headrow, as well as City Square, Boar Lane, New Market Street and parts of Wellington Street and Vicar Lane".

The parade is scheduled to last between one and one and a half hours, arriving in the city centre about 13:00 BST. It will also be streamed live on Leeds United TV.

The club added: "A programme of road closures and other traffic restrictions is due to be in place across much of the city centre from 8am to 5pm on Monday. Emergency service access will be maintained throughout this time.

"The size of the expected turnout means people coming into the city centre - for the parade or other reasons - are being asked to carefully plan their journeys in advance."

Adonis Storr
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

He had to wait all season for his name to be sung - but when it was, the rafters shook and Daniel Farke was overcome with emotion.

Any question of how the Leeds fans felt towards the German manager was answered emphatically as he received two standing ovations throughout last night's demolition of Bristol City at Elland Road.

Fraught at times, Farke has encountered a mountain of challenges at United. During his first summer at the club, a loan exodus left the Leeds boss not knowing who would be in his squad from week-to-week.

When he lost three key players to release clauses last summer, he had to rebuild again.

Farke's pragmatic brand of football has been criticised at times, and his legacy seemed at threat from the twin shadows of Leeds' past: play-off heartbreak and Marcelo Bielsa.

But his methods have been more than vindicated by a club-record points total, the highest tally of home wins since 1968, the most goals since 1928 and a better goal difference (+64) than any club in Europe's top five leagues.

Farke's most important achievement was automatic promotion, yet barely 48 hours had passed after Leeds secured that milestone against Stoke City before speculation about his future began.

I wonder, at what other club could a manager get promoted with a club-record points total and immediate rumours of him being sacked begin?

Solid at the back, lethal in attack, Farke's methods made fifth-place play-off-chasing Bristol City look like a non-league team with nothing to play for last night.

The truth is, Farke has done everything to deserve to be in the dugout for Leeds United in the Premier League. The fans have spoken - it's time for the board to end the speculation. Let's enjoy the summer without Farke's future being in doubt.

Find more from Adonis Storr at The Roaring Peacock, external.

Leeds United boss Daniel Farke praised his side's performance in their dominant 4-0 win over Bristol City.

The Whites had secured promotion to the Premier League last Monday and blew their play-off chasing visitors away as they went back to the top of the table, ahead of Burnley on goal difference, with one game remaining.

"I'm a very proud manager. Obviously the week was not the easiest because for the first three or four days we were celebrating," he told BBC Radio Leeds.

"We got back to training on Friday and it's hard against a highly-motivated side. I was a bit worried before the game, I shouldn't have been because the lads showed their determination.

"We scored four fantastic goals and should have scored way more. It was one of the best performances of the whole season.

"We were so determined to end the season in style with a top performance and a top result."

Farke has now won three promotions to the Premier League, having twice won the Championship title with Norwich.

He acknowledged the atmosphere before and during the match had left him emotional.

"It was not that easy to stay fully focused. It was quite emotional I have to say," he added.

"When you walk in and hear this noise and see what it means to people and the joy and pride they have…it is very special.

"It's why I signed the contract two years ago. I found a club that was divided and one of my main objectives was to reunify the club.

"It was a proud and emotional moment. The atmosphere today was second to none."

There have been some rumours that the club's ownership could look to change manager in the summer as they look to avoid the fate of the past six teams to be promoted to the Premier League and suffer immediate relegation.

The 48-year-old German said that people did not need to "worry" about his future.

"I'm a very happy man so nobody needs to be worried about me," he said.

"I'm just enjoying this moment."

Adam Pope
BBC Radio Leeds reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Leeds United boss Daniel Farke has been speaking to the media ahead of their game against play-off chasing Bristol City on Monday (20:00 BST).

Here are some of the key lines:

• On earning promotion on Monday: "It's important when you achieve something very special with the club…you have to celebrate it. Cherish it and value the moment." Sounds like the "fire beast" diluted the celebratory flames with a few bottles of water on Monday night though!

• On speculation over his position and if it was surprising: "No, I knew this from the moment I signed for this club. It's nothing new. This club is so emotional and so big. Some journalists who are never here want to write about Leeds."

• On if he would like the club's owners to offer reassurance publicly on his position: "That's a question for the ownership. I focus on what I do."

• He says he spoke to chairman Parag Marathe on Thursday about plans for the Premier League. "We need a clear budget and to decide who is here with contracts and incomings. We need a competitive squad. A lot of work is ongoing. We need improvements at the training ground, we need a strong start with the momentum of promotion. We need signings early on."

• Farke said Blades boss Chris Wilder showed class by ringing him on Tuesday. "I have a good relationship with Chris. Respect on both sides. I will congratulate him when he has success. He called me straightaway on Tuesday. That was class. I appreciate this. Fingers crossed for him and his boys."

• On his experience with Norwich in Premier League: "We spent £8m with Norwich and had a miracle in picking up more points than any of the three teams relegated this season."

Listen to West Yorkshire Sport Daily, weeknights at 18:00, and subscribe to BBC Radio Leeds' Don't Go To Bed Just Yet podcast on BBC Sounds

Leeds United host Bristol City on Monday night (20:00 BST) chasing the 100-point mark in the Championship having already secured their return to the Premier League.

Bristol City have the play-offs in their sights but have not won a league game at Elland Road in 46 years.

• Leeds are unbeaten in their past 10 league games against Bristol City (D2 L8) since a 1-0 loss at Ashton Gate in September 2016.

• Bristol City have lost eight of their past nine away league games against Leeds (D1), with their last victory at Elland Road coming in November 1979 (3-1).

• Leeds have scored 89 goals in the Championship this season - only in 1927-28 have they netted more in a single league campaign (98).

• Bristol City have won just one of their past 14 away league games (D7 L6), with that victory coming at Millwall in March (2-0).

• Victory for Bristol City will guarantee them a place in the Championship play-offs for the first time since 2007-08, when they eventually ended up as losing finalists to Hull City.

Image source, Rex Features

As the celebrations start to simmer down after Leeds' promotion from the Championship was sealed, the players insist their work is not yet done.

The 6-0 demolition of Stoke at Elland Road on Monday ensured Daniel Farke's men will be playing Premier League football next season, but there remains unfinished business for both the team, and individuals.

Speaking to BBC Radio Leeds' Don't Go To Bed Just Yet podcast, members of the squad said the final two games, at home to Bristol City on Monday (20:00 BST) and at Plymouth on 3 May (12:30) remained hugely significant.

Two wins would take the Whites to the 100-point mark for the first time in club history and would all-but certainly ensure the title, given their goal difference is 14 better than Burnley, who sit level on 94 points in second place.

Right-back Jayden Bogle said: "Our aim from the beginning of the season was silverware. We're not going to stop now. Obviously it's nice to be promoted early but we still have got a goal in mind and we're going to do our best to achieve that."

Skipper Ethan Ampadu echoed similar sentiments: "We've achieved one of our targets, we're definitely going to enjoy this… but we do have another target."

Dan James added: "We were eight points clear and the gap has closed (but) we want to go on to win this league.

"The Premier League is the toughest league in the world, we've obviously got a great team, but it's the next level and the next goal is to establish ourselves as a Premier League team. It's going to be really tough, but we've got the backing from the owners."

Joel Piroe's four-goal salvo in the win over the Potters not only ended a nine-match goalless streak for the 25-year-old, it also catapulted him into pole position for the Championship Golden Boot accolade.

His 19 goals in 44 appearances are two more than Norwich's Borja Sainz, with Burnley skipper Josh Brownhill a further goal behind.

The Dutchman said: "Of course, I always wanted it, I said it from the start of the season, one of my targets personally is to get to 20 goals – I'm very close now, but I have to keep scoring."

Adam Pope
BBC Radio Leeds reporter

Image source, Rex Features

Scar tissue from how it ended last time around in the Premier League in 2023 meant that promotion has felt quite different two years on.

The prolonged absence from the top flight, coupled with the club's biggest moment since winning the First Division title in 1992 being constrained in a Covid bubble, made the Marcelo Bielsa-era even more idiosyncratic.

We couldn't share the moment communally once Bielsa's side had tossed Charlton aside 4-0 as an almost irrelevant prelude to lifting the Championship trophy at a sadly empty Elland Road.

Leeds were no longer falling apart, they were back in the joy division.

But it wasn't joyful. Bar that exquisite period when behind closed doors Leeds United finished ninth in the top flight, the experience was eventually to leave the club and players shell-shocked. That is why, for some, there will be a sense of concern ahead of a crucial summer at Elland Road.

The moment of promotion, delayed by the increasingly staggered kick-offs of the crucial fixtures, was still sweet this time around though. The manner of the complete obliteration of an in-form Stoke City was spectacular... and so un-Leedsy. Until that point four straight victories had not happened all season across league and cup competitions. When it mattered, United delivered.

Bielsa's extraordinary capability of coaching an average Championship side to greatness will always stand alone as a unique and beautiful moment. Due to the circumstances in which his success was secured it also makes it mean more this time because supporters celebrated together, drank together, cried together, hugged together but most of all bellowed out Marching on Together.

If Marcelo performed a miracle then Daniel Farke produced a phenomenon.

Calm, concentrated and composed Farke created two new sides, with this version less reliant on individual moments of brilliance than a collective creativity and a mental resilience than that of 2024.

It feels like a vindication of his method and his ability to cope with obstacles, like selling or losing key players ahead of a campaign, and a reflection of the laser focus of the squad to redeem last season's play-off disappointment.

So to Monday night and that rare feeling of an end of season game at Elland Road without jeopardy for the hosts, as promotion hopefuls Bristol City come in search of the one win which will secure them a play-off berth.

Make no mistake though, Farke and his side want that 100-point total and the title so after the lights of this week's party have faded and the "fire beast" has come down from the table, the fire will be back in Farke's belly.

Listen to West Yorkshire Sport Daily, weeknights at 18:00, and subscribe to BBC Radio Leeds' Don't Go To Bed Just Yet podcast on BBC Sounds

Leeds are considering sacking manager Daniel Farke despite the German securing promotion back to the Premier League. (Mail, external)

The side could also lose 28-year-old Dominican Republic defender Junior Firpo to Spanish side Real Betis this summer. (Todofichajes - in Spanish, external)

Want more? Take a look at Thursday's gossip column here.

Image source, PA Media

Former Leeds United player Stuart Dallas says manager Daniel Farke "deserves respect" for the "phenomenal achievement" of guiding the club back to the Premier League.

Dallas, who made 266 appearances for the Whites over a nine-year spell at Elland Road before retiring in April last year, said Farke has handled the pressure "really well".

"He deserves a lot of credit because it's not easy being the manager of Leeds, as we all know," Dallas told BBC Radio Leeds.

"It was a hard task for him to try and get the club back. People comparing him to Marcelo Bielsa - it's completely different.

"You've just got to put some respect on his name because what he has done in the last two seasons is nothing short of phenomenal."

Leeds' points tally of 94 this season has already surpassed the 93 points they amassed when they won the Championship in 2019-20 under Bielsa when Dallas was a mainstay in the side.

"I'm thinking back to the team I played in, and it was an unbelievable team," Dallas said.

"Daniel's team has got more points than us, so it shows the job that he's been able to do.

"I think people need to relax and put a bit of respect on what he's achieved this season."

He added: "Daniel has said a lot of times this season that he has a points target in mind, and if they get to it, they will be promoted.

"He put his head on the line by saying that he's 100% sure they will get promotion, and that shows the belief that he had.

"I'm delighted for everybody involved at the club - to Daniel, his staff, all the players and everybody connected. It's a phenomenal achievement."

Listen to Stuart Dallas' full interview on BBC Sounds.

"I'm so pleased. It's just fantastic for the city. It's nice to see the club back in the big time, and I'm just looking forward to the fixture list coming out."

Those are the words of Leeds United legend Eddie Gray, who appeared as a special guest on the latest episode of the Don't Go To Bed Just Yet podcast.

The show was recorded in front of a live audience at a sold-out Brudenell Social Club on Tuesday evening.

Gray appears alongside Jonny Buchan and Adam Pope from BBC Radio Leeds and Kaiser Chiefs bassist Simon Rix.

Listen to the Don't Go To Bed Just Yet podcast on BBC Sounds.

Image source, Rex Features

We asked you how it feels to see Leeds United win promotion back to the Premier League and whether they can stay up next season.

Here's what you said:

Jamie: I'm so pleased for our fans and the city. We love our football and haven't had the best of times since Bielsa made us fall in love with the game again. I'll be enjoying the moment, but am highly aware that we are likely to have a rude awakening come August and it's now that we need our shareholders to step up and make us the club we know we can be. And also, thank you Daniel Farke, you'll never get the same credit as MB but you've had to deal with a lot. You've done a great job, and done it with class.

Tim: Great for Leeds to be back, but based on the fact that the three teams who got promoted have come straight back down the following season, I worry the FFP rules will hamper proper investment into the team. Can the owners build a squad, and build a fit-for-purpose stadium at the same time within the rules? I do hope so. MOT.

Alison: Great to get promoted again. Not as momentous as last time but still special. I really feared what would happen in terms of losing more favourite players if they didn't achieve promotion this season. So also a relief. The sale of Archie Gray last year broke my heart! I wonder how he feels now. If only he could have stayed one more season.

Andy: Delighted to go up… but 49ers and Red Bull now need to step up. So difficult to stay there. Investment needed. Give me 17th place right now.

David: Agree with others that Leeds have to invest in the summer, but I think it's important that we don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. Ampadu, Rodon, Tanaka, James, Bogle and others have all earned a crack at the Prem. Squad needs a boost yes, but not an overhaul.

James: What an incredible feeling. It definitely feels different this time, especially since the last promotion was during Covid, so it's really special for all of the fans to properly enjoy the moment. The success is down to Farke and the way he has managed the team and players. Of course some changes to the squad could have been done sooner but in the end Farke has delivered on his promise and brought Leeds back to the Premier League. As for staying up, things are different now. As they say, Rome was not built in a day and all you have to do is look back at the Red Bull sponsorship, the 49ers buying the club. The investment is there, the management is there, the fans will always be there and now it's time to be the Leeds of old!

Seljuk: Fantastic. Relief that it isn't the play-offs! Next step: some proper strategic planning for how to survive and thrive in the PL. A five-year plan. That will require money, yes. But let's also look for some bargains too - especially battle-hardened PL players who can add some experience, grit and stability to the team. Oh, and a goalie.

Stephen: As a lifelong Leeds fan, I am so happy that we have got over the line this year with 2 games to spare, the disappointment of last year almost a distant memory. To have gained promotion whilst playing such attractive, open and attacking football is a testament to the team and coaching staff. The number of goals scored and our goal difference leaves us head and shoulders above everyone else. It was also pleasing to see the goals have been shared throughout the team. MOT into the Premier League. The icing on the cake will be securing two more wins so we go up as champions.

Paul: Supporting Leeds has always been an emotional rollercoaster. We never seem to do things the easy way but winning promotion again is a brilliant achievement. At the same time, the PL is a daunting prospect when you see what's happened to last season's promoted clubs. Leeds will need to invest and as supporters we shouldn't expect too much for the season ahead. Surviving the first season will be a challenge. Looking at the relative success of teams like Forest, Villa and Brentford shows what can be done. MOT!

Adonis Storr
Fan writer

Image source, Rex Features

After eight minutes of the promotion-clinching performance against Stoke City yesterday, BBC Radio Leeds commentator Adam Pope said: "You feel it's over already, what more can Leeds United do?"

The Whites stormed past sorry Stoke with the swagger of champions, unbound by the pressure the chase for promotion had put on them.

It was all-precision on the pitch and utter pandemonium in the stands. But the seeds of this performance were sown earlier in the run-in.

Every side has a rough patch – form falters, refereeing decisions don't go your way and injuries or ill-discipline deplete your squad. During the Peacocks' dip in form in March and the start of April, Daniel Farke remained calm.

On 29 March after a 2-2 draw against Swansea City at Elland Road left Leeds two points behind then-leaders Sheffield United, Farke said: "I'm 100% convinced that next season we will play in the Premier League."

Some criticised him for saying that.

And when Leeds drew 1-1 at Luton the following week to make it three successive draws and promotion was slipping out of their hands, the German was criticised again when he called the result "a good point on the road".

Promotion rivals Sheffield United also had a blip this month, but they didn't appear to stay so calm after their game with Plymouth ended with a fracas in the tunnel.

But as all around them seemed to be losing their heads, Leeds kept theirs. Staying calm worked for Farke, who has written himself into United's history.

And in spite of his critics – and there are still some who want a new manager – Farke has earned his shot at the Premier League.

There will be more rough patches in the top tier of English football, and navigating them safely will be the key to staying up.

Find more from Adonis Storr at The Roaring Peacock, external

Former Manchester City and Burnley goalkeeper Joe Hart believes newly-promoted sides will take a "totally different approach" to the Premier League next season.

All three teams who have gone up from the Championship will have come straight back down for two seasons running, unless Ipswich Town can pull off a mathematical miracle and avoid relegation.

Leeds United and Burnley will face the challenge of trying to buck that trend in the 2025-26 campaign.

"I think fans are going to have to get on board that their teams are going to be looking to grind out results and earn their status in the Premier League," Hart told BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club show.

"I think it has been very much shown over the last two seasons what an impressive league this is and you really have to be squeaky clean if you want to play that sort of football because you will get picked apart and hurt.

"The teams coming up now will address that with a clear game plan."

Hart said Clarets boss Scott Parker has "made it very clear he wants a rock solid team" and there is "no way he is going to come away from that next season".

"Absolutely no way, especially after what he has seen in the last two seasons from newly promoted sides," Hart added.

Ex-Norwich and Blackburn striker Chris Sutton said: "It will be interesting, the summer of recruitment, because you feel they need to be a little bit stronger at the top end of the pitch.

"It is just that first season, trying to get that foothold, just staying in the Premier League no matter how you do it, try and get over the line.

"Having a solid foundation, that is the best way to go, but it is a level up. That's the issue."

Listen to the Monday Night Club on BBC Sounds.