Daniel Farke’s brewing something special in Yorkshire as unbeaten Leeds dream big with £200m Elland Road stadium upgrade

THE GOOD old boys can feel it. The fans believe it. Daniel Farke wants to achieve it. Something else other than tea is brewing in Yorkshire. And Crystal Palace could be the latest to get swept away by the Leeds storm. Leeds United fans are daring to believe again after the club’s stunning start Credit: Getty Daniel Farke is doing his best to take Leeds back to the top Credit: Getty The mood at Elland Road has changed. After years in the doldrums post the early highs of the 2000s, the club’s owners and supporters are Marching on Together. Off the pitch changes are already underway. The iconic Norman Hunter Suite outside the visitors entrance of the famous old ground has been bulldozed. Diggers and cranes are at work on the first part of transforming England’s most atmospheric stadium. Sign up for the Football newsletter Thank you! The club could have their new main stand finished by 2028, increasing the capacity by almost 10,000 to 48,000. Then the Don Revie Stand is next on the list. Once completed, that will take the capacity beyond 53,000. The £200m Elland Road project is the biggest public show of ambition yet from Leeds’ 49ers Enterprises owners. But for any player stepping out on a matchday, it already feels like the whole of the city is in there. It has always been a cauldron of noise. But the level has been cranked up a notch. Newcastle were the latest to be blown apart by Farke’s monsters and the bear pit crowd. Palace are the next ones to enter the LS11 Coliseum to fight for survival. Gary McAllister was part of the last Leeds title-winning side in 1992. The Scot, speaking on behalf of Lottoland, said: “I always use the analogy that if Leeds were playing Real Madrid tomorrow night at Elland Road, the Leeds fans would think they could win. They’re that passionate. Which is a great thing to have.” Who can blame them? Not since the days of David O’Leary’s young side reaching the Champions League semi final in 2001 have excitement levels been so high. Most read in Sport BEST ONLINE CASINOS – TOP SITES IN THE UK After an unbeaten start, Leeds head into the weekend sitting third. More decisively, they would be sitting fifth going back 29 games. With the team proving a match for anybody and the stadium work underway, the Leeds faithful are daring to dream big once again. Boss Farke is too. He said: “Yes, exciting times, there’s no doubt about this. Exciting times ahead but in order to make sure that once we can move into the full new stadium and go back hopefully to some even bigger heights, a lot of hard work is needed.” The German has felt both sides of the passionate Leeds crowd. Despite winning promotion, he felt the wrath after a sticky start to life in the Prem. But he says that was the pull factor when he took over in 2023. He said: “It’s a joy and why I signed a contract for this club. I wanted to be in charge for these amazing supporters. It’s also sometimes demanding to lead a club with such passion and such a big history. Dan Farke says the passion of the fans was why he wanted to Leeds job Credit: Shutterstock Editorial “Such big dreams come along with responsibility and pressure quite often, it’s demanding and costs lots of energy, because you don’t have to lead just a group of players, but also the staff, who are also more or less very often supporters who love this club. “It’s a responsibility to lead the whole group, even the whole fan base. After years and nearly decades of suffering, I wanted to play my little part to help bring this club back closer to the good old times. “It will take a while to re-reach the good old times, but it’s a joy right now at the moment. You walk through the city and see the pride and joy in the supporters’ eyes and how much it means to them. Football should be the best thing in life and this feels at the moment for, for many of our fans, really like a shining light.” Former right-back Danny Mills speaks fondly when recalling the “excitement” of being part of O’Leary’s side. Danny Mills pictured in Champions League for Leeds against Milan in 2000 Credit: Getty And he is not surprised by the current crowd’s excitement as he claims there has always been a pressure on to get the club back to its Don Revie heyday in the 1960s and 70s. Speaking via BestBettingBonuses.co.uk, he said: “For us, it was sensational. Everybody was young, hungry, had a point to prove and wanted to get better. That’s what we did. Ultimately, we fell short in the end – not by a long way, but we did fall short of winning something. “But the crowd at Elland Road have always wanted, insisted on, hard work and effort. It doesn’t really matter beyond that. Even when they dropped down to the Championship and League One, the attendances were still fantastic. Leeds is synonymous with the 60s and 70s, and then obviously late 80s into the early 90s when they won the title. “Leeds have always thrived off that dirty Leeds mentality. High tempo, energy. The crowd bounce off that, that then bounces back to the players, and you get this snowball effect.” Comment now