Former Derby manager Brian Clough,
during his very brief tenure as Leeds United manager,
once famously told the players
they could put their medals and trophies in the bin
because, as far as he was concerned, they'd won them by cheating.
One could only imagine what Cloughie would have made of Spygate.
It's January and Leeds United
have completed 26 of a 46-game-long season.
They're two points clear at the top of the league,
despite two recent defeats.
Leeds, Leeds, Leeds!
Head coach Marcelo Bielsa's attacking style continues to entertain
and energise their passionate supporters.
But they have started to concede goals,
with young keeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell coming in for criticism.
The final transfer window of the season is open
and Leeds have just two weeks left to buy and sell players
before their squad is locked for the remainder of the campaign.
Owner Andrea Radrizzani and his board
need to decide if they are to strengthen their squad.
-Hi. How are you? -How are you?
In English football, recruitment was once
the sole responsibility of the head coach,
but now the director of football makes many of the key decisions.
Today, Leeds director of football Victor Orta
is reporting back to the board,
which now includes investors from the San Francisco 49ers.
Good to see you.
How are we doing? Everything good?
I didn't get the memo on the uniform.
For me, the most important person in a club is the head coach.
And my only goal is to try and enrich his work,
with a lot of work around him in terms of players.
But not only this, organisation, a lot of things that require a lot of time
and obviously there needs to be a club vision about this,
and this is, for me, the job of the director of football.
But it's true that, in England,
my position is not really known
but there are still a lot of people doing it and doing it very well.
Victor is like my brother. I mean, he is...
and whatever we achieve, we are going to achieve together.
The guy, his commitment, his passion and how personally he takes the results,
there is nobody more vested in the club's success than Victor.
He's the heartbeat of the club.
...things we need to do in January.
Now, the goalkeeper is obviously the priority.
I have a team working behind me that is really important.
It's more important than me.
Because they have the real knowledge, they have the real analysis.
Four eyes is better than two, eight eyes is better than four
and sixteen eyes is better than eight.
Victor, Marcelo Bielsa and the Leeds board
have decided they need to try and recruit a left-sided winger
and an experienced, top-class goalkeeper.
I have a very good board behind me and we are really quick with decisions.
This is good because you can anticipate.
If you take your time, you lose your player.
Victor has quickly identified his number-one target
for the goalkeeping position.
And it's an ambitious one.
Triple Champions League-winning Spanish international Kiko Casilla
has arrived in Leeds from Real Madrid.
Leeds have negotiated a no-fee deal with the Spanish club
but must take on Casilla's substantial wages,
which will make him the highest-paid player at the club.
If anybody had told me that in December
Kiko Casilla would be available and would be part of our squad,
I'd have called him crazy. Because it's impossible, but it's true.
At this moment in his career, I feel that he wants a new challenge.
And he feels like Leeds United can be a really good new challenge for him
and it's bringing a world-class keeper to Leeds United .
First, Casilla must pass a medical.
So, the doctor's gonna have a look at him now.
From what we've looked at before, and from the reports from Real Madrid,
there doesn't seem to be any great major previous history,
but we'll check that through and get Rubén to translate.
Yep, that's fine.
I've been involved in a couple of medicals where the club have not signed the player
as a result of something that's been found,
but it's not me saying, "Don't sign them."
We just present to the board and say, "Look - he's got these problems,
this is the chance that this gets worse in this period of time."
But, you'll find something on every player.
In this case, he's had different surgeries to his knees previously,
so they're not going to look normal.
It's risk assessment of the chances of that breaking down
over the next one year, three years, five years, ten years,
so that the club can make an informed decision.
Well, I'm happy, above all, to come to a club
that gives me the opportunity to come here to England,
to an historic club in England,
where they do things well, and want to continue to do things well,
and I think that is key to me signing here,
and, well, I'm certain we will do great things together.
Marcelo, well, I played against him
in the Spanish League when he was with Athletic Bilbao.
So I already know him a little and also,
I have had managers such as Pochettino and Solari
that have also been trained by him and have spoken a bit about him as well.
He's not a manager that takes me by surprise.
I know how he works.
I know how everything operates, so no problem.
Marcelo's been clear with the players he wants.
He's not going to take anyone who's not better than what we've got,
and what a great player to be learning off.
He has two or three Champions League winners medals and that speaks for itself.
He just seems like a dead normal guy, no ego or anything like that.
Welcome to Leeds.
How he'll cope with the cold weather, we'll see in a few more months.
He's going to be a great credit to the club
and a great coup for us as well and hopefully he can push us on
LIAM COOPER CAPTAIN, LEEDS UNITED
and get us to where we want to be.
The aim is to be promoted at the end of the season
and that's what we're all fighting for every day.
He's coming from one of the biggest and best clubs in the world
to the next biggest and best really,
so, nah, it'll be good, you know, to have his experience.
It's a good group here. He'll get on really well.
It's probably not easy going to a new team,
it never is really for any player
but we've got a good squad here and he'll be made to feel very welcome.
For sure we needed an alternative for the goalkeeper position.
For a goalkeeper to come from Real Madrid and choose Leeds,
my conclusion is that the owner of the club
should feel proud to own an institution that is worthy of such a decision.
When you bring a player from Real Madrid
that won the last three European Champions Leagues
and he accepts this project, it's a message for everyone in this club
and now we need to build again this Leeds winner
and this is the reason that players like Kiko can accept our challenge.
Casilla has signed a four-and-a-half-year contract.
The message of intent is clear.
Leeds are going all out for a return to the top flight.
But controversy is never too far away at Elland Road.
So, today the EFL announced they were going to launch an investigation
into the spying row which saw Bielsa send a spy to look at Derby.
Marcelo Bielsa can count Pep Guardiola, Mauricio Pochettino and, until yesterday,
Frank Lampard amongst his many admirers,
but his reputation faces being tarnished by Spygate.
A concerned member of the public called police to Derby County's academy
when they spotted someone acting suspiciously near one of its fences
during a training session.
The Leeds manager has since admitted he sent the spy.
I think I read it first on Facebook,
and I just remember thinking, "Ah, here we go."
You know, they love to conjure something up against Leeds,
don't they, the papers and the news,
and then obviously Bielsa had admitted it
and I thought, "They'll throw everything at Leeds now."
'Cos it's Leeds, isn't it, they do.
"Spygate", Sky Sports News reported it,
and then random things come in about like someone had been caught
with some secateurs cutting the fence, etcetera.
On his hands and knees with pliers.
It surely happens with other clubs, and nobody says owt about it.
The Argentinian, once called the "World's Greatest Coach" by Guardiola,
says he's done this for years.
And that in South America, it's no big deal.
I think the fact that it was us, Leeds, that were doing it,
and that it was "Frank Lampard's Derby".
Yeah, the golden boy.
The golden boy of Sky, that had the biggest impact on it.
If it had been another, any other two clubs in the Championship,
then it probably wouldn't have been brought to so much attention.
Them bagpipes are going off.
When I started watching Leeds they were in League One.
I never saw the glory days.
There is still that energy and atmosphere around
of incoming promotion.
It feels different.
We've got one of the best managers in this division. By a mile.
And one of the best squads in general.
It's going to be fiery. The whole, "Leeds member of staff spying on us,"
it's the most overblown thing ever.
It's the half-way point in the season.
If Leeds can beat Derby County
they'll go five points clear of second-placed Norwich City.
-Can she have a high five? -Of course you can.
Sorry, didn't mean to miss you.
While the Leeds players seem relaxed
and focused only on performing on the pitch,
the spying story bubbles to the surface and becomes a focal point for discussion.
It's Leeds United versus Derby County,
another crucial fixture in the Championship's race for promotion,
but there's only one story people are talking about.
And that's Spygate.
There are certain rules and etiquettes and laws that we abide by.
It's just human nature, you know. You play sport and you want to win,
but there are lines that you cross and I think a line's been crossed.
As a coach, there's a level of respect you have for your opposition,
and also it does have a bearing on the game.
If you know the exact team that are gonna play against you a day before,
the set-piece routines and the system they're going to play,
you have an unfair advantage if you've initiated that.
Douglas with the throw. Cooper, oh!
How has he missed that from just inches out?
He's put it over the bar.
Clarke again, looking to cross deep... it's Roofe!
Oh, they've scored and are ahead.
Spygate may be the story
but it's the man with 007 on his back who's creating the headlines.
Kemar Roofe has Leeds in front. One-nil.
That was the best I think I've seen us play.
That's the closest to Man City I've seen.
Every player ran their socks off, you could see at the end
how much it meant to everyone because they put everything in.
That's the good thing about this team.
Now we've got the belief, every player would die for each other out there.
Leeds have produced one of their most commanding performances
in well over a decade and remain top of the league.
But the headlines that follow
are not about their dazzling performance against a promotion rival.
The term "Spygate" dominates the sports pages
and trends around the world on social media.
Yet again, Leeds are in the news for all the wrong reasons.
At a sportsman's level, it's bad. I don't care if it's cultural.
It's a disrespect in our country.
He says they do it in his country. I'm glad I don't live there.
It's damaged his reputation.
The reputation of him and his club has severely been tarnished.
...it's not illegal, the fact is it wasn't peeking over a fence.
It was on hands and knees with pliers.
I think Leeds have overstepped the mark.
Five days after the Derby game,
Marcelo Bielsa calls an emergency press conference at Thorp Arch.
And Leeds fans brace themselves for the worst.
The last time he called a press conference like this,
Marcelo Bielsa resigned from a previous club.
I thought, right, he's gonna quit, he's gonna go. He's gonna walk.
They started talking about it on the radio and the telly
and you're getting updates on your phone.
You think, "Christ, something's gonna happen here."
There were people... Jermaine Jenas was talking about a points deduction.
Do you know what I mean? And you think, stranger things have happened.
I have called this conference
because tomorrow is the usual press conference
relating to the Stoke game
and it seemed to me that the spying matter
was going to take up time that I think
I want to dedicate to the game.
Well, there was no indication beforehand that he was resigning
but a lot of people thought that, didn't they?
Oh, there was a total storm, wasn't there.
A lot of people wondered if he'd do what he'd done at Marseille, at Bilbao
and also at Lazio. Nothing coming from the club saying that,
but I think we all had it in our heads that something of that scale could go on.
I don't think he could have handled it any better.
In his own way, he sort of made a mockery of other clubs about it, didn't he?
It's like, "Yeah, I have done it, and I'll tell you what, it's irrelevant,
this is my presentation to show you exactly what I do with every team,"
basically told every other team how to beat Derby.
Instead of resigning, Marcelo Bielsa
gives one of the most extraordinary press conferences in football history.
He spends 70 minutes explaining the forensic details
he goes into when researching an opponent,
and admits to spying on every other team Leeds have faced this season.
Bielsa takes full and total responsibility for the spying incident.
Pretty much the most... I'd say one of the most bizarre
but maybe genius moments of my career in football media so far.
I think the point Marcelo was trying to get over was that, you know,
a young intern, stood on a public footpath,
peering through a fence at training is not why we are where we are.
In fact, it's a bit offensive to even think that.
We are where we are because of the huge level of intense analysis
that goes into every single game.
Watching a training session doesn't win a game.
It's totally different on the pitch, you know.
The Leeds players would have gone into that game,
off the back of Spygate, and been up for it.
So, in a way, it sort of made us, you know, more ready for this -
we need to win this now or we're gonna be made a laughing stock.
Because I know that I am not trying to gain an advantage,
because the information I need, I already have the information.
And I repeat, why do I do that? I think because I am stupid.
This is all. I thank you for your presence.
Okay, I think we're done!
-Thank you. -Thank you!
It's genius, it's...
you saw the level of analysis that goes into what he's just delivered.
We've just sat there for over an hour,
he's just absolutely showcased what Derby County are all about
to a room full of journalists just to prove a point.
I don't think it's... I don't think it's crazy.
I think he's a genius.
I think the kids call it a mic drop, don't they?
Unbelievable.
He's opened Pandora's Box to us, hasn't he here,
and shown us things, but you can tell,
having been around football for a long time now, both of us,
that he's on a different, well, he's on a different echelon
when it comes to research, and that was the point, wasn't it?
That was the clear thing that was made,
that sending someone to watch a bit of training
from a public footpath or whatever...
was almost incidental to what he already knew about Derby County
and every other bit of opposition that he comes up against.
While many admire Bielsa's attention to detail
when sizing up opponents,
others consider his tactics unsportsmanlike.
Eleven rival clubs have demanded
that the Football League fully investigate the matter
and a hefty fine or even a points deduction
is now a real possibility for Leeds.
While Spygate rumbles on, the small PR team at Elland Road
do their best to keep things upbeat and positive.
It's a mixture of all emotions, to be honest.
Manic, pretty manic.
You'd rather it be quiet, everything go okay, smoothly,
and not have massive crises... if you want to call it a crisis.
That's the back of the Guardian today, following yesterday's press conference.
Front page on the Yorkshire Evening Post, as well.
It's just everywhere, and yeah, absolutely taken off.
It's mid-January.
Leeds have lost two of their last three games.
A shock home defeat to Hull
followed by a four-two beating at Nottingham Forest.
They are now without defensive midfielder Kalvin Philips...
That's a crazy challenge from Phillips and he could see red here.
...who must serve a three-game ban for his sending off in the Forest defeat.
Despite the losses, Leeds are still one point clear at the top of the table.
Next up are pre-season promotion favourites Stoke City,
who Leeds beat comprehensively in the first game of the season.
Bielsa has decided new signing Kiko Casilla,
who only arrived from Real Madrid last week,
is not ready to make his debut.
And Leeds face Stoke
with many key players out injured and suspended.
With the arrival of obviously Kiko, the new signing,
brought a lot of confidence into the squad,
and hopefully a lot of experience.
If Bailey has a good game he'll stay in,
if not a good game then you know, the options are Kiko.
But it's always good to have options like that.
I think it'll keep Bailey on his guard and he'll want to play even better.
Just the way that everything's happened,
I think the lads were just desperate to get out there
and just prove everyone wrong
and basically stick twos up or ones up in peoples' faces
so I think it just eggs us on to do even better now.
Leeds United now face Stoke City,
the side they convincingly beat on the opening day of the season.
The Spygate row is rumbling on.
Bielsa may be under fire from the football authorities.
But there is no doubt the fans are backing him to the hilt.
We'll spy where we want We're Leeds United
We'll spy where we want!
Leeds make a nervy start to the game.
Stoke are going to pump it long, looking to try and break the deadlock.
Chance comes in, save from Peacock-Farrell.
Stoke coming forward in numbers again. Jansson blocks off his man.
And he's going to be in trouble here with the referee.
He's arguing away...
and that will be a yellow.
It's an intense atmosphere in the Stoke ground
and Leeds cannot find their rhythm.
Klich needs to deal with this one if he can...
oh, he hasn't cleared his line...
Clucas low past Peacock-Farrell and Stoke take the lead.
Leeds fall behind four minutes into the second half.
Then, it gets much worse.
Oh, the chase is on here between Jansson and Benik Afobe and Jansson sees red.
It's a second yellow.
He's not happy with it and again it's a suspension for Leeds.
If this season hasn't been hard enough with injuries,
it's another red card
and Leeds United are down to ten men against Stoke
and trailing by a goal to nil.
Wanker, wanker, wanker!
Pablo Hernandez has a penalty claim turned down.
And Stoke counter attack again.
It's McClean for Stoke, he's looking for Allan
and he's sneaked past Forshaw there.
That's a second for Stoke.
They look like they've got their revenge for the opening day defeat.
It's Stoke City two, Leeds United nil.
Leeds United's lead at the top of the table is now a slender one point.
Head coach Marcelo Bielsa
admits it's their worst performance of the season.
We played our worst game of the year
after having played our best game of the year.
It has been very difficult to understand our last performance.
Back at Elland Road, Andrea and Victor are debating whether Spygate
and Marcelo Bielsa's emergency press conference has affected the team's form.
We had three losses in four games
and this Spygate didn't help to keep everyone calm.
I think, for me, the last game, Stoke,
for me, it was the worst game
because it was the consequence of the week of the media.
-Yeah. -So, in the end, it's normal.
If you are in a team, your mindset goes somewhere else,
you're not focused and that was the result.
If the main guy is not focused,
because obviously it is human to not be focused
when you are under pressure and you need to justify yourself,
and you need to explain things, disclose everything you have done.
When you go to training every day, maybe you're not the same guy.
Even if you think you are, maybe you're not.
I don't know. And then it transfers to people... as a leader.
I think after all this situation I feel more together, the locker room.
-Yeah, that's for sure. -I feel...
it's difficult to say, they feel together.
Oh, one hundred percent.
And it's true that this is a consequence
of a bad situation but it's a good consequence.
I still believe the conference was unnecessary,
but, in the end, yes, we are all together.
For me, I think, it's a historic press conference
and, in the end, if the consequences are positive... why not?
-Why not? It's true that... -Unnecessary.
-I think... -I mean...
he could explain the same content to the federation and the league,
why to the public?
For me, we are more together now.
Yeah, that's for sure, I was together before but even more now.
Let's go guys, I need to go. Cheers.
Leeds now face a tough fixture at local rivals Rotherham United,
twenty places below Leeds and fighting to stay in the Championship.
Kalvin Philips, sorely missed during his three-game ban, returns
and there's a debut for Spanish international keeper Kiko Casilla.
Another Yorkshire derby, then, for Leeds United
against relegation-threatened Rotherham.
It's a game they are expected to win, but who knows what the outcome will be?
Leeds start the game on the back foot.
Rotherham coming forward again.
It breaks for Ajayi, he's a long way out...
oh, he's lashed it past Casilla.
That is some strike and Rotherham take the lead against Leeds United
and Casilla is beaten.
They start the second half a goal down, but come out fighting.
Leeds pressing for the equaliser now,
trying to make something work inside the Rotherham penalty area.
It's going to fall for Klich.
And he's scored. It's a scramble over the line.
Four minutes remain on the clock.
Poland International Klich on it again.
Chance... scores! Low into the bottom left-hand corner
and Klich has done it again. Two for him and two for Leeds.
They've turned it around at the New York Stadium.
Klich with a brace
and Leeds United heading for all three points
in a vital Yorkshire derby.
Rotherham one, Leeds two.
Leeds show their resilience and a fighting spirit once again.
Well, it's a scrappy victory that will be celebrated by the fans.
It's one that sends them to the top of the table.
With Leeds' closest rivals playing out a draw earlier in the day,
Leeds extend their lead at the top to three points.
Chairman Andrea Radrizzani
is reviewing options for next season's kits,
which he hopes will be worn in the Premier League.
Next season is Leeds United's centenary year,
and if they return to the top flight,
it will be the most lucrative season in the club's history.
I'm not saying it's not nice, I'm not saying it's...
-It's okay, it's cool. -This one has more structure to it.
No, this is the one we use for the centenary.
Okay... for 100 years, hmmm. No, I don't like.
I think, maybe we put the number, the years, 1919 - 2020...
So, remember it's on the back, yeah? Look at the back.
Woven in the fabric. It's going to be darker.
Okay, so just leave "marching on together", that's it.
Okay.
Without 100 years. It's already everywhere else.
Leeds United's fine run of form this season
is attracting interest from potential new sponsors.
-We should talk about this. So... -What? 32Red?
We're starting... Paul's starting to get offers for Premier League.
People are saying now, could we do the deal?
-Yes, 100%. -On the premise of going up.
Yes. Who is the sponsor? Another betting?
32Red would be one, or another better.
Because also we can go into production as soon as possible.
Yeah.
We can plan activities with the sponsor,
so we can involve them in the tour in Australia.
Yeah, definitely, yes.
New kit sponsors are not the only business Andrea is in Leeds for.
Since securing the services of Kiko Casilla
earlier in the January transfer window,
Leeds have been busy finalizing the signing of their final target -
Swansea City's Dan James.
I trust Victor implicitly, and he says James can make the difference.
The speedy left-winger has been in fine form for the Welsh club this season,
scoring goals and supplying numerous assists.
He looks a perfect fit for Bielsa's high-energy playing style.
He was identified very early.
Marcelo and Victor really liked him.
We felt he could bring something different to the team.
We knew that anything we did in January had to have an impact in that season,
and we thought he was that impact player.
The discussions had been very positive.
Confidence is high the deal worth up to seven million pounds will happen.
Both clubs have been keen to complete since the start of the transfer window.
We have a deal that we are monitoring really closely
and I hope that it closes today or tomorrow.
Now I feel that we are discussing little details.
When you are discussing little details, it's the last part of the transfer.
But it's true that making a transfer is not easy
because you need to agree player,
entourage of the player, agent, club that sells, club that buys.
It's five people that need to agree. This is not easy.
It's really tough signing a player, it's a lot of things involved.
If they sold another player perhaps they don't want to sell this
because they take the money for another.
It's a lot of things that are out of your control for signing a player
and this is a frustration in my world because many times
the influence of external situations can ruin your transfer, but okay.
These are the rules and we need to accept them.
I feel 80% now. I feel 80%.
I'm a bit superstitious. I don't want to say more.
You know, there's still a lot to do on the last day
but once you're there, in principle, in terms of the player's desire,
the club's desire, the core financials, it's a case of progressing the paperwork
and fine-tuning some of the minutia in the contract.
Only twelve hours of the transfer window remain.
It's tight, but everything is progressing as planned.
As Angus attempts to tie up the loose ends of the deal,
Dan James arrives at Thorp Arch to undergo a medical.
It's been going crazy since I've been linked.
Swansea fans saying, "Stay,"
Leeds fans saying, "Are you coming?"
Gonna get some kit printed up for training tomorrow at Elland Road.
Any idea on numbers? Seeing what's available?
-Twenty-one mate, to be fair. -Twenty-one.
We're gonna get everything printed ready for you.
The medical is passed without a hitch.
Dan James, his dad and his agent
now travel to Elland Road to sign his contract.
They're greeted by Victor Orta, who had identified Dan James
as the player to drive on Leeds' promotion push.
How are you? Nice to see you again.
Hi, I'm Victor. Nice to see you.
-Nice to see you. All okay? -Yeah, good, thank you.
All okay? Long day? Four long days, long days.
-All okay? -Not too bad.
Bring your camera and get the shots for signing,
and do the photoshoot now.
Hi, you okay?
Ready to go, lads?
If we need to pin 'em, we can do.
As the deal heads towards a conclusion,
team manager Matt Grice
begins the process of settling the player into his new home.
I'll get some options over.
Just give me a shout wherever 'cos I don't know what's best around here.
And then we can set up some viewings.
But an unforeseen problem arises.
Swansea's American owner, who is stateside,
and their Chief Executive in Wales
cannot agree on the terms of James' proposed transfer to Elland Road.
Neither are returning Leeds United's calls or text messages.
-We are waiting, okay? -Waiting, yeah.
Yeah, you know, it's America - Wales, Wales - America, America - Wales,
-Wales - America, America - Wales... -Yeah, crazy, huh?
-But okay... we are near, okay? -For sure, we're nearly there.
It's that kind of thing.
No worries.
And as the night went on, I sat there watching it,
and we're thinking, "Bloody hell, this going to get announced soon.
How late are they gonna leave it?"
And like is it gonna be a big thing late on,
and the later and later it got
then a few of the boys started chucking in the group to Mooney,
like, "Mooney, like, talk to us. Is it getting done?"
And like Mooney still at like half-nine/ten o'clock like,
"Lads, trust me, tonight it'll get done, but this one's,
the owner's just taking a bit longer to get back to us, but everything's done,
so now we are just waiting for a phone call back,
sign off on it, it's all done."
There is now only one hour of the transfer window remaining.
To save time, Dan James begins signing some of the paperwork
in his new Leeds United contract.
Let's start with this one. Brilliant.
-Perfect. Cheers. -All done.
Thank you. Congratulations...
Still no, still no, we wait.
-Nope. We have one more document... -One more, is it?
...we're just waiting for that. You don't need to do that yet.
Finally, Angus hears back from Swansea.
It's not good news.
The boardroom problems at the Welsh club
mean Leeds are struggling to get the deal over the line.
But we're now close.
So then, say, "Okay, it's now or nothing." But he told me the latter!
He told me the latter. He told me the latter.
I think that at five minutes to eleven
we were trying to apply for the fifteen-minute extension
to get the paperwork done on the basis
that someone, somewhere in Wales was going to answer one of my phone calls.
Huw's not answering his calls, that's the problem.
But Jason can sign!
Can Jason sign? Can Jason sign?
Please! We accept their details!
Despite a desperate last-minute effort from Leeds,
they cannot get the deal over the line.
Dan James remains a Swansea City player.
Right, pack up.
A tired, emotional Victor Orta is crestfallen.
I've been here all day and everything's done, man.
They won't sign.
I don't know what's happening in the future now.
With him, with us. After this situation, nobody wins.
Because Swansea having a player after this episode is really difficult.
The player cannot get his dream.
And Leeds cannot get their player.
We really didn't get any sight
of the fact it wasn't going to happen until the last hour,
and that's never happened to me on a transfer before.
Whilst from a fan's perspective it clearly looked like a fuck up,
I think we were just the victim, an unwitting victim
of boardroom politics at the Swansea end and it was unfortunate
because we couldn't make the deal work for Daniel in the end
and I think it would have been a good deal for him,
for him and his family but also from a football perspective.
They want this? Yes. They want this? Yes. They want this? Yes.
Respect your player.
Because you gave permission to do the medical.
We are talking about people.
This is with people that have feelings.
And today was one of the toughest moments
where I watched a player of twenty years and his father...
It's never happened in my career.
So, I'll see you.
Hopefully see you in the summer.
Good luck with the documentary.
-Take care, yeah. -See you next Wednesday.
Next Wednesday, no?
It's a week on Wednesday, isn't it? Top man.
Take care. We see you soon.
Thank you. See you later!
The transfer window is now closed
and Leeds' squad is locked for the remainder of the season.
Next time...
Let's begin with that breaking news.
...Spygate saga reaches a controversial conclusion...
We'll spy where we want!
...and Dan James returns to Elland Road in a Swansea shirt...
Daniel James, he wants to be Leeds!
...and the pressure reaches boiling point in the fight for promotion
as Leeds take on their fiercest rivals at Elland Road.
If we don't win today, the wheels could fall off.
Leeds Leeds are falling apart
People just forget you're a person sometimes.
You have to have thick skin, but...
it does affect you.