Why lunchtime kick-offs are affecting Leeds’ season

Daniel Wales and Lee Sobot discuss the impact lunchtime kick-offs are having on Leeds United.

Transcript

00:00the lunchtime kickoffs because as much as they did beat Derby lunchtime kickoff yeah this kickoff

00:06slot just doesn't seem to agree with Leeds for the most part obviously as I say they had that win

00:09against Derby but you know it's just it's a kickoff slot obviously it's early on a Saturday

00:14half 12 and they keep getting selected for them because obviously the Sky have the Sky Sports plus

00:20TV slot there and Leeds seems to be quite popular in that because of course they are a big club who's

00:24going for promotion but it doesn't ever seem to work for them apart from that one occasion so

00:29you know you you have this one you have the Blackhound one I mean that was a half one to

00:32be fair but even so um yeah you've had the Bristol City uh nil nil I can't remember whether it was

00:39was the Millwall one was that an early kickoff as well or was that uh there's been a few yeah

00:43I think so yeah yeah well you're right I mean the Derby one's the only the only um lunchtime

00:47kickoff victory this season so yeah yeah for the most part there seems to be a little bit

00:51curse in this lunchtime kickoff so I'm not entirely sure why that is I mean I'll let

00:55you shed some light on it later just because I don't know is it this that the way the schedule

01:00lays in terms of their training and then they happen to eat early and like shovel down pasta

01:03at half nine in the morning well well I mean we say you say that yeah I mean Daniel Farquhar has

01:08literally said that before several times in his print in his in press conferences you know he's

01:12basically said that you know everything gets affected by it in terms of like you know obviously

01:16the travel the sleep you know what you're eating you can't eat the things you want etc etc and I

01:20don't think it's you know sort of like rocket science to work out that he's not a massive fan

01:24of lunchtime kickoffs I think that's pretty obvious you know but equally every time he does

01:28talk about them he says they're not ideal and it's a challenge you know to be fair he's always

01:31very very keen to stress you know that's not an excuse you know because it's the same for everybody

01:35and we have to get on with it but I don't know about the same for everybody because it feels

01:39like it's probably a bit more focused on it with Leeds purely because it feels like they're in that

01:42slot a little bit more and you are right I mean let's not beat around the bush I mean like I mean

01:46Leeds you know are the big team in the division you know they're big fish in the pond out there

01:49and stuff and obviously they're going to feature on Sky you know as much as possible in slots such

01:55as that but again it's just something they're going to have to navigate that is another thing

01:59that we say about like Leeds being a bit unpredictable I almost feel like when they're

02:03playing a lunchtime kickoff I almost go into those games and sort of like think you know well you know

02:08with a bit of trepidation you know kind of thinking because of what you're saying you know about their

02:11record there and it's you know that's sort of borne out in the recent record obviously which

02:15isn't great but for that derby victory so it's another sort of thing they're going to have to

02:18iron out or you know get over I mean I don't know whether it becomes psychological I mean I remember

02:24a couple of seasons ago which you still got to a degree we had the big London curse you know which

02:28is obviously more on the Premier League with a sheer amount of teams in the Premier League and

02:31there weren't however many games it was about a victory there and stuff and so we've had the

02:35London curse now we've got the lunchtime curse I suppose you know but I mean anyway they have

02:39beaten Derby recently so it's like you know it was quite recently that they have had a victory there

02:43although that was at home and I think you almost feel like it's a double whammy when they're playing

02:47and a lunchtime kickoff away from home because then it's accentuated by obviously the travel as

02:50well the good news is is that that's them out of the way I mean certainly covering these games it

02:54feels like every single game we've been doing lately is a lunchtime kickoff we're absolutely sick of them