In Leeds We Trust: Why our charity of the year wants men to open up and get talking

Well that certainly was a bit of a reality check on Monday night against Leicester City!

They are clearly a very good side and came to Elland Road with the right tactical plan. We tried our best to play our normal game but it just didn’t happen for us. We also made individual errors, which you can’t afford to do with the likes of Jamie Vardy ready to pounce at all times.

It may have been different had Bamford’s header gone in early on, or if Hernandez’s shot had not hit the bar, but we can’t deny that it was a fair result. Let’s not be too hard on ourselves - we were missing Phillips, Rodrigo, Raphinha and Llorente. But still plenty of lessons to learn and we go again at Crystal Palace today. It will also be Marcelo Bielsa’s 100th league game in charge of Leeds United.

Congratulations Marcelo.

We’re now into another national lockdown, hopefully only for a few weeks, and it’s great that elite football continues during this period. The Trust knows that lockdown can be particularly tough on mental health and we recognise this through our charity of the year, Andy’s Man Club. For over four years they have been helping men to talk about their mental health and aim to halve the suicide rate amongst men in the UK, which is currently the largest cause of death of men aged under 45.

They have groups that meet across the country every Monday between 7pm and 9pm. During the first lockdown these groups moved online to make sure that men still had space to talk, even when they couldn’t meet in person. When the first lockdown measures were eased, their two groups in Leeds were able to start meeting at East Leeds Rugby Club on Easy Road, Leeds 9, and Milford Rugby Club at 5 Leeds and Bradford Road, Leeds LS13.

The good news is that, despite the second national lockdown, these groups are still allowed to continue to meet, as well as still being available online. All groups meeting in person follow social distancing guidelines, which have been carefully organised by the venues themselves. If you wish to attend a meeting in person for the first time, please send an email to [email protected] and they will help you through the process. We spoke to one of the Leeds group facilitators this week, who told us “If you are struggling, come along and try the groups. I can speak from personal experience at how the groups helped me when I’ve struggled. It has given me positive ways of dealing with things I may have previously struggled with and most importantly makes you realise you’re not alone and it is okay to talk”.

Adding your own voice to the Trust’s work is easy. Simply visit our website at www.leedsunitedtrust.com and become a member for just £10 per year.

As a member, you can also enrol your child for free as a Future Trust member!

Marching on together.