Når Henry Winter en høyt respektert journalist skriver dette om Leeds United og Lucy Ward samtidig takker han for det så mener jeg at denne artikkelen kanskje forteller sannheten:
Alarm bells ring at Leeds United as cowardice and anarchy undermine Neil Redfearn and his talented graduates
Popular manger who has done so much with his partner to nurture a fine crop of youngsters such as Lewis Cook is being destabilised under president Massimo Cellino.
There is a couple in Yorkshire fighting for the soul of English football. The Leeds United head coach, Neil Redfearn, and his partner Lucy Ward, head of welfare and education at the club’s academy, are good people, staying stoic in stressful circumstances while continuing to do vital jobs with a real passion, namely developing the next generation of English talent.
The awards season is in full swing and if there were any justice in the game then Redfearn and Ward would be acclaimed for their selfless graft.
The Football Association chairman, Greg Dyke, attended the Football League shindig on Sunday at the Brewery in London when a combined Redfearn-Ward success story, the tough, skilful 18-year-old midfielder Lewis Cook was named Championship Apprentice of the Year.
Lewis Cook's award is a testament to Neil Redfearn and Lucy Ward
Dyke has spent the past 18 months riding his England Commission hobby‑horse across the land, campaigning for clubs to nurture more English prospects like Cook, ultimately improving a weak national team. He watched as a highlights package captured the fearless teenager in action, driving through opposing teams, creating chances and then listened as the film heard from Redfearn and Ward. They spoke with almost parental pride of a player noted for community contributions as well as footballing potential.
At Thorp Arch, Ward cultivates apprentices like Cook who understand their duty to club, team-mates and profession. This is what Dyke seeks, responsibility-taking adults as well as aspiring internationals. Ward’s delight in Cook’s award ran through her instant tweet at the news:
A popular figure at Elland Road, the former Leeds United Ladies player, who even played and scored in Lucas Radebe’s testimonial, has a long track record of guiding youngsters, some of whom may be homesick, going through the usual teenage angst, dealing with school issues, as well as fretting over whether they will make it in the fiercely competitive professional game. She helped steer James Milner and Fabian Delph in the right direction, onwards and upwards, towards England. Now Cook seeks to follow them, having benefited from Ward’s benign supervision.
Redfearn, who brought some welcome sanity and stability to the Leeds madhouse on being appointed in October, knew Cook’s class from his time running the academy and had the knowledge and confidence to give the youngster greater first-team exposure and responsibility.
On receiving his award, Cook immediately voiced a debt of gratitude to Redfearn. Others also have much to thank the 49-year-old Yorkshireman for. Alex Mowatt, 20, Sam Byram, 21, and Charlie Taylor, 21, have all featured prominently under Redfearn. Their emergence was also facilitated by Ward. Redfearn and Ward are fundamental to Leeds’ well-being and also to the national set-up. Cook, Mowatt, Byram and Taylor have all been called into England age-group squads at some point.
Alex Mowatt is embraced by Sam Byram as Lewis Cook joins the celebration
What should be an uplifting narrative, a famous English club being revived by a couple who care, building around home-grown flair, helping the national cause, has sadly lurched towards anarchy because of the club’s controversial president, Massimo Cellino.
As Dyke and his beloved commission focus on constructing (much-needed) 3G pitches, tightening (lax) work-permit regulations and increasing home-grown quotas, the FA also needs to confront the problem of owners like Cellino, who is damaging national interests.
It is impossible to escape the suspicion that Redfearn is being undermined from within. Since being appointed head coach with the remit of rescuing a relegation-threatened team, Redfearn galvanised the players, organised them, and they reached 52 points with seven games remaining. Since then they have lost five on the spin partly because of inexplicable off-field defeats. Redfearn’s trusted assistant, Steve Thompson, was suspended without explanation on April 2, a decision “undermining†the head coach in Redfearn’s view. He now has to do the “BBC†work, putting out the balls, bibs and cones, setting up training at Thorp Arch. Redfearn is being isolated and demeaned at a time when English football is crying out for strong English managers like him who back English youth.
FA Chairman Greg Dyke campaigns for development of more English players
Last Friday saw the continuation of the cowardly undermining of one of the most respected men in the English game. Six players associated with Cellino reported sudden injuries, refusing to travel to play against Charlton Athletic, a “freakish set of events†in Redfearn’s appraisal. Leeds issued a statement saying their absence was all on legitimate medical advice, and Cellino defended himself, but the fans were unconvinced. Is Cellino jealous of Redfearn’s popularity?
The talk amongst those professionals who did report for duty was of their admiration for Gaetano Berardi, the Swiss who could have been in that Cellino clique and has genuinely been carrying injuries but turned up and sat on the bench at the Valley. Berardi’s presence condemned the others.
“The Championship is a tough division and that’s if you’ve got all your staff in place and all your players onside and everything going in the right direction,’’ Redfearn told Yorkshire Radio. “When not [got everything going in the right direction] it’s near-on impossible.†With his contract expiring this summer, Redfearn is likely to leave Elland Road, confirming Cellino’s reputation in Italy as a “mangia-allenatori†(manager-eater). Such an outcome would be desperate for Leeds, another lurch in the direction of soullessness and lawlessness. Losing a manager prepared to give English youth its head would similarly be a setback for the national game. Would Ward follow her partner? That would be another huge loss.
Cellino is banned from influencing events at Elland Road following a yacht-related tax infringement in Italy. Nobody knows if he was behind Thompson’s exit or the antics of the Leeds Six. Even if Cellino were, and there is no proof, the attitude of the Football League is that as long as an exiled owner does not flaunt his continued involvement, it will take neither offence nor action. Keep quiet and carry on.
Massimo Cellino plays to the crowd
Transposed to a baseball park, the Redfearn-Ward story could easily be turned into a classic Hollywood morality tale with homespun hero and heroine battling the odds to foster the future despite the meddling of an owner from out of town. (Cellino’s nationality is actually irrelevant; there are some wretched English owners out there as supporters of Blackpool and Newcastle United will attest.)
The story looks to be heading for a sad ending. The clock ticks on Redfearn’s short reign. The alarm bells will then ring even louder at Elland Road if Cellino considers cashing in on those kids, those like Cook nurtured by two honest, hard-working people, Redfearn and Ward.
Her er svaret til Lucy Ward på Twitter, synes hun er tøff som skriver dette!
Lucy Ward
â€@lucywardleeds
I never thought someone else's words would make me feel even more pride than I already have of my 17 years at LUFC.
Thank you @henrywinter
