Phil Hay endrer arbeidsforholdene sine hos The Athletic. Han kommer nok fortsatt innimellom å skrive om Leeds United, men:
From today, I’m moving into a new position at The Athletic, producing our global football newsletter full-time. It doesn’t mean I won’t ever write about Leeds again, and the scale of our coverage won’t change either, but the baton is passing on after 18 years home and away.
Nancy Froston har allerede en tid dekket Leeds, men at det var en gradvis overgang ante jeg ikke før i dag tidlig.
(Det vil ikke bli det samme, det vil ikke det...)
Anyways, i dag beskrev Hay sine 18 år som Leeds-korrespondent.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5542160/2024/06/12/what-ive-learnt-covering-leeds-for-18-years-grudges-greatness-toilet-selfies/I was 25 when I started covering Leeds United. I also had hair.
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The first thing Leeds teach you: they’re everywhere.
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Because the play-offs are something Leeds don’t do. Leeds to the play-offs are Napoleon to invasions of Russia. Enter with troops massed behind you and die in the snow. They don’t do simple, they don’t take the clearly-marked path when there’s a minefield to explore but they don’t throw the towel in either. I saw capacity crowds in League One. I saw full away ends at Hereford United, Yeovil Town and Hartlepool United. Leeds rarely get their ticket allocation system right because there’s no way of getting it exactly right; too much demand, too few seats, forever a battle to go to Millwall (again).
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There’s a marvellous talent around here for holding grudges. Take Michel Kitabdjian, for transgressions in 1975. Or failing that, Ray Tinkler for transgressions in 1971. Or Alan Smith. Or any of the owners, coaches or players who contributed to their post-2001 demise. It might sound petty but the closer you get to Leeds, the more you appreciate the way in which their supporters have been asked to stomach incompetence, ineptitude and promises written on cheques which had zero chance of being cashed. Leeds are an example of only being as good as whoever’s letting you down next.
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Og om presset:
For players and coaches coming through the door, the thought of pleasing a starved fanbase fanned their egos but the pressure caused by a 21st-century timeline of emotional trauma was usually too heavy to bear. You don’t get a free pass at Elland Road and Leeds people don’t suffer fools, but the way in which Marcelo Bielsa will be feted forever and a day here tells anyone that tangible achievements which touch the soul turn you into royalty.
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The boys from the Don Revie era are deities too.
I’ll tell you this for nothing: Eddie Gray needs a statue, if not two. ...
Eg kunne tatt med mer, men det går jo ikke, men slutten:
On my way out of the YEP, as it’s known, I wrote something which has followed me around since:
“An astonishing number of people despise Leeds United, or what Leeds United stand for. But this club was never made for them.”I think that holds true, even if the reasons are slightly intangible. Those who follow Leeds would probably sum it up like this: if you know, you know. And if you don’t get it, you don’t matter.
Stick to that mantra. And keep living the dream.
