Good Morning Everyone, Leeds Utd's under 23s and under 18s are both bottom of their respective leagues. Are they in a position of transition or is something going majorly wrong at Thorp Arch? Since Richard Naylor was sacked from his under 18's role in 2014. they have passed to Jason Blunt – now United’s development squad coach – John Anderson, Andy Gray and Mark Jackson, the former United defender and the current incumbent in that post. Gray began this season in the Under-18s set-up alongside Jackson but left before Christmas after being asked to take a cut to his wage. Amid the constant changes Leeds have retained Category Two status under the Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP) and the academy is overseen by Adam Underwood, previously part of Leeds’ performance analysis team. Nick Westby@NWestbyYPSport 17h17 hours ago Reading v #lufc already a big game this Saturday. The blue touch paper has just been lit Reading forward Yann Kermorgant: "Chris Wood has scored nearly all of Leeds’ goals this season. If he gets injured, they have no plan B." please log in to view this image Reading FC manager Jaap Stam has told Leeds United fans to grow up ahead of Saturday's game. The Whites supporters chanted "boring, boring Reading" during the reverse fixture in December which Royals lost 2-0. It left Stam far from impressed in his post-match press conference where he said "you can tell something about how they are as human beings to be fair." There is no love lost between the two clubs with Leeds supporters keen to get another win over one of their play-off rivals. Asked if he expected a hostile reception from the visiting fans this weekend, Stam replied: "It would be nice if they come over here and instead of them being hostile we can be hostile against them. "It should be that way around. "But it's not being hostile. It's about supporting your own team and not being hostile against people because we're not kids anymore. "In how we played you can say about being boring but we had 80 per cent of the ball so I don't know who's boring. "It's about winning the game and they won with a bit of luck as well I must say."
Good news... My seat is within earshot of the scum cnut...... Rest assured he will hear what I have to say!
Morning all ... Jaap Stam is a cnut who seems to think he can apply Fergie mind games, and his striker's comments about Wood has Stam written all over it ... the "sensitive" Dutchman isn't being clever, rather he's showing that the pressure is getting to him for what is a must win game for Reading ... here's hoping that Leeds fcuking stuff them into oblivion not worried about the Academy, still a lot of talent there ... results have been influenced by a lack of senior players featuring in the Blazing Squad, which has meant 17-year olds playing in the U23s, and young 'uns moving up to U18s early ... these young teams are coming up against bigger, stronger teams littered with experienced players, so it will be hard going but at least they are learning ... the key thing is that our talent keeps developing and we don't sell them off early ... still a top Academy, and with Monk's positive influence it will only improve Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Morning all... no idea why or where it is going wrong at the youth level, maybe it was the quick rise through the ranks for the likes of Denton, Coyle, Vieira and company that have left them short? I must admit I'm not too concerned at the moment. No doubt our players will be hhaving all what the opposition have to say about them pinned on the dressing room wall at training this week. Oh how this could come back to bite reading hard, imagine a 2-0 win to us and Wood not being on the score sheet. The after game hand shake with the extra grin. Hopefully our players are well and truly up for this one. Sometimes the coach doesn't need any motivational speech, just let the gobs of the opposition do all the talking. Comments on fans by Stam - I read that as he is concerned about the noise Leeds fans will make, he is trying to egg on the home support to drown us out. It all sounds like the pressure is well and truly on. Let's put a huge dent in their promotion hopes and see Stam jobless at the end of the season.
Agree with Billy. Our first team squad is thin and we don't have numbers to supplement the age limited teams as a result. It may even be a good thing as it will make those with the right stuff mature quicker.
I will tell him how OLOF and Chesh are glad he is going to be deported. But I suspect that his former employer and his teams boring playing style might get a mention! If we are not losing the message will be delivered more forcefully that if he are getting tanked.
Morning all, Stam is coming across as worried and very petty. Why s he getting his knickers so far in a twist about us chanting "Boring boring Reading"? 2 things- 1. I was at the game and while they may have had 76% possession what they did it with it was indeed very very boring. 2. In all his years in professional football is this really the worse thing he has ever heard? Why choose this to get in a tizzy about? As stated above he is trying to be a poor mans Fergie with the mind games and is failing miserably. If he is doing this as he feels the need to rev up the home crowd to counter the away fans then it says more about the home fans then it does us. Where this rivalry has appeared from, other than them being near us in the league, is beyond me, I have never given Reading another thought, and unless we play them again in the play offs, regardless of the result Saturday I wont give them another thought again.
I'm surprised that Stam thinks Readings possession at Elland Road was an indication that they were not boring. The reason they had a lot of possession was they made few attempts to attack and continually passed the ball back. 90% of their possession was in their own half.
Stam says Leeds are negative while his team attacks all the time ... goal difference - Reading +2 Leeds +16 Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
This match will be tasty and expect us picking up all 3 points. Going to be noisy and think its already got to the Reading players. A lot of Ferguson talk yes but for that to work Staam needs the best players, so hes going to fail badly. Academy is fooked in my opinion due to choices Cellino made on cost savings. we had the bast facilities, the best coaches, the best kids trying to get in, but Bates ended that and Cellino has cut it back even further. If we dont produce kids we dont sell on good kids so wont make a profit. I hope success this season leads to investment in the academy, otherwise its finished
Doc.. The best players stopped coming when we dropped out of the big time and prem clubs had to become category A academies and were forced to invest big buck to improve their facilities.. We do well to produce what we do given we are not in the big time. Not one EFL club produces more talent than we do.
Stam has no sour grapes at all, none whatsoever. How good would it be if we could sneak the double over them and Wood to score a hat trick
Morning all.Great months footie coming up. Seven games in month of April. Wont be long now till we know our fate
Yeah agreed, but a conscious decision was made to slash the academy budget this season which has meant we no longer can compete. For those reasons Billy gave as well. what kids we do have left are the hangover from Redders & Lucy Ward and new kids added are players rejected by the likes of Barnsley & Doncaster (Billy Whitehouse etc) kids who were good enough are now going elsewhere ever since Bates got rid of our top kids coaches. Remember when Bates sacked the academy director and his top coach in the morning and were both snapped up to lead Man City's academy by the same afternoon. Man City are where they are now because of the work these guys did. They took with them all the contacts for kids clubs and schools in Yorkshire so took all the promising kids with them and still do. Cellino had a policy when he arrived which clearly stated he was going to buy back ER. He was also going to get out of the TA lease deal and build/develop a new home in Leeds for the academy. It would be much cheaper, modern and have all the things a first rate academy needs. Now is this still part of the agenda, I dont think so because of GFH. If we buy the ground GFH value increases and same again if we own our own academy. These are major assets and nothing can even happen without GFH agreeing because of their debenture that has now been renegotiated to be in place for 17 years. We deserve to know what exactly the long term plan is for the club, and hope this Summer Cellino vanishes & Radrizanni tells us what he is going to do.