Good Morning. It's Thursday 9th October, and here are the latest headlines from Elland Road Harry Gray turns 17 - A natural finisher with a point to prove Harry Gray celebrated his 17th birthday yesterday — and with it came a wave of excitement from supporters eager to see the teenager step into the first‑team spotlight. The name Gray carries considerable weight at Elland Road. Harry’s older brother, Archie, was once the academy’s shining star before sealing a £40 million move to Tottenham Hotspur just over a year ago. His dad Andy, grandfather Frank and great uncle Eddie may have started the Leeds dynasty, but it is far from over. Known for his instinctive finishing and confidence in front of goal, Harry has already impressed at youth level, showcasing the kind of natural ability that Leeds have sorely lacked in recent months. The club’s struggles in front of goal have only amplified calls for the young forward to be given an opportunity with the senior side. However, head coach Daniel Farke faces a delicate balancing act. While he famously handed Archie his professional debut, critics point out that Farke’s record for blooding youngsters is inconsistent, raising doubts over whether Harry will be fast‑tracked. Having trained with the first team for the past six months, Harry continues to develop. The Premier League remains a formidable challenge, and the manager is reluctant to expose the teenager too soon. Yet optimism around Thorp Arch remains strong. If patience and preparation come together as planned, it will only be a matter of time before another Gray name echoes proudly across Elland Road. please log in to view this image Lennon returns to TA as coach Former Leeds United and England star Aaron Lennon has come full circle, returning to Thorp Arch—24 years after first stepping through the doors of the club’s training ground in Wetherby. Lennon’s connection with Leeds began back in 2001 when, as a promising teenager, he joined the club’s academy and quickly made headlines by becoming the youngest player ever to have his boots sponsored, aged just 14. Two years later, he burst onto the Premier League scene, making his debut at only 16 years and 129 days old in a 2–1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur—ironically, the club that would later become his long-term home. After leaving Leeds in 2005 amid the club’s financial troubles, Lennon went on to enjoy a distinguished career, representing Tottenham Hotspur, Everton, Burnley, and Turkish side Kayserispor, as well as earning 21 England caps. Now, after hanging up his boots three years ago, Lennon has returned to his roots as part of Leeds United’s coaching staff, working with the Under-18s. His journey from bright young prospect to seasoned professional and now mentor embodies the full cycle of football life. For the next generation at Leeds, few could offer a better example of what hard work, humility, and talent can achieve—especially coming from someone who knows exactly what it means to wear the white shirt. please log in to view this image
Morning all No idea if Lennon will be a good move, can't help feel a lot of the backroom and scouting staff are being signed on the cheap
Makes you wonder whether we are over egging another of our youngsters considering Max Dowman is getting first team minutes at Arsenal at 15 years old (following on from Nwaneri).
We definitely over hype our kids. But Dowman has 27 minutes of PL football. 26 of them against us coming on 4-0 Seriously, it happens obviously but its the exception not the rule for players to be genuine first teamers at that level before they’re 20-21. Far more common that regular game time comes from 22-23 onwards. The early bloomers are often just early maturers. Way too early to make a judgement either way on Harry.
Evening all. Bit quiet from Eire but busy at work and working through a kidney infection that was let linger for a couple of months. Finding it hard to get interested in the footie especially given the international week that’s in it
https://www.premierleague.com/en/players/616077/max-dowman/stats he came on against us after 64 mins with the score 4-0 looked a handful to be fair
Since the start of the premier league, 50 players have played in the EPL, whilst aged under 18, according to transfer market.com I managed to name 22, which was helped by the fact that 3 of those players made their debut playing for Leeds, although only 2 of those could be said to have had a successful EPL career, whilst the 3rd played less than 400 minutes for ourselves and under 1000 minutes of league football in England. Then you look at Ben Woodburn, Liverpool's youngest goalscorer at the time when he scored in the league cup against ourselves and hyped as the next big thing. He's had an ok career, but he's 25 and playing in league 2. Played 6 times for Liverpool in the EPL, but only managed 89 minutes in total. From playing 10 minutes for Chelsea on his EPL debut, and playing his next game in the EPL, 3 years later (on loan at Sheffield Utd), ampadu played just over 500 minutes of 1st team football (on loan in Germany), so about 6 full games, so including his time at Exeter, he had played about 1000 minutes by the time he was 20, or a total of 11 games. Some like Milner and Rooney mature in a footballing sense both physically and mentally, to be successful at a very young age whilst other equally talented footballers need time to develop before playing 1st team football, ie Steven Gerrard was 18 1/2 when he made his Liverpool debut. So yes, we and fans of every other club over hype youth players. Am I concerned that just because an EPL team has given a 15 year old his league debut, whilst a 17 year old has yet to play in our first team. It never enters my mind, unless I see the question on here.
