: Thu Feb 12, 2009 2:08 pm
af wrote:
Would that business model have been viable anywhere else other than a booming financial centre with no other Super League club and only one soccer club, in turmoil?
Dunno but no sure how Leeds United's turmoil is relevant as they've always enjoyed significant crowds and when the majority of this crop of juniors came on board Leeds United were a Champions League club.
Hang on... IIRC Leeds still invested in overseas players - Mullins, Clyde, Ben Walker, Gary Mercer (!) - they just weren't that good. I don't recall this purgatory Leeds fans sat through where callow youths got their asses handed to them. Leeds were in a position to compete in the here and now while keeping the youth side plate spinning at the same time. That they didn't win consistently until relatively recently was more due to crap recruitment (and Bradford not committing hari-kari... yet) than enlightened nurturing.
They did. However, they cut their cloth whilst waiting for their youth policy to reap rewards. You;ve mentioned the names over quality overseas players who were signed at the turn of the millennium. We were in a position to do that because the likes of Sinfield, JJB, Diskin, Burrow and others were starting to emerge to fill the majority of squad places. WHilst we were waiting for that to happen we had overseas signings of the calibre of Mathiou, Damian Gibson and Martin Masella.
There wasn't purgatory but there were a good few years of dissent where SOuthstander was full of "Burrow isn't good enough- sign Kimmorley, JJB is garbage - sign Menzies". You know, like red Amber and Black nowadays
Of course, we still sign overseas players but now we're in a much stronger position so that when Webb gets injured pre Grand Final, in steps Lee Smith and wins MOM. We're hardly missing a beat because Eastwood is still trapped in Aus. etc etc.
I think you've picked up Smokey TA's argument which is flawed - it fails to recognise that not every side is as favourably placed Leeds are in and so it will take a greater effort to reap similar results.
I think his argument is spot on actually. Nearly all the Super league clubs are in a better position than Leeds were in when HG and Caddick took over. We were insolvent and Leeds United were in the champions league. Leeds is a big city, granted. So is London. So is Manchester. I am not an amateur RL expert but I'd imagine there's more armature teams in Calder, Wigan/St helens, Cumbria and Hull than there are in Leeds. So having a big city and a lot of amatuer clubs isn't a gimmee
You say Gary H and Caddick must take all credit for the youth policy but look at the Leeds 1998 GF side - Morley, Rivett, Newton, St Hilaire, Holroyd, Cummins - six of the side were Leeds products from the previous regime. If the derided Alf Davies era can contribute over a third of a side that walks out at Old Trafford, doesn't that suggest that Leeds might be particularly well-positioned to develop their own players?
You Make a good point. The work was started by Dough Laughton and Bob Pickles and carried on by Dean Bell. Nobody has quite grasped the mantle in the same way as Hetheringt8on though. However, the players you mention don't show Leeds have any sort of advantage. Morley is a Salford lad, Newton Wiganer and Holroyd Halifax. Leeds had to get out to other regions and scout those lads. How is that well positioned? It's well done and it's poorly done by the clubs that were really well positioned to sign them as juniors, Salford, Wigan and Halifax. St Hilaire was signed for a large fee from Huddersfield and Cummins is from Dewsbury btw so none of those were "well positioned" for Leeds to snap up.
GH and PC do deserve praise for what they have achieved but it does not necessarily follow that any club that has not replicated that success has only itself to blame. Circumstances matter.
Perhaps but nor does it mean the same can't be done by every club with a degree of effort and a diversion of resources away from antipodean players.
