Come On, Engerland
No club football this weekend for the top two leagues, which are suspended for the purposes of allowing the England team to demonstrate its plodding progress towards the World Cup next year – oh, and I believe some other minor national teams will be in action as well.
Me? Well I’m taking the opportunity to head off to the wonderful and beautiful East Coast of Yorkshire for some much-needed R+R. It’s a lovely day, and I understand the weather is due to take a vicious turn for the worse tomorrow, so I imagine we’ll be looking around the shops in the various coastal resorts as I try to get a decent 3G signal and keep up with all the groundless rumours of wingers arriving at Elland Road. Brian McDermott has made noises of intent, and some interesting names are being bandied about – Burke of Birmingham and Dobbie of Crystal Palace, for instance. Burke and Dobbie might sound like a firm of apothecaries from a minor Charles Dickens work, but either or both would enhance our current squad and provide that longed-for element we’ve all been craving. Width, gentlemen! (and ladies). The thing is, another striker is also needed to benefit from this wonderful new dimension to our play (if it ever comes about), so our demands of the “Emergency” Loan Window appear to be high.
There is, of course, the option of seeing what our existing resources might do if deployed further forward. White and Byram are both instinctively flank players, both have assets desirable in a “winger”, as they used to be known, and both might well be available for selection and champing at the bit on the other side of this International hiatus. White has something to prove, having decided he wants to stay and fight for his place rather than settling for the exotic delights of Oakwell, and Byram has demonstrated his potential effectiveness in a wide attacking role last season. With the defence having established a reputation as “OK”, it could be that these two players might be spared for a more offensive role if Leeds are unable to free up wages to bring in loan recruits. Well, it’s a thought.
I’m off to the seaside then. But I’ll be keeping my ear to the ground – if it’s not flooded.
Life, Leeds United, the Universe & Everything 