Borthwick Jackson: Pick up a runner? Me?? Can’t be arsed, mate
When a young player arrives on loan at a club in the next league down, with much to prove and a new army of fans to impress, you expect a lot. When that player is moving to Leeds United, from their hated rivals over the Pennines in Salford, then those expectations are spiced with a feeling of, well, he’d better knuckle down and work his socks off, or he’ll get short shrift here.
Such was the situation facing Cameron Borthwick-Jackson, a left back of some promise a while back, as he arrived at Elland Road from Old Trafford via a less than impressive stint at Wolves last season where, so the story goes, he pulled up no trees. Still, all bigotry and hatred aside, his provenance suggested a certain amount of pedigree – surely, he’d provide a bit of quality on the left flank and maybe ruffle some feathers at the Pride of Devon by doing it for the Whites? No such luck, as it turned out. Perhaps we should have known, from other recent experiences of signing players from Them.
Borthwick-Jackson ended up making half a dozen appearances for Leeds, putting in barely an ounce of effort the whole while and looking supremely uninterested in soiling his Premier League sensibilities with anything so grubby as hard work and commitment. Now he’s returned ignominiously to his parent club, so he’s – nominally at least – a Premier League player again. Not that he’s got any real chance of getting anywhere near a first team appearance. On what he showed at Leeds, his prospects at Man U are about as promising as mine would be, should I ever wish to set foot inside the repulsive place. Here we have a young man whose body language suggests a languid assumption that the football world owes him a living. Unless he reappraises his attitude, and pronto, he’ll be heading for the butt end of League Two before long, and ruing the day.
On the face of it, Leeds bade CBJ a polite farewell, but it’s not difficult to detect the acid beneath the surface of the usual platitudes. Let’s not forget, this boy failed not because of a lack of ability, or injury, or any other misfortune – it was because of his rank bad attitude and lack of application, hideously unforgivable at any level of the professional game. So for Leeds United to wave him off with “Borthwick-Jackson joined Leeds back in August and went on to make six appearances for the Whites. We would like to thank Cameron for his efforts during his time at the club” is, to say the least, slightly tongue in cheek. By that reckoning, I should be thanked for my efforts every time I pop the seal on a can of lager. The boy never tried a leg, and Leeds are surely making a barbed reference to that fact in citing his “efforts”. Then again, he’s probably arrogant and thick-skinned enough to take the words at face value. There’s just something rotten in the state of that club over the hills.
So, a short and nasty episode is over, and our playing staff is lighter by one waste of space. Presumably, the wage bill is that much lighter too, with some potential wages being freed up for a proper player or two. We can but dream. This transfer window has been more than a little frustrating so far, and it’s fair to say that one of its high points has been the shedding of this unworthy excuse for a professional footballer. Which puts our recruitment efforts into unfortunate context. We really must do better and, with two weeks of the window still to go, perhaps we yet will.
Meanwhile, it’s goodbye to Cameron. And good riddance, too.
Life, Leeds United, the Universe & Everything 
Morning Rob. Speaking of our “recruitment efforts”, I hope that the scout who submitted the multi page “dossier” on this very poor player, particularly in light of how uninspiring his loan at Wolves was last season, is also taken off of our club’s payroll too. Victor Orta also needs to review his “screening process” of recruits.
Sadly, this is yet another example of how “home grown” players are not guaranteed to cover themselves in glory any more than cheaper “foreign imports” so our current recruitment policy model may not be quite as flawed as many fans would have us believe at present.
As a Leeds fan of many decades I just want to see the club get back in the Premier League asap so I hope that we do not miss the opportunity to build on last season’s foundations.
I realise that “Rome wasn’t built in a day” but Rome did fall to it’s enemies when a series of its rulers invested too much in supporting its armies overseas, (does Cultural Leonesa ring any bells Rob?). Who are our midfield soldiers/gladiators awaiting the arrival of battling Millwall on Saturday, who will have the smell of blood in their noses following our very poor run of poor performances/results??? ALAW
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Blimey, you’ve out-pessimismed me!
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Sorry Rob, I forgot to take my medication before submitting my comments. LOL
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Chortle 😆
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Reminds me of a certain Sanchez Watt. Just look at his glittering career since leaving Leeds!
Personally I think it’s far better recruiting from lower leagues who have something to prove rather than recruit youngsters from Prem. Too many seem to see it as a stepping stone they have to take, rather than an actual opportunity to prove themselves as a player.
Bring our youngsters through rather than bring Prem’adoners’ in future.
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Good call.
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My argument is who is scouting these guys,if this lad is not doing it at any of his previous loan clubs how the hell is going to do it at Elland Road.
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It’s a good question – perhaps the feeling is that these lads have to come good at some point, but it seems a bit of a hit and miss policy. Mainly miss.
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A tad harsh perhaps Rob, saw him v Preston and thought he was OK. Playing him at Newport made little sense if that was his ‘last chance’ – what’s he going to prove? Has rotten game (which he did) shows we should send him back; has good game everyone would have said ‘well, that’s cos the opposition is weak’. The bigger point surely is: Man Utd clearly didn’t and don’t want him and he had already bombed at Wolves – so why did we take him? Because that’s Leeds all over – take a punt on a cheapo signing or loanee who has failed elsewhere and hope somehow this time it will all be different. Insanity equals doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.
Totally underwhelmed by the transfer window – still grubbing around in the bargain basement. Wolves and Derby have spent proper money and both highly likely to go up automatically, shock horror. Until we are competitive financially as a Championship side – never mind a Prem team – there is very little chance we will be promoted. We’re not Huddersfield or Burnley – everybody in this league wants to beat Leeds above all others and that alone probably costs us 10-15 points a season. So far under Radrizzani we have signed one undoubted success – Saiz. At best the rest (Alioski?) have been partial successes while several – Lasogga, Klich, Grot – have added little or nothing. It really is all about the money, like it or not, and we are still not willing to spend any. £20m for Wood and Taylor incidentally – did he put it all in an ISA?
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‘Least said soonest ended! Cameron Borthwick-Jackson would not help us against Millwall any more than would Jacob Rees-Mogg! Let’s move on. With only, really, one new signing, the team sheet for Saturday worries me more than the failing career of a Manure cast-off.
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True – looks like we might have a new midfielder to call on, unless he’s getting loaned out 🙄 The CBJ thing is off my chest now, at least it’s generated a few hilariously unusable comments from some of this site’s semi-regular, semi-literate troglodytes and trolls – including the weirdo who keeps deluding himself he’s got me banned from NewsNow and is then distressed to see me back 😆 So hi, “Paul” – keep trying son.
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