Sorry Neil, but you were wrong about the Academy – Redfearn
YEP 17/8/13
by Phil Hay
Neil Warnock called it a “cancer in the club” but the academy at Thorp Arch can be better described as Leeds United’s heartbeat. Whatever else went wrong during Warnock’s year at the coalface, youth development held its course.
That is not so much an opinion as a fact. Last season United’s Under-18s won their divisional title and the club’s development squad finished third. Every one of Leeds’ second-year scholars received professional contracts – the biggest graduation for almost a decade – and five players made their first appearances in senior squads for competitive games. One of them, Sam Byram, ended the season with multiple player-of-the-year awards.
So for cancerous, read infectious. A youth-team system which suffered and constricted in the leanest of years post 2004 and 2007 has re-established a culture of aspiration and success. There are teenagers queuing up to do what Byram did last season, or to have a go at least. One of them, midfielder Alex Mowatt, was named on the bench for Leeds’ League Cup win over Chesterfield on August 7. He is one of a crowd.
Warnock’s cutting criticism – aimed primarily at the attitude of the academy’s coaching staff who, in aftermath of his sacking, he accused of delighting in poor first-team results – was in no small part an attack on Neil Redfearn.
Redfearn has run the academy since April 2012 and implemented many substantial changes: the introduction of the Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP) under which Leeds hold category two status, and a restructuring of the coaching team. He is himself employed as both first-team coach and development squad manager; a conduit between Brian McDermott’s players and the elite young professionals.
Warnock’s comments did not pass Redfearn by. “I don’t know where all that came from,” he says. “It was said after the event and I think that’s happened before.
“I’m not wanting to sound defensive but to take one example, Sam Byram, he came through last season and was player of the year. He won every award going. There’s Tom Lees, Dom Poleon, Chris Dawson and so on. A lot of lads have signed pro deals too. I expect to be judged but all I’m saying is that it doesn’t look bad on that evidence.
“It was one guy’s opinion and I’ve got a lot of respect for Neil because of what he’s done in the game but for me it was the wrong opinion. Good luck to him, he goes and does what he wants to do and I’m concentrating on the job in hand here. If any of that was aimed at me personally then it doesn’t matter. All I want is to do well for Leeds United. I’m not interested in anything else.”
The appointment of Redfearn in a dual capacity was McDermott’s way of stressing his commitment to the academy. Redfearn is largely responsible for managing the group of players who in his words are “bubbling under the surface of the first team” – Mowatt, Dawson, Simon Lenighan, Ross Killock and others.
“Some lads train up with the seniors and some train down with me,” he says. “What that does is expose them to a first-team environment and let them see what’s really involved.
“It’s fine being at the top of the academy and thinking you’re ready but your eyes open when you join in with the first team. The young lads know their place and I think they understand that they’ve got plenty to learn.
“But chances do come. The last 12 months have shown that. Alex Mowatt’s in a rich vein of form at the moment and he’s basically forced his way in. The gaffer’s reached the point where picking him was the right thing to do. Brian’s like me in that respect – we want the kids taking the leap at the point when they’re ready, not before and not too long after.”
United’s Under-18s begin their season at Sheffield United today and the Under-21s, Leeds’ development squad, start away to Barnsley on Monday. The development league term amounts to only 18 matches but Redfearn plans to increase the fixture list to around 40. “Ideally I’d like the spare games to be against top teams,” he says. “We’ll try to target category one clubs if we can.”
For Under-18s coach Richard Naylor, this is his difficult second season. Appointed by Leeds last summer, his crop of players blitzed their division in his first 12 months as coach. The impact made by an ex-Leeds captain encouraged Redfearn to look for other employees with Elland Road links. Leigh Bromby now handles the Under-16s at Thorp Arch and Neil Sullivan, the former Scotland international, has joined the club as academy goalkeeping coach.
“Sometimes things get tired,” Redfearn says. “You need a change and fresh impetus. One of the good things was the advent of the EPPP. It made us look at everything. I’ve totally changed the coaching programme and everything we do is geared around working possession through the three thirds of the pitch. I want the lads to be comfortable on the ball.
“I know Brian well and I know the type of players he likes. I think we can produce them for him. Titles are great but, for me, kids going into the first team equals success. That’s what we’re here for. As much as winning matters, academies aren’t judged on titles.”
by Phil Hay
Neil Warnock called it a “cancer in the club” but the academy at Thorp Arch can be better described as Leeds United’s heartbeat. Whatever else went wrong during Warnock’s year at the coalface, youth development held its course.
That is not so much an opinion as a fact. Last season United’s Under-18s won their divisional title and the club’s development squad finished third. Every one of Leeds’ second-year scholars received professional contracts – the biggest graduation for almost a decade – and five players made their first appearances in senior squads for competitive games. One of them, Sam Byram, ended the season with multiple player-of-the-year awards.
So for cancerous, read infectious. A youth-team system which suffered and constricted in the leanest of years post 2004 and 2007 has re-established a culture of aspiration and success. There are teenagers queuing up to do what Byram did last season, or to have a go at least. One of them, midfielder Alex Mowatt, was named on the bench for Leeds’ League Cup win over Chesterfield on August 7. He is one of a crowd.
Warnock’s cutting criticism – aimed primarily at the attitude of the academy’s coaching staff who, in aftermath of his sacking, he accused of delighting in poor first-team results – was in no small part an attack on Neil Redfearn.
Redfearn has run the academy since April 2012 and implemented many substantial changes: the introduction of the Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP) under which Leeds hold category two status, and a restructuring of the coaching team. He is himself employed as both first-team coach and development squad manager; a conduit between Brian McDermott’s players and the elite young professionals.
Warnock’s comments did not pass Redfearn by. “I don’t know where all that came from,” he says. “It was said after the event and I think that’s happened before.
“I’m not wanting to sound defensive but to take one example, Sam Byram, he came through last season and was player of the year. He won every award going. There’s Tom Lees, Dom Poleon, Chris Dawson and so on. A lot of lads have signed pro deals too. I expect to be judged but all I’m saying is that it doesn’t look bad on that evidence.
“It was one guy’s opinion and I’ve got a lot of respect for Neil because of what he’s done in the game but for me it was the wrong opinion. Good luck to him, he goes and does what he wants to do and I’m concentrating on the job in hand here. If any of that was aimed at me personally then it doesn’t matter. All I want is to do well for Leeds United. I’m not interested in anything else.”
The appointment of Redfearn in a dual capacity was McDermott’s way of stressing his commitment to the academy. Redfearn is largely responsible for managing the group of players who in his words are “bubbling under the surface of the first team” – Mowatt, Dawson, Simon Lenighan, Ross Killock and others.
“Some lads train up with the seniors and some train down with me,” he says. “What that does is expose them to a first-team environment and let them see what’s really involved.
“It’s fine being at the top of the academy and thinking you’re ready but your eyes open when you join in with the first team. The young lads know their place and I think they understand that they’ve got plenty to learn.
“But chances do come. The last 12 months have shown that. Alex Mowatt’s in a rich vein of form at the moment and he’s basically forced his way in. The gaffer’s reached the point where picking him was the right thing to do. Brian’s like me in that respect – we want the kids taking the leap at the point when they’re ready, not before and not too long after.”
United’s Under-18s begin their season at Sheffield United today and the Under-21s, Leeds’ development squad, start away to Barnsley on Monday. The development league term amounts to only 18 matches but Redfearn plans to increase the fixture list to around 40. “Ideally I’d like the spare games to be against top teams,” he says. “We’ll try to target category one clubs if we can.”
For Under-18s coach Richard Naylor, this is his difficult second season. Appointed by Leeds last summer, his crop of players blitzed their division in his first 12 months as coach. The impact made by an ex-Leeds captain encouraged Redfearn to look for other employees with Elland Road links. Leigh Bromby now handles the Under-16s at Thorp Arch and Neil Sullivan, the former Scotland international, has joined the club as academy goalkeeping coach.
“Sometimes things get tired,” Redfearn says. “You need a change and fresh impetus. One of the good things was the advent of the EPPP. It made us look at everything. I’ve totally changed the coaching programme and everything we do is geared around working possession through the three thirds of the pitch. I want the lads to be comfortable on the ball.
“I know Brian well and I know the type of players he likes. I think we can produce them for him. Titles are great but, for me, kids going into the first team equals success. That’s what we’re here for. As much as winning matters, academies aren’t judged on titles.”
