The former Leeds United manager has spoken about the academy he left behind at Elland Road.
Scotland manager Gordon Strachan and former England manager Howard Wilkinson in the stands
Former Leeds United manager Howard Wilkinson has been speaking about the academy at the club, which he helped transform during his time at the club.
Wilkinson spent eight years as manager at Leeds United, winning the Second Division and First Division title during his time there.
He also helped develop the academy at the start of the 90s. When he departed the club in 1996 the youth-team he left behind went on to win the Youth Cup the following season.
That Leeds team contained such talents as Paul Robinson, Jonathan Woodgate, Stephen McPhail, Alan Smith and Harry Kewell.
Picture Supplied by Action Images
Speaking to BBC Radio Leeds about that team and the Leeds academy in general this week Wilkinson had this to say:
“The academy, which was on the cards right from day one, finished doing what we said it would do. Which was produce players.
“If things had been different and I’d been there beyond the day I left for another two or three years – Who knows?
“Undoubtedly for me, that group of youngsters was potentially as good as the croup that started at Man(chester) U(nited).”
The Leeds United academy has continued to thrive in the years since Wilkinson left.
Leeds currently have academy graduates such as Charlie Taylor, Alex Mowatt, Bailey Peacock-Farrell, Kalvin Phillips and Ronaldo Vieira in the first-team set-up whilst the likes of James Milner, Aaron Lennon and Danny Rose are just some of the other talents to come through the youth system at Leeds.
Perhaps that is Wilkinson’s main legacy at Leeds.
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