My love of Leeds United was forged in the relative misery of the lower leagues. The first season I was old enough to take an active interest in was 2007/08 — notable for, among many other things, being the breakout season of one Jonny Howson (who coincidentally racked up his 700th appearance in professional football the other week, doesn’t time march relentlessly onwards?). Anyway, Howson’s two goals in the second leg play-off semi-final against Carlisle are one of my, and presumably a few other people’s, abiding memories of that particularly mental season. The season after was a more mundane affair, and notable mostly for the breakthrough of Fabian Delph. Delph was basically the best footballer I’d ever seen — goals from about forty yards out, cross-field passing and, probably most importantly, horrible crunching two-footed tackles.

There was then a bit of a lull of absolute wunderkinds rolling off the Thorp Arch production line. Ben Parker, Aidy White and Tom Lees were all good lads but not quite in a ‘sit-up and take notice and prepare yourself for them to leave within twelve months once the Premier League realise that they exist’ sort of way. Then Sam Byram happened. And he was, once again I think, the best footballer I’d ever seen. I’m absolutely certain it was more to do with the fact that he existed in a team whose main excitement was expected to come from El Hadji Diouf, Luke Varney or Michael ‘Tongey’ Tonge — but Byram’s energy and ability to grab games by the scruff of the neck was something to behold.

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