At his pregame press conference, Leam Richardson’s secret Leeds United past became a hot issue.
Leam Richardson, the manager of Rotherham United, has talked about his childhood season ticket at Elland Road.
The manager of the Millers was born in Leeds and saw Leeds United win the league when he was twelve years old. Apart from a Champions League campaign in 2000–01, there have been numerous promotions and relegations since then, so that’s about as good as it gets for Whites supporters.
Richardson worked for other EFL clubs, thus even in the bad times he was never able to play for Leeds. Even though he managed Wigan Athletic to victory against the Whites, this weekend’s match will be his first encounter with United as the head coach in the dugout.
Before Richardson took over, Rotherham secured a 1-1 draw at the New York Stadium in November, but a trip across Yorkshire presents a more formidable obstacle. The Millers are the whipping boys of the division, and they are eager for a victory to give them some hope for survival.
They are now 12 points outside of safety, and Richardson says he has no time to get nostalgic about his time at Leeds. Reporters were told by him, “I did (support Leeds as a kid).” I used to live close to the stadium and visited there frequently as a coach, player, and fan.
Fortunately, I’ve had a lot of success down there as a coach, so perhaps we can continue that. We’ve won the past two times I’ve been there, so it would be fantastic to keep winning.
I had season tickets for Vinnie Jones, Howard Wilkinson, David Batty, Gary Speed, and Gary McAllister. My brothers and father and I sat on the Kop (Don Revie Stand). Like many Leeds supporters, I’ve witnessed a few promotions as well as highs and lows, so maybe tomorrow will bring some lows for them. After that, I’ll be back behind them.
