Pettigrew

Stuart McKinstry’s days off at Leeds United are spent on the road with his father, driving home to the west coast of Scotland. They stay for the night before making the return journey, getting McKinstry back to Thorp Arch for training. Leeds took the boy out of Motherwell when they signed McKinstry but they had no chance of taking Motherwell out of the boy. He was 16 months old when his family took him to his first game at Fir Park, sorting out his allegiance before Rangers or Celtic could get their hooks into him. He was a mascot, a youth-team player and very nearly a schoolboy debutant for the Scottish club after making the bench against Kilmarnock on Boxing Day in 2018. Motherwell suffered three injuries in the first half and manager Steve Robinson’s substitutions were used up in a flash. “I can’t pretend I wasn’t a bit gutted for him,” says his mother, Karen. McKinstry, Leeds’ 17-year-old winger, comes from the tightest of families, so much so that when Leeds made him an offer to join them last summer, he toyed with the idea of saying no. Even when the club invited him down to Yorkshire, wowed him with a tour and gave him a shirt with his name on the back of it, McKinstry worried about leaving his parents and sister behind. “I wanted him to go for it,” Karen says. “So I asked him if it would make a difference if his dad went with him. That was it. He said, ‘If dad comes with me, I’ll go tomorrow’.” His father John, who was a Motherwell trainee in the 1980s, had a job in logistics north of the border. His company agreed he could work remotely but if they had refused his request to relocate, he would have quit and gone with his lad regardless. The two of them now live together in a flat in Wetherby, away from Karen and McKinstry’s sister Lauren. “It can be a struggle,” Karen says, “but it’s what we had to do. When Stuart came back from Leeds after going down for the first time, I could see his wee brain going round and round. Seeing what was down there blew him away.” During his visit, McKinstry took in an under-18s game against Everton. It did not leave him feeling out of his depth or inadequate. Leeds were confident he was more than up to playing for a leading academy in England — so confident they were willing to pay Motherwell £400,000 for him — but the decision was McKinstry’s. Neither he nor Leeds have looked back since he chose to take the plunge. McKinstry was told to report to Thorp Arch on July 1 last summer but got a call soon after to tell him that Marcelo Bielsa wanted him there a week early to put him through the examination all academy players in the highest age groups are given by the Argentine manager. Leeds’ head coach liked McKinstry’s style and told him to expect some time with the under-23s, a reassuring seal of approval. The winger showed quick feet, looked comfortable using either one, and had the pace and upper-body strength to beat a full-back and open up his flank. He played seven times for the under-23s last season, scored twice in a Premier League Cup tie against Wolverhampton Wanderers, and his name has been mentioned positively in dispatches from Thorp Arch over the past 12 months. What stood out more was his performance for Leeds Under-18s against Manchester United in the FA Youth Cup in February. Leeds lost 1-0 after Henri Kumwenda’s red card in the second half but McKinstry shone while the game was 11-vs-11, cutting the opposition open with his speed of thought and balance, and showing a willingness to carry the ball. He gained some versatility at Motherwell, who liked to use him on the left wing and give him scope to cut inside onto his stronger right foot. There were two moments in the space of six second-half minutes at Old Trafford where his trickery and confidence revealed itself. Manchester United tried to double up on McKinstry (marked below in blue) with their left-sided players but he found a way to evade them on both occasions, skipping into space and delivering dangerous crosses into the box. Those attacks demonstrated an ability to work in tight spaces and fashion chances from difficult positions — the wing play Bielsa looks for at first-team level. Leeds are nurturing their academy in a way where the potential in it is rife. They have midfielder Nohan Kenneh, a supremely-gifted England Under-17 international, who turned professional in January. They have Charlie Cresswell, a tidy, composed centre-back who is the son of former Leeds striker Richard Cresswell. As a result of concerted recruitment this summer, they have former Fulham right-back Cody Drameh and a striker in Joe Gelhardt who already looks to coaches and senior players at Leeds like a steal from troubled Wigan Athletic at £700,000. It is a competitive and aspirational field, and one Bielsa watches with interest. McKinstry is very much in the pack, a player Leeds always reference when you ask who might make the step up next. The club tied him to a new three-year contract on Sunday. He had his home comforts in Motherwell and plenty to cling onto when, as Karen jokes, “they came and took my boy away” but Leeds was a different world and too big a draw for him and his family to resist, even though it split them in two. It was Motherwell chief executive Alan Burrows who said to McKinstry: “Go to Leeds and take a look. At least take a look and see what you think.” He gave Leeds a chance and Leeds got their man.

Any word on the race cards?

That said, Seedorf's first couple of contributions as a Left Wing Back were comedy gold.

Try sitting in the middle of the Main Stand on a matchday!

Richard Gordon had made a Roger Hunt of himself about that on Saturday and quickly had to correct himself on it during half time.

Would have backed him to save at least one of the penalties we've faced this season too.

He absolutely has to take his share of the flak. Playing White (or any player of that nature historically) lends itself to lazy shelling of long balls from the back. Turnbull can't get in the game when the ball is spending most of its time in the air above him. No harm to White, but seen so many players like him over the years - will always give away too many fouls but then not get the ones he probably should; an option off the bench sure but if starting him is the play for the year ahead I fear the worst.

Any idea of how far away Charlie Taxi is?

We wouldn't be subject to any "he must start" clauses in the loan agreement...would we??

Still not a fan of the white shorts but the top is immense. Any sponsor chat? Very early days, but slight shades of Rob McKinnon in McGinley last night I thought. Equally, shades of Ally Graham (one for the teenagers there) in White...

Yeah realised I hadn't read properly earlier - multitasking fail!

Any idea what we ultimately made on Marvin Johnson?

Agree with that; felt at the time that it was almost negligence not getting a fee for Randolph but the market for keepers can be more than a bit odd.

Did the 75 route from Glasgow at the weekend and got hopelessly lost when I got to Carmyle. Anyone done that and could have any sense of where I might have gone wrong?

Response to the BBC gossip item this morning about us and Hibs cutting back on Academy spends given current financial challenges I guess.

You certainly don't forget O'Hara is there when he's jumping for headers. You love to hear it.

That's just too good to be true...

Yeah that was amusing and brought back memories of Stevie Kirk doing that week in week out, but particularly vs Goram when he was at Hibs. But there was also a few off the ball things which seemed to get reactions every time.

I also enjoyed his steady level of shithousery from the second half on last night; lots of niggle with various St Mirren defenders which was amusing to see.

#ANNOUNCETRIALIST

Sorry Nelson, it was at Fir Park - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ov-qcSbbOPQ

Was definitely out there as a done deal at AGM, with Robinson explaining that they get a great deal on it via Craig Hinchcliffe’s mate (or something like that). Likewise Robinson’s ex wife was apparently instrumental in keeping the costs down for the Norn Iron summer trip.

Robinson said as much last night, specifically the point on us not usually getting a sniff at someone with that pedigree. Then made the point that we have seen the overseas players initially struggle with the pace / intensity in the league, citing Gorrin as an example.

Sounded like it was in recent weeks

Probably. Robinson also mentioned he’d recently failed to entice someone on a pre contract agreement from a team who were at the time at the bottom of the league - I assumed that must have been a St Johnstone player.