Why Eddie Gray and Howard Wilkinson need to be honoured by Leeds United in their lifetimes

Transcript

00:00 I just think it's time, right now is the time, to show people like Eddie Gray and Howard Wilkinson, those two in particular.

00:11 There are others of course, but those two in particular, that not only are they loved at Leeds,

00:16 but their contribution is going to be marked in a lasting, permanent manner.

00:24 I think this naming stands after people is obviously a really good way to mark somebody's contribution as a legend.

00:35 There's only so many stands in a football ground, so there's a kind of difficulty there.

00:39 And when Leeds have as many legends as they have had, when you have a team that does what that Leeds team did,

00:47 it creates a legacy problem of who do we name the stands after?

00:54 But there are other ways in which you can mark permanently the contribution of someone,

01:00 like with a statue, 'Build the statue now' is a modern day football phrase for somebody who's contributed mightily.

01:10 And yes, I'll accept that Eddie Gray knows how much he's loved at Leeds,

01:17 because he can't go to Ellen Road without being stopped for a million photographs and autographs.

01:22 The fans certainly let him know that he's still valued after his contribution in so many different roles.

01:30 But I just think that the here and now is the time to celebrate the contribution of people like that,

01:38 so that they can actually enjoy the unveiling of things and the celebrating of things,

01:44 and actually be here to contribute to those moments and talk about it and be interviewed about it,

01:50 and everyone can get their content from it, the club included.

01:54 But I just think that moments like that shouldn't be left.

01:57 There was a really horrible period during COVID when Leeds United lost a lot of their legends.

02:05 And I just think that period should be a lesson to football in general,

02:12 to celebrate people worth celebrating right now, in the present.

02:16 present.