“He’s an OK defender, but he has the added luxury of knowing he can make a mistake and probably be covered by someone like Elliott. If you have a penalty box packed with Leicester players, the chances are any loose ball will fall to one of them. It’s simple but effective – pure Cloughie.”Football systems may not have changed much, but times have. When McLintock first joined Leicester in 1956, he was still a teenager. He had come down from Scotland, hoping to join an English club. After impressing during a one-week trial, he signed on his 17th birthday “I remember being so excited,” he said. “I was paid virtually nothing and I was only part-time, but this was a dream come true.” McLintock had to supplement his income by working in the building trade.
“I would get up at 6.30am, cycle to a site, work there for eight hours, then cycle to Filbert Street, train for two or three hours and cycle home at about 10.30 at night. I’d always be exhausted at the end of the day, but by the next morning I’d be fully refreshed.”He added: “There was something special about playing for Leicester. Putting on that blue shirt for the first time was just unbelievable. Because it’s a small town, people recognise you very quickly and come up to you in the street to shake your hand It gives you a real sense of pride, of belonging. Honestly, those were the best years of my life.”McLintock’s team of 1963 actually went close to the Double, losing out in the League to Everton and in the FA Cup to Manchester United.
He does not see Taylor’s men emulating those achievements, but remains confident Leicester will qualify for Europe for the third time in four seasons That unshakable belief is shared by Elliott. “When you are playing well and winning then you cannot be surprised at where you are,” the 31-year-old Scotland international said.”But our resources still fall behind the Manchester Uniteds, Arsenals and Chelseas, so it would be ludicrous to talk about titles at this stage The simple fact is we’re not up to the level of these clubs. That said, we can match them in commitment and the way we work for each other. The Leicester spirit can take us far.”Does that ring a bell, Frank?. A package to compensate clubs who lose players under the age of 23 will be a central plank in Uefa’s plans for an alternative transfer system, it was revealed yesterday.
A package to compensate clubs who lose players under the age of 23 will be a central plank in Uefa’s plans for an alternative transfer system, it was revealed yesterday.
Agreement has been reached by members of a task force set up by European football’s governing body over a package which would reward clubs for developing their own talent. The area had been seen as one of the most contentious of all, because unless a watertight solution is found to put before the European Commission on 31 October, there are fears clubs might abandon their youth systems.Under proposals which were outlined by Transfer Task Force chairman Per Omdal, all clubs, professional and amateur, will be placed in one of four bands by Uefa according to their emphasis on youth development. In England, this would mean that the 40 clubs who have their own youth academies would be placed in Band One, with the amateur clubs, who have a part-time coach and little else, placed in Band Four. There would be a separate addition taking into account the player’s wages, which would ensure that in the case of a child star such as Michael Owen, an inflated fee would be paid.While clubs no longer will be able to cash in on their young prodigies, Professional Footballers’ Association estimates are that it costs an average £20,000 a year to train a player from 12 to 16, with the figure rising to a minimum of £50,000 between 16 and 23. Originally, the plan was to use 24 as the age of “full development”.
