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PHIL HAY: Leeds United in line for title
Reserve-team football has several uses, not least the opportunity it gives senior players to improve or maintain their physical condition.
From their perspective, second-team appearances often represent nothing more than competitive fitness exercises and the inevitable lack of continuity in team selections tends to diminish the profile of England's reserve leagues.
Nevertheless, it would be disingenuous to malign the trophy that Leeds United's youth, fringe and recovering players are about to collect.
A victory over Rotherham United at Elland Road on April 28 would confirm Leeds as champions of totesport.com League East Division, bringing the club a minor league championship.
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Their statistics make impressive reading, revealing 10 straight victories, nine clean sheets from those 10 games and a wide variety of players used.
The more seasoned professionals will not lose sleep over a reserve-league title, but the same cannot be said of the academy members who have supported the campaign.
The club's line-up at Rotherham United on Tuesday contained two
16-year-olds and not a single first-team player.
The East Division title should matter to them, if for no other reason than the effort and performances they have committed to the campaign.
Leeds invest heavily in their academy in the hope that it will supplement their first-team squad.
What harm is there in teaching the likes of Liam Darville, an England youth international, the taste and habit of success? However strong their league might be, a title-winning season does them credit.
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Sunday 12 February 2012
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