What versatile Leeds star Byram will bring to West Ham
By Chris Dawkes
A shortage of defenders at the beginning of the 2012/13 season saw then Leeds manager Neil Warnock turn to the club’s famed youth set-up for an answer to his problems. What Warnock didn’t know was that act of desperation would lead to the blossoming of a player who would sweep the boards at the clubs annual awards the following May and four years later make more appearances for the club than any other in the present squad.
Sam Byram’s talent was in evidence from that first game – a League Cup tie against Shrewsbury which Leeds won 4-0. He scored his first goal in thefollowing round against Oxford. And this was no ordinary goal; receiving apass 30 yards from goal, Byram flicked the ball around a tight markingmidfielder, knocked it past a oncoming defender and with the nonchalance of a veteran marksman casually chipped it over the keeper. Not since Gary Kelly’s debut season in 1993/94 had the Leeds fans seen a genuine attacking threat from right back. Leeds fan were left amazed by their latest talented youngster.
Despite not making much of an impression at youth and reserve level, once on the big stage Byram’s ability shone through. He was an ever-present in the first team until injury cut short his breakthrough season in April. Warnock was quoted as saying he contemplated playing Byram as a central striker, such was his versatility as a player.
In an FA Cup game against Spurs at Elland Road a certain Gareth Bale was reduced to a mere mortal when pitted against Byram. It wasn’t long before Premier League vultures began circling Elland Road. Behind the scenes the club was in a perilous financial state – Dubai-based investment bank GFH Capital had bought the club in December 2012 from Ken Bates and the club was reportedly hemorrhaging around £1 million per month. Had it not been for the injury that prematurely ended his season and delayed his return the following campaign, Byram may well have been sold that summer.
He was still on the roster come the start of the 2013/14 season, though, and under new manager Brian McDermott his form fluctuated. Possibly due to the effects of a long first season and a troublesome hip injury – which ruled him out of any pre-season training. Byram experienced his own footballing version of the difficult second album syndrome, playing just 28 times as Leeds typicallyfloundered around Championship mid-table mediocrity.
Over the next season and a half Byram would be used as either a traditional right back, a winger in a 4-4-2 or a third forward in a 4-3-3. His versatility would ultimately be his Achilles heel, never truly making one position his own. With his contract due to expire at the end of this current season Byram was offered an extension to that deal by owner Massimo Cellino, but reportedly on reduced terms.
Byram rejected the deal on the table, leaving it unsigned until the opening of this January transfer window. It was inevitable that if the right offer came in Byram would be on his way out. Now it seems Everton have met Cellino’s valuation. A player who can be a potent threat to opposition defenders and a nuisance to opposition wingers, Everton’s gain is Leeds United’s loss. Just ask Oxford. And Gareth Bale.