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Players
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Tom Bennett (inside-right) 1915-16
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It is thought that Bennett was the forward who was on the books of
Newcastle United before the war, though when he joined Leeds City at
the start of the 1915/16 campaign,
local papers reported that he hailed from South Liverpool and had been
playing for Bury. The Football League granted him permission to play
for City because he was working in Leeds at the time. Bennett impressed when he played for the Peacocks' reserves against the
first-team in a pre-season trial; the Leeds Mercury wrote that
he had been 'a prominent forward, and his style resembles that of McLeod'.
He did well enough to be selected at inside-forward for the opening game,
away to Derby County on 4 September, playing inside another debutant,
the celebrated Fanny Walden. Bennett scored the second, decisive goal in a 3-1 victory, netting
from a centre by Fred Croot fifteen minutes from time. He retained his place, and after the 2-1 defeat of The Wednesday the
following week, the Mercury crowed, 'Bennett, who comes from South
Liverpool, is a useful man and the understanding between him and Walden
was perfect.' Bennett continued to perform, scoring again a week later in a 4-3 defeat
at Bradford Park Avenue. The Yorkshire Post reported: 'The Leeds
inside-right cleverly outwitted the defenders, and concluded with a hard
shot, the ball striking the underside of the crossbar and going into the
net.' Bennett dropped down the pecking order when Clem Stephenson arrived at
Elland Road the following February. In all he scored four times in his
18 appearances for City, including one game at centre-forward, though
the Evening Post acknowledged that was a mistaken ploy: 'It was
plainly evident that Bennett is not the man Leeds requires for the position
of centre-forward - he had neither the command of the ball not the inventiveness
necessary to adequately fill the post.' Bennett slipped out of the Elland Road plans thereafter and is not
thought to have played at a senior level again. |