64 | Interview Podcast - Adam Forshaw

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Six things we learned when Adam Forshaw spoke to Leeds That

For Adam, the lockdown has simply been an extension of a frustrating season away from the squad.

Hampered by a persistent injury, Adam has felt disconnected from the squad for most of the campaign even before the lockdown set in: "To be honest, I'd had that pretty much all season. I would see them (the rest of the squad) but I wouldn't do the bits that really got you going as a footballer. I wasn't travelling on the coach, I wasn't in the hotels, I wasn't in the meetings.

"I actually felt lucky in lockdown as it gave me the chance to catch up, to go in and use the facilities when everyone else couldn't. I found it tougher the rest of the season than I did in lockdown from a personal point of view."

There has been more success on the potty than the guitar in the Forshaw household over the last three months.

Responding to the speculation that he’d been trying his hand as a guitarist, Adam admits that it was a short lived venture: "I gave it about two goes, had about half an hour's worth. I tried to learn about two chords and it's just not for me. I gave up, I'll be honest.” 

However, when it comes to spending time with the family there have been some benefits to being locked down: "A few good things have come out of it anyway, my little man's potty trained and I've been able to spend good time with him and the family."

A centre back pairing of Ben White and Virgil Van Dijk would be Adam’s choice whether they were playing for Leeds United or Liverpool.

When asked who he'd take from the Liverpool squad (his own childhood team) to improve United he says: "I'd have to take Van Dijk I think, he's frightening, he's got everything and he'd help us keep clean sheets."

And going the other way he thinks Ben White has got what it takes: "I think Ben would be a good fit for a top team in the Premier League, he's a top lad and he's got everything to go all the way."

But Ben wasn’t always on Forshaw’s radar: "I joked with him at the start of the season, I'll be honest you turned up and I didn't even know who you was. I'd never heard of you."

Marcelo Bielsa lives up to his “El Loco” moniker but Forshaw credits him with taking his fitness to the next level.

Asked about the famous moment Marcelo Bielsa had the squad picking up litter in the early days of his tenure, Forshaw says: “We just went with it. We're a good group and we're all really driven so we just thought, wow this guy is crazy.”

But in terms of the positive effect that he’s had on Adam Forshaw as a player, fitness is the area he points to first: “I actually thought I was pretty fit. It was part of my game, I could get up and down well but, in terms of general physical condition, he took me to the next level in that aspect.”

As both a Leeds United player and a Liverpool fan there’s been something all very “Leeds That” about how this season has played out.

With both clubs topping their respective divisions, just like 30 years ago, it looked like it would be the end of a long wait for fans of both clubs before the season was stalled by the pandemic.

Adam says: “When it all kicked off in March time I was thinking this just sums up my year. Obviously the stars were aligning for both teams. My season was over but it'd have been a nice feeling for me to see those two clubs achieving."

And now, with the football about to finally restart and a return from injury still a couple of months away, Forshaw doesn’t even know whether he’ll be at the games: "I mentioned it to the physio the other day, I really want to be at the games but I don't know if I'll be allowed. I might be like all of you just watching it on the telly."

Points-per-game wouldn’t have been the end of the world but Forshaw is convinced Leeds are going up anyway.

Debate has raged over how leagues around the world should be settled and it’s fair to say most people connected to Leeds United want to play it out on the pitch but Adam admits the squad would have taken promotion on a points-per-game basis if necessary: "Don't get me wrong, if they were gonna hand us it, we wouldn't complain. But if there was a certain way of doing it then you want to prove that you've done it over a 46 game season so the lads have fully got their heads around it, they're excited and they're determined."

“I’m convinced (Leeds are going to get promoted). I’m not just saying that, or being biased because we’re all Leeds. There will be nobody as driven as us.”

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