Phil Hay posts heartfelt message to Leeds fans as he steps away from Athletic
Phil Hay has been the man with his finger on the Leeds United pulse since 2006 when he was at the Yorkshire Evening Post.
He was plucked from the paper that had been his home for 15 years by The Athletic in August 2019, where he’s carried on his brilliant work.
In the midst of reports and rumours, Hay’s contacts are rock solid, his information is ultra-reliable and he’s got an absolutely huge following of loyal Leeds United fans.
It’s why, when he posted a heartfelt message to the fans today, explaining that he was stepping away from his job temporarily for medical reasons, he got over 4,000 replies from Leeds supporters and other industry figures.
In the accompanying report, Hay explains “I was told before Christmas that I would need surgery on a brain tumour.”
The tumour is benign and he’s expected to make a full recovery but as he wrote, “I will be gone from The Athletic for a while and I didn’t want to vanish without explaining why.”
All the best from MOT Leeds News
It’s at times like this when it’s easy to step back and realise that what we write about, the game that is our passion, is just a game.
There are things that are more important and we wish Phil all the best as he recovers.
He says The Athletic coverage will continue without him but in reality, they’ll be merely keeping his seat warm.
Hay is one of the finest writers in the game but what makes him so special is the valuable time he takes to engage with the fans on his Twitter account and in Athletic Q&As and matchday discussions.
He’s famous for his goal celebration tweets (now retired for the VAR world we live in) but they were the only thing that Hay ever delivered with hyperbole.
His Phil Hay Show podcasts will carry on without him, with the Square Ball crew picking up the slack.
But this summer won’t be the same without him.
We’ll be counting down the days to his return and we hope the outpouring of support from fans who have an uneasy relationship with most journalists proves just how good a job he does.
In other Leeds United news, View: Bielsa set to drop 27y/o in major team change – Predicted Leeds XI v Brighton