It promises to be a nervy weekend for darts star Luke Humphries – and not because he will be in action at the European Grand Prix in Stuttgart.
Humphries is in the form of his life after winning three titles so far this year, including two on the European Tour, and has headed to Germany as one of the favourites to pick up another trophy. Sadly for him, the same can’t be said for his beloved Leeds United, who face a final-day fight for Premier League survival. The Elland Road club, who visit Brentford on Sunday, must better the result of Burnley, who host Newcastle, or face a quick return to the Championship after two years back in the top-flight.
If Humphries comes through his second round match on Saturday night, he could be in action at the same time as the final Premier League fixtures. Humphries, nicknamed ‘Cool Hand’, is actually from Berkshire, but supports Leeds thanks to his father – and Tottenham-supporting granddad.
“It was the 1972 FA Cup final,” he said in an interview during a visit to Elland Road last year. “My granddad supported Tottenham and he made my dad and my uncle choose between either Leeds or Arsenal. My uncle was older so he got first pick and chose Arsenal, my dad got Leeds and here I am now.”
His dad became such a big Leeds fan that Humphries was even named after the club, with the initials of ‘Leeds United Kings of Europe’ spelling out Luke.
“I was going to be called Liam,” he said. “Then he saw someone had named their son the same, ‘Leeds United Kings of Europe’. What better way to be associated with your football club than to be named after them. It’d be nice if we could both win a Premier League title one day, that would be great.”
Do you think Luke Humphries will be in the Premier League next year? Have your say in the comments section below.
The ‘Kings of Europe’ moniker is slightly questionable given Leeds have never won the European Cup/Champions League, although they did lift the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (the forerunner to the UEFA Cup) in 1968 and 1971.
Humphries, who is already being touted for a place next year, is far closer to realising his Premier League dream, as Leeds cling to their status. And the 27-year-old admits he isn’t feeling particularly confident about his side’s chances of beating the drop.
“That made my weekend even better, that last-minute goal,” Humphries told the Weekly Dartscast Podcast this week, referring to Leeds’ last-gasp equaliser against Brighton on the day he won the Czech Open in Prague.
“I don’t think we’re playing good enough football to get a result against Brentford. I don’t think a draw will be enough, it might be, but I think we may have to rely on Burnley not winning.
“But Leeds have got great spirit, I don’t want us to go down, I’m going to stay positive and believe we can stay up. Hopefully, against Brentford, they can show a lot of bottle and take the game to them.”
Source: Read Full Article
