Thursday, 10 May 2007

All time XI....sort of

I need a bit of light relief. Everyone has done all-time best XIs before and it would be pointless to repeat them. I got thinking about a different sort of XI though. Initially it was one of players who turned out to be great only after we had sold them. Then it moved to players who had been great but ceased to be so as soon as we bought them. I couldn't quite decide between the two so ended up with an amalgamation. The team we had to sell post O'Leary/Risdale obviously has some candidates for quality players being sold off early but wierdly when I thought about it, loads of them have, in fact, never been as good since (Viduka, Bowyer, Woodgate, Kewell, Smith, Robinson etc etc) so they don't feature. I do need help though. In my 4-4-2 I'm missing a central midfielder. Suggestions and corrections in the comments please.

Goalkeeper - David Seaman. Started as a schoolboy at Leeds as understudy to Lukic. Sold to QPR for almost nothing. Went on to be one of the best keepers England have ever had.


Rightback - Dennis Irwin. Promising youth team player judged to lack experience to pull us out of the old Div2. Sold to Oldham and became a ManUtd legend earning 70 Champions League appearances.


Leftback - Jim Beglin. Amazing at Liverpool. Solid defender who basically got crippled by a freak tackle. Ended career at Leeds. Was never the same after injury.


Centreback - RoqueJunior!!! World cup winner. ACMilan regular. Came to Elland Road during a rather tumultuous period and was, without mincing my words, shit.


Centreback - David O'Leary. Often forgotten that he played for Leeds as well as managing them. Not surprising really. A rock at Arsenal for nearly a decade but was an ageing, injury prone donkey by the time he arrived under Wilkinson.


Rightmidfield - David Rocastle. Another Arsenal reject. Was an supreme passer and intelligent player until he put on a white shirt when he became a perennial sub. Never showed as much talent as hoped for.


Leftmidfield - Lee Sharpe. Narrowly overtaken at ManUtd by Giggs for the left midfield spot but had looked uperb in his youth. England caps. Came to Elland Road and was appalling. Got slow and fat. Now appears on Celebrity Love Island.


Centremidfield - Thomas Brolin. Easily wins the worst player ever award. Swedish star, Parma legend and destroyer of England in Euro'92. Sulking fatso at Leeds. Always remebered for wearing a giant bandage when playing for Crystal Palace against Leeds and being even worse than when we had him!


Centremidfield - ?????


Striker - Ian Rush. Liverpool legend. Scored for fun at Anfield and at Juventus. At 35 was too slow to make any difference. Should never have come to Leeds


Striker - Tore Andre Flo. Excellent at Chelsea. Good at Rangers. Bought by Wise to keep us up at the expense of Leeds-based band the Kaiser Chiefs. Got injured and never played. Therefore, rubbish.


That was quite cathartic. If all of those players played for Leeds in their prime, that would have been a bloody good team.

3 comments:

Mick & Cathy said...

John McGovern bought by Clough during his 44 days to kick Bremner out of team. Was crap for us before following old big-ead to Forest and winning European Cups.

One Point Flo actually did play and scored on his home debut before getting injured.

DC said...

Ah yes indeed he did. My apologies for statistical uselessness. Good call with McGovern as well. He's in.

Anonymous said...

Can we add Fowler to the list of players who never really delivered ?

Love Anon