Leeds United ⭑ From A-Z since '92
Welcome to a project that will take approximately (checks calculations), oh, only eight years, to write about every (*most) Leeds player since 1992. And it all begins with Aapo Halme.
To introduce this a bit further: one of the most influential books I've ever read was Leeds United: Player by Player by Andrew Mourant.
Published in 1992, it's a big illustrated hardback of bios of not quite every player — it sensibly begins with John Charles and moves forward chronologically from there, and just lists statistics for some who didn't feature much (poor Simon Grayson). Another wise move was varying the length of entries — Billy Bremner had two pages, Terry Connor had one page, John McClelland a half-page.
But I read this thing front to back over and over, so even as a clueless twelve year old who'd been to Elland Road just once I could confidently assert that in the early 1980s Scott Sellars' skills and stature had recalled Terry Hibbitt. Reading about players like John Sheridan in this book, and then seeing how Shez played for Sheffield Wednesday or Ireland when they were on TV, was probably what made me think that writing about football made more sense than the old dancing about architecture trope.
It was published just after United's title win in 1992, also the beginning of the Premier League era. So that's what I'm beginning now: picking up where Andrew Mourant left off, with a list of more than 400 post-1992 players, eight years, and one dream. Which hopefully won't turn into a nightmarish albatross but we'll see how this goes.
I have a few rules in mind: I decided to go alphabetically, rather than chronologically, to keep it interesting by popping from year to year. I decided to go alphabetically by first name because otherwise I was going to be starting with Brenden Aaronson or, after Brenden came back, Tyler Adams. I'm going to avoid players who are still playing. I won't be adding entries strictly week by week, as if I've got something better to write about one week than (looks down list) Alan Tate then I'll do that. I'll vary length, focus, detail, approach player by player, and for very minor guys I'll skip over them then round them up in batches. How minor is minor? Well, I kicked off with Aapo Halme.
I hope you're into it. You're getting eight more years of this! Well, if you support this crazed scheme, and all my other writing, by becoming a More to Read (or higher) member of Leedsista, that is.
It's £3 a month (cheaper by the year) and for that you get three articles a month — and there's a 10-day free trial if you just want to try reading about Alan Sheehan first.
You can find my progress so far below — click the letter to expand and enjoy Alan Maybury, Adryan, etc etc.
A
Aapo Halme ⭑ I liked the look of Aapo Halme from the start. You rarely see a centre-half looking so genial. It was his Finnish compatriot Tove Jansson who created The Moomins and now here was one come to life, come to play for Leeds, with a big soft jaw, calm yet quizzical eyes.
Aaron Lennon ⭑ Smith, Milner, Lennon. Twenty-three, seventeen, sixteen. Rothwell, Horsforth, Chapeltown. 2004 wasn't only a battle against relegation, and liquidation, but to save the future that the club's youth prospects still teased was possible.
Adam Clayton ⭑ Clayton loved a strike. One that he placed in Leicester City's top corner from 25 yards won Leeds' goal of the season and really, really pissed Kasper Schmeichel off.
Adam Forshaw ⭑ This was Bielsa's point about Champions League quality. Any team, at any level, would trust Forshaw to play with them.
Adryan ⭑ Massimo Cellino arrived in a blaze of guitar solos and late nights, with Adryan as the most promising of his sidekicks, and if his ownership of Leeds wasn't going to be healthy the least it could have been was fun.
Aidy White ⭑ Aidy White was a cut above while still only sixteen years old, with speed to look like he had the world at his feet and velocity that would make it his.
Alan Maybury ⭑ Eddie Gray thought he could be the best right-back Leeds United ever had, but Leeds and Alan Maybury couldn't make a chance for each other.
Alan Sheehan ⭑ Marauding forward from left-back in the no.11 shirt, firing spectacular shots from long range, it always felt like the next game would be his game.
Alan Smith ⭑ Alan Smith did play for twenty seasons, but only six were for his hometown club, and like so much of the Ridsdale and O'Leary years, he left more questions than answers about what might have been made of everything Leeds, and Smith, had going for them.
Alan Tate ⭑ Outside Swansea, I doubt Alan Tate ever made anyone happier than he made Neil Warnock when he joined Leeds United.
Alan Thompson ⭑ Alan Thompson looked like everything when Leeds United were desperately trying to avoid relegation to League One in 2007. What he looked like, in essence, was a new Gordon Strachan.
Alex Bruce ⭑ The indignity is not necessarily his heritage or his puking, but that Leeds could just as easily signed any of a hundred other players who didn't look like Steve Bruce who would have been exactly the same.
Alex Mowatt ⭑ When, years from now, fans are still remembering screamers by him, Mowatt can be satisfied that he did what he set out to do in football: be noticed.
Alfie Haaland ⭑ Haaland was serious about not taking things too seriously, and it was a big difference for Leeds to have a player in the middle with so much personality.
Alfonso Pedraza ⭑ If joining Leeds was a surprise to Pedraza, he didn't show it, striding purposely into Huddersfield's half and forcing a save from 25 yards as if Championship football was easy.
L
Liam Cooper ⭑ Fate might not always give our captains everything they deserve, but the good ones aren't playing for fate. They're playing for us.
S
Sol Bamba ⭑ Sol Bamba, on his way out, was taking more responsibility for the club he was leaving than any of the people who actually held responsibility for it.