Leeds United Players Squad:
2006-07 Season - relegated from
The Coca-Cola Championship
24th position

Neil Sullivan   Neil Sullivan Position: Goalkeeper Squad Number: 1 International: Scotland full Kevin Blackwell said of Sullivan's signing: "Neil never discussed money at all, he just accepted what we offered him. All he wants to do is get playing football again, that's the most important thing for him." That's the commitment all Leeds Utd fans love to see from a player that joins the club and Neil will have earned a lot of brownie points with it. A Leeds Utd player and he never discussed money! Accepted what was offered! He would never have fitted into the relegation squad would he? I'd forgotten players like Neil existed! Despite being a full Scottish international keeper with 28 caps, Neil was born in Sutton, England on 24th February 1970. He stands 6ft 2inches tall and weighs in at a modest 14 stone. He has played previously for Wimbledon (1988-2000), Spurs (2000-2003), and Chelsea (2003-2004). 30th July 2004

Mark Wilberforce   Real name Mark Wilberforce Height 5' 10"   Weight 160lbs   Date of birth 30 Jan 1987   Place of birth Hull   Position Goalkeeper   Nationality English   Int. Caps None  Signed on 1 July 2005  Fee Youth   Term -   Squad number 36   Page Last Updated: 6 September 2006

Stephen Crainey   Stephen Crainey Position: Left full-back Squad Number:3 International: Scotland U-21 After starting the 2004-05 season with Kilgallon filling in at left full-back following the departure of Ian Harte during the close season, Kevin Blackwell made Stephen Crainey his first cash signing after signing 10 other players on free transfers. Crainey joined Leeds on a loan deal on Friday 6th August, before his move from Southampton was made permanent for £200,000 the following Monday! With Celtic from a youngster, he broke into the first-team in 2001-02 and went on to play 13 times for the Bhoys. But injury limited his chances the following season when the Hoops reached the UEFA Cup final. He was then left in the cold when Celtic manager Martin O'Neill switched to three centre backs while Crainey is an orthodox left back in a back four. So he made an ill-fated move to Southampton in the Xmas 2003 transfer window. But Crainey saw his chances of holding down a first team place evaporate when the man who bought him, Gordon Strachan promptly decided to quit his post at St Mary's! Towards the end of 2003-04 season he picked up a groin strain that required surgery at the start of the summer, but that went well and he arrived at Elland Road fully fit. He made his full Leeds debut in the 0-0 away draw with Wolves on August 14th 2004 Stephen was born in Glasgow on Monday 22nd June 1981, and stands 5ft 9 inches tall. After just ten games for Leeds Utd Crainey was struck down with Osteitis Pubis a painful overuse condition that affects the pelvis, causing pain during and after exercise, and commonly occurs through kicking activities. After the Cardiff game on 2/10/2004 he hasn't played since as the decision was made to give the problem time to heal itself before sending him in for an operation which would have put an end to his season. In mid-January he started jogging again but is still along way from playing. Crainey hadn't been at Leeds long enough to catch the eye before his injury but it is interesting to note that after the last game (Cardiff Away 0-0) in which he played, Leeds also kept a clean sheet in the following game against Preston. However, there then followed a string of 19 games without a clean sheet by Leeds. In his ten games for Leeds United at the start of the season we kept six clean sheets. Of course statistics can be misleading and contain spurious correlations but that is a dramatic difference between stats. The return of Crainey (or a similar performance of his temporary replacement, Michael Gray) could be the difference between mid-table or a play-off place. Updated 3rd Feb 2005

Gary Kelly   Gary Kelly of Leeds United   Real name Gary Kelly   Height 5'8"   Weight 152lbs   Date of birth 9 July 1974   Place of birth Drogheda   Position Defender   Nationality Irish   Int. Caps 51 (2 goals)  Signed on 24 Sep 1991   Fee Free   Term -   Squad number 2 Signed from Home Farm in the Irish Republic on 24th September 1991, Gary Kelly is our longest serving player. Had a new lease of life under Terry Venables in 2002-03 when he frequently played right midfield. Many fans thought it was his best season for ages. Loyal and committed to Leeds United, in fact, at the end of 2003-2004 he was the only full-time professional who was definitely NOT leaving Leeds. Eventually Duberry stayed too (sob!) Despite little difference in ages, he is the uncle of former Leeds United left-back, and fellow Irish international, Ian Harte who now plies his trade at Levante in La Liga. At 26/2/2005 his stats were as follows: (subs) League 351 (11) 2 goals; FA Cup 29 (1) 1 goal; League Cup 26 (2); Europe 35 (1) Update: Jan 2006 - Gary Kelly scored a sensational goal from outside the penalty area in time-added-on during the FA Cup 3rd round replay against Wigan. The game went to extra time and ended 3-3. We lost on penalties thanks to misses by Healy and Hulse, but none of that takes away anything from a wonderful strike by Kelly - his 4th goal in 493 games! Update: 25th Feb 2006 - Gary plays his 500th game in a White shirt, this time against Luton Town. Page Last Updated: 4 Sept 2006

Rui Marques   Real name Manel Rui Marques   Height 5'11"   Weight -lbs   Date of birth 3 Sept 1977   Place of birth Angola   Position Defender   Nationality Portugese   Int. Caps None  Signed on 29 July 2005   Fee Free   Term -   Squad number 24 Former clubs include VfB Stuttgart and Maritimo. Page Last Updated: 6 September 2006

Frazer Richardson Frazer Richardson Full Back - Right Squad Number: 15 International: England U-20 Frazer is a future United right-back as he continues to understudy Republic of Ireland, international Gary Kelly. His job has been made easier by the departure of Danny Mills to Middlesborough on a season-long loan "I was glad to see the back of the treacherous, bald bastard," said Frazer bluntly. (Nah, he didn't, only kiddin'). Despite being born in Rotherham, Frazer Richardson is a lifelong Leeds fan who has emerged through the Leeds United Academy ranks to become an established youth international. He was rewarded with a four-year contract which he signed in the summer of 2002. But he had to wait another season for his debut which cam in August 2003, when he came on as a substitute against Southampton in the 0-0 draw, at Elland Road. I've heard the comment that he's a bit one-footed, but he's young enough to overcome that and anyway, it hasn't done Saint Michael of Owen any harm has it?

Jonathon Douglas   Real name Jonathon Douglas   Height 6'0"   Weight 173lbs   Date of birth 22 Nov 1981   Place of birth Monaghan   Position Midfielder   Nationality Irish   Int. Caps 2   Signed on 31 Aug 2006   Fee n/a   Term n/a   Squad number 20 Jonathan was originally signed on loan on the same day that we sold Matthew Spring to Watford at the start of the 2005-06 season. He started in the 2-0 League Cup victory over Oldham and his home debut was in the 3-3 draw with Brighton (10/9/05) in which he scored the sensational added-on-time equaliser. He played over 40 games during the season culminating in the disappointment of the play-off final in Cardiff. After which game he returned to Blackburn Rovers. Nothing was heard of him on the transfer front until the deadline day, 31 August 2006 when Jonathon signed a three year permanent deal with Leeds United. Last Update: 1 Sept 2006

Shaun Derry of Leeds United   Shaun Derry   Real name Shaun Derry   Height 5.10   Weight 10.13   Date of birth 06 Dec 1977   Place of birth Nottingham   Position Midfielder   Nationality English   Int. Caps None  Signed on 18 Feb 2005   Fee Undisclosed   Term 2½ years   Squad number 21 The signing of Shaun Derry was a direct sign of the huge change that had come over the wreck that was Leeds United AFC. We attempted to sign him back in November 2004 but the Board that saved Leeds from administration struggled and ultimately failed to come up with the finance needed to complete the deal. Humiliation followed as the deal had already been made public and the player was already training with the Leeds squad! Since those dark days Ken Bates has taken over and, with an infectious confidence now pervading the club, he has provided funds that have enabled Blackwell to finally complete the Derry signing. Shaun signed a two-and-a-half-year deal for an undisclosed fee. As Leeds Utd is once again a private company expect more "undisclosed transfer fees" as Ken Bates keeps his financial cards close to his chest. Last Update: 18 February 2005

Gylfi Einarsson   Gylfi Einarsson Position: Attacking Midfielder Squad Number: 16 International: Iceland full (7 caps at end of Jan 2005) Born 27th October 1978 in Iceland he began as a trainee with KR Reykjavik. Signed on a free transfer from Lillestrom of Norway on 1st Jan 2005. He was brought to the attention of Blackwell by a Scandanavian Leeds fan! A regular scorer for Lillestrom he scored the headed winner against Burnley at Turf Moor on 5th Feb 2005 which was only his third game for Leeds and only his second as a starter! Given the lack of punch from our current strikers his contributions from midfield are much needed. Frank Sinclair of Burnley was also sent off for kicking out at him following a midfield clash in the same game! 6th Feb 2005

Eddie Lewis   Eddie Lewis of Leeds United   Real name Eddie Lewis   Height 5'9"   Weight 167lbs   Date of birth 17 May 1974   Place of birth Cerritos, CA, USA   Position Midfield (Left)   Nationality American   Int. Caps (Goals) 49 (4)   Signed on 24 June 2005   Fee Free   Term n/a   Squad number 11 Eddie Lewis signed for Leeds United from Preston on a free transfer as he was out of contract. In the previous 2004-05 season he had been influential in Preston North End's successful season which saw them reach the Coca-Cola Championship play-off Final, where they lost out to West Ham. Interestingly, he turned down a new contract with Preston because he felt Leeds United offered him a better chance of reaching the Premiership next season. He will play on the left side of midfield. Last Update: 6 August 2005

Robbie Blake   Real name Robert Blake   Height 5'9"   Weight 154lbs   Date of birth 04 March 1976   Place of birth Middlesborough   Position Striker   Nationality English   Int. Caps None  Signed on 18 Jul 2005   Fee £800,000   Term -   Squad number 28 Robbie was signed in the close season from Birmingham City. He joined Rob Hulse and Richard Cresswell as newly signed strikers to give Blackwell a choice from six strikers! He made his debut alongside David Healy in the home victory against Millwall on the opening day of 2005-06 season (it was televised on SKY). He broke his scoring duck 2 days later in the 22nd minute in the away game at Cardiff in a 1-2 defeat. Last Update: 9 September 2005

HEALY, David Position: Striker Squad Number: 9 International: Northern Ireland Full David signed a four year contract for Leeds United on 29th October, 2004, the purchase from Preston North End having been agreed between the clubs only the day before. The fee was undisclosed having been the result of at least four separate bids Leeds as Blackwell showed all the tenacity to get his man that he had showed when pursuing Sean Gregan earlier in the season. David has been given the number 9 shirt made famous at Leeds by Mick Jones and Joe Jordan and if he's half as good he'll still be a major asset. David began his career as a trainee Manchester United. Previously this might been seen as an obstacle to gaining the acceptance from the fiercely partizan Leeds faithful. However, it is David's good fortune that another Reds cast-off, Danny Pugh who joined directly from Man United in the summer of 2004 is currently the outstanding player in the team and has become a firm favourite with the Elland Road crowd knocking in an impressive six goals from midfield by October. Anyway David Healy only made three appearances as a substitute for the Orcs so he is only slightly tarnished goods! He was brought to Preston by the now-Everton manger David Moyes for £1.5m in January 2001. In a little over three seasons he has scored 44 goals in 120 starts for Preston and he is currently Northern Ireland's all-time leading goal-scorer with 15 goals from 39 caps. Not bad considering George Best played for Northern Ireland! In fact it was a recent spectacular strike for Northern Ireland that seemed to bring Healy to everyone's attention and it is amazing considering the protracted transfer deal that a Premiership club has not stepped in to hijack the deal. Created: 29th October 2004 Updated: 9th September 2005 The first season with Leeds Utd showed a poor return as he was often played out of his favourite position and the club was in dire straits off the pitch. However, he started the 2005-06 season with a bang getting 2 goals in the first game against Millwall. However, rumours started that newly promoted West Ham were looking to make a bid to take him to the Premiership and he was dropped to the bench after a couple of matches. The rumours were strengthened after the Blackwell signed striker Richard Cresswell from Healy's old club Preston North End. He was in addition to close season signing, striker Robbie Blake from Birmingham. With 6 strikers on the books and Rob Hulse in excellent form it seemed David was on his way but the transfer deadline passed and it was Michael Ricketts who was shipped out (on loan to Cardiff). Kevin Blackwell will have been pleased he didn't succumb to West Ham's temptations as Healy's value rocketed in early September 2005 following his much publicised "dream goal" that he scored, at Windsor Park, for Northern Ireland to beat Sven's England in a World Cup qualifier. The marvellous strike from the left-hand of the penalty area flew past former Leeds Old Boy, Paul "Mars Bar" Robinson (who got a good hand on it but still couldn't stop it) after another ex-Leeds Utd player Rio Ferdinand played Healy onside whilst in a dream-world all of his own.