Brought to the club for £1.75 million on 25/5/1999, as one for the future, Bakke quickly established himself in the team. Unfortunately his performances since O'Leary left have not been of the previous standard.
More recently he has alienated fans and club with his behaviour. He was convicted of drunk driving and made a palaver out of the court case instead of just pleading guilty. After being banned he was caught driving in Norway. He explained a local policeman had said the ban didn't apply to Norway. Wrong!!!
Given the club's recent bad publicity with certain Newcastle United players, and the driving ban, you'd have thought Bakke would have kept his head down and tried to appease his employers? Wrong!!!
After being diagnosed with a knee injury late in the 2002-03 season, Leeds medical staff told him to rest it over the summer break. What did he do? Played three times for Norway! Result? Ten minutes on the pitch at York in a pre-season friendly, during which he scored. After the game we don't see him again pre-season because the Leeds staff diagnose he is suffering from patella tendonitous. Prognosis - out for 6 months! Irate Leeds Directors threaten to sue the Norwegian F.A. for a million pounds. As usual we hear no more and Leeds United are a player down for half a season due to FIFA's ridiculous games of power politics and a spoilt player who should try and remember who pays his wages.
Consequently, during the relegation season, 2003-04 he makes ten ineffectual Premiership appearances. www.leedsutd365.co.uk 2003-04 rating: Gormless
After relegation Leeds fans were delighted when Everton made a bid for Bakke. We get a transfer fee (most O'Leary players went for nothing) and we get his silly Ridsdale-agreed wages off the books. Wrong!! Bakke decides he wants to stay with the club (the wages more like) and get us back into the Premiership. A few weeks later and cruciate ligament damage meant he joined the other highest wage earner at Leeds, Seth "Sicknote" Johnson, on the treatment bench for six months. A bankrupt club is now paying £60,000 a week to two players who would not leave their wage packets if you put a bomb under them despite not doing what they were amply paid to do - keep Leeds Utd in the Premiership.
3rd Nov, 2004
Eirik Bakke makes his return to first-team football in the 1-1 draw with Brighton, 29/1/2005. He comes on for the last three minutes and manages to get himself booked. Amazingly he gets a rapturous welcome from the Elland Road crowd who, one thinks, must have the memory of a goldfish.
Update 3rd Feb 2005
Eirik Bakke made a couple of appearances at the start of the 2005-06 season, but true to idiotic form after a couple of games he was called up by the Norwegians (must have run out of whales and seal pups to kill) for some meaningless friendly; the club said don't go , but the numpty went anyway and within seconds of coming on as a substitute at the start of the second half Bakke got injured! But to make matters worse he played on! In light of the above history this was unforgivable ingratitude by the turnip. This was the last straw for the club and for the pratt - he was shipped out to Villa on loan as soon as he returned. The deal would have been permanent but Villa could not afford his wages!! So we'll probably see the mental midget returning to us in January 2006 - what's the bet he's injured by then?
