Lifelong supporter Jon Howe is publishing a new weekly website column for leedsunited.com every Friday, providing a view from the fans on all things Leeds United.

Howe is the author of two books on the club, 2015 hit ‘The Only Place For Us: An A-Z History of Elland Road’ and ‘All White: Leeds United’s 100 Greatest Players’ in 2012.

He has also featured regularly for the Leeds United match day programme down the years along with fanzine ‘The Square Ball’.

This week, Jon looks at Leeds United’s unconventional legends...



In the social media era of 24/7 accessibility, it is pretty easy to gain ‘legend’ status. Hadi Sacko earned it by admitting that he “should have squared it”, Jordan Botaka because he somehow appeared on ‘Come Dine With Me’. We throw the word ‘legend’ around without much thought, but most rational and balanced fans know which players truly earn it through performances on the pitch.

Me today 🙄😣 pic.twitter.com/SGEaGmxtA5

— Hadi Sacko (@miimosaa) February 25, 2017

Off the pitch and outside the regulation 90 minutes, it is still possible to become a fan favourite though. In the weird and wonderful world of Leeds United, all eyes are on you and every Leeds fan is aching for the next figure to pin their hopes and dreams on. And that status can be achieved without once executing a diving header in front of the South Stand or even scything down an opponent before a rapturous Kop end.  

Looking back through history, there are plenty of Leeds United players who have supplemented their existing ‘legend’ status with an act that didn’t involve actually playing for Leeds United. Jim Milburn, for example, was the last and youngest of three Milburn brothers to wear the white shirt – it wasn’t white then, but work with me on this - but quite apart from 220 appearances for Leeds between 1939 and 1951, he also recommended his nephew Jack Charlton to the club – son of his sister Cissie – so we’ve a lot to be thankful to him for.

Elsewhere, Paul Madeley followed the ‘side before self’ ethic to the letter when he signed a new contract and left the club to fill in the salary details, because playing for Leeds United was more important to him than money. David Wetherall was very popular during his Leeds career for famous goals against Manchester United, but he earned ‘legend’ status for the goal he scored for Bradford City against Liverpool on the last day of the 1999/00 season, which helped Leeds United qualify for the Champions League.

In more recent times, Jermaine Beckford was already bagging goals like a squirrel hordes nuts, when he uttered his infamous “what shirt am I wearing bruv?” phrase in a live TV interview and fully endeared himself to the United faithful. But there has also been a long line of unconventional legends who are better remembered for their off-the-pitch actions than ‘anything’ they did on the pitch.

Let’s start with Duncan McKenzie; a joyful showman and virtuoso in a Leeds shirt, but the only visual reference we see is his ability to jump over a Mini. Marcelo Bielsa would have sleepless nights for a week if he’d caught wind that one of his players had attempted this even when they were still at school. In the 1970s though, it was very much ‘anything goes’ and we thought nothing of McKenzie acting out his boastful claims in front of 19,376 fans before Paul Reaney’s testimonial game in May 1976.



Neil Aspin was a determined and reliable defender in the 1980s; a veteran of 240 games for the club, but ‘Skull’, as he became known, was hardly remembered for his elegance or finely-crafted performances. Instead, he won our hearts in 1987 when he postponed his wedding because our FA Cup Semi-Final versus Coventry was moved to a Sunday. Back then we all nodded approvingly, but being more broad-minded these days we would of course respect the fact that some things in life are more important than football, and if the same scenario presented itself today, we would……erm…….perhaps realise we weren’t as liberal and broad-minded as we thought……..

Another alternative icon was Glynn Snodin, a gritty and single-minded player capable of the odd spectacular goal. But his everlasting Leeds United legacy is being credited with popularising the ‘Leeds Salute’. He probably wasn’t the first, but he was certainly the most visible exponent of the exclusive greeting exchanged between people who ‘got it’. Post-match, in press conferences and pretty much any time he’s left the house since the late 1980s, Snodin is seemingly on a one-man mission to ensure this furtive ‘nod’ between Leeds fans remains a public curiosity.

Around the same time, Vinnie Jones stormed into Elland Road, and in a maelstrom 14 months left his mark on every sector of city life. More than his goals against Brighton and Hull City and his formidable midfield partnership with David Batty, Jones is fondly revered for his haircut, his charity work, promotional appearances in every bar and nightclub in Leeds, chatting with disabled fans before every match and of course, upending a five year-old mascot for no reason whatsoever.



Moving into the new Millennium we have Shaun Derry, who isn’t remembered for a blistering run and finish to score the winner on his home debut versus West Ham United, but for the fact he’d had beans on toast for his pre-match meal after scouring Leeds city centre for a ‘greasy spoon café’. He was truly one of us.

Likewise, David Prutton is more celebrated now than he was during his Leeds career. Because while he was committed and dependable throughout his 77 appearances, he only truly won our hearts with a letter he wrote to supporters upon leaving the club, when he articulately expressed what playing for Leeds United meant to him.

Finally we arrive at Gaetano Berardi, an undisputed fan darling now, but not back in April 2015 after being sent off twice early in his Leeds career and yet to establish himself as the adaptable, staunchly devoted and slightly *coughs* enthusiastic defender we love today. On the eve of an away fixture at Charlton, six players mysteriously pulled-out of the game with sudden, unexplained ‘injuries’. Berardi had arrived at the club at the same time as all of them, but stayed loyal to Leeds United and beleaguered manager Neil Redfearn by travelling with the team and taking a place on the bench, despite himself carrying an injury.

It was evidence that Berardi was ‘different gravy’, and like many players before him and certainly now, it showed that once you ‘get’ Leeds United, there is no better place to be, particularly once Leeds United also ‘gets’ you.