FLW’s Leeds fan pundit ranks the club’s most underrated players of all time
- Liam Cooper is the eighth most underrated player in Leeds United’s history, having made over 250 appearances for the club and captained the side.
- Carl Shutt, ranked seventh, made a strong impact with a hat-trick in his first appearance for Leeds United and scored 17 goals in 79 league appearances.
- Trevor Cherry, the most underrated player according to our fan pundit, played for Leeds from 1972 to 1982, winning a league championship and marking Johan Cruyff out of a European Cup match.
- This post is part of Football League World’s ‘Terrace Talk’ series, which features personal thoughts from our FLW Fan Pundits on breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings, and more…
Leeds United, as many football fans are aware, is a large football club with a long history.
The Whites have won the first division three times, four times in the second division, the FA Cup, and the League Cup, as well as the Charity Shield and the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.
Naturally, with any success, there are players at the club who are considered legends.
Billy Bremner, Eddie Gray, Jack Charlton, Norman Hunter, Peter Lorimer – the list goes on and on!ever derided Leeds United players
- But what about those players who have flown under the radar throughout the club’s history, or who are underappreciated in comparison to their peers?
With that in mind, FLW’s Leeds United fan pundit Kris Smith compiled a list of the eight most underappreciated Leeds United players of all time.
We must emphasize that these are the ranks of our fan commentators, not our own. Let’s get started!
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Liam Cooper
- Liam Cooper is the first player on this list, and according to our fan commentator, the ninth most underappreciated Leeds United player ever.
Cooper, of course, remains at the club in 2023/24 and has captained the team for several years.
He joined the club in 2014 from Chesterfield FC, and he has to be some of the best money Leeds United has ever spent, with some reports claiming the club paid under £600,000 for his signature.
Cooper has seen it everything in his nine years at Elland Road, including changes in ownership, management, and divisions, as well as promotion and relegation.
Cooper has made almost 250 appearances for Leeds United to date.
- Carl Shutt
- Liam Cooper is the first player on this list, and according to our fan commentator, the ninth most underappreciated Leeds United player ever.
Carl Shutt is ranked seventh in these standings, according to our FLW fan pundit.Shutt, who was born in Sheffield, played for Leeds United from 1989 to 1993.
When he came, he made an immediate impact, scoring a hat-trick in his debut outing.
According to the statistics, Shutt appeared in 79 league games with the Whites, scoring 17 goals in that time.
But it was his work off the ball that stood out, specifically his tireless and unselfish running and refusal to let up on a ball.
Cooper, of course, remains at the club in 2023/24 and has captained the team on numerous occasions.
- Jim Storrie
- Jim Storrie, according to our Leeds United fan commentator, is the sixth most underestimated Leeds United player of all time.
Storrie played for Leeds United in the 1960s, joining the club from Airdrieonians in 1962.
Storrie stayed at Elland Road for five years, scoring plenty of goals and assisting Leeds achieve promotion to the first division and an FA Cup final appearance.
Storrie eventually left Leeds in 1967 to join Scottish club Aberdeen.
Rotherham, Portsmouth, and St Mirren were among the other clubs he played for.
- Gary Sprake
- Jim Storrie, according to our Leeds United fan commentator, is the sixth most underestimated Leeds United player of all time.Gary Sprake is another player that FLW’s Leeds United fan commentator believes has been underappreciated at Elland Road over the years.
Sprake, like Storrie, began his senior career at Leeds in 1962 having rising through the youth ranks as an apprentice there after being identified in his hometown of Swansea.
He would stay at Leeds for 11 years, making nearly 400 league appearances during that time, which is excellent.
Sprake’s achievements with Leeds United included first and second division titles, as well as the League Cup.
Storrie played for Leeds United in the 1960s, after joining the club in 1962.
- Jon Newsome
- Jon Newsome enters the top half of this list of eight, ranking fourth in terms of underappreciated Leeds United players over the years, according to our FLW fan pundit.
Newsome played with Leeds from 1991 until 1994, winning the first division title.
During that time, the defender made 80 appearances for the club before going on to Norwich City.
Newsome’s career was cut short by injury, and he retired at the age of 30 in 2000.
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Mick Bates
- Mick Bates is the third most underappreciated Leeds United player of all time, according to FLW’s Leeds United fan commentator.
Bates, like a few others on this list, was a member of Don Revie’s successful Leeds United team.
Bates made 191 appearances for Leeds between 1965 and 1976, according to the club’s website.
Despite frequently being a squad player due to the presence of players such as Billy Bremner and Johnny Giles ahead of him, Bates remained loyal to Leeds and was a vital and underappreciated part of the Revie era.
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Rod Wallace
- Rod Wallace is ranked second on FLW’s list of Leeds United’s most underappreciated players of all time.
Wallace spent the bulk of the 1990s at Elland Road, coming from Southampton in 1991 and leaving in 1998 for Rangers.
Wallace made 235 appearances for the Whites during that period, scoring 60 goals and tallying 16 assists while winning the first division in 1991/92.
Despite his return, our fan pundit believes Wallace was or is underestimated during his time at Elland Road.
Wallace, although scoring numerous goals in the Premier League, was never called up by England, despite having previously played for the Under-21 and B teams.
- Trevor Cherry
- Rod Wallace is ranked second on FLW’s list of Leeds United’s most underappreciated players of all time.
Wallace spent the bulk of the 1990s at Elland Road, coming from Southampton in 1991 and leaving in 1998 for Rangers.
Wallace made 235 appearances for the Whites during that period, scoring 60 goals and tallying 16 assists while winning the first division in 1991/92.
Despite his return, our fan pundit believes Wallace was or is underestimated during his time at Elland Road.
Wallace, although scoring numerous goals in the Premier League, was never called up by England, despite having previously played for the Under-21 and B teams.
