10 Greatest Leeds United Midfielders Ever
3. Eddie Gray
A winger blessed with dazzling trickery, Eddie Gray’s elegant runs were the most aesthetically pleasing feature of Revie’s Leeds side. Tall, skinny and playing with a slight hunch, the Scottish left-footer looks deceived, as countless beaten opponents could testify to.
Technically refined and perfectly balanced, Gray brought a sophisticated touch to a team built primarily on practicality and efficiency.
In the late ’60s and early ’70s, he punished the best defenders in Europe, scoring 68 goals in his 19 years as a Leeds player. But none of them was better than his brace against Burnley at Elland Road, his amazing dribble around 7 defenders before scoring. The Leeds fans were struck dumb by the majesty of what they’d just seen!
2. Peter Lorimer
Lorimer was an attacking midfielder, generally regarded as having one of the hardest shots in football. From 1984 to 1985 he was club captain of Leeds and holds the record as the club’s youngest ever player and record goalscorer. He was voted into the Greatest Leeds United team of all time.
His shooting aside, he was a superb right-winger and his crosses to the Leeds forwards were deadly accurate. However, he will be remembered for his blistering shooting skills in his two periods with Leeds, which resulted in 238 goals in a total of 676 games. Capped 21 times for Scotland Peter also played in Canada, South Africa and Israel, before finally hanging up his scorched boots in the mid 80’s.
1. Billy Bremner
As midfield warriors go, none come close to ‘the captain of the crew’ Billy Bremner. Voted the Greatest Leeds United Player Ever and with a statue outside Elland Road, the Leeds United fans appreciation of Bremner is clear.
His combative style however did lead to individual and team criticism from the press and neutrals. Few were willing to accept Bremner was a highly skilled, hard-working and tireless player whose combative style was more a necessary approach that was indicative of most players in his day and age. Football back then, was as much a battle of physical endurance and strength as it was skill and finesse. Luckily, Bremner had both.
Bremner’s Leeds career suggests some kind of destiny — had he been taller he might have played for Arsenal or Chelsea (who both rejected him). Had he not had a manager like Don Revie he might have left Leeds, homesick for Scotland, to play for Hibernian (who couldn’t afford the then-exorbitant £45,000 fee Revie put on him). And had Bobby Collins not been injured in Torino, he might never have been made captain — and instead drifted eventually to Celtic (where he was also idolised).
But everything steered Bremner to Leeds. After 586 punishing games for Leeds, he moved to Hull in 1976 for a paltry £275,000. Returned to Leeds as a manager in 1985, but was sacked 3 years later for not gaining promotion. A heart attack on Dec 7th 1997, sadly robbed the football world of one of its true legends…honoured by a statue outside the Elland Road ground, which has become a shrine for Leeds fans worldwide.
Checkout: 10 Greatest Leeds United Players Ever