Year 2000 in review - a horrible anus ?

Awards
-------

Best Goal : Kewell v Sheff Wed

Best Game : Leeds 4 Liverpool 3

Most mental celebration inducing goals : Kewell v Roma, Bowyer v Barca,
Radebe v Moscow, Smiffy in Munich, Viduka's 3&4th v Liverpool .....also
Lazio but i wasnt there :-(

Worst Games : Galatasaray (for obvious reasons)

Best Stadiums : Barcelona, Munich, Rome

Worst Stadiums : Prague, Leicester.

Best Laugh : Kelly missing the ball at Newcastle

Best Chant (non LUFC) : 60000 Muppets (Chelsea at Old Trafford), "Keown
is an ugly c@@nt" this season.

Worst corners of the season : All 12 scuffed by Bowyer v Villa
(december)

Player of 2000 : Lucas Radebe

Buy of 2000 : Olivier Dacourt

Dogshit 2000 : Darren Ploperby

Longest Tadger : Duberry's old lad seen in Sweden (he was still in
England at the time !!)

In-bred Dodgy Irish full back of 2000 : dead heat - The Kelly-Harte
sisters

C@@NTs of 2000 : Martin Keown, Pires, Arsen-bandit Whinger, Fergie..etc

Hope for 2001 : Robbie Keane

Leeds email Lister of the Year : Graham Thirkill and his foul mouthed badger (the
foooking c@@@nt !)

2000 review
------------

League - Played 37 Won 14 Lost 15 Drawn 8 (est.equivalent finish - 13th)

Leeds started the new year at the top of the Premier League fighting it
out neck and neck with their arch rivals Scumchester United from Gold
Trafford.

12 months on Leeds are lolling about in 14th place like an overweight
dog that can't be arsed to fetch its stick.

However all is not lost. Leeds have progressed against all odds into the
2nd phase of the Champions League and are possibly 2 wins away from
reaching the elite's last eight. The 2 European tours in 2000 have given
their long suffering fans a superb excuse to travel to exotic places and
drink themselves stupid !

Out with the old, in with the new
----------------------------------

The year 2000 has seen many changes. Leeds broke all records to sign
England youngster Rio Ferdinand for 18m but his arrival catapulted
Leeds into relegation form. Robbie Keane, more sensibly priced at 12m,
added strength to chairman Ridsdale's plans to see Leeds as one of the
Big 3 in England. For me the most significant signing was Ollie Dacourt.
He has been a revelation at Elland Road this season and even though
other big (belly) signing Mark Viduka has grabbed the goals, headlines
and pork pies, Ollie has been the model of consistency in the middle.

Significantly Robert Molenaar's departure severed all ties with Judas
Graham's brief sojourn in sunny West Yorkshire. At last Huckerby
departed after much speculation, and even though many believe he was
given too few chances, it seemed clear to me that he was a waste of
space. I likened his usefulness to "a dog shit on a string."
A goal on his debut for City yesterday may show he has a point to prove.

Other departures saw the much loved Alfie Haaland move across the
Peninnes, David Plopkin and his teeth take the bus to Bradford and
youngster Matty Jones, surplus to DOL's requirements, display his
undoubted talents at Filbert Street.

Interestingly Leeds also recruited former Man Utd man Brian Kidd to head
up the Academy. Being a coach of the highest repute it will only be a
matter of time ( 5 years !) before Kidd brings some more "little gems"
through into the senior squad.

Take note - Paul Hart's U19 team at Nottm Forest are unbeaten this
season !

Injuries
--------
Kewell, Batty, Bridges, Martyn, Wilcox - all class players - all have
been sorely missed.

Duberry - and he was injured too.

Goals
------

Who could forget Kewell's winner against Roma in March, or Wilcox's
piledriver at the Stadium of Light in January ? What about Kewell's 40
yarder against Villa in our first game of 2000 ?

For me though the best goal was Harry's delightful chip against
Wednesday at Hillsborough. Fat Fcker Pressman was chomping on his large
doner kebab as the ball sailed over his head and into the roof of the
net. Pure Aussie genius.

Best Games
----------

Roma both home and away were superb. In Rome the rough arsed 6000
travelling army saw Leeds sneak a 0-0 in the Olympic stadium and
Kewell's unexpected winner at Elland Road 2 weeks later brought the
house down.

Lazio away was a superb win but as I didn't attend this I dont think my
armchair OnDigital view can do it any justice.

Viduka 4 Liverpool 3 was awesome, mainly as we were 2-0 down and out,
but Fat Boy scored an incredible quadrick. More of the same please
Tubbs.

Worst Games
-----------

Barca away was a nightmare - thoroughly outclassed. Great City though,
unreal stadium.

Ipswich and Man City at home and the 4 defeats against Villa have been
hard to take, especially in the FA Cup when it was ours for the taking.

Tranmere.

Laughs
------

* Bowyer's goal v AC Milan in the rain.

* Gary Kelly.

Conclusions
-----------

2 magnificent Euro campaigns that we'll never forget for many reasons.

We have a chairman that has proved that there is compassion, ambition
and loyalty at the highest level of our football club. Nice work PR.

On the downside...Our league form has been alarming. The brilliant start
to the 1999-2000 season has masked just how bad our league form has been
in 2000. Now our injuries have largely cleared up and we have added some
real quality to the bench (!) then things look rosey for 2001.

Good luck lads.

Quiz
-----
Dont forget to test your LUFC knowledge at www.astott.demon.co.uk. So
far only Nigel Sykes, Dave Nattan, Paul Mundy have proved themselves.

Finally....

Our thoughts still go out to Kevin Speight and Chris Loftus who
on 5th April 2000 were murdered in Turkey.

Rest In Peace - Marching On Together

--
stotty

www.astott.demon.co.uk

(LUFC match reports, cartoons, and Flash movies)