I'm with the King of Tonga on this one. As for the people who constantly stick the boot in to O'Leary - just what f***ing planet are you living on? We played exciting passing/attacking football during his reign (although IMO that was somewhat negated after Kidd had been their long enough to get his feet under the table) and he gave us glorious premiership days and European nights not seen since the Don's team was at its peak.
No, he may not have signed all the players in his most formidable team, but he brought a hell of a lot of them on. Mills (limited on arrival) turned in to a decent attacking full back and was one of England's shining lights in the 2002 world cup. Dacourt was pants for Everton, yet gave outstanding performances for us week in week out. Anybody who says Bowyer didn't improve under O'Leary clearly wasn't watching Leeds at the time! Ferdinand improved enough for leather chops to give 30M for him; if he thought he was that good at West Ham, why didn't he nip in and get him at 18M instead of letting us buy him? Viduka was a good player at Celtic, but a hell of sight better for us. Bridges (an in and out performer at Scumderland) was quality for us at both home and abroad, until his injury woes absolutely knackered his career; defences were shit scared of him during his first season at Elland Road. Add to this (also mentioned by others) the development of Kewell, Smith and Woodgate - a fair record of player improvement I'd say!!! Don't get me wrong, I don't think he did everything right and he made a couple of shocking signings in Duberry and Johnson, but even the greatest managers make the odd mistake in the transfer market - any one remember Roy Ellam:-)) Add to this, I don't think he gave Keane or Huckerby a fair crack of the whip, and he signed both of those! I think his overall record (including style of play) compares favourably with most managers plying their trade in the top two divisions today, and those of you who seem to have forgotten that so quickly need to take a reality check. Rog Roger M Goodair Telecoms & ICT Support Manager University of Bradford Richmond Road BRADFORD BD7 1DP Tel: 01274 235332 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________________ the Leeds List is an unmoderated mailing list and the list administrators accept no liability for the personal views and opinions of contributors. Leedslist mailing list [email protected] http://list.zetnet.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/leedslist 'I am in shock,' said Ferguson.
