Scottish Whites

17 Nov 2014 03:13 pm, by YorkshireSquare

International breaks are a bit dull aren’t they? Especially with first half performances such as that England put in against Slovenia on Saturday. Still, the other home nations have given something for people to get excited about, especially Scotland and the Republic of Ireland. What odds would you have got with bet365.com on both of them going head to head with Germany at the start of qualifying? They reminded us of that extra spark that you get when the home nations play each other and although England’s game against Scotland today is dubbed a ‘friendly’ there will be nothing friendly about the atmosphere in Celtic Park come kick off.

Many Leeds fans will have a bit of a soft spot for Scotland though given what an important role Scottish players have had in the history of our club. Be it the title winning sides of the 60s, 70s or 90s, there have always been Scots at the heart of the team. Scotland are currently at 13/5, with bet365 free bets on Freebets.co.uk why not place a cheeky bet on it. Whilst many will be looking forward to tonight’s game let us look back and reminisce about some of those great Scottish players who have plated for our club;


Billy Bremner (1959-1976)
Those fortunate enough to have seen "King Billy" play will have their own special memories of this fiery, redheaded dynamo...for those born too late, one can only say that no player at Leeds has ever played with so much pride and passion for the club. He came off the field after every game, totally bruised from his efforts because he never gave up trying. Made his Leeds 1st team debut in 1960 and went on to become captain for most of the "Glory Years". An excellent defender and passer of the ball, he always knew where every one of his team mates were, at any point of the match and played the ball right to their feet.

No slouch in front of goal either, he scored 90 times in his 16 years at Leeds. Scotland recognised his skills in 1965 and made him captain in 1968 and he played 54 times for them. Football League Player of the Year in 1970, he was idolised by the Leeds fans and given grudging respect by everyone in football. After 586 punishing games for Leeds, he moved to Hull in 1976 for a paltry £275,000. Returned to Leeds as 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 commemorative statue outside the Elland Road ground, which has become a shrine for Leeds fans worldwide.


Bobby Collins (1962-1967)
Small in stature, but huge in standing amongst United's galaxy of greats, Collins was the platform on which manager Don Revie launched his great sides. Revie paid £25,000 to Everton in March 1962 for the 31 year old former Scottish international, who went on to lift a mediocre club out of the depths of Division Two to one of the most successful in Europe. He captained Leeds to the Second Division title in 1963-64 and the following season was voted footballer of the year as Leeds came close to a League and Cup double. He was capped 31 times for Scottland.


Peter Lorimer (1962-1978, 1984-1985)
Leeds' youngest ever first team debutant just short of his 16th birthday, his powerful shots on goal earned him the nicknames "Lash" and "Hotshot" from the fans, especially after a newspaper recorded one of his shots at 90MPH! 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.


Eddie Gray (1965-1984)
In the late 60's and early 70's, he punished the best defenders in Europe, scoring 68 goals in his 19 years as a Leeds player.. none of them better than his brace against Burnley at Elland Road, his amazing dribble around 7 defenders before scoring, was met with a full 30 second silence - the Leeds fans were struck dumb by the majesty of what they'd just seen! The players were on their way back to the centre circle, when Elland Road erupted! Just one of numerous occasions that this gifted left winger had the Leeds fans in euphoria.


Gordon Strachan (1989-1995)
Scottish International Strachan joined LUFC from Man U for £300,000 in 1989. He enjoyed a successful career on both sides of the border. Scottish player of the year in 1979-80, he joined Man U for 500,000 in 1984, where he acquired a Cup-winners medal before joining Leeds. A prominent member of Scotland's 1982 and 1986 World Cup campaigns, he was the inspirational skipper of United's Second Division Championship team.

Anyone who doubted his ability to cope with a return to the top flight were woefully wide of the mark as he was named Footballer of the Year in 1991 and led Leeds to the Championship the following year and was awarded an OBE in 1993. Retiring with 50 Scottish Caps he played 234 games and scored 45 goals.


Gary McAllister (1990-1996)
Born Motherwell in 1964, Gary McAllister proved to be the most consistent Leeds player in his six seasons at Elland Road, and was as articulate off the field as on it. After winning the Second Division championship, Howard Wilkinson sought to add skill to United's muscular approach and beat off a challenge from Brian Clough to land the rising Leicester City star for £1m. McAllister dovetailed perfectly with Strachan, Batty and Speed to form an all-star international midfield, who were magnificent, as Leeds won the 1991-92 title. Captain of Leeds and Scotland, he won most of his 50+ caps while at Leeds where he played 293 games, scoring 45 times. He left for Coventry for £3m in 1996 and also played for Liverpool before returning to Coventry as player/manager.


The list goes on; Dominic Matteo, Joe Jordan, Gordon McQueen, Frank Gray, Arthur Graham, Jimmy Dunn, check out these and more at The 100 Greatest Leeds Players Ever.

View all Showing latest five comments of five...

eddietosteady wrote on 18 Nov 2014 11:18 am

Thate the one Martyn I did mean David Stewart.

Martyn wrote on 18 Nov 2014 10:49 am

eddietosteady wrote:Who remembers Alan Stewart? Anybody?
This Alan Stewart? Probably only his mum.

I remember David Stewart though. And some people were rumoured to have seen Cameron Stewart earlier this year.

eddietosteady wrote on 18 Nov 2014 10:14 am

Who remembers Alan Stewart? Anybody?

Dr.Leeds wrote on 18 Nov 2014 09:42 am

Stephen Crainey must be pretty gutted too...

Genghers wrote on 18 Nov 2014 09:17 am

What, no McCormack on that list? :P