Leeds United have had some great players over the years, with several high-profile goalkeepers dominating the number one shirt through history.
Daniel Farke spent big this summer as he attempted to resolve Leeds’ troublesome goalkeeper debate, bringing in Lucas Perri from Lyon.
The number one shirt has been something of a poisoned chalice for Leeds managers in recent years, with Illan Meslier becoming the latest victim, as he committed a string of errors that cost him his place in Leeds’ Championship title-winning season.
However, Leeds have boasted some of the finest goalkeepers in the country at times, before the club’s recent struggles. A sequence of big names dominated the position in the past.
As Perri looks to establish himself ahead of Karl Darlow in the Leeds team, here are the 10 greatest goalkeepers to play for Leeds United.
10. Kasper Schmeichel
This may be a controversial choice to kick off the ranking, and it is partially informed by what he has gone on to achieve since, but Kasper Schmeichel sneaks into the top 10.
Schmeichel spent one year as the Leeds number one under Simon Grayson, as the Whites challenged for the play-offs in their first year back in the Championship in 2010/11.
The highlight of his time at Leeds was a brilliant performance as Schmeichel helped his side secure a 1-1 draw against Arsenal in the Third Round of the FA Cup.
Leeds sold Schmeichel at the end of his first year at the club, as he joined Leicester City, where he would go on to win the Premier League title.
Although he is not the most popular figure at Elland Road, his quality cannot be questioned.
9. Rob Green
Former England international Rob Green joined Leeds at the tail end of his playing career. However, he made a big impact in one season at the club in 2016.
Signed by Garry Monk, Green played 46 games as Leeds made their first concerted Championship play-off push since the 2010/11 season under Simon Grayson.
Leeds’ defence was so stable that the fans sang the names of Luke Ayling, Gaetano Berardi, Pontus Jansson and Kyle Bartley. Green was a solid last line of defence behind them.
Longevity is the only thing that prevents Green from ranking higher on the list. Both Green and Leeds may wish the partnership had come about sooner.
8. Neil Sullivan
Neil Sullivan was one of the few bright lights in Leeds’ first season back in the second tier of English football, following their relegation from the Premier League in 2003/04.
After fighting off competition from rising star Scott Carson, Sullivan won Leeds’ Player of the Year award for his displays in a turgid season, notably pulling off a string of penalty saves.
He enjoyed another strong season in 2005/06 as Leeds made the Championship play-off final under Kevin Blackwell. However, an own goal capped off a miserable day as Leeds slipped to a meek defeat against Watford.
Injuries disrupted his last year at the club, before he fell out of favour with Dennis Wise. However, his impressive displays under Blackwell deserve recognition, while Leeds navigated a period of instability.
7. Jimmy Potts
One of the giants of Leeds United’s early years, Potts was the number one at Elland Road between 1926 and 1934.
While there is limited footage of Potts’ playing career, reports from the time paint a picture of a talented shot-stopper.
A report in the Evening Express described Potts as a player with “considerable claims” to be the best goalkeeper in the land, having received “a special ovation as a result of a magnificent display” against Arsenal in 1929.
Potts remains in seventh place in the list of most appearances by a Leeds goalkeeper, according to LUFCData, having appeared 263 times for the club, keeping 71 clean sheets in the process.
6. Paul Robinson
This is another selection partially informed by what he went on to do after he left the club. However, Paul Robinson enjoyed an impressive career with Leeds.
Robinson came through Leeds’ academy and was thrust into the first team in the 2000/01 season after an injury to Nigel Martyn.
However, despite his lack of experience, Robinson did not look out of place as he lined up against the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid, and he would go on to play 119 games for the club in all competitions.
Robinson eventually became England’s number one and won the EFL Cup with Tottenham as he continued his career after leaving Elland Road. If only more of that career could have been spent with Leeds.
5. Mervyn Day
Between the late 1960s and the early 2000s, the number one shirt at Leeds was dominated by five men, all of whom made the top five.
Mervyn Day is the lowest-ranked on the list, having made 268 appearances for Leeds between 1985 and 1993.
Day was signed by Eddie Gray in 1985 and went on to feature in the club’s run to the 1987 FA Cup semi-final, and he won a Second Division title under Howard Wilkinson.
However, Day became Leeds’ second choice after John Lukic returned to Leeds and only made three appearances after that point, eventually leaving the club to join Carlisle in 1993.
4. Gary Sprake
A giant of the early Don Revie era and the goalkeeper with the most appearances for Leeds, Gary Sprake was a near-constant in the Leeds side between 1962 and 1973.
Sprake won a series of honours during his time at Leeds, having been part of the side that won the Second Division title in 1963/64.
He also lifted the First Division in 1968/69, the League Cup in 1967/68, two Inter-Cities Fairs Cups and the Charity Shield.
However, Sprake was also responsible for two major errors, one in front of the Anfield Kop, which earned him the nickname “Careless Hands”, and one in the FA Cup final against Chelsea, which counts against him in this ranking.
A brilliant shot-stopper who was also capable of disastrous errors, Sprake’s longevity in the all-conquering Leeds side speaks for itself.
3. David Harvey
David Harvey is the man who eventually replaced Sprake in the Leeds side and played 447 games for the club across three spells in the 1970s and 1980s.
An injury to Sprake meant that Harvey started the 1972 FA Cup final against Arsenal, as Leeds lifted the trophy in the Centenary of the competition.
The following season, he played 63 times in a heartbreaking year for Revie’s side, as they finished second in the league and lost the FA Cup and Cup Winners’ Cup finals.
However, Harvey got his hands on the league title the following season and played an instrumental part in their run to the European Cup final under Jimmy Armfield the following year.
He would later return to Leeds twice after moves to Vancouver Whitecaps, eventually being replaced by Day after Leeds had dropped into the second tier following the disintegration of the great Revie side.
2. John Lukic
Another Leeds title winner claims second place on the list, as John Lukic takes his place among the pantheon of Leeds greats.
Having made his debut in 1978, Lukic was a constant in the Leeds team until 1983, when he accepted a move to North London to join Arsenal.
However, he returned to Leeds under Wilkinson and was at the heart of Leeds’ title win in the 1991/92 season.
The only thing that counts against Lukic is the fact that his very best years were spent at Arsenal, where he won the First Division title and the League Cup before he was displaced by David Seaman.
Lukic played a total of 431 times for Leeds and kept 150 clean sheets before the man in the number one spot took his place in 1996.
1. Nigel Martyn
Nigel Martyn joined Leeds in 1996, after he had become the first British goalkeeper to command a million-pound transfer fee when he joined his former club Crystal Palace.
The Cornish shot-stopper would go on to become a firm favourite at Elland Road, with fans regularly chanting “England’s Number One” after he pulled off another world-class save.
Martyn was a mainstay of the Leeds team that challenged for European football under George Graham and David O’Leary, and was unfortunate to have earned only 23 caps for his country.
Leeds fans voted Martyn as the club’s greatest ever goalkeeper in an official club poll, and it is impossible to disagree with that verdict.
With Karl Darlow and Lucas Perri sharing the number one duties so far this season, Farke would dearly love a player of Martyn’s calibre in his squad.
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