Avstemmingsresultater i Yorkshire Evening Post... Akkurat som mine valg.
By Phil Hay
Published on Monday 11 July 2011 08:20
John Charles and Allan Clarke have been chosen to spearhead your Leeds United Dream Team in another show of support for the club’s legends.
The exploits of two of the most natural goalscorers in United’s history won the day in the vote for the last remaining places in our starting line-up.
Charles – equally at home at centre-back as he was at the head of the side – led the way with 33 per cent of votes, but Clarke’s involvement in United’s most successful period won him widespread support and a 29 per cent share.
‘Sniffer’, as the forward was affectionately known, won Leeds the FA Cup in 1972 with a famous diving header, one of 151 goals he bagged in United colours.
Charles was even more prolific, striking 157 times in 327 appearances, and he holds the record for the most goals claimed by a United player in a single season – 42 during the 1953-54 campaign.
Their inclusion completes a sparkling XI, featuring no fewer than eight players synonymous with the Don Revie era.
Birstall White backed the selection of both Charles and Clarke, writing: “I never saw John Charles but from what I’ve heard of him both at Leeds and at Juventus – and the fact he is still our top scorer with 42 goals in a season – he is a must for the team.
“Second has got to be one half of Revie’s strikeforce, Sniffer Clarke. Who can forget the commentary ‘Clarke, one-nil’, our greatest FA cup moment ever?â€
Yorkwhite21 said: “Sniffer Clarke was right out of the Denis Law mould and would be my second choice to play alongside the legend that was John Charles.
“£65,000 sounds like peanuts now but it was a world record at the time. In today’s market, if Fernando Torres is worth £50myou could double that for the Gentle Giant. Alongside Billy Bremner, Charles was the finest ever player to pull on a white shirt. He used to terrify opposition centre-halves.â€
Special praise was also reserved for Clarke’s regular strike partner, Mick Jones, though his share of the vote amounted to only seven per cent.
Collectors
Ghanaian international Tony Yeboah came third in the poll, no doubt a reflection of the picture-book goals which defined his short career at Elland Road.
His finishes against Liverpool and Wimbledon became collectors items and are still listed among the finest of Premier League goals.
“Frankly,†said former Leeds manager Howard Wilkinson, “I’ve never come across anyone quite like him. He’ll tell you that if he gets in the box he’ll score – and he does.â€
Writing on the YEP website, Humberrhino said: “Yeboah scored some of the most spectacular goals and my favourite was against Wimbledon.
“But my vote has to go to Lee Chapman because, without his goals, we wouldn’t have won the title in 1992.â€
Chapman received six per cent, placing him narrowly ahead of Mark Viduka. Jermaine Beckford – the only Leeds player since Chapman to score 30 goals in a season – claimed two per cent, with many readers admitting that he was out of his depth in the company of our other seven candidates.
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, meanwhile, received a similarly small margin of votes, failing to challenge the inclusion of Charles and Clarke in your line-up. As one reader said: “Hasselbaink and Yeboah scored some cracking individual goals, but their commitment to the cause was sometime in question. Ditto Viduka.â€
Final vote: John Charles 33%, Allan Clarke 29%, Tony Yeboah 14%, Mick Jones 7%, Lee Chapman 6%, Mark Viduka 6%, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink 3%, Jermaine Beckford 2%
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