2000–01 Leeds United A.F.C. season

Having qualified for the champions league in his first full season as manager David O'Leary begun to spend big, French midfielder Olivier Dacourt was signed for a club record of 7 million along with striker Mark Viduka from Celtic and defender Dominic Matteo from Liverpool. Despite the outlay, Leeds were hampered with huge injury problems before the season had even begun, after back-to-back wins over Everton and Middlesbrough it was soon clear that playing in the Champions League and Premiership with a young squad that was hampered with injuries would take its toll; consequently Leeds form suffered at home quickly falling out of any title race. Despite this, they won memorial games against AC Milan and Besitktas soon progressing to the second round of the champions league against all odds, in the run up to Christmas manager David O'Leary finally landed defender Rio Ferdinand from West Ham for a then world record fee of £18 million for a defender. A win at Lazio in the Champions League then gave Leeds hope of qualifying for the quarter finals but in the Premier League, Leeds' form was falling away, after straight losses to Aston Villa and Newcastle Leeds were falling worryingly close to the relegation zone. Striker Robbie Keane was then signed on loan from Inter Milan and this, combined with a 4–0 win over Manchester City marked a turning point for Leeds and with key players including David Batty and Harry Kewell returning from injury Leeds began charging up the table with Robbie Keane in great scoring form. Leeds then qualified for the quarter final of the Champions League with more positive results, including a win against Belgian side Anderlecht, and after a 2–0 win over Sunderland Leeds were back in the top 3. Days later a win over Deportivo La Coruña saw Leeds reach the semi final of the Champions League but their cup run finally came to an end against Spanish giants Valencia who beat Leeds 3–0. Domestically, Leeds were ending the season in good form but a 2–1 loss to Arsenal would mean Leeds ended the season finishing 4th. Despite a disappointing finish to the season Leeds had enjoyed one of the greatest seasons in their history, and the club and its fans were hopeful of a league title challenge the next year.

Results summary

Results by round

Squad at end of season[1]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  ENG Nigel Martyn 2 DF  IRL Gary Kelly 3 DF  IRL Ian Harte 4 MF  FRA Olivier Dacourt 5 DF  RSA Lucas Radebe (captain) 6 DF  ENG Jonathan Woodgate 7 FW  IRL Robbie Keane (on loan from Inter Milan) 8 FW  ENG Michael Bridges 9 FW  AUS Mark Viduka 10 FW  AUS Harry Kewell 11 MF  ENG Lee Bowyer 13 GK  ENG Paul Robinson 14 MF  IRL Stephen McPhail 16 MF  ENG Jason Wilcox

No. Pos. Nation Player 17 FW  ENG Alan Smith 18 DF  ENG Danny Mills 19 MF  NOR Eirik Bakke 21 DF  SCO Dominic Matteo 22 DF  ENG Michael Duberry 23 MF  ENG David Batty 24 DF  NZL Danny Hay 25 MF  AUS Jacob Burns 27 DF  IRL Alan Maybury 28 MF  ENG Jamie McMaster 29 DF  ENG Rio Ferdinand 31 DF  ENG Gareth Evans 38 FW  ENG Tony Hackworth

Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 12 FW  ENG Darren Huckerby (to Manchester City) 20 MF  WAL Matt Jones (to Leicester City) 29 MF  WAL Kevin Aherne-Evans (to Cardiff City) 30 DF  NED Robert Molenaar (to Bradford City)

No. Pos. Nation Player 35 FW  ENG Lee Matthews (to Bristol City) 40 MF  IRL Alan Cawley (to Sheffield Wednesday) 41 DF  ENG Jason Lanns (to Rochdale)

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 26 GK  AUS Danny Milosevic 32 MF  NIR Simon Watson 33 MF  NIR Wesley Boyle 34 MF  ENG Kevin Dixon 36 FW  NIR Warren Feeney 37 DF  IRL Damian Lynch

No. Pos. Nation Player 39 DF  IRL Alan Martin 42 FW  ENG Tony Lennon 43 FW  ENG Harpal Singh — GK  ENG Shaun Allaway — DF  AUS Shane Cansdell-Sherriff — FW  ENG Simon Johnson

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK  RSA Chad Harpur — DF  ENG Christopher Kamara — DF  ENG Matthew Kilgallon — DF  ENG Tom Newey — DF  ENG Frazer Richardson

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  IRL Paul Keegan — MF  ENG Jamie McMaster — FW  ENG Craig Farrell — FW  ENG Caleb Folan — FW  WAL Craig Steins

(Starting appearances + substitute appearances)[2][3]

No.	Pos.	Name	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Champions League		Total		Discipline
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK	Nigel Martyn	23	0	1	0	0	0	12	0	36	0	1	0
2	DF	Gary Kelly	22+2	0	1	0	1	0	11+1	0	35+3	0	1	0
3	DF	Ian Harte	29	7	1	0	1	0	17	4	48	11	3	0
4	MF	Olivier Dacourt	33	3	1	0	0	0	14	1	48	3	16	1
5	DF	Lucas Radebe	19+1	0	1	0	0+1	0	10	0	30+2	0	7	1
6	DF	Jonathan Woodgate	14	1	1	0	1	0	5	0	21	1	4	0
7	FW	Robbie Keane	12+6	9	2	0	0	0	0	0	14+6	9	1	0
8	FW	Michael Bridges	6+1	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	10+1	0	0	0
9	FW	Mark Viduka	34	17	2	1	1	0	16	4	53	22	7	0
10	FW	Harry Kewell	12+5	2	0	0	0	0	6	3	18+8	2	3	0
11	MF	Lee Bowyer	38	9	1	0	0	0	15	6	54	15	12	0
12	FW	Darren Huckerby	2+5	0	0	0	1	2	0+3	1	3+8	3	0	0
13	GK	Paul Robinson	15+1	0	1	0	1	0	6	0	23+1	0	0	0
14	MF	Stephen McPhail	3+4	0	0	0	0	0	1+2	0	4+6	0	0	0
16	MF	Jason Wilcox	7+10	0	0+1	0	1	0	2+3	1	9+14	1	0	0
17	FW	Alan Smith	26+7	11	1+1	0	0+1	0	16	7	43+9	18	11	2
18	DF	Danny Mills	20+3	1	1	0	0	0	15+1	0	36+4	0	11	0
19	MF	Eirik Bakke	24+5	2	2	0	1	0	10+2	1	37+7	3	12	1
20	MF	Matt Jones	3+1	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	5+1	0	0	0
21	DF	Dominic Matteo	30	0	2	0	1	0	15	2	48	2	3	0
22	DF	Michael Duberry	5	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	9	0	1	0
23	MF	David Batty	13	3	2	0	0	0	7+1	0	22+4	0	4	1
24	DF	Danny Hay	2+2	0	0	0	1	0	0+1	0	3+3	0	0	0
25	MF	Jacob Burns	3+1	0	0	0	1	0	3+1	0	7+2	0	0	0
27	DF	Alan Maybury	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0
29	DF	Rio Ferdinand	23	2	2	0	0	0	7	1	32	3	1	0
31	MF	Gareth Evans	0+1	0	0	0	1	0	0+1	0	0+2	0	0	0
38	FW	Tony Hackworth	0	0	0	0	0+1	0	0+2	0	0+3	0	0	0