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Leeds United 2016/2017 Player Ratings

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We’ve done player ratings after every game this year with the exception of Wigan. This is our player ratings for the whole season, every squad member will be under inspection here, so settle down and enjoy. Feel free to abuse me in the comments after you’ve read it all.




Rob Green – 8 – Rob Green had a shaky start to the season, making a key error in the opening day game on his return to QPR. At that stage I was thinking, my word, we’ve signed an older Silvestri. He followed that up with nothing special, decent performances, until we faced Newcastle at home. He somehow managed to mess up a simple catch, dropping it into the path of Dwight Gayle to score, Leeds never recovered from that on the day. However after that and in 2017 especially, he’s been arguably our best player. Some of his saves have been purely ridiculous and he’s earned us possibly even more points than Chris Wood has! We made this video to show our appreciation for the man. This doesn’t even include some quality performances he put in after the Brentford game.




Marco Silvestri – 7 – He only played in cup games, he still showed the same weaknesses that we all know he has, kicking, collecting crosses. However his performance in the penalty shootout against Norwich was something else, so fair play.





Luke Ayling – 9 –
Possibly the shock of the season, when we signed him I was confused more than anything. We had Berardi as a starter and Coyle as backup, which seemed more than enough to me. However, I was proved wrong. His attacking prowess was key to our success this season, not that he lacked anything in the defensive department either. His partnership with Kyle Bartley on the right side of the defence was massive, they’re as good a partnership off the field as they are on it and that showed in their performances. An absolute steal from Bristol City, it seems bizarre that he couldn’t make it into their team. It’s worth remembering he can also play as a CB in a back 5/3 or even fill in for a team who only has three centre-backs like ourselves… An amazing first season from Luke.




Gaetano Berardi – 8 – It was hard for me not to give him a 10 because I love him so much, but Berardi’s improvement this season has been nothing short of miraculous. That’s not to say he was poor before, but he was undisciplined at times and lost his head a bit. However this year, he didn’t sulk about not starting games in the first half of the year, he got his head-down, improved his game and turned himself into a real fan-favourite. He filled in for Charlie Taylor at left-back when he was “injured”, I’m starting to wonder whether that was actually the case after Monk said this

Berardi played so well that it got to a stage where I and many others wanted him to start ahead of Taylor even when he came back. It’s not that Berardi is a better player, just that he puts 100% in every time and he just *gets* Leeds. He plays every game as any fan would, if given the chance. He was also the only Leeds player to buy a ticket to the Leeds film Do you want to win? Which say’s a lot.







Lewie Coyle – 8 – Obviously his chances were very limited this season but whenever he did need to step in, he performed exceptionally well. The Derby game at home springs to mind, where we played three right-backs in our back four, he was class.

Tyler Denton – 7 – He also had limited opportunities, but his debut for Leeds involved a screamer against Luton, so I’m sure he’ll take it.

Charlie Taylor – 6 – He started the season off a tad below where we’d come to expect his performances, he grew into the season, he was key to our attacking plans, him flying down one wing with Ayling on the other, allowing the wingers to make different runs, was great to watch. However he went off injured in the Brentford game and didn’t return until March, which seems extremely dodgy after recent events. It was bad enough when the Charlton six happened, but for one of our own, someone who’s been at the club for a ridiculously long time, to refuse to put on the shirt is just downright disrespectful. I’ve defended him a lot before but there’s no defending that, it’s extremely disappointing.




Kyle Bartley – 9 – What a leader this man is, he should have been the captain all season for me. People give Jansson all the credit but for me Bartley is the better player. He goes about his business, no drama, he just gets it done. He should be our first signing this summer, no doubt. Amazingly, he’s also our next highest goalscorer after Chris Wood with 6. That says a lot about our midfield too but take nothing away from Bartley, he scored some key goals. The late winner at home to Brentford stands out, a great header.




Pontus Jansson – 9 – What a revelation this man has been. I can confidently say nobody expected him to do the things he’s done for us this season when he arrived. I remember him being on the bench when he first got here and just thinking, it’s about time we signed a good centre-back and we had. He understands what it is to be Leeds, not only is he an outstanding talent on the field, but he was a major part in making the fan-player bond better than it’s been for years and years. Things like this

really endeared him to us all and if he’s still here in August like he should be, I’ll be happy no matter what else goes on.




Liam Cooper – 6 – He’s come in for a lot of stick this season, purely because he isn’t Kyle Bartley or Pontus Jansson, I think people need to understand your backup centre-back is a backup for a reason. He played well in patches, putting in decent performances against Brighton and Aston Villa, although he also gave away a penalty in the Villa game… I imagine he’ll still be here as our backup next season, but I’d expect us to sign another young CB too.




Liam Bridcutt – 6 – I personally haven’t been impressed by Briductt this season. I think he looked a lot better when he was surrounded by poor players (with the exception of Cook) last year. He’s put in a few good performances, like Derby and Brighton. Too often he’s looked like a third centre-back, leaving his midfield partner severely exposed. He doesn’t seem like a captain to me, he can go missing extremely easily and is slack with his passing. I’d say Ronaldo Vieira could easily take his role next season if we play the same formation.




Ronaldo Vieira – 8 – An extremely impressive first season for Ronaldo, he is so strong for someone of his age, when he’s on it he can run a game with ease, Derby at home being the best example of that. He’s been inconsistent at times, but that’s to be expected. He’ll have learned a lot from this season, he’s had the ups and downs, although not many downs, his last minute winner away to Norwich is what dreams are made of. Hopefully we can get him signed up to a long-term deal.




Kalvin Phillips – 7 – A mixed season to say the least for Kalvin, some people seem to despise him, which I really don’t understand. He went from this

to being abused on social media. He’s had some poor performances in recent months, although not many haven’t in this team, but he’s a young lad who bleeds Leeds and he should have our support. We’ve seen what’s happened with Tom Lees, he became a poor player here, but with support at Wednesday, he’s a top centre-back now. When he’s on it, he’s got a great passing range, a burst from midfield and a powerful shot too, which he needs to use more. He strikes me as a confidence player and Garry clearly rates him, he just needs the fans to stick with him.







Eunan O’Kane – 8 – I was extremely impressed with Eunan, he drives forward from midfield well and keeps things ticking in the middle. Which made it extremely confusing as to why he was left out of the side for our worst run of the season, it just doesn’t make any sense. In fact, one of our downfalls this season was the changing of our midfield partnership, I think we needed a bit of stability in there really. He’s experienced promotion from this league before and will be key for us next season.




Pablo Hernandez – 7 – He was absolutely brilliant in spells, mainly in the first-half of the season, but then absent in others. Some games like Derby at home, Cardiff away, he just took over and ran the show, looking like a Premier League player in the Championship. However when we really needed him in the run-in he was nowhere to be seen for the majority. Especially in the away games, he just looked like he had no legs and was definitely left on the pitch a bit too long at times. Although he occasionally showed why, like when he set up Roofe to put the ball in for Wood to score at Newcastle or slammed home a freekick against Norwich. It’ll be interesting to see whether he’s back next season or not.




Kemar Roofe – 7 – A slow start to Roofe’s life in the Championship, although that was to be expected with the jump up from League two. He only managed to score three goals, but he did manage to gain seven assists, second most behind Hernandez with eight. He was much better in the number 10 role than he was out wide, it’s a shame he didn’t get to play more there really. He’s definitely got potential to be a top player at this level though, next season will be massive for him.




Stuart Dallas – 5 – I like Dallas but he just hasn’t contributed enough this season, I can’t really remember anything he did other than crossing the ball for Bartley’s header v Brentford, there’s a chance he could be leaving the club this season, I think we’ve moved past a point where he can start games for us really. Not a bad squad player to have though, it just depends whether he wants to start games.




Souleymane Doukara – 6 – He’s been a lot better this season than I thought he would be, I didn’t even think he’d still be here and that goal against Forest was special. However, he still isn’t good enough for me, we need to be going onto bigger and better things than him. I used to resent him for the Charlton incident but I think we’re past that now. He picked up six goals this season too, a useful contribution.




Hadi Sacko – 6 – An extremely bright start followed by months of below par performances. He has pace to burn and not a lot else. He’s like a BTEC Gradel, if you will. His final-ball lets him down on a game by game basis and his finishing leaves a lot to be desired. He gets himself into positions where he can change the game, then lets himself down with execution or he just picks the wrong option. Wood may have scored 30 but he’d be closer to 40 if Sacko had a brain.




Alfonso Pedraza – 7 – Pedraza clearly has a lot of talent, maybe not as fast as we’d have liked, but technically sound and unlike some Spanish players, he isn’t afraid to get stuck in. I remember at Fulham away he introduced himself with a crunching tackle and I liked him instantly. That finish at Birmingham away was top drawer, it’s just a shame we didn’t see more of it. If we had got promoted, we’d have to pay £8m for him, so it seems unlikely that he’ll be back unless it’s on loan, which I wouldn’t be against.




Chris Wood – 10 – The man himself, he deserves his 10. He was taking a bit of abuse at the start of the season, hence his ear-cupping celebration after his goal against Fulham. I didn’t rate him before this season to be honest, but he proved myself and countless others wrong. He becomes one of six players to score thirty goals in a season for Leeds United and that is some achievement. His improvement this season to last is unbelievable and must be in some ways down to James Beattie, a bit of an upgrade on Steve Evans to say the least. Watch our video here of all 30 of his goals –




Marcus Antonsson – 5 – Last but not least we have Antonsson, it’s not really his fault but I can’t give him any more than a 5. He doesn’t suit the system we run, making it a strange signing in the first place, he looked like he had a decent finish on him against Fleetwood and he scored two more goals, against Wednesday and Norwich. He was absolutely awful against Sutton and then we never really saw him again so I can’t be too harsh, but it’s not looking good for him. I could see him going back to Sweden.

If you made it this far I’d like to first of all say well done for reading all of that and also let me know what you think in the comments, what ratings would you give?

Is it next season yet?

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  • Adam barlow says:

    I agree with them all apart from Phillips.phillips is dire we should have sold him and kept mowattt his “great passing range” is good but rarely hits it’s intended target all he ever seems to do is give the ball away then get booked trying to win it back

  • Rob Campbell says:

    No I totally agree with the Phillips evaluation, I think he is a confidence player , much like Chris Wood. When he is on his game, he can strike a ball with thunder, ping long-range passes around the pitch, & makes tackles high up the pitch. He’s not often as entertaining to watch as many people would like, which I think is why the things he really contributes well go un-noticed, & at the end of the day, let’s not forget, he’s been started a fair few times & is still in that group of young players underneath what was the Mowatt, Cook, Taylor trio, he has a lot of learning to do, but Monk obviously see’s something in that, & Im not one to doubt his views after what he’s done for us this season.

  • Rob Campbell says:

    Brilliant execution of ratings though, the only one I’d slightly knock was Bridcutt, just because as much as he does sit back too much & leave the midfield open, he’s broken play up against many teams this season & stolen their momentum not allowing them to build decent attacks, always fully committed & doesn’t go half heartedly into a challenge. I’d have given him a 7

  • Michael Wall says:

    Great ratings. Agreed with the majority of them exactly.
    Really enjoyed your honest opinions on the CM positions. O’Kane not given enough starts, and although Bridcutt does a lot of good mopping up, he sits far too deep and it’s as if we’re down a man on the rest of the pitch. Huge fan of Monk, only issue is his team selection sometimes. Great article!

  • Chris says:

    Aha would agree with all of those too bad were shite this season. What songs did you use for the videos please

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