2013–14 Leeds United F.C. season
# 2013–14 Leeds United F.C. season

The 2013–14 season was Leeds United A.F.C.'s fourth consecutive season in the second tier of English football.

## Season summary

Leeds began the season in the same strong form that helped them avoid relegation the previous year, and by Christmas Day were in the play-off places, leaving fans cautiously optimistic that Brian McDermott might be the man to take them back into the top-flight after a decade away. As had become all-too familiar for the club, however, off-field events saw their promotion challenge quickly unravel. GFH Capital, who had purchased the club the previous year, announced that they did not have the funds to continue running the club long-term, and eventually sold Leeds to maverick Italian owner Massimo Cellino, who immediately ran afoul of the Football Association's fit and proper persons test due to a past criminal conviction.

The uncertainty had a clear effect on the field, with Leeds' form collapsing dramatically, eventually leading to a farcial episode where McDermott was sacked, only to be reinstated a few days later. The team won only three games in-between Christmas Day and April 8, before a late flurry of ten points from their final five matches stabilized their league position (though they would have survived even had they not gained any points from these games, largely thanks to the dismal form of the bottom four sides). However, this was not enough to save McDermott's job, and he parted company with Leeds shortly after the season ended, with club captain Ross McCormack, whose goals were largely credited with helping Leeds avoid a serious relegation struggle, handing in a transfer request shortly thereafter.

## Events

This is a list of the significant events to occur at the club during the 2013–14 season, presented in chronological order, starting on 4 May 2013 and ending on the final day of the club's final match in the 2013–14 season. This list does not include transfers or new contracts, which are listed in the transfers section below, or match results, which are in the results section.

### August

* 11 August: Rodolph Austin replaces Lee Peltier as Club Captain.

### October

* 21 October: Ryan Hall is suspended from the club for two weeks pending an investigation into a disciplinary issue

### November

* 30 November: English consortium granted exclusive period for significant investment in club by GFH Capital.

### January

* 7 January: The club confirms the group which will acquire a majority shareholding in Leeds United is Sport Capital.
* 10 January: Leeds United announce strategic partnership with San Francisco 49ers of the NFL.
* 16 January: Ross McCormack is named as new Club Captain, replacing Rodolph Austin, who was appointed club captain at the start of the season – who stepped down from the role following the 6–0 defeat against Sheffield Wednesday.
* 30 January: The takeover of Sport Capital collapses after some of the consortium's backers didn't feel able to deliver the financial backing. However, GFH Capital confirm they are in continual discussions regarding the introduction of new investment into Leeds United.

### February

* 1 February 2014: GFH Capital confirm that it has agreed to sell a 75 per cent stake in the club to Eleonora Sport Ltd, a company owned by Massimo Cellino.
* 4 February 2014: Enterprise Insurance, the club's shirt sponsor, file a winding-up petition over an alleged unpaid debt understood to be about £1.5 million.
* 7 February 2014: GFH Capital exchanged contracts for the sale of 75 per cent of the club to Eleonora Sport Ltd, subject to Football League approval. GFH Capital and its investors will retain a 25 per cent stake in Leeds United.
* 27 February 2014: Enterprise Insurance withdraw winding-up petition after the club are understood to have repaid around £1.6 million to Enterprise Insurance, with the hearing at the High Court on 17 March cancelled.

### March

* 24 March 2014: After Massimo Cellino was found to be guilty of an offence under Italian tax legislation to the non-payment of import duties of a boat, The Football League disqualified Cellino from taking over the club. Leeds United's Board and Executive Management announced they will continue discussions with the Football League and Eleonora Sport to find a solution that is suitable to all parties.
* 27 March 2014: The legal representatives of Massimo Cellino lodged an appeal against The Football League’s decision that he is subject to a disqualifying condition under its Owners’ and Directors’ Test.
* 28 March 2014: After the club failed to pay the players on time, the Leeds United players agreed to defer part of their wages for March.

### April

* 5 April 2014: After an independent Queen's Counsel overturned the decision made by The Football League to disqualify Massimo Cellino, Massimo Cellino was granted approval to complete the purchase of a majority stake in Leeds United, subject to FL Approval. The approval will see Eleonora Sport take a 75% stakeholding in the club while former majority shareholders GFH Capital and investors retain 25%.
* 8 April 2014: Leeds United post £9.5 million loss for the 2012–13 financial year. Massimo Cellino completes his takeover of Leeds United having agreed a deal to buy a 75% stake in the club, according to his lawyers.
* 10 April 2014: The Football League ratified Massimo Cellino's takeover of Leeds United, allowing Cellino to become a Director of the club.
* 11 April 2014: David Haigh resigns as Managing Director.

### May

* 3 May 2014: Leeds United finish the 2013–14 Championship season 15th, on 57 points.

## Players

### First team squad information

| N | Pos. | Name | Age | Since | App | Goals | Ends | Transfer fee | Notes |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | GK | Paddy Kenny | 35 | 2012 | 81 | 0 | 2015 | £400,000 | |
| 2 | DF | Lee Peltier | 27 | 2012 | 75 | 1 | 2015 | £800,000 | On loan to Nottingham Forest |
| 3 | DF | Adam Drury | 35 | 2012 | 18 | 0 | 2014 | Free | On loan to Bradford City |
| 4 | DF | Tom Lees | 23 | 2008 | 135 | 4 | 2016 | Youth system | |
| 5 | DF | Jason Pearce | 26 | 2012 | 90 | 2 | 2016 | £500,000 | |
| 6 | MF | Luke Murphy | 24 | 2013 | 40 | 3 | 2016 | £1,000,000 | |
| 7 | MF | Paul Green | 31 | 2012 | 46 | 4 | 2014 | Free | On loan to Ipswich Town |
| 8 | MF | Rodolph Austin | 28 | 2012 | 82 | 7 | 2015 | £300,000 | |
| 9 | FW | Steve Morison | 30 | 2013 (Winter) | 16 | 3 | 2016 | PX | On loan to Millwall |
| 10 | FW | Noel Hunt | 31 | 2013 | 20 | 0 | 2015 | Free | |
| 11 | FW | Luke Varney | 31 | 2012 | 50 | 8 | 2014 | £300,000 | On loan to Blackburn Rovers |
| 12 | GK | Jamie Ashdown | 31 | 2012 | 8 | 0 | 2014 | Free | |
| 14 | MF | Aidan White | 22 | 2008 | 110 | 2 | 2015 | Youth system | |
| 15 | DF | Stephen Warnock | 32 | 2013 (Winter) | 45 | 2 | 2015 | Free | |
| 16 | MF | Danny Pugh | 31 | 2011 2004 | 119 $^1$ | 10 | 2014 2006 | £500,000 PX | |
| 17 | MF | Michael Brown | 37 | 2011 | 79 | 3 | 2014 | Free | |
| 18 | MF | Michael Tonge | 31 | 2012 | 64 | 5 | 2015 | £200,000 | |
| 19 | MF | David Norris | 33 | 2012 | 35 | 4 | 2015 | Free | |
| 20 | FW | Matt Smith | 24 | 2013 | 43 | 13 | 2015 | Free | |
| 21 | FW | El Hadji Diouf | 33 | 2012 | 52 | 7 | 2014 | Free | |
| 22 | DF | Scott Wootton | 22 | 2013 | 23 | 1 | 2016 | £1,000,000 | |
| 23 | MF | Zac Thompson | 21 | 2011 (Winter) | 12 | 0 | 2015 | Free | |
| 24 | DF | Marius Žaliūkas | 30 | 2013 | 16 | 0 | 2015 | Free | |
| 25 | DF | Sam Byram | 20 | 2012 | 80 | 4 | 2016 | Youth system | |
| 26 | FW | Dominic Poleon | 20 | 2012 | 31 | 4 | 2015 | Youth system | |
| 27 | MF | Gboly Ariyibi | 19 | 2013 | 2 | 0 | 2014 | Free | On loan to Tranmere Rovers |
| 28 | MF | Cameron Stewart | 23 | 2014 (Winter) | 11 | 0 | 2014 2017 | Free | On loan from Hull City Signing permanently in July 2014 |
| 29 | MF | Simon Lenighan | 19 | 2012 | 0 | 0 | 2014 | Youth system | |
| 30 | GK | Jack Butland | 21 | 2014 (Winter) | 16 | 0 | 2014 | N/A | On loan from Stoke City |
| 31 | DF | Charlie Taylor | 20 | 2011 | 4 | 0 | 2014 | Youth system | On loan to Fleetwood Town |
| 32 | MF | Chris Dawson | 19 | 2012 | 1 | 0 | 2016 | Youth system | |
| 33 | GK | Alex Cairns | 21 | 2011 | 1 | 0 | 2014 | Youth system | |
| 34 | DF | Ross Killock | 19 | 2012 | 0 | 0 | 2014 | Youth system | |
| 36 | MF | Alex Mowatt | 19 | 2013 | 31 | 1 | 2017 | Youth system | |
| 37 | FW | Lewis Walters | 19 | 2013 | 0 | 0 | 2015 | Youth system | |
| 44 | FW | Ross McCormack | 27 | 2010 | 157 | 58 | 2017 | £350,000 | Club Captain |

* Last updated: 3 May 2014
* Source: Wikipedia players' articles, Leeds United, Sky Sports
* Ordered by Squad Number.

Appearances (starts and substitute appearances) and goals include those in the Championship (and playoffs), League One (and playoffs), FA Cup, League Cup and Football League Trophy. $^1Player$ made fifty eight appearances (scoring six goals) for the club during his first spell at the club

## Transfers

### In

| No. | Pos. | Name | Age | EU | Moving from | Type | Transfer window | Ends | Transfer fee | Source |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 20 | FW | Matt Smith | 24 | EU | Oldham Athletic | Transfer | Summer | 2015 | Free | Leeds United |
| 6 | MF | Luke Murphy | 23 | EU | Crewe Alexandra | Transfer | Summer | 2016 | £1,000,000 | Leeds United |
| 10 | FW | Noel Hunt | 30 | EU | Reading | Transfer | Summer | 2015 | Free | Leeds United |
| 22 | DF | Scott Wootton | 21 | EU | Manchester United | Transfer | Summer | 2016 | £1,000,000 | Leeds United |
| 24 | DF | Marius Žaliūkas | 29 | EU | Heart of Midlothian | Transfer | Summer | 2014 | Free | Leeds United |
| 27 | MF | Gboly Ariyibi | 18 | Non-EU | Southampton | Transfer | Summer | 2014 | Free | BBC Sport |
| — | FW | Robbie McDaid | 17 | EU | Glenavon | Transfer | Winter | 2016 | Free | Leeds United |

### Loans in

| No. | P | Name | Age | Loan club | Started | Ended | Start source | End source |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 9 | FW | Dexter Blackstock | 27 | Nottingham Forest | 24 Oct | 10 Dec | Leeds United | Leeds United |
| 28 | MF | Cameron Stewart | 23 | Hull City | 9 Jan | 1 May | Leeds United | Vital Football |
| 38 | MF | Jimmy Kébé | 30 | Crystal Palace | 10 Jan | 1 May | Leeds United | Leeds United |
| 30 | GK | Jack Butland | 21 | Stoke City | 20 Feb | 5 May | Leeds United | Tribal Football |
| 9 | FW | Connor Wickham | 20 | Sunderland | 26 Feb | 24 March | Leeds United | Leeds United |

### Loans out

| No. | P | Name | Age | Loan club | Started | Ended | Start source | End source |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 9 | FW | Steve Morison | 30 | Millwall | 28 Jun | 31 May | Leeds United | Vital Football |
| — | DF | Lewis Turner | 20 | Chester | 1 Aug | 27 Apr | Chester FC | Vital Football |
| — | MF | Nathan Turner | 20 | Chester | 1 Aug | 27 Apr | Chester FC | Vital Football |
| 30 | MF | Ryan Hall | 25 | Sheffield United | 20 Sep | 19 Oct | Leeds United | Yorkshire Evening Post |
| 31 | DF | Charlie Taylor | 20 | Fleetwood Town | 15 Oct | 31 May | Leeds United | Leeds United |
| 34 | DF | Ross Killock | 19 | Chester | 24 Oct | 27 Mar | Leeds United | Chester Chronicle |
| 29 | MF | Simon Lenighan | 19 | Bradford Park Avenue | 28 Oct | 23 Nov | Leeds United | Vital Football |
| 14 | MF | Aidan White | 22 | Sheffield United | 29 Oct | 27 Dec | Leeds United | BBC Sport |
| — | FW | Luke Parkin | 18 | Guiseley | 19 Dec | 19 Jan | Guiseley | Vital Football |
| 7 | MF | Paul Green | 31 | Ipswich Town | 8 Feb | 11 May | Leeds United | Vital Football |
| 11 | FW | Luke Varney | 31 | Blackburn Rovers | 8 Feb | 11 May | Leeds United | Vital Football |
| 29 | MF | Simon Lenighan | 19 | Halifax Town | 11 Feb | 8 Mar | Leeds United | Vital Football |
| 3 | DF | Adam Drury | 35 | Bradford City | 7 Mar | 5 May | Leeds United | Vital Football |
| 2 | DF | Lee Peltier | 27 | Nottingham Forest | 24 Mar | 24 May | Leeds United | Sky Sports |
| 27 | MF | Gboly Ariyibi | 19 | Tranmere Rovers | 25 Mar | 25 May | Leeds United | Vital Football |

### Out

| N | P | Name | Age | Type | Moving to | Transfer window | Transfer fee | Apps | Goals | Source |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| — | DF | Leigh Bromby | 33 | Out of contract | Retired | Summer | n/a | 62 | 1 | Leeds United |
| 24 | DF | Paul Connolly | 29 | Out of contract | Millwall | Summer | n/a | 63 | 0 | Leeds United |
| 28 | FW | Davide Somma | 28 | Out of contract | | Summer | n/a | 40 | 13 | Leeds United |
| 6 | DF | Patrick Kisnorbo | 32 | Out of contract | Melbourne Heart | Summer | n/a | 58 | 1 | Leeds United |
| 31 | GK | Paul Rachubka | 32 | Out of contract | Oldham Athletic | Summer | n/a | 7 | 0 | Leeds United |
| 27 | MF | Sanchez Payne | 20 | Out of contract | Stockport County | Summer | n/a | 0 | 0 | Leeds United |
| 30 | MF | Ryan Hall | 25 | Released | Bromley | Summer | n/a | 9 | 0 | Leeds United |

EU = if holds or not a European Union passport; Country: when 2 flags, 1st flag = country that plays for internationally, 2nd flag = country of birth; N = number on jersey; P = Position (for position name, pause mouse pointer on abbreviation); Name = Name on jersey (for more extensive name, pause mouse pointer on name); Age = age on the day of the signing; Moving from = only indicate the club the player was playing before start playing for this club in this season, for the type of the moving see Status column; Moving to = only indicates the club the player is going to play next, for the type of the moving see Status column; Ends = when the player's current contract ends; n/a = Not applicable.

### New contracts

| N | Pos. | Name | Age | Status | Contract length | Expiry date | Source |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| — | DF | Afolabi Coker | 27 | Signed | 1 $year^1$ | June 2015 | Leeds United |
| — | DF | Smith Tiesse | 27 | Signed | 1 $year^1$ | June 2015 | Leeds United |
| — | FW | Eoghan Stokes | 27 | Signed | 1 $year^1$ | June 2015 | Leeds United |
| 44 | FW | Ross McCormack | 36 | Signed | 4 years | June 2017 | Leeds United |
| 36 | MF | Alex Mowatt | 28 | Signed | 3½ years | June 2017 | Leeds United |
| 24 | DF | Marius Žaliūkas | 39 | Signed | 1½ years | June 2015 | Leeds United |

$^1Contracts$ come into effect Summer 2014

## Competitions

### Overall summary

| Competition | Started round | Final position / round | First match | Last match |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Football League Championship | — | 15th | 3 August 2013 | 3 May 2014 |
| League Cup | First round | Third round | 7 August 2013 | 25 September 2013 |
| FA Cup | Third round | Third round | 4 January 2014 | 4 January 2014 |

Updated to match played 3 May 2014 Source: Competitions

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 13 | Watford | 46 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 74 | 64 | +10 | 60 |
| 14 | Bolton Wanderers | 46 | 14 | 17 | 15 | 59 | 60 | −1 | 59 |
| 15 | Leeds United | 46 | 16 | 9 | 21 | 59 | 67 | −8 | 57 |
| 16 | Sheffield Wednesday | 46 | 13 | 14 | 19 | 63 | 65 | −2 | 53 |
| 17 | Huddersfield Town | 46 | 14 | 11 | 21 | 58 | 65 | −7 | 53 |

### Championship

**Results summary**

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |

Last updated: 3 May 2014. Source: The Football League

**Results by round**

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Ground | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | H | A | A | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H |
| Result | W | D | D | W | L | W | L | L | L | W | L | W | L | W | W | W | L | W | D | W | D | D | L | L | L | L | D | W | W | L | D | D | L | L | L | W | L | L | L | L | L | W | W | L | W | D |
| Position | 4 | 8 | 9 | 5 | 10 | 6 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 11 | 14 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 15 |

## Awards

### Internal Awards

**Official Player of the Year Awards**

The results of the 2013–14 Leeds United A.F.C. Player of the Year Awards were announced at a dinner on 3 May 2014 at Elland Road.

* Fans' Player of the Year: Ross McCormack
* Young Player of the Year: Alex Mowatt
* Players' Player of the Year: Ross McCormack
* Goal of the Season: Ross McCormack (vs Sheffield Wednesday, 17 August)
* Fastest Goal of the Season: Matt Smith (vs Huddersfield Town, 26 October)
* Community Player of the Year: Matt Smith
