Leeds struggled financially after failing to qualify for Europe, and they eventually were unable to repay what had been spent. Leeds had to sell after spending heavily on players, including signing striker Robbie Fowler.
Leeds spent over £40 million on three players during the summer of 2001, including £12 million on Fowler. More than that went to Robbie Keane, while about £10 million went to Seth Johnson, one of Leeds’ worst signings.
Martyn criticises signing of Fowler from Liverpool for £12m
Fowler is regarded as one of England’s best-ever finishers. At Liverpool, the England star was explosive, scoring 171 goals in 330 games for his hometown club on Merseyside.
He scored 14 goals in 33 games for Leeds, but he only stayed there for a short time before joining Manchester City for £6 million in 2002. Leeds suffered a £6 million loss after hiring Martyn, who admitted it was a poor decision.
“It’s frustrating [administration],” he told me. “As athletes, you’re not always conscious of what’s going. We were just turning up, training, and playing. The notion was that now that we were third in the league, we needed to buy players in order to compete with Manchester United and Arsenal.
We spent a lot of money on Robbie Fowler, but why are Liverpool selling to a rival? amazing player, amazing footballer. But it was a large sum of money [£12 million]. I’ve been on the receiving end of Robbie many times while wearing a Liverpool shirt; he could score goals for fun,” Martyn said.
“But he came to us with a hip problem, and his mobility wasn’t the best it could have been. We saw glimpses of how excellent he was in a Leeds shirt. But he wasn’t as mobile as he once was, and Liverpool noticed it.”
The most-expensive signings of the Peter Ridsdale era at Leeds
Rio Ferdinand certainly tops the list, with Leeds paying a fortune to sign the England defender from West Ham. A solid signing and a good financial decision, given that Leeds made a profit when he left the club.
Keane, Olivier Dacourt, Johnson, Dom Matteo, Michael Bridges, and countless others cost the team a fortune. However, Ferdinand is at the top of the tree, followed by Keane and Fowler, and then French ace Dacourt.
Ultimately, Leeds failed to recover. Leeds are striving to recover after only three seasons in the Premier League and their inability to compete with established top-half Premier League teams.
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