At the start of the season Leeds United had what many believed to be a shortage of a goal scorer. With Steve Morison gone on loan, that left us with Noel Hunt, Matt Smith, Dom Poleon and Luke Varney. Hardly an attack to frighten the opposition. Of course there was one other striker in the equation: Ross McCormack, but Ross can’t lead the line people said, he’s not an out and out goal scorer- how wrong they were.
In a season that has, as usual, being a less than happy time for Leeds fans, there has been one huge shining light through it all- Ross McCormack, club captain and fast becoming a club legend too. While Matt Smith has contributed, the majority of Leeds’ goals this season have come from Ross, a player who couldn’t get near the team in his first season.
McCormack has come a long way since 2010-11, and now has absolutely integral part to play in the future of Leeds United Football Club. His name doesn’t excite the average football fan the way other club legends like Bremner, Gray and Speed would, but he is a firm fans favourite at Elland Road. The manner in which Ross has conducted himself this season both on and off the pitch has been exemplary.
Many thought Ross was worthy of the captain’s armband at the start of the season for his tireless performances, and given the fact not many players came out of the Warnock era with much credit, but that honour went to Rodolph Austin. It seemed like a relatively sensible decision, a committed ball winning midfielder who gets stuck in and is not afraid to put his body on the line for the team- something that Leeds fans love (we all love the Dirty Leeds tag really).
When Austin was appointed there was an awful lot of speculation surrounding Ross’s future at Leeds, with Middlesbrough the main admirers. Maybe this was in McDermott’s mind when making a decision on the captaincy. Leeds showed a huge signal of intent by keeping hold of the star man, and he endeared himself further to the faithful by not jumping ship like so many before him, e.g. Becchio, Snodgrass, Howson et al.
Ross became the highest paid player at the club, but quickly showed he was more than worth it. A flurry of goals from Ross propelled Leeds up to the dizzy heights of fifth place before Christmas. The performance that really stood out was the four goals away at Charlton, which led to him winning Championship Player of the Month for November.
Things slid a little bit for Leeds, both during and after the festive period, Austin’s performances weren’t up to scratch and doubts were starting to creep in as to whether the captaincy was stopping him from playing his own game. The 6-0 reverse at Yorkshire rivals Sheffield Wednesday was the straw that broke the camel’s back so to speak, Austin himself made a very bold move by suggesting someone else take over, and surely he has to be respected for that. There was no other alternative than Ross McCormack, many had seen him as an unofficial captain anyway thus far for the way he was dragging the team forward and winning points almost signal handed at times.
The January transfer window came, and sure enough so did all the speculation again, but Leeds once again stood firm as their new captain excelled in his new role. Transfer deadline day was quite surreal, as we all know. Bids came in that were rejected, Ross came out and nailed his colours to the Leeds mast live on Sky Sports News. However, minutes later manager Brian McDermott, a man whom he admired greatly, was out of a job. Ross was then back on Sky Sports seemingly devastated, and many saw his statement as a ‘come and get me’ plea from the centre forward.
McCormack then showed his true leadership qualities and drove to Elland Road to try and meet Massimo Cellino, the man behind all the chaos, to see what was going on. He wanted answers, for the players and for the fans. Ultimately, he opted to stay, but how many would have begrudged him a move away after the shenanigans of that strange Friday evening.
The next day, captain Ross led out his manager-less team for a West Yorkshire derby with Huddersfield. He responded to the taunts from the travelling support in true style, by kissing the badge on his shirt and scoring three. A real captain’s innings they would say in cricket. Ross genuinely believes he will be playing Premier League football in the white of Leeds United very soon. He took to social media site Twitter to stress that he never wanted to leave and was quoted as saying “it means a lot to me this place”. Rarely have we seen such commitment from a captain recently, with those before him heading through the revolving door at Thorp Arch for pastures new.
It is absolutely imperative that we keep hold of Ross in the summer, he is a player that wears his heart on his sleeve and has the desire and hunger to take Leeds forward. He has shown something recently that most modern footballers seem to lack- loyalty. Leeds need to build a team around the captain and let him play his game, because the more he matures into his new role, the better he is becoming. Let’s repay his loyalty with the construction of a squad capable of promotion, because he will lead them to the Premier League football he so desperately wants for Leeds and himself. If anyone deserves it, Ross McCormack does.
Picture taken by Andrew Varley
The Mighty Leeds 