2012–13 Leeds United F.C. season

Leeds United

2012–13 season
Chairman	Ken Bates
Manager	Neil Warnock (until 1 April)[1] Neil Redfearn (caretaker, until 12 April) Brian McDermott (from 12 April) [2]
Stadium	Elland Road
Championship	13th
FA Cup	Fifth round
League Cup	Quarter-finals
Top goalscorer	League: Luciano Becchio (15) All: Luciano Becchio (19)
Highest home attendance	33,816 vs Chelsea (19 December 2012, League Cup)
Lowest home attendance	11,447 vs Birmingham City (5 January 2013, FA Cup)
Average home league attendance	21,572
Home colours Away colours
← 2011–12 2013–14 →

The 2012–13 season was Leeds United's third consecutive season in the Championship, which saw a minor flirtation with the play-offs and later with relegation, but ended with a mid-table finish.

The manager's office was vacated in April by Neil Warnock after his promise of promotion appeared dead in the water, and the club actually on the fringes of the relegation battle. The club officials relieved him of his duties and after a brief period with caretaker manager Neil Redfearn in charge, appointed Brian McDermott as the club's eight manager in ten years. Pre-season saw a big change in the playing staff with no more than ten players departing Elland Road and twelve players brought in. New signing Lee Peltier became club captain after existing leader Robert Snodgrass departed for Norwich City in the summer and was joined in the winter by fan favourite Luciano Becchio – both transfers much to the chagrin of the supporters. With Becchio gone, the club's top scorers were last year's star Ross McCormack with eight goals and controversial winger El Hadji Diouf with seven who Warnock picked up on a free transfer at the start of the season. Academy product Sam Byram would be the surprise of the season making his debut in the first game of the year and going on to scoop all the major awards at both the official, supporters' and Yorkshire Post's Player of the Year Awards. Other youngsters to take the field included Dominic Poleon who managed two goals and Chris Dawson who has since been awarded a three-year professional contract.

The talk of the season though was undoubtedly the protracted takeover of the club. The eight month, £52m takeover by Bahrain based GFH Capital saw the investment bank secure 100% shares of the club's parent company with four of its party joining the board of directors. In March, GFH would sell a 10% stake to the International Investment Bank and announced the company were looking for additional investors to boost the club's finances. The takeover would seemingly inject morale into the supporters with the club's short term finances secured and higher value incoming transfers promised. GFH deputy-CEO David Haigh become the public face for the boardroom with departing chairman Ken Bates taking a step back with a promise of the title club president secured for the end of the season.

This is a list of the significant events to occur at the club during the 2012–13 season, presented in chronological order, starting on 29 April 2012 and ending on the final day of the club's final match in the 2012–13 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 matches section.

• 21 November: Middle East-based private equity group GFH Capital finalise a deal for a protracted takeover of Leeds.^[3]

• 21 December: GFH Capital officially become the new owners of Leeds after completing a takeover of the club.^[4]

• 24 January: Longest serving player and top goalscorer, Luciano Becchio, hands in a transfer request.^[5]

• 1 April: After a 1–2 home loss to Derby County, Manager Neil Warnock departs from Leeds United.^[1]
• 12 April: Leeds United appoint Brian McDermott as new manager.^[2]

• 4 May: Leeds United end the 2012–13 Championship season 13th, 7 points behind the playoffs and 7 points above the relegation zone.

Competition	Started round	Final position / round	First match	Last match
Football League Championship	—	13th	18 August 2012	4 May 2013
League Cup	First round	Quarter-finals	11 August 2012	19 December 2012
FA Cup	Third round	Fifth round	5 January 2013	17 February 2013

Updated to match played 4 May 2013
Source: Competitions

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
11	Burnley	46	16	13	17	62	60	+2	61
12	Birmingham City	46	15	16	15	63	69	−6	61
13	Leeds United	46	17	10	19	57	66	−9	61
14	Ipswich Town	46	16	12	18	48	61	−13	60
15	Blackpool	46	14	17	15	62	63	−1	59

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
46	17	10	19	57	66	−9	61	13	3	7	30	26	+4	4	7	12	27	40	−13

  Win   Draw   Loss   Void

N	Pos.	Nat.	Name	Age	Since	App	Goals	Ends	Transfer fee	Notes
1	GK		Paddy Kenny	34	2012	47	0	2015	£400,000	[6]
2	DF		Lee Peltier	26	2012	48	0	2015	£800,000	[7]
3	DF		Adam Drury	34	2012	15	0	2014	Free	[8]
4	DF		Tom Lees	22	2008	93	4	2016	Youth system	[9]
5	DF		Jason Pearce	25	2012	41	0	2016	£500,000	[10]
6	DF		Patrick Kisnorbo 1	32	2009	58	1	2013	Free	[11]
7	MF		Paul Green	30	2012	36	4	2014	Free	[12]
8	MF		Rodolph Austin	27	2012	38	4	2015	£300,000	[13]
9	FW		Steve Morison	29	2013	16	3	2016	PX	[14]
11	MF		Luke Varney	30	2012	39	6	2014	£300,000	[15]
12	GK		Jamie Ashdown	30	2012	8	0	2014	Free	[16]
14	DF		Aidan White	21	2008	98	2	2015	Youth system	[17]
15	DF		Stephen Warnock	31	2013	17	1	2015	Free	[18]
17	MF		Michael Brown	36	2011	60	2	2014	Free	[19]
18	MF		Michael Tonge	30	2012	39	5	2015	£200,000	[20]
19	MF		David Norris	32	2012	34	4	2015	Free	[13]
21	FW		El-Hadji Diouf	32	2012	45	7	2014	Free	[21]
22	FW		Habib Habibou 2	26	2013	4	0	2013	N/A	[22]
23	DF		Zac Thompson	20	2011	11	0	2015	Free	[23]
25	DF		Sam Byram	19	2012	53	4	2016	Youth system	[24]
26	FW		Dominic Poleon	19	2010	8	2	2015	Youth system	[25]
27	MF		Sanchez Payne	20	2010	0	0	2013	Youth system
28	FW		Davide Somma	28	2009	40	13	2013	Free	[26]
30	MF		Ryan Hall	25	2012	8	0	2015	£150,000	[27]
32	MF		Chris Dawson	18	2012	1	0	2016	Youth system	[28]
33	GK		Alex Cairns	20	2011	1	0	2014	Youth system	[29]
34	DF		Ross Killock	18	2012	0	0	2014	Youth system	[30]
44	FW		Ross McCormack	26	2010	108	29	2015	£350,000	[31]
55	MF		Simon Lenighan	18	2012	0	0	2014	Youth system	[32]
—	DF		Leigh Bromby	32	2009	62	1	2013	£250,000	[33]
—	DF		Charlie Taylor 3	19	2011	4	0	2014	Youth system	[34]
Players who have been available for selection this season, but have now permanently left the club:
9	MF		Jerome Thomas	30	2012	7	1	Jan 2013	N/A	[35]
10	FW		Luciano Becchio	29	2008	221	86	2014	£300,000	[36]
15	DF		Alan Tate	30	2012	11	0	Jan 2013	N/A	[37]
20	FW		Andy Gray	35	2012 1995	38	1	2013 1998	Free YS	[38]
20	MF		Ross Barkley	19	2013	4	0	Feb 2013	N/A	[39]
22	MF		Robbie Rogers	25	2012	4	0	2013	Free	[40]
—	MF		Ramón Núñez	27	2010	25	5	2015	Free	[41]

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.

¹On loan at Ipswich Town^[44]
2On loan from SV Zulte Waregem^[22]
3Currently on loan at Inverness CT^[45]

N	Pos.	Nat.	Name	Age	Since	App	Goals	Ends	Transfer fee	Notes
16	MF		Danny Pugh1 2	30	2011 2004	98	8	2014 2006	£500,000 PX	[46]
24	DF		Paul Connolly3	29	2010	63	0	2013	Free	[47]
31	GK		Paul Rachubka 4	31	2011	7	0	2013	Free	[48]

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^[49]
2Player is currently on loan at Sheffield Wednesday^[50]
3Player is currently on loan at Preston North End^[51]
4Player is currently on loan at Accrington Stanley^[52]

No.	Pos.	Nat.	Name	Age	EU	Moving from	Type	Transfer window	Ends	Transfer fee	Source
5	DF		Jason Pearce	24	EU	Portsmouth	Transfer	Summer	2016	£500,000	[53]
3	DF		Adam Drury	33	EU	Norwich City	Transfer	Summer	2014	Free	[8]
7	MF		Paul Green	29	EU	Derby County	Transfer	Summer	2014	Free	[12]
1	GK		Paddy Kenny	34	EU	Queens Park Rangers	Transfer	Summer	2015	£400,000	[6]
20	FW		Andy Gray	34	EU	Barnsley	Transfer	Summer	2013	Free	[38]
12	GK		Jamie Ashdown	31	EU	Portsmouth	Transfer	Summer	2014	Free	[54]
11	MF		Luke Varney	29	EU	Portsmouth	Transfer	Summer	2014	£300,000	[15]
19	MF		David Norris	31	EU	Portsmouth	Transfer	Summer	2015	Free	[55]
8	MF		Rodolph Austin	27	Non-EU	Brann	Transfer	Summer	2015	£300,000	[13]
2	DF		Lee Peltier	25	EU	Leicester City	Transfer	Summer	2015	£800,000	[7]
21	FW		El-Hadji Diouf	31	Non-EU	Doncaster Rovers	Transfer	Summer	Jan 2013	Free	[56]
18	MF		Michael Tonge	29	EU	Stoke City	Loan	Summer	23 December 2012	—	[57]
30	MF		Ryan Hall	24	EU	Southend United	Loan	Summer	Jan 2013	—	[58]
15	DF		Alan Tate	30	EU	Swansea City	Loan	Summer	26 January 2013	—	[37]
9	MF		Jerome Thomas	29	EU	West Bromwich Albion	Loan	Summer	2 January 2013	—	[35]
30	MF		Ryan Hall	24	EU	Southend United	Transfer	Winter	2015	£150,000	[27]
18	MF		Michael Tonge	29	EU	Stoke City	Transfer	Winter	2015	£200,000	[20]
20	MF		Ross Barkley	19	EU	Everton	Loan	Winter	12 February 2013	—	[39]
9	FW		Steve Morison	29	EU	Norwich City	Transfer	Winter	2016	Player Exchange	[14]
15	DF		Stephen Warnock	31	EU	Aston Villa	Transfer	Winter	2015	Free	[18]
22	FW		Habib Habibou	25	Non-EU	Zulte Waregem	Loan	Winter	May 2013	—	[22]

N	P	Name	Country	Age	Type	Moving to	Transfer window	Transfer fee	Apps	Goals	Source
4	DF	Alex Bruce		27	Out of contract	Hull City	Summer	n/a	31	4	[59]
11	MF	Lloyd Sam		27	Out of contract	New York Red Bulls	Summer	n/a	39	3	[59]
18	FW	Mikael Forssell		31	Out of contract	HJK	Summer	n/a	17	0	[59]
25	MF	Danny Webber		30	Out of contract	Doncaster Rovers	Summer	n/a	13	1	[59]
24	GK	Maik Taylor		40	Out of contract	Millwall	Summer	n/a	0	0	[59]
15	MF	Adam Clayton		23	Transfer	Huddersfield Town	Summer	£500,000	49	6	[60]
1	GK	Andy Lonergan		28	Transfer	Bolton Wanderers	Summer	£300,000	38	0	[61]
23	MF	Robert Snodgrass		24	Transfer	Norwich City	Summer	£3,000,000	190	41	[62]
5	DF	Andy O'Brien		33	Transfer	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	Summer	Free	38	2	[63]
9	FW	Billy Paynter		28	Transfer	Doncaster Rovers	Summer	Free	28	3	[64]
24	DF	Paul Connolly		28	One month Loan	Portsmouth	Summer	n/a	63	0	[65]
—	GK	Alex Cairns		19	Two month loan	Stalybridge Celtic	Summer	n/a	1	0	[66]
22	FW	Robbie Rogers		25	Loan till January	Stevenage	Summer	n/a	4	0	[67]
—	DF	Charlie Taylor		18	Two month loan	York City	Summer	n/a	4	0	[68]
—	DF	Ross Killock		18	One month loan	Alfreton Town	Summer	n/a	0	0	[69]
23	MF	Zac Thompson		19	Loan till end of season	Bury	Summer	n/a	11	0	[70]
26	FW	Dominic Poleon		19	One month loan	Bury	Summer	n/a	6	1	[71]
28	MF	Nathan Turner		20	Loan till End of Season	Chester	Summer	n/a	0	0	[72]
33	DF	Lewis Turner		20	One month loan	Harrogate Town	Summer	n/a	0	0	[72]
31	GK	Paul Rachubka		31	Loan till end of the season	Accrington Stanley	Summer	n/a	7	0	[52]
6	DF	Patrick Kisnorbo		31	Loan till End of Season	Ipswich Town	Winter	n/a	57	1	[73]
20	FW	Andy Gray		35	Released	Bradford City	Winter	n/a	38	1	[74]
22	FW	Robbie Rogers		25	Released	LA Galaxy	Winter	n/a	4	0	[75]
24	DF	Paul Connolly		29	Loan till End of April	Preston North End	Winter	n/a	63	0	[51]
33	DF	Lewis Turner		20	Loan till End of Season	Chester	Summer	n/a	0	0	[76]
—	DF	Charlie Taylor		19	Loan till End of Season	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	Winter	n/a	4	0	[45]
16	MF	Danny Pugh		30	Loan till End of Season	Sheffield Wednesday	Winter	n/a	98	8	[50]
—	MF	Ramón Núñez		27	Released	FC Dallas	Winter	n/a	25	5	[77]
10	FW	Luciano Becchio		29	Transfer	Norwich City	Winter	£200,000 + Player	221	86	[14]
26	FW	Dominic Poleon		19	Loan till End of Season	Sheffield United	Winter	n/a	7	1	[78]

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.

N	Pos.	Nat.	Name	Age	Status	Contract length	Expiry date	Source
—	MF		Nathan Turner	32	Signed	1 year1	June 2013	[79]
—	DF		Lewis Turner	32	Signed	1 year1	June 2013	[79]
25	DF		Sam Byram	31	Signed	3½ years	June 2016	[24]
55	MF		Simon Lenighan	18	Signed	1 year2	June 2014	[32]
34	DF		Ross Killock	30	Signed	1 year2	June 2014	[30]
—	MF		Charlie Clamp	30	Signed	1 year1	June 2013	[79]
26	FW		Dominic Poleon	31	Signed	2½ years	June 2015	[25]
—	DF		Monty Gimpel	31	Signed	1 year1	June 2013	[80]
—	MF		Robert Snodgrass	37	Rejected	1 year	June 2014	[62]
44	FW		Ross McCormack	38	Signed	3 years	June 2015	[31]
14	MF		Aidan White	33	Signed	3 years	June 2015	[17]
4	DF		Tom Lees	33	Signed	4 Years	June 2016	[81]
23	MF		Zac Thompson	31	Signed	3 years	June 2015	[23]
17	MF		Michael Brown	47	Signed	1 year3	June 2014	[19]
32	MF		Chris Dawson	30	Signed	3 years	June 2016	[28]
21	FW		El-Hadji Diouf	43	Signed	1½ years	June 2014	[21]
10	FW		Luciano Becchio	40	Rejected	3½ years	June 2016	[82]
—	FW		Lewis Walters	29	Signed	2 years	June 2015	[83]
—	GK		Eric Grimes	29	Signed	2 years	June 2015	[84]
—	FW		Luke Parkin	29	Signed	2 years	June 2015	[85]
—	MF		Alex Mowatt	29	Signed	2 years	June 2015	[86]

¹The contract includes the option to extend the contract by a further year.
²Option to extend by further year taken up later in season.
³Contract extended by further year after making 30 appearances.

The results of the 2012–13 Leeds United A.F.C. Player of the Year Awards were announced at a dinner on 27 April 2013 at Elland Road.^[87]

• Player of the Year: Sam Byram
• Young Player of the Year: Sam Byram
• Players' Player of the Year: Sam Byram
• Goal of the Season: Ross McCormack (vs Tottenham, 27 January)
• Fastest Goal of the Season: Aidan White (vs Everton, 25 September)
• Best Contribution to Community: Leigh Bromby
• Chairman's Special Award: Tom Lees