Leeds United regained their current Championship status in 2010. We take a look at what happened to their 2009/10 League One promotion side.
Casper Ankergren – Having initially joined on loan in January 2007, in an attempt to help Leeds stave off relegation from the Championship, Ankergren became United’s permanent stopper during the Elland Road club’s League One tribulations.
The Denmark native played more than a century of games for Leeds before joining Brighton and Hove Albion in 2010 – where a 37-year-old Ankergren has just tasted promotion to the Premier League, albeit as one of David Stockdale’s deputies.
Leigh Bromby – Childhood Leeds fan Bromby joined the club at the start of their 2009/10 promotion campaign and played 39 times in League One – at right back or centre back – before eventually losing his place in their Championship side to new signing Alex Bruce. Bromby remained at the club as an important squad player before retiring and taking numerous coaching roles in the Leeds academy and at youth levels.
In 2014 Bromby was appointed professional development coach at Huddersfield Town.
Richard Naylor – The central defender was signed by Leeds in 2009 and would make close to 70 league appearances for the club over the course of two years. Naylor captained the side to promotion from League One and began the following year’s Championship campaign as first choice. However, a combination of injuries and poor form led to Naylor losing his starting berth and he consequently signed for Doncaster Rovers at the end of the 2010/11 season.
After a short spell at Rotherham United, Naylor retired in 2012 to take up the role of under-18’s manager at Leeds – before being made redundant by owner Massimo Cellino in 2014.
Patrick Kisnorbo – Australian international Kisnorbo was another who joined the club at the start of the promotion season, having signed from Championship club Leicester City. Kisnorbo began the season strongly but his progress was curtailed by a serous achilles tendon injury – which also caused the defender to miss the 2010 World Cup.
Indeed, injuries would continue to haunt Kisnorbo’s time at Elland Road and after signing for Melbourne City in 2013, Kisnorbo retired from the game in 2016 to become assistant head coach to the youth team at the Australian club.
Andy Hughes – Full back Hughes played for Leeds between 2007 and 2010 and was a significant contributor to their League One experience – including starting 32 of Leeds’ 33 wins during the 2009/10 season. However, the arrival of left back Fede Bessone in 2010 saw Hughes’ playing time drop and in January 2011 the popular Hughes transferred to Scunthorpe United before finishing his career at Charlton Athletic.
After retirement, Hughes turned his hand to coaching with spells at Bolton Wanderers, Rotherham, Crystal Palace and Huddersfield – where he is currently first team coach.
Jonny Howson – A product of Leeds’ youth system, Jonny Howson made 225 senior appearances for his home town club between 2006 and 2012 – including being named vice-captain for the 2009/10 promotion push.
Howson joined current side Norwich City mid way through their 2012/13 Premier League season and impressed; to such an extent that his Canaries manager, Paul Lambert, once compared Howson to Barcelona ace Andres Iniesta.
Michael Doyle – The former Celtic and Coventry City midfielder Michael Doyle spent the 2009/10 season on loan at Elland Road. Doyle was a regular throughout his short stint at the club, making 42 appearances before returning to Coventry shortly after Leeds’ promotion celebrations. Doyle joined Sheffield United in 2011 before transferring to current club Portsmouth in 2015.
Robert Snodgrass – During his four years at Elland Road, Scotland international Robert Snodgrass made 86 League One appearances and a further 82 Championship showings for Leeds.
Despite being named captain and becoming Leeds’ highest earner in February 2012, Snodgrass followed in the footsteps of Howson by joining Norwich just a few months later. The winger remained at Norwich until their relegation from the Premier League – joining Hull City in 2014 and then making a January switch to West Ham United earlier this year.
Bradley Johnson – After somewhat of a nomadic beginning to his career – which included spells at Cambrisge United, Northampton Town and Gravesend & Northfleet – Bradley Johnson embarked on a successful three year stint at Elland Road in 2008. Johnson helped Leeds regain their Championship status in 2010 before rejecting a new contract offer and subsequently being transfer listed.
In what would become trend for Leeds midfielders (see Snodgrass and Howson), Johnson signed for Norwich in 2011, making over 150 appearances before a 2015 move to present employers Derby County.
Jermaine Beckford – The club’s top scorer for the third season in a row, striker Jermaine Beckford bagged 25 League One goals in 2009/10 as Leeds finished second in the division. Beckford was subsequently named League One Player of the Year for the second time in his career.
Beckford, after scoring 72 league goals in 126 games, would not play Championship football for Leeds – as the forward joined Premier League Everton for the 2010/11 campaign. Following two years in the top flight, Beckford transferred to Leicester and Huddersfield for two seasons apiece, before moving to Preston North End in 2015.
Luciano Becchio – The Argentinian forward’s most significant time of his fourteen-plus year career was spent at Elland Road; where Becchio played more than 200 times for Leeds between 2008 and 2013. Becchio scored a total of 86 goals for the club and formed a prolific partnership with Beckford during 2009/10.
Becchio left Leeds and played 13 times for Norwich and on a handful of occasions for Rotherham, before the 33-year-old joined Spanish outfit CD Atletico Baleares in January 2017 – where he scored on his debut just a matter of days after signing for Christian Ziege’s team.
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