Leeds United's move for Portsmouth FC player was a total flop - he had more yellow cards than goals | OneFootball

The striker is best remembered by Leeds fans for his "miss of the century"

Leeds United endured some lean years during their last Championship stint, with the Whites still rebuilding after returning from League One.

During their previous stint in the EFL, Leeds had plenty of prolific strikers, with Jermaine Beckford, Luciano Becchio, and Ross McCormack all becoming firm fan favourites.

However, there were plenty of duds that led the line for the Whites – including Luke Varney.

“Willing runner” Luke Varney failed to make an impact at Leeds

Varney’s headline stat as a Leeds player would be the fact that he managed more yellow cards than he did goals during a two-season spell at Elland Road.

Across two campaigns, Varney managed eight goals in all competitions – whilst being cautioned 11 times.

The former Crewe Alexandra man would also provide eight assists, but for a club used to double digits from their centre forwards, Varney’s goal contributions in 50 games were extremely underwhelming.

Supporters always appreciate hard work from their players, but when a striker is described as a “willing runner”, it indicates that they are not a prolific goalscorer.

One of four players to swap cash-strapped Portsmouth for Leeds in the summer of 2012, Varney did not arrive at Elland Road with a history of goalscoring form.

Prior to joining Leeds, Varney had just one season where he hit double digits.

That was for Crewe, his first professional club, in the 2006/07 season. Across 42 appearances in all competitions, Varney notched a respectable 25 goals – 17 of which came in League One.

His best record at Championship level had been three seasons before his move to Leeds, where he scored nine times in 39 appearances for the Whites’ Yorkshire rivals Sheffield Wednesday.

That paved the way for a move to Premier League first-timers Blackpool for the 2010/11 season, where Varney scored a respectable five goals in 30 top-flight matches, predominantly featuring as a winger.

Although nothing particularly special, Varney’s record at Leeds paled in comparison to his previous exploits.

Again, Varney largely played on the left wing for Leeds – mainly due to his ineffective displays up top.

He managed just four league goals in his first year as a White, topping up his tally with a goal each in the FA Cup and EFL Cup, before scoring just two more times in his final season for Leeds.

In the second year of his contract he featured just 11 times, as Leeds looked to quietly move on from the failed signing by loaning him to divisional rivals Blackburn Rovers.

Luke Varney mostly remembered at Leeds United for “miss of the century”

Varney’s time at Leeds could be summed up succinctly with one moment on the pitch.

Championship Leeds had welcomed Premier League Southampton to Elland Road in the League Cup, with the visitors playing a heavily-rotated XI.

With scores still unopened, Leeds had the perfect opportunity to go ahead.

El Hadji-Diouf did well to knock a floated cross back into the six-yard box, where Varney was arriving with the goal at his mercy.

With the goal agape and no Southampton player near him, seemingly all Varney had to do was get any contact on the ball.

But somehow, the striker managed to slide and misconnect with the ball, sending it past the far post despite being less than three yards out.

The former Portsmouth striker laughed off the incident that the press described as “the miss of the century” after that match.

Despite the striker’s inexplicable miss, Leeds still managed to complete the upset, defeating Saints 3-0 to advance.

Ultimately, though, that's not what the Leeds fans remember from that night against Southampton. It's Varney's miss that stands out, underlining how he was so unprolific in-front of goal.