Leeds United made poor decision on the back of Robert Snodgrass' Elland Road exit: View | OneFootball

Snodgrass leaving was a huge blow for Leeds, but replacing him with Luke Varney was the wrong decision - they were leagues apart

Key Takeaways

Robert Snodgrass had an incredible EFL career, particularly when it all started at Leeds United, but the Whites made a poor decision with the Scot's replacement following his exit.

Snodgrass departed Elland Road for Norwich City for £3 million, which some Leeds fans will tell you was scarily underwhelming because of his output.

The Scottish attacker boasted some impressive numbers from his time at Elland Road and would go on to stamp his pedigree on EFL football through his spells at Norwich, Hull City, and Aston Villa.

It was a huge blow for Leeds when 'Snoddy' departed, leaving the Yorkshire outfit after an immense 2011/12 season which saw the club have a mediocre campaign, finishing 14th, despite the Scotsman's eye-catching impact.

The winger turned down a contract at Leeds to join the Canaries and it appears the off-field issues in Yorkshire contributed to Snodgrass' exit.

Speaking to the Yorkshire Evening Post in 2012, Snodgrass explained: “Neil (manager Warnock) tried to sign me on a longer deal at Leeds, but I told him I wasn’t ready because I wanted to play in the Premier League.

“I heard from him once or twice about signing and that was it.

“I think he was a bit more baffled about what was going on in the boardroom – whether it was going to be (chairman) Ken Bates or new owners in charge.

“I don’t really think he knew 100 percent what was going on, and you can see why now with the indications the takeover’s not happening. If he didn’t know what was going on, then it was hard for me, too."

The takeover did end up happening on 21st November 2012 with Middle East-based private equity group GFH Capital gaining a 100% shareholding in the club. But Snodgrass was already flourishing with Norwich in the Premier League.

It must've been painful to see him succeed with the Canaries and the struggles of his replacement will only have made things worse.

With Snodgrass' exit, Leeds needed to replace the goals and assists that had been lost.

Luke Varney was to be his replacement but from the start, the pair's differing profiles and overall quality suggested it might not be a masterstroke.

Snodgrass was skillful and contributed more from wider areas, whereas Varney prided himself more on his work rate and press in forward areas.

He made the jump from Portsmouth following their relegation from the Championship in 2012. The striker was set to play alongside Ross McCormack, who had netted 18 times playing with Snodgrass in the previous season. This, however, didn't have the same effect on Varney.

The latter had performed well in the EFL previously but never managed to settle at Elland Road as off-field issues surrounding the ownership disrupted his time there and his partnership with McCormack never really kicked on.

Eventually, he was shipped out to Blackburn Rover on loan before he signed for them permanently in the summer of 2014.

Varney's Leeds torture didn't end as the striker still had to dismiss claims that he refused to play for the Yorkshire outfit, emphasising how bad it really got for him.

Varney was never going to live up to Snodgrass

Losing Snodgrass was one thing but looking to replace him with Varney, who was miles off him in terms of ability, made things so much worse.

There was a clear divide in ability between the two but Snodgrass' overall output showed he was in a different league and backed it up with his great form in the Premier League.

Varney may argue that he came to Leeds at the wrong time, given the off-field issues, but there can be no denying that the move turned out to be a failure – particularly given the player he was supposed to replace.