Deane: Brian Christopher (Brian)

1993-1997 & 2004-2005 (Leeds Player Details)(Player Details)

Striker

Born: Leeds: 07-02-1968

Debut v Manchester City (a): 14-08-1993

6’3” 12st (1996)

#84 in 100 Greatest LUFC Players Ever

Chapeltown-born Deane played for Leeds United’s Youth team in 1984 after starring for Leeds City Boys, but was not taken on and instead he joined Doncaster Rovers as an apprentice on 14th December 1985. A traditional target-man striker, he proved highly popular at Doncaster and his powerful displays saw him move to Sheffield United on 19th July 1988 for £30,000, which was increased to £40,000 after he had played forty games. He had scored twelve League goals in sixty-six games, of which twelve were from the bench. He also scored one goal in the F.A. Cup from two starts and one substitute appearance, but failed to score in three starts in the League Cup ans two starets and two games from the bench in other games. In his first season at Sheffield United he struck up a devastating partnership with Tony Agana and they netted forty-six goals between them as the Blades earned promotion to Division Two. He was top scorer in the following season when Sheffield United finished runners-up to Leeds in Division Two and went on the England tour of Australasia, earning two caps against New Zealand. A third followed against Spain to add to his three “B” International Caps. He became Leeds’ record signing when they bought him for £2.9 million on 14th July 1993. While at Bramall Lane he scored eighty-three League goals in one hundred and ninety-eight starts, together with eleven goals in twenty-three starts and one game from the bench in the F.A. Cup, eleven goals in sixteen starts in the League Cup and two goals in two starts in other games. Despite scoring a last minute equalizer on his United debut, Deane struggled to live down his big price tag and it was only when Tony Yeboah was signed that he really got a new lease of life, playing on the left side of the attack. He was voted “Player of the Year” in 1994-95. He scored just thirty-two goals in one hundred and ninety-eight League games for Leeds before returning to Bramall Lane on 1st August 1997 for £1.5 million. After eleven League goals in twenty-four starts, two goals in four League Cup starts and failing to score in his only F.A. Cup start, he left Sheffield United for Benfica of Portugal for £1 million on 15th January 1998, before returning to England to join Middlesbrough for £3 million on 12th October1998 after scoring seven goals in eighteen appearances. He managed eighteen League goals in seventy-two starts and fifteen games from the bench, one goal in three starts in the F.A. Cup but none in four starts and one game as a substitute in the League Cup, a total of nineteen goals in ninety-five games for the Tees-siders before moving to Leicester City on 29th November 2001 for £150,000. He was a little more prolific for the Foxes getting nineteen League goals in only fifty-two games, of which eight were as a substitute, but started two games in each of the F.A. Cup and League Cup without scoring, before being freed to West Ham United on 31st October 2003. After six League goals in nine starts and twenty substitute appearances and one goal in three F.A. Cup starts, he had a short trial at Elland Road. He returned to Leeds United for a second spell, arriving on a free transfer on 21st July 2004. He considered offers from several clubs before deciding to return to Leeds, but after little more than half a season at Elland Road, in which he scored six League goals in thirty-one appearances, of which eight were as a substitute, and scoring once in one start and one game from the bench in the League Cup, he was off on his travels again and joined promotion-chasing Sunderland on 24th March 2005. His haul at Elland Road included four goals in one game at home to Queens Park Rangers on 20th November 2004 as Leeds won emphatically by 6-1 after a blitz of goals in the first half. For Deane in particular, this was a day to remember. The Thirty-six-year-old had never previously scored a hat-trick for Leeds United in two spells at the club spanning twelve years. In this game he needed less than half the game to complete the feat and even added a fourth for good measure later on. Not only did he bag four for himself, but he laid on the other two goals for David Healy and Jermaine Wright respectively. Not bad for a man who had only managed one League goal in the eighteen previous games that season. The game was packed with incidents starting with the visitors taking the lead inside two minutes through Gareth Ainsworth, but they were behind within ten minutes and the game was good as over long before half-time. Ainsworth's drive from twenty yards opened the scoring but Deane moved into action shortly after. He flicked on Gary Kelly's long ball and Healy swept the ball over Chris Day and into the net. Then a smart interchange between Simon Walton and Wright created the space for the latter to cross and Deane side-footed home. He became provider again when his header presented a routine clearance to George Santos. The ball skidded off the defender's head to Wright and while Day saved his first attempt, he could do nothing about the rebound. Leeds' fourth was similar to their second. This time it was John Oster who fed Wright, and Deane was again on hand to finish. A first-half hat-trick was duly completed a minute later, with Gary Kelly this time the provider and the two sides went to the break with the score 5-1 to the home side. The second half was a non-event, but a sixth for Leeds should have arrived after Simon Walton tangled with Lee Cook and, to the surprise of most in the stadium, the referee blew for a penalty. Day's fine save from Healy's spot-kick prevented any injustice, for what little it mattered. Deane's fourth arrived courtesy of Dan Shittu, who headed Walton's cross into his path. It was that kind of afternoon for the visitors' defenders. It was a game for everyone to remember Brian Deane by. His stay with Sunderland was brief, only four substitute appearances, and he was not retained at the end of the season. He went to Australia and played for Perth Glory in the Australian A-League. He left mid-season after failing to make an impact and sustaining what appeared to be a long-term injury. Rather than impede the club by sitting back and taking his wages while injured, he terminated the contract which then allowed the club to bring in other players within the salary cap system. After leaving Perth Glory, Deane re-signed for Sheffield United, returning for a third spell with the club on 23rd December 2005 to boost their striking options. He retired at the beginning of 2006-07 season having made just two substitute appearance on his third stint at Bramall Lane. Deane is now a Sports Consultant for Blacks Solicitors in Leeds.