What Shirt is Sweeney Wearing? - The Square Ball 23/8/21

ARE YOU BEING SERIOUS?

Written by Rob Conlon

Praising Dennis Wise’s wit makes me uncomfortable, but I have to applaud his response to Derby’s interest in Jermaine Beckford in January 2008. “If I am being totally honest, why would you go from Leeds to Derby?” he asked. “You wouldn’t. This is a much bigger club than Derby.”

Leeds were trying to earn promotion back to the Championship, and were winning more games and scoring more goals than any other side in League One, but their fifteen point deduction was restricting them to play-off places. Derby, meanwhile, were stinking out the Premier League on their way to a record low points total. Billy ‘Job Done’ Davies had been replaced by Paul Jewell, who was caught hook, line and sinker by Wise’s fishing.

“I think it’s pretty disrespectful,” Jewell told the BBC. “I’ve got no interest in Jermaine. We’re looking at a better quality player than that.” Which sounded pretty disingenuous when he was turning up at Gresty Road for Leeds’ next league outing against Crewe. Jewell’s assistant Stan Ternent didn’t get the memo, talking up Derby’s appeal by doubting Leeds’ promotion bid, but he was also resigning his own side to relegation from the Premier League halfway through the season. “Why would Beckford want to go to Derby? He might want to play in the Championship next year.”

Unlike Jewell, Wise had already got his transfer business done. Five players joined Leeds in the first two weeks of the January window, including Peter Sweeney, making his debut on the left wing against Crewe. Sweeney worked with Wise at Millwall, playing in the 2004 FA Cup final, but his career was stuttering. “He’s got a lot of talent,” Wise said, “but he hasn’t progressed quite as much as I thought he would. Hopefully I can push him on.” Sweeney concurred, telling the Yorkshire Evening Post: “I’m thinking to myself, ‘Hang on a minute, I need to do something now,’ and that’s why I’ve come to Leeds. There’s no better club to kickstart my career.”

He made a positive first impression, sparking choruses of ‘Sweeney, Sweeney’ from the away end by thumping a cross into the box so Beckford could head in the only goal of the game. After the match, Wise was relishing an opportunity to double down on his Jewell baiting: “People are talking about Derby but, as I’ve said before, we’re a bigger club than Derby.”

Wise’s words were overshadowed by Beckford’s own reaction when asked about a potential exit. “What shirt am I wearing, bruv?” he asked Sky’s reporter with a smirk. “Are you being serious?” It didn’t take long before Leeds were launching an official t-shirt range bearing the new slogan. Jewell had to make do with buying Emanuel Villa, a £2m striker from Argentina, who completely flopped. Naturally, one of the only goals he scored for Derby was against Leeds.

For Sweeney, Crewe away was as good as it got for him at Leeds. Two weeks later, Wise was quitting to work for Mike Ashley. “When Dennis left I was gutted to think that he’d gone,” Sweeney told the YEP. “The rumours had come about but I thought there was no way. I didn’t think he’d be going anywhere because I didn’t think he’d leave Leeds United and be stupid. But they came true, and it was then a case of who Leeds were going to bring in. I think all the lads were concerned about getting someone who was decent, and Gary McAllister seems to be quality.”

The feeling between McAllister and Sweeney wasn’t mutual. Gary Mac gave him just 166 minutes before he was never seen in a Leeds shirt again. Eventually he dropped down a division to join Grimsby. One explanation for Sweeney’s career trajectory can be found on the I Had Trials Once podcast, on which former teammate Paul Linwood spoke about the “team full of alcoholics” he encountered at Grimsby.

“Even I turned around one day and thought, ‘This has gone too far,’” Linwood said. “We’d had a Monday session straight after training, boozing until about half five that morning, and then in training for nine o’clock the next day. Adam Proudlock and Peter Sweeney came to pick me up. Both [were] unbelievable players who’ve just tossed it off at this point, drinking cans of Fosters on the way to training, which is out of order. I fucking hate Fosters.”

Grimsby were relegated out of the Football League and Sweeney was placed on the transfer list. Naturally, one of the only goals he scored for Grimsby was against Leeds.