Andy Hughes

Great piece on Andy Hughes

Signed from Norwich during the dismal Summer of 2007, I doubt many Leeds fans, myself included, knew who Andy Hughes was. To be honest, any player would have done at that point in our history. It soon became apparent that "Hughesy" suffered from the age old plague of many a professional footballer - he was too versatile.

Comfortable across midfield and at either full-back role, it was just too easy to move him to a void in the team rather than let him settle into a position and make it his own. Despite this, he has made 110 appearances for Leeds and although by his own admission he was far from the most technically gifted footballer in the clubs history, it was obvious that his 110% performances more than made up for it.

Hughes has had his critics during his 3 years at Elland Road, but name me a player who hasn't? At a club where your star, 30 goal a season striker is public enemy number one, you can consider yourself lucky not to receive death threats for conceding a corner! Despite the added pressure of pulling on the sacred white shirt, Hughes has played wherever, whenever, knowing that playing left back for the majority of a season was likely to expose him to abuse from the fans.

Without doubt his finest moment in a Leeds shirt came at Old Trafford, in that legendary F.A. Cup win back in Januray. Tasked with keeping the likes of Rooney, Berbatov, Obertan and later Antonio Valencia and Michael Owen at bay, Hughes out-performed the Premiership stars with a display that matched the top flight surroundings. In a recent interview with The Yorkshire Evening Post, Hughes was unsure of what legacy he has created at Elland Road and whilst I can't answer that question. I can tell you that my lasting memory of a very underrated, low-key player is that of a man who saluted the Revie Stand with raw emotion and passion following our promotion last week. If I had been blessed with enough talent to play for Leeds United, I wouldn't have greeted the clubs promotion any differently. Already without a shirt before the referee had removed the whistle from his mouth, Hughes ran wildly into the on-rushing masses of supporters invading the pitch and was later seen shedding all his emotions in front of The Revie Stand.

To date Andrew Hughes has scored only one goal for Leeds United, a goal that sealed a rare victory at The New Den back in April 2008. With his contract due to expire at the end of the month, I for one feel he has done enough to earn a chance to extent his 'prolific' goal tally. Even if its just for his versatility - Andrew Hughes should be a Leeds United player next season.