Comedian and avid Leeds fan Maisie Adam has told William Hill’s Stripped Podcast how she was left in tears when her idol Alan Smith left the club for bitter rivals Manchester United.
Speaking on William Hill’s Stripped Podcast, a series in which ex-footballers and celebrities are invited to take a trip down memory lane by revisiting their favourite shirts, Adam said: “Alan Smith was the first man to break my heart, I thought he was so beautiful, it was those frosted tips. Leeds legend, I loved him at Leeds.
“It was the beginning of the end at Leeds at the time he played, and he had kept saying in interviews that he was sticking with Leeds, and then he went to Manchester United. Sure, leave Leeds, but going to United! It was only years later that I found out that he waved his fee to help Leeds out financially, the commission or something, there was something that he did that was a gesture to the club. We didn’t know at the time, but regardless, he went on and put that red Manchester shirt on. It was like watching your ex move on and go out with a supermodel, but the super-model is a d***.”
Since, many Leeds players have played well for the club before signing for bigger Premier League sides.
Adam said: “I feel this way a lot about Leeds players going to better clubs. It happened recently with Kalvin Phillips, he’s gone to Manchester City, and he isn’t even getting on the pitch, just watching, he might as well still be in the box. The same with Raphinha going to Barcelona, which I get because of course you would, and at least he is getting minutes on the pitch. It was a similar thing with Alan Smith, take my personal feelings aside, they didn’t utilise him.
“Alan Smith hurt more than Rio Ferdinand because I idolised him, I fancied him. He was everything I wanted in a man, he was beautiful, he was a great player, he spoke about Leeds like he would never betray us. I thought he was the man of my dreams, and then he went to Manchester United. I cried so much when he went to United. I think even now I couldn’t wear a Leeds shirt with Smith on the back. It would be bittersweet.”
We still talk about Viduka now
Holding a season ticket for many years when she was younger, Adam recalled the connection the fans had with the team and Australian Mark Viduka in particular.
“The first shirt I bought had Mark Viduka on the back. What a player, an absolute Leeds legend. He was a proper 90’s, noughties player, he was built like an absolute unit. The Leeds United account still posts videos of him now. He was such a good player I loved watching him. All of my family were Leeds fans and watching Viduka felt special.
“At that time, we had Rio Ferdinand go to Man United, Harry Kewell to Galatasaray, and Alan Smith to United, it was a tough time. At that time, Viduka hadn’t done us dirty, and we had this connection to him. We still talk about him in the Leeds community as an absolute legend.”
Premier League promotion was a tricky period for the fans
Adam went on to discuss the difficulty of celebrating Leeds’s famous promotion back to the Premier League after 16 years.
She said: “When Leeds got promoted, after 16 years, the moment we finally got back into the Premier League, it’s the season that no fans were allowed into the stadium. When we got promoted, there were scenes of Kalvin Phillips, Marcelo Bielsa and Luke Ayling all at Elland Road. They have watched the game, so they know we are promoted and are watching and waving from the windows.
“It was harsh. And with what we say about Leeds and how it is a one-club city, everyone in Leeds loves Leeds United, of course, it is the one year we can’t be with the players, it was a weird time. Everyone says it about their club, but Leeds is a really distinctive atmosphere.”
Finally, Maisie offered her opinions on Jesse Marsch and expressed her uncertainty about Leeds’ future in the Premier League.
“People ask me about Jesse Marsch, and I have been a supporter of him, I like him. I think it was right when Bielsa went. We were playing the wrong tactics, and the wrong players, we had a diminished squad, and the moment we didn’t have Patrick Bamford or Raphinia, we fall apart. The same has happened this year, you need to have other options. I want to say Jesse Marsch has the answers, but I am worried for Leeds this year.”
