# 2005–06 Leeds United A.F.C. season

The 2005–06 season was Leeds United's second consecutive season in the Football League Championship.

## Season summary

With new players brought in over the summer, the club's goal during the 2005–06 season was promotion. Blackwell's shrewd tactics away from Elland Road and attacking style at home proved highly effective, and by the end of February, Leeds were third in the Championship. However, from that point onwards Leeds slumped, gaining just 4 points from a possible 18, and eventually had to settle for a play-off place. In the first round of the play-offs, against Preston North End, Leeds drew 1–1 at Elland Road, but won the return leg 2–0 to advance to the final, played on 21 May at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. However, in a dismal performance, Leeds crashed to a 3–0 defeat to Watford. While some fans predicted that Leeds would go one better and finally return to the Premier League the following year, others were concerned by the fact that, with the exception of the bottom four teams, Leeds's form going into the play-offs was the worst of any team in the Championship, their only two wins in the final months of the campaign being the play-off victory against Preston and a narrow 1–0 victory against relegated Crewe Alexandra.

## Competitions
### Championship
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 3 | Watford (O, P) | 46 | 22 | 15 | 9 | 77 | 53 | +24 | 81 | Qualification for Championship play-offs |
| 4 | Preston North End | 46 | 20 | 20 | 6 | 59 | 30 | +29 | 80 | Qualification for Championship play-offs |
| 5 | Leeds United | 46 | 21 | 15 | 10 | 57 | 38 | +19 | 78 | Qualification for Championship play-offs |
| 6 | Crystal Palace | 46 | 21 | 12 | 13 | 67 | 48 | +19 | 75 | Qualification for Championship play-offs |
| 7 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 46 | 16 | 19 | 11 | 50 | 42 | +8 | 67 | |

#### Results

| Win | Draw | Loss |
Championship match details :
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance | Referee |
| 7 August 2005 | Millwall | Home | 2–1 | Healy 28', 73' pen. | 20,440 | Laws |
| 9 August 2005 | Cardiff City | Away | 1–2 | Blake 22' | 15,231 | Tanner |
| 13 August 2005 | Luton Town | Away | 0–0 | | 10,102 | Leake |
| 20 August 2005 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | Home | 2–0 | Lewis 8, Hulse 60' | 21,229 | Beeby |
| 27 August 2005 | Norwich City | Away | 1–0 | Hulse 67' | 25,015 | Rennie |
| 10 September 2005 | Brighton & Hove Albion | Home | 3–3 | Healy 65', 70', Douglas 90' | 21,212 | Pike |
| 13 September 2005 | Sheffield Wednesday | Away | 0–1 | | 29,986 | Taylor |
| 17 September 2005 | Queens Park Rangers | Away | 1–0 | Hulse 41' | 15,523 | Walton |
| 24 September 2005 | Ipswich Town | Home | 0–2 | | 21,676 | Halsey |
| 28 September 2005 | Derby County | Home | 3–1 | Hulse 32', 37', 44' | 18,353 | Salisbury |
| 1 October 2005 | Watford | Away | 0–0 | | 16,050 | Curson |
| 15 October 2005 | Burnley | Away | 2–1 | Lewis 71', Hulse 75' | 16,174 | Dean |
| 18 October 2005 | Southampton | Home | 2–1 | Hulse 11', Blake 19' | 18,881 | Jones |
| 21 October 2005 | Sheffield United | Home | 1–1 | Richardson 53' | 23,600 | Wiley |
| 29 October 2005 | Reading | Away | 1–1 | Walton 1' | 22,012 | Olivier |
| 1 November 2005 | Crewe Alexandra | Away | 0–1 | | 7,220 | Kettle |
| 5 November 2005 | Preston North End | Home | 0–0 | | 22,289 | D'Urso |
| 19 November 2005 | Southampton | Away | 4–3 | Butler 71', Blake 77', Healy 84' pen., Miller 86' | 30,173 | Williamson |
| 22 November 2005 | Burnley | Home | 2–0 | Healy 55' pen., Blake 70' | 21,318 | Bates |
| 26 November 2005 | Millwall | Away | 1–0 | May 90' o.g. | 8,134 | Fletcher |
| 3 December 2005 | Leicester City | Home | 2–1 | Healy 41', Kilgallon 73' | 21,402 | Dean |
| 10 December 2005 | Cardiff City | Home | 0–1 | | 20,597 | Salisbury |
| 17 December 2005 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | Away | 0–1 | | 26,821 | Foy |
| 26 December 2005 | Coventry City | Home | 3–1 | Douglas 34', Blake 61', Cresswell 80' | 24,291 | Webster |
| 28 December 2005 | Stoke City | Away | 1–0 | Lewis 69' | 20,408 | Halsey |
| 31 December 2005 | Hull City | Home | 2–0 | Douglas 45', 57' | 26,387 | Hall |
| 2 January 2006 | Plymouth Argyle | Away | 3–0 | Cresswell 53', Blake 60', Hulse 86' pen. | 17,726 | Taylor |
| 14 January 2006 | Brighton & Hove Albion | Away | 1–2 | Blake 38' pen. | 7,415 | D'Urso |
| 21 January 2006 | Sheffield Wednesday | Home | 3–0 | Butler 70', Cresswell 82', 90' | 27,843 | Gallagher |
| 31 January 2006 | Ipswich Town | Away | 1–1 | Healy 88' pen. | 25,845 | Crossley |
| 4 February 2006 | Queens Park Rangers | Home | 2–0 | Cresswell 39', Butler 84' | 21,807 | Walton |
| 11 February 2006 | Derby County | Away | 0–0 | | 27,000 | Dowd |
| 14 February 2006 | Watford | Home | 2–1 | Blake 60' pen., 81' | 22,007 | Jones |
| 18 February 2006 | Leicester City | Away | 1–1 | Blake 12' pen. | 25,497 | Olivier |
| 25 February 2006 | Luton Town | Home | 2–1 | Douglas 49', Lewis 53' | 23,644 | Hill |
| 4 March 2006 | Crystal Palace | Away | 2–1 | Blake 33', Hulse 53' | 23,843 | Gallagher |
| 11 March 2006 | Norwich City | Home | 2–2 | Hulse 20', Lewis 90' | 24,993 | Foy |
| 18 March 2006 | Coventry City | Away | 1–1 | Healy 88' pen. | 26,643 | Oliver |
| 21 March 2006 | Crystal Palace | Home | 0–1 | | 24,507 | Joslin |
| 25 March 2006 | Stoke City | Home | 0–0 | | 21,452 | Stroud |
| 1 April 2006 | Hull City | Away | 0–1 | | 23,486 | Ilderton |
| 8 April 2006 | Plymouth Argyle | Home | 0–0 | | 20,650 | Thorpe |
| 15 April 2006 | Reading | Home | 1–1 | Hulse 47' | 24,535 | Halsey |
| 18 April 2006 | Sheffield United | Away | 1–1 | Healy 42' | 29,329 | Poll |
| 22 April 2006 | Crewe Alexandra | Home | 1–0 | Healy 74' | 21,046 | Miller |
| 30 April 2006 | Preston North End | Away | 0–2 | | 19,350 | Rennie |

#### Play-offs

Championship play-off match details :
| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance | Referee |
| Semi-final first leg | 5 May 2006 | Preston North End | Home | 1–1 | Lewis 74' | 35,239 | Crossley |
| Semi-final second leg | 8 May 2006 | Preston North End | Away | 2–0 | Hulse 56', Richardson 61' | 20,283 | Thorpe |
| Final | 21 May 2006 | Watford | Neutral | 0–3 | | 64,736 | Dean |

### FA Cup

FA Cup match details :
| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance | Referee | Ref. |
| Third round | 7 January 2006 | Wigan Athletic | Away | 1–1 | Hulse 88' | 10,980 | Poll | |
| Third round replay | 17 January 2006 | Wigan Athletic | Home | 3–3 (2–4 p) | Healy 41', 64' pen., Kelly 116' | 15,243 | Poll | |

### League Cup

League Cup match details :
| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance | Referee |
| First round | 23 August 2005 | Oldham Athletic | Home | 2–0 | Ricketts 20, Richardson 24' | 14,970 | Wright |
| Second round | 20 September 2005 | Rotherham United | Away | 2–0 | Cresswell 19', 28' | 5,445 | Leake |
| Third round | 25 October 2005 | Blackburn Rovers | Away | 0–3 | | 15,631 | Foy |

## Transfers
### Transfers in

| Date | Position | Name | From† | Fee | Ref. |
| 1 July 2005 | MF | Eddie Lewis | (Preston North End) | Free transfer | |
    † Brackets around club names denote the player's contract with that club had expired before he joined Leeds.

### Loans in

| Date from | Position | Name | From | Date until | Ref. |
| 23 March 2006 | FW | Danny Graham | Middlesbrough | 22 April 2006 | |

### Transfers out

| Date | Position | Name | To† | Fee | Ref. |
| 19 August 2005 | MF | Matthew Spring | Watford | ₤150,000 | |
    † Brackets around club names denote the player joined that club after his Leeds contract expired.

### Loans out

| Date from | Position | Name | To | Date until | Ref. |
| 30 January 2006 | FW | Michael Ricketts | Burnley | End of season | |

## First-team squad

    Squad at end of season
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | SCO | Neil Sullivan |
| 2 | DF | IRL | Gary Kelly |
| 3 | DF | SCO | Stephen Crainey |
| 6 | DF | IRL | Paul Butler |
| 7 | MF | ENG | Jermaine Wright |
| 8 | MF | ENG | Sean Gregan |
| 9 | FW | NIR | David Healy |
| 10 | FW | ENG | Rob Hulse |
| 11 | MF | USA | Eddie Lewis |
| 12 | MF | ENG | Danny Pugh |
| 13 | GK | ENG | Ian Bennett |
| 14 | MF | ENG | Steve Stone |
| 15 | DF | ENG | Frazer Richardson |
| 16 | MF | ISL | Gylfi Einarsson |
| 17 | MF | IRL | Liam Miller (on loan from Manchester United) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 18 | MF | ENG | Simon Walton |
| 19 | MF | NOR | Eirik Bakke |
| 20 | MF | IRL | Jonathan Douglas |
| 21 | MF | ENG | Shaun Derry |
| 22 | FW | ENG | Ian Moore |
| 23 | DF | ENG | Dan Harding |
| 24 | DF | ANG | Rui Marques |
| 25 | FW | ENG | Richard Cresswell |
| 26 | DF | ENG | Matthew Kilgallon |
| 27 | MF | AUS | Joel Griffiths |
| 28 | FW | ENG | Robbie Blake |
| 30 | FW | ENG | Michael Ricketts |
| 32 | FW | ENG | Jermaine Beckford |

### Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 17 | MF | ENG | Matthew Spring (to Watford) |
| 32 | FW | ENG | Justin Bowler (to Halifax Town) |
| 34 | DF | ENG | Brenton Leister (to Halifax Town) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 34 | FW | ENG | Danny Graham (on loan from Middlesbrough) |
| 35 | FW | SCO | Kevin Smith (to Sunderland) |

## Reserve squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 29 | MF | IRL | Ian Morris |
| 31 | DF | SCO | Steven McKeown |
| 33 | MF | ENG | Nick Gray |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 36 | GK | ENG | Mark Wilberforce |
| 40 | FW | ENG | Jamie Winter |