I've got to be honest last week at the Liberty I was thinking, after the players had come on, bloody hell that ball boy's late. That ball boy running on to rapturious applause was none other than our Leon. Now who is this Leon, a rock we stand on? How did you feel when he jumped ship to Sheffield? Is he worthy of joining Mr. Allchurch? Your thoughts please..........
I agree, Gower should be given legendary status in this country right up there along with the likes of Ronnie Barker, Steven Redgrave and Only Fools and Horses to name but a few
Well you get called a legend for far less these days so I would say yes, disregarding his 6 month sabbatical up north ,I think he's represented not only the club but himself in a professional manner and therefore if for example Trundle has that label then by comparison it's the least that Leon deserves
Leon has now become my all time favourite Swans player ahead of Ivor and Curt, I've watched the Swans since the 1960's so have seen some excellent players over the years but when Leon arrived we were going through some of the worst times on and off the field. Can remember being delighted that this gem of a youngster was on loan to us as he brought hope with his fantastic ball skills as well as his determination to help us out of our predicament. Was only too happy to contribute to the "Battle for Britton" campaign, the thought of losing him because we couldn't afford his wages united us all to do something about it. Along with Tatey he was the catalyst to our survival and then our revival as we started climbing up through the leagues, to see him adapt at every level was no surprise as I knew that he was a real star. When he struggled to get into the team at one stage under Jackett's regime can remember speaking to him and encouraging him to stick it out which of course he did, then under Martinez he really blossomed playing football the Spanish way. Of course we had that period under Sousa when he was once again sidelined and for him to leave for a club like Sheff Utd upset many of us particularly as we knew their long ball style wouldn't suit our boy. In hindsight it was maybe not a bad thing as it made him realise that Swansea was really the place he wanted to be, can remember the night of the cup match at Wigan when he was amongst the Swans fans and was wishing he was on the field, think he felt so too. To see him back in a Swans shirt at the Barnsley away game was brilliant, the fans sang his name and it felt like he had never been away as he settle straight back into the team when coming on as a second half sub. Since then of course we made it to the premier league and he has gone from strength to strength looking very much at home at this level, he is still a key player for us and long may he continue to be part of the Swansea City team at the Liberty.
agree liberty A lot of us were a bit dubious on whether he would be able to handle the championship when we got promoted but he proved us all wrong by stepping up to every level as we climbed the leagues.....He has to be in the top 5 players of all time...
Totally agree, with this Liberty, and for me he is the beating heart of Swansea FC, ( a bit of a bully on times , mind, picking on that poor Peter Crouch and Fellaini at the Liberty last season ) I only hope Chico's calming influence rubs off on him !
I wouldn't say '400 not out', due to the Sheffield move I class this as his second innings in which he's 130 not out. Still....what a Swansea legend he is, and he had the balls to admit and rectify the mistake he made in leaving the Swans, unlike others such as Pratley and De Vries.
