With Middlesbrough and Charlton set to face each other in the Championship this weekend, many Leeds fans have been recalling the incident involving Jonathan Woodgate and Lee Bowyer in December 2001, with the two former Leeds players now set to face each other as managers.
Both Bowyer and Woodgate were heavily involved in the incident, which saw them beat up student Sarfraz Najeib to the point in which he was described as ‘half-dead.’ The two were both key players for Leeds at the time and were out celebrating Bowyer’s 23rd birthday when the incident occurred.
Lots of fans see the incident as one of the key turning points in the Whites history, as although they finished fifth in the Premier League 2001/02 season, the next campaign saw them drop to 15th, before they were relegated the season after. They have not returned to the top flight since, but Marcelo Bielsa’s side currently sit second in the Championship as they seek a return to the Premier League after a 15-year absence.
Were Bowyer and Woodgate partly to blame for Leeds' downfall?
Yes
No
Reaction from Leeds fans to the post from Phil Hay promoting an Athletic article on the incident in 2001 can be seen in the tweets below.
Woodgate v Bowyer – otherwise known as the Safraz Najeeb derby
— Stephen Urwin (@steref82) December 6, 2019
Still got no time for either of them even now, can’t understand why everybody likes them…. Duberry’s worse though the little grass
— jamie (@jamie11834828) December 6, 2019
Oh I do wish they’d stayed in that night.
— Martin Brown (@askham9) December 6, 2019
The start of our downfall. Just when all started to go well too.
— peter-maurice (@petermauriceuk) December 6, 2019
Hope it doesn’t end in a fight !!
— JOHN NESFIELD (@NesfieldJohn) December 6, 2019
Part of the reason (along with Publicity Pete buying a load of players we didn’t need and couldn’t afford and DOLs book) why the wheels came off and started the slide into years of obscurity until now really
— david roberts (@davidro83728290) December 6, 2019
These Leeds fans are clearly still feeling the effects of Bowyer and Woodgate’s actions that night in 2001, as it clearly seemed to have a negative impact on the club; who were doing so well at the time.