MusaFormer Leeds United midfielder Seth Johnson has shared a remarkable story about two members of the squad who threw Peter Ridsdale into a water feature in the early 2000s.
Peter Ridsdale was the Chairman who oversaw the dizzying highs and terrifying lows that Leeds endured in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Seth Johnson joined the club in the autumn of 2001, as one of the last major signings to arrive at Elland Road before Leeds entered their financial doom spiral.
Leeds paid £7 million to bring Johnson to the club, following the expensive deals to sign the likes of Robbie Keane, Rio Ferdinand and Robbie Fowler, who all joined the Whites in big-money transfers around that time.
Now, Johnson has shared a revealing anecdote involving Ridsdale, Fowler, Ferdinand and a water feature from one of the club’s Christmas parties at that time.
Rio Ferdinand and Robbie Fowler once threw Peter Ridsdale into a water fountain
Speaking on the Under the Cosh podcast, Johnson lifted the lid on one of Leeds’ rowdy Christmas parties from the early 2000s.
According to Johnson, Ridsdale was desperate to be popular among the members of Leeds’ playing squad, which led to Fowler and Ferdinand testing this to the extreme.
Asked if Ridsdale just wanted to be one of the lads, Johnson said: “Yeah, he did, yeah. I remember on a Christmas do, when the lads threw him in this little, it was like a water feature.”
He added: “It was like a club do, I can’t remember, one of the big pavilion things, but they had like a water feature by a little walkway that you go over.
“And I’m sure Rio Ferdinand and Robbie Fowler, they just picked him up and just threw him in this f—— thing.”
Asked if Ridsdale was alright with the prank, Johnson added: “Yeah, he f—— loved it, didn’t he?”
Peter Ridsdale incident hints at off-field issues at Leeds United
While the story of Fowler and Ferdinand throwing Ridsdale into a fountain is undoubtedly hilarious in hindsight, it does hint at some of the troubles off the field that held Leeds back in the early 2000s.
The most famous example of this is the Lee Bowyer and Jonathan Woodgate incident, when the two stars faced a lengthy trial for an alleged assault in Leeds city centre on a night out, which eventually saw Woodgate charged with affray.
However, it is clear in hindsight that alcohol played a big part in the social lives of the Leeds squad, with several other stories that did not have such significant consequences.
Eirik Bakke’s admission, via the Mirror, that O’Leary had dressed several players down for going out just days before their game at the San Siro, is another example of this.
This is not to say that players should not be able to unwind and enjoy themselves. However, at a time when Arsene Wenger was driving the standards of professionalism in the English game up, O’Leary’s squad were falling behind.
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