Leopold Paul Osborne Fortune- West.
Thu Jul 12, 2012 6:32 am
All arms and legs, his spirited, physical performances were a staple of the early Sam Hammam years. A £300,000 signing in 2000, he dropped down a league to sign for Cardiff in the third division, having scored 17 goals in firing Rotherham to the second division the previous season.
Yet Leo did not consider the move a backwards step, willing to make a short-term sacrifice to enable a long-term gain. "I loved every second at Rotherham, but this was an opportunity to be part of a club which was a sleeping giant, so I took it with both hands. The transfer was at the time a record and I think this was paid with a view of getting promotion and the beginning of our upward journey."
Reflecting on an exciting time both personally and for the club, upwardly mobile under a flamboyant owner, Leo confirms: "This was indeed an exciting time for me. A big money transfer and the chance to play for a big city football team, and the spotlight this entails. Mr Hammam was an instantly likeable character and was very popular with the players, I think he enjoyed the humour of the players as much as we enjoyed his humour. Mr Hammam also brought with him not only a crazy gang sprit, but also a siege mentality, which was particularly important as we were a Welsh team playing in the English football league."
Cardiff were automatically promoted in his first season with the club, with a side full of iconic players from Cardiff's recent history and Leo remains full of praise for the likes of Robert Earnshaw, Andy Legg, James Collins and Danny Gabbidon. "Where do I start? Andy Legg, a man who could give it, and a man who could take it, we often had our clashes, but this was only our will to do the best for the club. Similar to myself in some respects, an excitable man on the pitch and a gentleman off it. Gabbs, had all the attributes of a premiership player and was always as cool as a cucumber. James Collins, a young centre forward when he broke through, but Lenny Lawrence converted him to a centre half, wasn't that a bad decision!"
"Lastly the machine which is Earnie, whose greatest talent was his composure, a great scorer of goals. Whenever I talk about Earnie and how good he was, I always say that what stopped him from being a consistent premier league player, was his weight, by this I mean if he had been just a stone heavier he would have coped much more with the demands of the top level."
The next season saw expectations rocket with the high-profile acquisitions of Graham Kavanagh, Peter Thorne and Andy Campbell, with plenty of competition for places up front, Leo dug in and fought for his first team place. "Progress is progress and the higher a team goes the more it can attract quality players. I think had it been any different I would not have enjoyed my time at Cardiff so much and when I look back there were many occasions when we all genuinely fought for the shirt. You cannot expect to be at a big city club without big competition."
Robert Earnshaw caught fire in this particular campaign, scoring 35 goals in all competitions and Leo regards his partnership Earnie as one of the best of his career. "Having enjoyed several promotions, I have been quite lucky to have formed good partnerships with many good players, what I think worked best with myself and Earnie, was his ability to play off the shoulder of defenders, read my knock downs and be clinical in front of goal. At my best I was able to occupy more than one defender and Earnie benefited from this."
This season also featured one of Cardiff's greatest ever games, the 2-1 win over the Premier League leaders Leeds United, in the 3rd round of the FA Cup. Leo started the game on the bench, but was introduced as a late substitute and made a telling contribution to the late winner. "Whenever I talk about this game I always say, it was my header which led to our winning goal. At the time I felt too much was made of the crowd trouble and this I felt led to a slightly anti-Welsh reporting in the newspapers, which took a lot of the gloss off."
Cardiff ended the season in the play off's and won the first leg of their semi-final, beating Stoke 2-1, with Leo scoring, before crashing to 2-0 defeat at home. Conceding late in both regular time and extra time, the manner of the defeat was cruel and he considers the game as one of the lowest points in football, despite finally achieving promotion in the following season. "It hurt, and looking back it still hurts, this is without doubt the biggest regret of my career and I always felt that I deserved at least one season in the Championship. Of course the team went on to win the play off's the following year and although I contributed regularly during the season, I did not feature at all in the play offs. It's a hard realisation when your team mates are going on to bigger things, and you are not."
"On the coach travelling to the Millennium Stadium, knowing I was not involved, my only thought was of all the people supporting Cardiff and hoping we could make them happy, I think they deserved it. Before the actual Stoke game, we had went on a great run of games and came into the play offs in good form. We played really well at Stoke and I think Earnie had a one on one to make it 3-0. In the return leg, we started well but unusually Earnie was caught off side often and generally no one played to their potential. When we did not score, the psychology changed and we just tried to defend what we had, when they scored it totally drained us, it was a hard pill to swallow."
Leo was released in the aftermath of the 2003 QPR play off final victory, moving to Doncaster Rovers, where he spent three seasons, but he was disappointed to be leaving Cardiff. "Cardiff City was my peak and leaving was difficult, when I joined Doncaster Rovers I was 32 years old, so it became more about prolonging my career. This said, Doncaster had just returned back into the football league and the fan base was beginning to grow. We achieved promotion in the first season and more than held our own the following seasons. I captained the side for a short period, including a league cup win over Manchester City."
"Overall, I enjoyed my time at Rovers and still live in Doncaster. Other highlights include a season at Shrewsbury Town and playing at Wembley. When it came to retiring from playing professional, it wasn't difficult for me as I knew my body could no longer recover to play games week in week out. Looking back, I am always grateful of my time in the game, and I think I was fortunate to have had experienced so many highs, something I will always keep in my heart."
Leo gave up on his university studies, in a "split second," to pursue a professional career in football and since retiring, has returned to higher education. "Back in 1994, I had just finished my 1st year of an Urban Studies degree when I had to decide whether to become a professional footballer with Gillingham. At the time of writing, I am preparing for my final exam for my Open University degree course. It's been a long 6 years but I am almost there. Hopefully this will help me begin another career."
His playing career recently ended at Armthorpe Welfare, a Northern Counties East Premier division side in Doncaster and he has since been appointed as manager. "I don't play anymore, but I am keen to keep the good habits of my career, therefore I still keep fit, be it training with the team, swimming, or going to the gym. I have done this for over 20 years now and cannot see me changing."
Leo Fortune-West's approach to management appears to be every bit as forceful and straightforward as his attitude towards playing. "I have been very fortunate to have played under so many good managers, and this has provided me with a good base to develop myself. As a player there is one simple rule, if you are in the team, then you like the manager and if you are not then you dislike the manager. This said, I have always respected the managers I have played under. I think I have learnt from all my managers and I there are some methods I will use and some I won't."
The victim of racist abuse in a match against Scarborough last season, Leo is philosophical in his attitude regarding the incident and the subject in general. "To be honest, I am quite cynical when it comes to issues involving race and I believe this is just a reflection on the wider society. Football grounds provide the arena for many people to release pent up emotions. It always surprises me when some fans give out abuse to opposing black players, when they have black players on their team. On the pitch, as a character I was always very belligerent, so was always able to deal with this matter."
Having spent the best years of his football career at Cardiff City, Leo is proud of his involvement in their recent past, conceding: "The best years of my footballing life were spent at Cardiff, and the success we achieved will always be a part of me. I think whenever you achieve a promotion with a football club, you become part of their history, and I will always be very proud of this."
As you would expect, he also has typically frank views regarding the future of the club and the recent rebranding, adding: "If the Malaysian owners are prepared to invest large sums of money into Cardiff, then I think the supports should be willing to make some concessions. As the capital of Wales, red in my opinion would not be an offensive colour to use, and I do think that a city like Cardiff should have a team in the highest division, because the city can sustain it. It's good to have tradition, but is it the most important factor in modern day football?"
Yet Leo did not consider the move a backwards step, willing to make a short-term sacrifice to enable a long-term gain. "I loved every second at Rotherham, but this was an opportunity to be part of a club which was a sleeping giant, so I took it with both hands. The transfer was at the time a record and I think this was paid with a view of getting promotion and the beginning of our upward journey."
Reflecting on an exciting time both personally and for the club, upwardly mobile under a flamboyant owner, Leo confirms: "This was indeed an exciting time for me. A big money transfer and the chance to play for a big city football team, and the spotlight this entails. Mr Hammam was an instantly likeable character and was very popular with the players, I think he enjoyed the humour of the players as much as we enjoyed his humour. Mr Hammam also brought with him not only a crazy gang sprit, but also a siege mentality, which was particularly important as we were a Welsh team playing in the English football league."
Cardiff were automatically promoted in his first season with the club, with a side full of iconic players from Cardiff's recent history and Leo remains full of praise for the likes of Robert Earnshaw, Andy Legg, James Collins and Danny Gabbidon. "Where do I start? Andy Legg, a man who could give it, and a man who could take it, we often had our clashes, but this was only our will to do the best for the club. Similar to myself in some respects, an excitable man on the pitch and a gentleman off it. Gabbs, had all the attributes of a premiership player and was always as cool as a cucumber. James Collins, a young centre forward when he broke through, but Lenny Lawrence converted him to a centre half, wasn't that a bad decision!"
"Lastly the machine which is Earnie, whose greatest talent was his composure, a great scorer of goals. Whenever I talk about Earnie and how good he was, I always say that what stopped him from being a consistent premier league player, was his weight, by this I mean if he had been just a stone heavier he would have coped much more with the demands of the top level."
The next season saw expectations rocket with the high-profile acquisitions of Graham Kavanagh, Peter Thorne and Andy Campbell, with plenty of competition for places up front, Leo dug in and fought for his first team place. "Progress is progress and the higher a team goes the more it can attract quality players. I think had it been any different I would not have enjoyed my time at Cardiff so much and when I look back there were many occasions when we all genuinely fought for the shirt. You cannot expect to be at a big city club without big competition."
Robert Earnshaw caught fire in this particular campaign, scoring 35 goals in all competitions and Leo regards his partnership Earnie as one of the best of his career. "Having enjoyed several promotions, I have been quite lucky to have formed good partnerships with many good players, what I think worked best with myself and Earnie, was his ability to play off the shoulder of defenders, read my knock downs and be clinical in front of goal. At my best I was able to occupy more than one defender and Earnie benefited from this."
This season also featured one of Cardiff's greatest ever games, the 2-1 win over the Premier League leaders Leeds United, in the 3rd round of the FA Cup. Leo started the game on the bench, but was introduced as a late substitute and made a telling contribution to the late winner. "Whenever I talk about this game I always say, it was my header which led to our winning goal. At the time I felt too much was made of the crowd trouble and this I felt led to a slightly anti-Welsh reporting in the newspapers, which took a lot of the gloss off."
Cardiff ended the season in the play off's and won the first leg of their semi-final, beating Stoke 2-1, with Leo scoring, before crashing to 2-0 defeat at home. Conceding late in both regular time and extra time, the manner of the defeat was cruel and he considers the game as one of the lowest points in football, despite finally achieving promotion in the following season. "It hurt, and looking back it still hurts, this is without doubt the biggest regret of my career and I always felt that I deserved at least one season in the Championship. Of course the team went on to win the play off's the following year and although I contributed regularly during the season, I did not feature at all in the play offs. It's a hard realisation when your team mates are going on to bigger things, and you are not."
"On the coach travelling to the Millennium Stadium, knowing I was not involved, my only thought was of all the people supporting Cardiff and hoping we could make them happy, I think they deserved it. Before the actual Stoke game, we had went on a great run of games and came into the play offs in good form. We played really well at Stoke and I think Earnie had a one on one to make it 3-0. In the return leg, we started well but unusually Earnie was caught off side often and generally no one played to their potential. When we did not score, the psychology changed and we just tried to defend what we had, when they scored it totally drained us, it was a hard pill to swallow."
Leo was released in the aftermath of the 2003 QPR play off final victory, moving to Doncaster Rovers, where he spent three seasons, but he was disappointed to be leaving Cardiff. "Cardiff City was my peak and leaving was difficult, when I joined Doncaster Rovers I was 32 years old, so it became more about prolonging my career. This said, Doncaster had just returned back into the football league and the fan base was beginning to grow. We achieved promotion in the first season and more than held our own the following seasons. I captained the side for a short period, including a league cup win over Manchester City."
"Overall, I enjoyed my time at Rovers and still live in Doncaster. Other highlights include a season at Shrewsbury Town and playing at Wembley. When it came to retiring from playing professional, it wasn't difficult for me as I knew my body could no longer recover to play games week in week out. Looking back, I am always grateful of my time in the game, and I think I was fortunate to have had experienced so many highs, something I will always keep in my heart."
Leo gave up on his university studies, in a "split second," to pursue a professional career in football and since retiring, has returned to higher education. "Back in 1994, I had just finished my 1st year of an Urban Studies degree when I had to decide whether to become a professional footballer with Gillingham. At the time of writing, I am preparing for my final exam for my Open University degree course. It's been a long 6 years but I am almost there. Hopefully this will help me begin another career."
His playing career recently ended at Armthorpe Welfare, a Northern Counties East Premier division side in Doncaster and he has since been appointed as manager. "I don't play anymore, but I am keen to keep the good habits of my career, therefore I still keep fit, be it training with the team, swimming, or going to the gym. I have done this for over 20 years now and cannot see me changing."
Leo Fortune-West's approach to management appears to be every bit as forceful and straightforward as his attitude towards playing. "I have been very fortunate to have played under so many good managers, and this has provided me with a good base to develop myself. As a player there is one simple rule, if you are in the team, then you like the manager and if you are not then you dislike the manager. This said, I have always respected the managers I have played under. I think I have learnt from all my managers and I there are some methods I will use and some I won't."
The victim of racist abuse in a match against Scarborough last season, Leo is philosophical in his attitude regarding the incident and the subject in general. "To be honest, I am quite cynical when it comes to issues involving race and I believe this is just a reflection on the wider society. Football grounds provide the arena for many people to release pent up emotions. It always surprises me when some fans give out abuse to opposing black players, when they have black players on their team. On the pitch, as a character I was always very belligerent, so was always able to deal with this matter."
Having spent the best years of his football career at Cardiff City, Leo is proud of his involvement in their recent past, conceding: "The best years of my footballing life were spent at Cardiff, and the success we achieved will always be a part of me. I think whenever you achieve a promotion with a football club, you become part of their history, and I will always be very proud of this."
As you would expect, he also has typically frank views regarding the future of the club and the recent rebranding, adding: "If the Malaysian owners are prepared to invest large sums of money into Cardiff, then I think the supports should be willing to make some concessions. As the capital of Wales, red in my opinion would not be an offensive colour to use, and I do think that a city like Cardiff should have a team in the highest division, because the city can sustain it. It's good to have tradition, but is it the most important factor in modern day football?"
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Re: Leopold Paul Osborne Fortune- West.
Thu Jul 12, 2012 2:29 pm
I enjoyed that. Where was that from?
A very popular player, Leo and rightly so. A gentleman off the pitch and always had time for the kids when they were asking for autographs. I hope he's successful in the future, in whatever field he chooses.
A very popular player, Leo and rightly so. A gentleman off the pitch and always had time for the kids when they were asking for autographs. I hope he's successful in the future, in whatever field he chooses.