The ratings are the bane of any match-covering football journalist because invariably they are ‘wrong’ or ‘too generous’ or ‘too harsh’ and entirely subjective. But even in the digital-era of football reporting, the ratings remain as popular as ever with readers and fans, either because everyone loves to shout at a journalist or because they love to weigh their estimations up against those that come out of the press box.
This year, as they do every year, the ratings averaged out for each individual Leeds United player painted a picture of who most consistently stood out in games across the season. As a ranking system it’s far from perfect because a player who shines in cameos off the bench does not have the same task as a player who is solid but unspectacular as a starter. A player can pick up an 8 out of 10 against an already-relegated opposition at home while another can be a solid, valuable 7 out of 10 away from home in a hard-fought draw against elite opposition. Contributions are all important, everyone does their bit and plays their part.
When the full picture emerges those at the top tend to be the players who were in the running for the end-of-season awards. Perhaps how best to view an average rating is to consider them outside of any squad-wide ranking or comparison and just put the number next to the name. Some of them feel very right. A few might be a tad generous or a tad the other way. In any case, a 6 out of 10 performance across a Premier League season isn’t bad - anything close to a 7 is really very impressive. And as luck would have it, the man ranked first - albeit on the merit of a couple of decimal places in what is otherwise a three-way tie for first - is the man who did pick up all the awards.
What the ratings also show is that Leeds’ summer 2025 recruitment was absolutely vital to their success on the pitch this season. Just look at the ratings of some of the new signings, who bedded in so quickly in a new country and in the world’s toughest proving ground. So here are the averages. All of them entirely correct.
19. Karl Darlow - 7
The fixer. Twice now Farke has called on him to take over between the sticks in the second half of a season and twice he has done the job well. Distribution was decent, made some top saves, performed reliably. | Getty Images
20. Pascal Struijk - 7
Very solid. His passing was no less effective in the Premier League and his defending was largely good. Made the step up well, not for the first time. | AFP via Getty Images
21. Joe Rodon - 7.1
A very similar story to his pal and defensive partner Pascal Struijk. Performed admirably in the Premier League and showed himself to be capable. Visibly relished bombing down the right wing too. | Getty Images
22. Jaka Bijol - 7.1
Almost imperious in the air but pretty decent with the ball at his feet too, Bijol was very good in his debut season. Defended the box well. Like Struijk and Rodon there were a couple of costly errors but they're defending against elite strikers and attackers. It'll happen. | AFP via Getty Images
23. James Justin - 7.2
Barely played in the first half of the season and then played all of the second half, in various positions. His ability to put in a solid performance no matter where he plays is pretty remarkable. Signed for around £8m but he was priceless this season. | Getty Images
24. Gabriel Gudmundsson - 7.2
Took to the Premier League like a duck to water. A classy operator when running with the ball and he did well defensively too. So many good performances. | Getty Images