Leeds United v QPR: Six of the best to play for both the Whites and the Rs

Vinnie Jones

Position: Midfielder

QPR Appearances: 9

QPR Goals: 1

Leeds Appearances: 46

Leeds Goals: 5

Honours: Football League Second Division winner with Leeds in 1989-90

It's fair to say Vinnie Jones has had a career most would envy. Not only has he been an FA Cup winner and made 300+ appearances in the top flight of English football, he has also become a Hollywood actor at the end of his footballing career. It was his stint with Wimbledon's 'Crazy Gang' of 1988 that made a second-tier Leeds United sit up and notice him. Scoring five from midfield, he left a lasting impression on the club, achieving promotion in his only full season for the Whites'. However, after being replaced by youngsters Gary Speed and David Batty, he left for Sheffield United, but has vouched to return to Leeds again, due to his admiration for the fans.

Matt Smith

Full Name: Mathieu James Smith

Position: Striker

QPR Appearances (as of 7/12/2018): 57 from 2014-Present

QPR Goals: 15

Leeds Appearances: 42 from 2013-14

Leeds Goals: 12

Leeds signed Matt Smith from Oldham Athletic in 2013, following a strong set of displays in League One and in the FA Cup against Merseyside duo Everton and Liverpool. Matt impressed in his first season at Elland Road, making a good partnership with Ross McCormack and scoring 12 goals in 39 games as he helped Leeds to a comfortable 15th placed finish in the Championship.

Infamously, Matt was sold to QPR's close rivals Fulham by Leeds in one of the most bizarre stories of 2014. Leeds were reportedly chasing an Italian striker on transfer deadline day, and were told by the club's official Twitter page “not to go to bed.” Club captain at the time, Jason Pearce, even tweeted himself saying he was excited by the news. However, Leeds sold Matt Smith and Dominic Poleon before the 11pm deadline, before announcing that the club's business in the market was over, leaving fans in disbelief.

Rob Green

Full name: Robert Paul Green

Position: Goalkeeper

QPR Appearances: 121 from 2012-16

Leeds Appearances: 46 from 2016-17

Robert Green is another play to have played for both sides. He was a mainstay in the QPR side during their yo-yo years between the Championship and the Premier League between 2012 and 2016, making 121 league appearances for the R's, and was capped by England once in his time at Loftus Road.

Following the end of his contract, Green made the move up to Yorkshire in July 2016, but was unable to achieve promotion in his time at Elland Road.

Clarke Carlisle

Full name: Clarke James Carlisle

Position: Centre-back

QPR Appearances: 96 from 2000-04

QPR Goals: 6

Leeds Appearances: 35 from 2004-05

Leeds Goals: 4

Clarke started his career at Blackpool, but was sold to QPR in 2000, where he made 96 league appearances over 4 years. He was in the England Under-21 side before he tore his posterior cruciate ligament, not knowing whether he would play again. However, he superbly recovered from this and became a key player for them in the 2003-04 season, winning promotion to Championship with the R's that season.

He left during to summer to go to Leeds, as he wanted to return to northern England – signing a two-year contract at Elland Road. He made 38 appearances for the club, starting brightly until Christmas before he was injured again for a number of weeks in a defeat against Rotherham. He then found it difficult to break into the first-team following the form of Matt Kilgallon, and only made a handful of appearances towards the end of the season. He was ultimately rather successful in Yorkshire though, scoring 4 times as the Whites' secured a mid-table finish, yet was sold to Watford that summer.

Paddy Kenny

Full name: Patrick Joseph Kenny

QPR Appearances: 77 from 2010-2012

Leeds Appearances: 76 from 2012-2014

Honours: EFL Championship winner with QPR in 2010-11

QPR activated Kenny's £750,000 release clause in 2010, seeing the Sheffield United stopper as the man to lead the R's to promotion. He did exactly that, missing only two games throughout the entire Championship season as they secured promotion with games to spare. He was also QPR's keeper throughout their Premier League season, missing just five games.

Famously, QPR needed to either take points at Manchester City – who needed to win on the final day to secure the title – or hope that Bolton failed to win at Stoke to ensure survival. Kenny was the goalkeeper that conceded an injury-time winner to Sergio Aguero, to ensure that Manchester City won the league ahead of bitter rivals Manchester United on goal difference. However, Bolton failed to win at Stoke, meaning that QPR survived another season. Despite this, Brazil keeper Julio Cesar was bought, signalling the end for Kenny as Loftus Road. This brought him to Elland Road, where he made 76 appearances across two seasons in the Championship for the Whites', before leaving for Bolton.

Rio Ferdinand

Full name: Rio Gavin Ferdinand

QPR Appearances: 11 from 2014-15

QPR Goals: 0

Leeds Appearances: 54 from 2000-2002

Leeds Goals: 2

Although he is mainly remembered for his time at Manchester United, Rio was at one point the most expensive defender in the world when he made the switch to Leeds from West Ham United in November 2000, for what then was an incredible £18,000,000 – a record fee for a defender. He made 54 appearances in his spell in Yorkshire, scoring two goals, and announcing himself as one of the best defenders in world football as a result. Following an extremely successful career at the heart of Manchester United's defence, Rio joined QPR in the 2014-15 season, but he made only 14 appearances and retired at the end of the season.