Leon Best
| Date of birth | 19 September 1986 |
| Place of birth | Nottingham, England |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Weight | 80 kg |
| Height | 1.86 m |
| Position | Forward |
Leon Best played for Notts County during his youth career.
He joined Coventry City in July 2007 with a three-year contract.
Leon joined Newcastle United in February 2010 with a contract to June 2013.
After signing from Championship rivals Coventry City, Leon missed Newcastle's return to the Premier League after picking up a cruciate ligament injury in pre-season.
He was made available for transfer by Blackburn Rovers in May 2014 before it was cancelled in July 2015.
Leon joined Rotherham United in November 2015 with a contract to June 2016.
He joined Ipswich Town in August 2016 with a one-year contract.<
Leon joined Charlton Athletic in November 2017 with a two-month contract.
In addition to the yellow cards totals shown below, whilst an unused sub, Leon was booked after 86 minutes of Blackburn Rovers' League Championship game at Blackpool on 26 October 2013 for unsporting behaviour.
Club history
| Team | Joined | Left | Loan / Trialist |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southampton | 21 Sep 2004 | 30 Jun 2007 | |
| Queens Park Rangers | 17 Dec 2004 | 17 Jan 2005 | L |
| Sheffield Wednesday | 04 Aug 2005 | 10 Aug 2005 | L |
| Sheffield Wednesday | 31 Jan 2006 | 31 May 2006 | L |
| AFC Bournemouth | 03 Aug 2006 | 03 Nov 2006 | L |
| Yeovil Town | 23 Nov 2006 | 23 Feb 2007 | L |
| Coventry City | 06 Jul 2007 | 01 Feb 2010 | |
| Newcastle United | 01 Feb 2010 | 02 Jul 2012 | |
| Blackburn Rovers | 02 Jul 2012 | 08 Jul 2015 | |
| Sheffield Wednesday | 14 Feb 2014 | 31 May 2014 | L |
| Derby County | 04 Aug 2014 | 06 Jan 2015 | L |
| Brighton and Hove Albion | 20 Jan 2015 | 31 May 2015 | L |
| Rotherham United | 16 Nov 2015 | 30 Jun 2016 | |
| Ipswich Town | 30 Aug 2016 | 30 Jun 2017 | |
| Charlton Athletic | 28 Nov 2017 |
Club stats
| Season | Team | Competition | Apps | Subs | Goals | Y | R |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004-05 | Queens Park Rangers | League Championship | 2 | 3 |
|||
| 2004-05 | Southampton | League Cup | 1 | 1 |
|||
| 2004-05 | Southampton | Premier League | 1 | 2 |
|||
| 2005-06 | Sheffield Wednesday | League Championship | 5 | 8 |
2 |
1
|
|
| 2005-06 | Southampton | League Championship | 1 | 2 |
|||
| 2006-07 | AFC Bournemouth | Johnstones Paint Trophy | 1 | ||||
| 2006-07 | AFC Bournemouth | League Cup | 1 | ||||
| 2006-07 | AFC Bournemouth | League One | 12 | 3 |
3 |
5
|
|
| 2006-07 | Southampton | League Championship | 6 | 3 |
4 |
1
|
|
| 2006-07 | Southampton | League Championship Play-Offs | 1 | 1 |
|||
| 2006-07 | Yeovil Town | League One | 14 | 1 |
10 |
2
|
|
| 2007-08 | Coventry City | FA Cup | 2 | 1 |
|||
| 2007-08 | Coventry City | League Championship | 29 | 5 |
8 |
10
|
|
| 2007-08 | Coventry City | League Cup | 3 | 1 |
1
|
||
| 2008-09 | Coventry City | FA Cup | 3 | 1 |
2 |
1
|
|
| 2008-09 | Coventry City | League Championship | 16 | 15 |
2 |
2
|
|
| 2009-10 | Coventry City | FA Cup | 1 | 1 |
1 |
||
| 2009-10 | Coventry City | League Championship | 25 | 2 |
9 |
4
|
|
| 2009-10 | Newcastle United | League Championship | 6 | 7 |
3
|
||
| 2010-11 | Newcastle United | FA Cup | 1 |
1
|
|||
| 2010-11 | Newcastle United | Premier League | 9 | 2 |
6 |
||
| 2011-12 | Newcastle United | FA Cup | 2 |
1
|
|||
| 2011-12 | Newcastle United | League Cup | 1 | ||||
| 2011-12 | Newcastle United | Premier League | 16 | 2 |
4 |
2
|
|
| 2012-13 | Blackburn Rovers | FA Cup | 2 |
1
|
|||
| 2012-13 | Blackburn Rovers | League Championship | 4 | 2 |
1
|
1
|
|
| 2013-14 | Blackburn Rovers | League Championship | 5 | 3 |
2 |
3
|
|
| 2013-14 | Sheffield Wednesday | FA Cup | 1 | 1 |
1
|
||
| 2013-14 | Sheffield Wednesday | League Championship | 12 | 3 |
4 |
||
| 2014-15 | Brighton and Hove Albion | League Championship | 6 | 7 |
|||
| 2014-15 | Derby County | FA Cup | 1 | ||||
| 2014-15 | Derby County | League Championship | 15 |
||||
| 2014-15 | Derby County | League Cup | 2 | 2 |
|||
| 2015-16 | Rotherham United | League Championship | 10 | 6 |
4 |
1
|
1
|
| 2016-17 | Ipswich Town | FA Cup | 1 | ||||
| 2016-17 | Ipswich Town | League Championship | 5 | 6 |
|||
| 2017-18 | Charlton Athletic | FA Cup | 1 |
||||
| 2017-18 | Charlton Athletic | Football League Trophy | 1 | ||||
| 2017-18 | Charlton Athletic | League One | 2 | 3 |
Please note: Career stats are based on performances in the Premier and Football Leagues and (in most cases all) internationals.
Club matches
| Date | Match | Result | Competition | Round | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 05 Feb 2010 | Newcastle United v Cardiff City | W | 5-1 | League Championship | |
| 09 Feb 2010 | Derby County v Newcastle United | L | 3-0 | League Championship | |
| 13 Feb 2010 | Swansea City v Newcastle United | D | 1-1 | League Championship | |
| 17 Feb 2010 | Newcastle United v Coventry City | W | 4-1 | League Championship | |
| 20 Feb 2010 | Newcastle United v Preston North End | W | 3-0 | League Championship | |
| 27 Feb 2010 | Watford v Newcastle United | W | 1-2 | League Championship | |
| 06 Mar 2010 | Newcastle United v Barnsley | W | 6-1 | League Championship | |
| 13 Mar 2010 | Middlesbrough v Newcastle United | D | 2-2 | League Championship | |
| 17 Mar 2010 | Newcastle United v Scunthorpe United | W | 3-0 | League Championship | |
| 20 Mar 2010 | Bristol City v Newcastle United | D | 2-2 | League Championship | |
| 03 Apr 2010 | Peterborough United v Newcastle United | W | 2-3 | League Championship | |
| 19 Apr 2010 | Plymouth Argyle v Newcastle United | W | 0-2 | League Championship | |
| 02 May 2010 | Queens Park Rangers v Newcastle United | W | 0-1 | League Championship | |
| 02 Jan 2011 | Wigan Athletic v Newcastle United | W | 0-1 | Premier League | |
| 05 Jan 2011 | Newcastle United v West Ham United | W | 5-0 | Premier League | |
| 08 Jan 2011 | Stevenage v Newcastle United | L | 3-1 | FA Cup | 3rd round |
| 16 Jan 2011 | Sunderland v Newcastle United | D | 1-1 | Premier League | |
| 22 Jan 2011 | Newcastle United v Tottenham Hotspur | D | 1-1 | Premier League | |
| 02 Feb 2011 | Fulham v Newcastle United | L | 1-0 | Premier League | |
| 05 Feb 2011 | Newcastle United v Arsenal | D | 4-4 | Premier League | |
| 12 Feb 2011 | Blackburn Rovers v Newcastle United | D | 0-0 | Premier League | |
| 15 Feb 2011 | Birmingham City v Newcastle United | W | 0-2 | Premier League | |
| 26 Feb 2011 | Newcastle United v Bolton Wanderers | D | 1-1 | Premier League | |
| 05 Mar 2011 | Newcastle United v Everton | L | 1-2 | Premier League | |
| 22 May 2011 | Newcastle United v West Bromwich Albion | D | 3-3 | Premier League | |
| 13 Aug 2011 | Newcastle United v Arsenal | D | 0-0 | Premier League | |
| 25 Aug 2011 | Scunthorpe United v Newcastle United | W | 1-2 | League Cup | 2nd round |
| 28 Aug 2011 | Newcastle United v Fulham | W | 2-1 | Premier League | |
| 12 Sep 2011 | Queens Park Rangers v Newcastle United | D | 0-0 | Premier League | |
| 17 Sep 2011 | Aston Villa v Newcastle United | D | 1-1 | Premier League | |
| 24 Sep 2011 | Newcastle United v Blackburn Rovers | W | 3-1 | Premier League | |
| 01 Oct 2011 | Wolverhampton Wanderers v Newcastle United | W | 1-2 | Premier League | |
| 16 Oct 2011 | Newcastle United v Tottenham Hotspur | D | 2-2 | Premier League | |
| 22 Oct 2011 | Newcastle United v Wigan Athletic | W | 1-0 | Premier League | |
| 31 Oct 2011 | Stoke City v Newcastle United | W | 1-3 | Premier League | |
| 05 Nov 2011 | Newcastle United v Everton | W | 2-1 | Premier League | |
| 17 Dec 2011 | Newcastle United v Swansea City | D | 0-0 | Premier League | |
| 21 Dec 2011 | Newcastle United v West Bromwich Albion | L | 2-3 | Premier League | |
| 26 Dec 2011 | Bolton Wanderers v Newcastle United | W | 0-2 | Premier League | |
| 04 Jan 2012 | Newcastle United v Manchester United | W | 3-0 | Premier League | |
| 07 Jan 2012 | Newcastle United v Blackburn Rovers | W | 2-1 | FA Cup | 3rd round |
| 15 Jan 2012 | Newcastle United v Queens Park Rangers | W | 1-0 | Premier League | |
| 21 Jan 2012 | Fulham v Newcastle United | L | 5-2 | Premier League | |
| 28 Jan 2012 | Brighton and Hove Albion v Newcastle United | L | 1-0 | FA Cup | 4th round |
| 01 Feb 2012 | Blackburn Rovers v Newcastle United | W | 0-2 | Premier League | |
| 05 Feb 2012 | Newcastle United v Aston Villa | W | 2-1 | Premier League | |
Please note: Match history is complete for the Premier and Football Leagues and (in most cases all) internationals.
International stats
| Season | Team | Competition | Apps | Subs | Goals | Y | R |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008-09 | Republic of Ireland | FIFA World Cup | 1 |
||||
| 2008-09 | Republic of Ireland | International Friendly | 1 | ||||
| 2009-10 | Republic of Ireland | FIFA World Cup | 3 |
1
|
|||
| 2009-10 | Republic of Ireland | International Friendly | 2 |
Please note: Career stats are based on performances in the Premier and Football Leagues and (in most cases all) internationals.
International matches
| Date | Match | Result | Competition | Round | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 May 2009 | Republic of Ireland v Nigeria | D | 1-1 | International Friendly | |
| 06 Jun 2009 | Bulgaria v Republic of Ireland | D | 1-1 | FIFA World Cup | Europe group 8 |
| 08 Sep 2009 | Republic of Ireland v South Africa | W | 1-0 | International Friendly | |
| 10 Oct 2009 | Republic of Ireland v Italy | D | 2-2 | FIFA World Cup | Europe group 8 |
| 14 Oct 2009 | Republic of Ireland v Montenegro | D | 0-0 | FIFA World Cup | Europe group 8 |
| 14 Nov 2009 | Republic of Ireland v France | L | 0-1 | FIFA World Cup | Europe play-off |
| 02 Mar 2010 | Republic of Ireland v Brazil | L | 0-2 | International Friendly | |
Please note: Match history is complete for the Premier and Football Leagues and (in most cases all) internationals.