Austin: Rodolph

2012-2015 (Leeds Player Details) (Player Details)

Midfield

Born: Clarendon, Jamaica: 01-06-1985

Debut: Shrewsbury Town (h): 11-08-2012

6’0” 12st 3lb (2012)

Born in Clarendon Parish in South Jamaica he started his career with Patmore United and enjoyed four good seasons from 2004-05 to 2007-08, Winning the CFU Club Championship, Jamaican National Premier League and JFF Champions Cup in 2004-05, and the JFF Champions Cup a second time in 2006-07 and the Jamaican National Premier League for a second time in 2007-08. He joined Norwegian Club SK Brann on a one year loan in August 2008. He was also wanted by Stoke City, who wanted to buy him but could not get the necessary Work-permit and were given an option to purchase, but did not exercise it and it ran out in February 2009. Austin scored twice in eight League appearances during the loan period and this prompted Brann to pay £1,050,000 and sign him on a four year contract on 27th February 2009. A powerful midfielder with good all-round skills and easily adaptable to defensive duties, he made his debut as a seventieth minute substitute against Bodo/Glimt on 31st August 2008 followed by a run on debut in the 0-2 defeat in the UEFA Cup away clash at Deportivo de La Coruna on 2nd October 2008 and soon attracted the attention of other clubs, with Aston Villa showing a keen interest as a replacement for Gareth Barry in early June 2009. He scored twice in twenty League games and once in four Cup ties in the 2009 season. He followed this by playing twenty-five times in the League and once in the Cup, without scoring, in the 2010 season and by scoring seven goals in twenty-five games and one goal in five Cup games in 2011. He was voted Brann's "Player of the Year", as well as receiving the NISO award as the best player in the Norwegian League. He had scored four times in twelve League and played four Cup games without scoring in the 2012 season when Brann accepted a bid from Leeds United which was thought to be in the region of £300,000 and he scored with a long-range shot in his final game for SK Brann against Aalesund FK on 22nd July 2012. Austin was given the No.8 shirt for Leeds for the 2012-13 season. He was always destined to be a regular in midfield and this was the case until he was injured in United's horror-day performance in the 1-6 home defeat by Watford on 10th November 2012, when he was carried from the field soon after the start of the second-half. It was initially feared that his leg had been broken but while those fears were not confirmed, he was still sidelined for a couple of months, making a premature comeback in the Boxing Day game at Nottingham Forest. Austin opened his goal account for United in a 3-0 romp against Oxford United in the League Cup on 28th August 2012, and his first League goal came on 15th September 2012 with an incredible long-range free-kick at Cardiff City. He got a second League Cup goal in the 2-1 home win over Everton but his second League goal did not arrive until he got the winner in the 1-0 home game with Burnley on 16th April 2013. On 27th April he was involved in an off-the-ball incident with Ashley Barnes of Brighton & Hove Albion, which saw him dismissed after only twelve minutes. Despite all United's claims of innocence, Austin received a three match ban, which resulted in him being unable to participate in the first two games of the 2013-14 season, but he remained a regular in the Leeds midfield despite a few injuries and suspensions and was appointed captain and skippered the side until late January 2014, when Ross McCormack took over. He started off as the regular choice in the 2014-15 season but fell out of favour as Leeds rapidly changed coaches and Neil Redfearn, in particular, gave the the young midfielders their chance to impress. Wigan Athletic made a move for the Jamaican and Jason Pearce in January 2015 and were willing to pay a fee for both, but Leeds refused to sell and while Pearce later joined them, Austin remained at Leeds until his contract expired at the end of the season. It turned out to be a topsy-turvy season for Austin with the highpoint coming when he was awarded the club's "goal of the season" for his magnificent effort in the nineteenth minute of a 2-3 defeat at home to Watford on 28th February 2015, which had given United a two goal lead. However, barely a month later, on 4th April 2015, he received a straight red-card in the thirty-ninth minute for an off-the-ball incident, for punching, leaving 10-man Leeds to slump from 0-0 to 0-3 in the home game with Blackburn Rovers. Austin was first capped by Jamaica in 2004 but it took him until 2008 to establish himself as a regular for the Reggae Boyz. He played at under-Twenty and Under-Twenty-Three level and had scored six times in seventy-six games for his country at full international level up to June 2015.