[8] Earning a wage of five pounds per week to cover expenses, he made his professional debut two years later at the age of just 16, whilst he was still attending school.
[12] Signed as a replacement for Ian Snodin, who had left the club to join Everton, he made his debut in a goalless draw with Sheffield United on 7 February 1987.
He became influential almost immediately, missing just one league match for the rest of the season as Leeds finished in fourth position and went on to reach the play-off final, losing to his former club Charlton.
[12] Leeds manager Howard Wilkinson quickly substituted Aizlewood, who blew kisses to the crowd and removed his captain's armband,[14] for David Batty.
In his one full season at Ninian Park, the club narrowly avoided relegation to Division Three but did reach the final of the Welsh Cup, losing 2–1 to Barry Town.
He was also named man of the match in the club's 1–0 FA Cup fourth-round victory over Premier League side Manchester City in January 1994.
[20] However, despite increasing the trust's coaching revenues by 75 per cent during his time in charge, he was sacked in December 2003 following an altercation with a BBC camera crew and presenter.
[21][22] During filming of an interview BBC investigative programme X-Ray, Aizlewood reportedly attempted to forcibly remove a tape from a camera and chased the crew from the trust's offices in Cardiff.
"[23] Aizlewood had a spell on the coaching staff of Carmarthen Town during 2003–04, but left to become assistant manager to Ian Rush at Chester City for 2004–05.
[28] Returning to the club to replace Tomi Morgan, having previously worked there as assistant manager to Andrew York and Deryn Brace in separate spells.
[30] In November 2014, Aizlewood attempted to register himself as a player for Carmarthen, at the age of 55, following an injury crisis at the club prior to a league fixture against Rhyl.
[5] He released his Welsh language autobiography in 2009, entitled Amddiffyn fy Hun (Defending Myself) in which he revealed his 27-year-long battle with alcoholism and gambling and contemplating suicide.
"[28] Following his retirement from playing, Aizlewood worked as a pundit for BBC Wales, covering Welsh football, where he developed a reputation as an outspoken critic.
BBC Wales head of sport, Nigel Walker demanded that the club would assure Aizlewood's safety at future matches following the incident.
It was also found that many students on their books did not even exist, whilst many of the youngsters that were listed lived far outside the reach of the scheme, or were doing less than four hours of study a week.
[45] In his defence, Aizlewood stated that he had neither the "time or inclination" to take part in the fraud due to a troubled home life with his wife Penny suffering from alcohol and drug addiction.
[46] In January 2018 he was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation,[39] after taking money in the fake apprenticeship scheme.