Lads on Tour to Leeds, Leeds, Leeds

After beating Man Utd at home last week, next up for the mighty reds was an away trip to Leeds United. This was a really big one for me for several reasons: Firstly, I'd always had a soft spot for Leeds as a boy. My dad and I got the nearest we ever did to bonding whilst watching Don Revie's team on the tely in the early 1970s so I knew all the players of that era. Secondly, since I'd recently started university (at Nottingham, of course) I hadn't had the chance yet to catch up with my old school mates, a few of which had gone to Leeds. This would be a chance to do so. Thirdly, I'd just passed my driving test so this was going to be my first adventure driving away any kind of distance.

First visit to Elland Road (Ground No 37)

More of that later, but first, as usual, let's take a look at the history of Leeds United.

Leeds United History

Leeds City F. C.

From 1905-06 Leeds' leading professional club was called Leeds City. They had a run of ten seasons in the second division before being expelled from the league, only eight games into the 1919-1920 season, due to dodgy financial irregularities. (Some things never change!)

Leeds City played at Elland Road and had good support before being booted out. Rising from the ashes of their demise, the newly formed Leeds United soon started to play at the same ground.

It's makes you wonder, thinking about these two clubs. You'd think that a city the size of Leeds should easily be able to support at least two professional clubs. In fact it's by far the biggest city in England with just one league side. It's the 4th biggest city overall.

10 Biggest English cities with just one club in the league

Leeds United were elected to the football league in 1920, into the second division and four years later won promotion to the first.

The first Leeds United team 1920-21

As usual, Forest dominated the early years but from 1924 until 1951 Leeds finished higher in the league than we did - twenty seasons on the trot. Forest enjoyed a seven year period of dominance over them from 1957 until 1964 but Leeds had been back on top again for the ten seasons before this one.

Leeds' League Record compared to Forest's

Their best pre-war side finished 5th in the First Division in 1929-30 but they would never come closer to glory again until the arrival of another Middlesbrough man called Don Revie.

Leeds' Best Pre-War Season

Leeds in stripes

Marching on together with Don Revie

Outside of Leeds, Don Revie is widely reviled although I have to say I think that's grossly unfair. His record at Leeds was amazing.

Don Revie - a legend at Elland Road

He managed just one shy of 700 games for Leeds and, assuming two points for a win, Leeds got 65.8% of the maximum they could have during the 13 and a third years he was there. Contrast this with the almost six years Clough & Taylor were together at Forest. Even the dynamic duo together, when Forest were at their best, could only get a record of 61.4%.

Revie's Stats for Leeds were Exceptional

What Revie started at Leeds was nothing less than a revolution. He changed their kit, straight away from the always changing Blue & White stripes, Blue/Yellow halves (and lots of others) to all-white, apparently to emulate the great Real Madrid side that had just started winning European Cups and they soon started emulating them in more ways than just their team colours.

A sample of Leeds United's ever-changing kits before Revie (from www.historicalkits.co.uk)

In Revie's 3rd Full Season, he took Leeds back to the top flight

Leeds still can't make their mind up about their badge though

And they nearly took the title by storm their very first year back too, finishing 2nd to Matt Busby's Manchester United only on goal average.

So Close, the first season back

Leeds were runners-up again the next season (this time to Liverpool) and then, with Forest challenging themselves in 1966-67, Leeds finished 4th.

Glory for Leeds at Last

Leeds' time for glory was just around the corner, though. They won their first major trophies in 1967-68: The League Cup, beating Arsenal 1-0 at Wembley with a Terry Copper goal, and the Fairs Cup, beating Dundee 2-1 on aggregate. Leeds also finished 4th in the league again and reached the F. A. Cup semi-final, losing to Everton 1-0.

Leeds United League Cup & Fairs Cup Winners 1967-68

Revie had already formed a great side with a bunch of players that would become household names for years to come: Gary Sprake, Paul Reaney, Terry Cooper, Billy Bremner, Jack Charlton, Paul Madeley, Norman Hunter, Jimmy Greenhoff, Peter Lorimer, Mick Jones, Johnny Giles, Eddie Gray, Mick Bates, Mick and Terry Hibbitt were the players that won most appearances that season.

Leeds won their first ever league title the next season, 1968-69.

Leeds United, Champions for the first time

Title Winners 1968-69

Leeds looked capable of winning the European Cup the next season. They beat Lyn Oslo 16-0 on aggregate, Ferencvaros 6-0 and Standard Liege 2-0 before falling to Glasgow Celtic, in the semi-finals (who would lose 2-1 to Feyenoord in the final.)

This was also the season when I really started being a Leeds "fan." As a ten year old boy I watched them play in my first ever live match (on the tely, of course) v Chelsea in the F. A. Cup Final, which they lost.

My First Live (TV) Match

I was heartbroken when Chelsea won (see my blog entry for more on that) at Old Trafford after drawing at Wembley 2-2 in one of the most exciting Cup Finals ever.

The next season, 1970-71, however, Leeds made up for it by winning their second European trophy - the Fairs Cup again.

Leeds - Fairs Cup winners 1970-71

The season after that, 1971-72, Leeds would finally win the F. A. Cup, against Arsenal in the Centenary Cup Final. On their way to the final, Leeds played some great football - in the Cup and in the league.

I saw them get a rather functional 2-0 win at the City Ground, the first time I saw them play.

Forest 0 Leeds 2 (29,463)

Peter Lorimer and Allan Clarke scored for Leeds

This cold November afternoon wasn't champagne football, if I remember rightly, but all those moaning critics (including Cloughie) never gave this team the credit they deserved, in my opinion. Anyone who watched Leeds thrash Southampton 7-0 on Match of the Day one Saturday night in April 1972 can testify to that.

And so back to Wembley for the Centenary Cup Final. Amazing to think that over 40 years ago, the F. A. Cup was celebrating it's 100th year. Another great day watching live football on tely - it was a rare event in those days!

Centenary Cup Final 1971-72

F.A. Cup Winners 1971-72

It was around this time, with Leeds at their peak, that they made their iconic song that Leeds fans love, and everyone else finds annoyingly bad... "Marching on Together"

Here we go with Leeds United
We're gonna give the boys a hand
Stand Up and up and sing for Leeds United
They are the greatest in the land

Every day, we're all gonna say
We love you Leeds - Leeds - Leeds
Everywhere, we're gonna be there
We love you Leeds - Leeds - Leeds
Marching on together

We're gonna see you win (na, na, na, na, na, na)
We are so proud
We shout it out loud
We love you Leeds - Leeds - Leeds

We've been through it all together
And we've had our up's and down's
We're gonna stay with you forever
At least until the world stops going 'round

Every day, we're all gonna say
We love you Leeds - Leeds - Leeds
Everywhere, we're gonna be there
We love you Leeds - Leeds - Leed
sMarching on together
We're gonna see you win (na, na, na, na, na, na)

We are so proud
We shout it out loud
We love you Leeds - Leeds - Leeds
We are so proud
We shout it out loud
We love you Leeds - Leeds - Leeds

Since last winning the league in '68-69 Leeds had finished runners-up the next three seasons and then 3rd, before their next league title win in the 1973-74 season.

It should be no surprise that this included their best three year period.

Leeds United - Best team in England from 1968-1971

In fact Leeds were the best team in England for ten years, from 1964 to 1973...

For Ten Years - The Best in England

1973-74 was a remarkable season as Leeds completely dominated from start to finish. They won their first seven games and remained unbeaten until finally losing 3-2 at Stoke City on 23rd February 1974, their 30th match.

Leeds won their first 7 and remained unbeaten for 29 games in 1973-74

I saw Leeds for the second time during that unbeaten run, at the Baseball Ground - my first visit there. Derby's rickety old ground was packed to the rafters that day. 36,003 fans saw a very tight, but exciting 0-0 draw. I was only just 14 years old and I naively went on my own that day. I remember walking back along the old, terraced streets in the dark towards the city centre to catch the bus back home in fear but with morbid fascination as endless gangs of Derby and Leeds hooligans fought against each other. Somehow, no-one bothered me and I got home safely.

Despite some wobbles later in the season, when they lost three games on the trot including a 1-4 home defeat to Burnley, Leeds clung on to win the league quite comfortably in the end. It would be the last major trophy under the Revie era.

Don Revie's Last Major Trophy with Leeds

Leeds' team for the 1973-74 League Title

Don Revie was appointed the new England manager in July 1974 and it would signal the end of Leeds' amazingly successful era. When you consider their consistency and how many trophies they won, they have to be considered one of the all-time great English clubs, especially when you remember how often they were runners up. I will always defend Revie's teams but now it was time for the club to move on, at last.

Who on earth could Leeds get to follow that act? And who would have enough confidence to want to step into such shoes?

The Damned Brian Clough

On 20th July 1974 the Leeds United board made one of the most astonishing announcements in football. Completely ignoring Don Revie's advice to appoint Johnny Giles - Manny Cussins, the Leeds chairman, announced that the club had appointed none other than Brian Clough to manage the club from here. Clough left his partner, Peter Taylor, behind at Brighton - a cause of some acrimony and legal hassles. Brian apparently officially started the job 10 days later.

Don Revie had taken his No 2, Les Cocker, with him to manage England, so Clough's first appointment was Jimmy Gordon. 5 days later, much to our dismay at Forest, Clough stepped in and signed Duncan McKenzie - my hero at the time - for £250,000.

Duncan McKenzie

His first game was to lead English champions, Leeds United, out at Wembley alongside Bill Shankley of Liverpool, for the 1974-75 Charity Shield match. The game became infamous for the niggling infighting between Billy Bremner and Kevin Keegan, resulting in both players getting sent off.

No Charity between Clough and Leeds

Nor between Keegan and Bremner!

Leeds began their defence of the league terribly a week later with a heavy 3-0 defeat at Stoke, followed by a 0-1 home defeat by QPR. They never really recovered and soon there were strong rumours of player revolts in the dressing room, famously dramatised in the book and film "The Damned United".

Leeds only managed one win under Brian Clough, a 1-0 win at Birmingham City. After only drawing 1-1 at home to newly promoted (and about to be relegated) Luton Town, the club decided to draw the line under this unhappy marriage and Clough was sacked 5 days later - with a very nice golden handshake that made him financially secure for the rest of his life.

The 54-day (or was it 44?) mis-marriage of Leeds and Clough

This ended a very undignified chapter in the life of Brian Clough and Leeds United, but it was great drama.

You could cut the atmosphere with a knife as Brian Clough was squared up with Don Revie on live television just after the sacking.

"My style is exactly the same"

After Clough, Leeds appointed Jimmy Armfield, who managed to steady the ship. Within a few months Clough was appointed manager of Nottingham Forest and set the wheels in motion towards the clash I'm describing here. Jimmy Armfield actually managed to take Leeds to the European Cup final where they lost 2-0 to Bayern Munich at Parc des Princes in Paris amid disgraceful scenes that would get Leeds in more trouble.

Franz Beckenbauer and Billy Bremner before the 1975 European Cup Final

Lads on Tour 1977

Incredibly, just over three years later, Brian Clough would be on his way back to Leeds with a team that were at the top of the table. A big day in prospect for him, John McGovern, John O'Hare... and me, of course!! My 37th league ground visited.

I had recently passed my driving test and, although I still can't believe it, my dad let me drive his car up to Leeds for my first ever away trip.

Thanks, Dad!

As I had been at Nottingham University for a couple of months while some of my old school mates had gone north to Leeds University, this match provided the perfect opportunity for us to meet up and have a "lads" weekend.

Leeds Weekend

Paul and Roddy were staying in university accommodation, near Headingley, at the James Baillie flats, so that's where we stayed for the weekend. I remember sleeping Friday night with my neck next to the U-tube coming out from underneath a sink. Not the most comfortable night but we'd had plenty of beers at the Hyde Park so I wasn't complaining.

Plenty Beers at the Hyde Park

We also had the traditional post beer Indian Curry house visit at "Chakwals" where my friend from Nottingham university, Sam, apparently had an altercation with the staff about the anatomy of chicken bones, suggesting that the bird(s) in his dish might not have been from that species.

Crashed out here (or somewhere around here!)

On the morning of the match, we nursed hang overs before setting off to the match on the public bus system. We took our Forest scarves, but hid them. We took our places among almost 43,000 fans along one of the sides of the ground, I think in the John Charles West Stand. It was a very intimidating atmosphere and at one point a large ashtray from the nearby pub "The Old Peacock" came hurtling across from the Leeds yobs in the section next to us.

After the match we caught a bus back to the city center and somehow got spotted and chased through Leeds City Center. At one point we found ourselves in a multi-story car park near the Merrion shopping center. Somehow we got back to the safer areas near the university and discussed the match over more beers.

The Teams

The only remaining player from the Don Review era in the team that day was the ever versatile Paul Madeley, now 33 years old. Jimmy Armfield, still in charge, had assembled a decent team including the talented Tony Currie and Brian Flynn in midfield and Joe Jordan up front alongside Ray Hankin one of the league's top scorers, having scored just one less than our own Peter Withe. Also fine overlapping fullback Frank Gray (brother of Eddie) and new signing from Aberdeen Arthur Graham meant this was not going to be an easy game, despite Forest's superior league position and current form.

An unchanged Forest side again meant Martin O'Neill still missed out.

Leeds United
1 David Harvey, 2 Trevor Cherry, 3 Frank Gray, 4 Brian Flynn, 5 Paul Madeley, 6 Keith Parkinson, 7 Carl Harris, 8 Ray Hankin, 9 Joe Jordan, 10 Tony Currie, 11 Arthur Graham.
Goals: Ray Hankin 1.

Nottingham Forest
1 Peter Shilton, 2 Viv Anderson, 3 Colin Barrett, 4 John McGovern, 5 Larry Lloyd, 6 Kenny Burns, 7 Archie Gemmill, 8 Ian Bowyer, 9 Peter Withe, 10 Tony Woodcock, 11 John Robertson.

Attendance: 42,925

The Game

This was the 49th competitive match between the two clubs. Forest's overall record wasn't too bad, considering how good Leeds had been in the last few years. Although Leeds had won 9 and drawn 2 of their last 11 games against us.

Their best score against Forest was their (twice) 6-1 wins against us in October 1969 and the last time they'd met in March 1972. To get anything similar in return, you'd have to go back to 1925 when Forest beat Leeds at The City Ground 4-0.

John McGovern got a lot of stick from the home fans and there was certainly no love lost between the Leeds fans and Brian Clough. After some fiery exchanges Forest seemed to have taken the lead after half an hour. A Robertson cross, a deft flick from Woodcock and Withe headed home. But the linesman's flag went up (presumably for off side) and the goal was ruled out.

Peter Withe heads an early goal only for it to be disallowed

Leeds fought back and Ray Hankin collided with Peter Shilton with the goalkeeper taking a nasty blow to the face. Shilts managed to get up but after the game said he was groggy and had no memory of the collision. Leeds took advantage of this and Graham crossed for Hankin to control and score past the helpless Shilton.

Dirty Leeds, eh?

1-0 to Leeds at half time.

Burns header just misses

Despite a frantic second half, widely praised in the press, no more goals were scored and Forest lost their second game in three. Could it be that the bubble had burst? (You know the answer to that.)

Other Results That Day

Six of the other ten games ended in draws so it could have been worse for Forest. Most importantly, second placed Everton only drew at Ipswich (3-3) so the gap closed to two points. Coventry City seemed to be hitting some form, beating QPR 4-1 to jump into 3rd spot. Liverpool continued to struggle, drawing at home to Bristol City.

Two points clear

Liverpool's form was really quite alarming. A look at the current form league (last 3 home/away) shows them to be in the relegation zone. Forest, after two away defeats out of three were slipping a little too, but still in the top 4. Coventry, though, confirmed to be the team on form.