Everything about Leeds United A F C totally explained
Leeds United Association Football Club, commonly referred to as simply
Leeds United or informally
Leeds, are an
English professional football club based in
Leeds,
West Yorkshire. The club's home is the
Elland Road stadium in
Beeston, where they've played since their foundation in 1919. The club has competed at the top level of
English football for the majority of its existence, following the disbanding of its predecessor
Leeds City. However, Leeds competed in
League One for the
2007–08 season; the first time the club dropped below the top two tiers of
domestic football in England.
Under the management of
Don Revie during the 1960s and 1970s, Leeds won a number of domestic and European trophies. After Revie's departure to manage the
England team, Leeds were relegated to the
Second Division in
1982, not returning to the top flight until
1990, when they were managed by
Howard Wilkinson. Leeds were
league champions two seasons later, in
1992.
The club's most common nicknames are "
Leeds",
"United" or
"The Whites". Another nickname is
"The Peacocks", though this is virtually obsolete. This term stems from the former name of the Elland Road,
The Old Peacock Ground, which was in turn named after
The Old Peacock pub opposite Elland Road's South Stand..
Although the club name bears the "AFC" suffix, the current badge displays "LUFC". However, previous badges have included the official suffix in its entirety.
History
Leeds United's predecessor team
Leeds City FC was formed in 1904, but was forcibly disbanded by
The Football League in 1919 in response to allegations of illegal payments to players during the
First World War. A new club, Leeds United, was formed and the club received an invitation to enter the
Midland League from the league secretary, Mr. J Nicholson. Leeds United were voted into the Midland League on
31 October 1919, taking the place vacated by Leeds City Reserves.
Yorkshire Amateurs, who occupied
Elland Road, offered to make way for the new team under the management of former player
Dick Ray.
The chairman of
Huddersfield Town, Mr.
Hilton Crowther loaned Leeds United
£, to be repaid when Leeds United won promotion to
Division One. He brought
Barnsley's manager
Arthur Fairclough to Leeds and on
26 February 1920, Dick Ray stepped down to become Fairclough's assistant.
On
31 May 1920, Leeds United were elected to the Football League.
Over the following few years, Leeds consolidated their position in the
Second Division and in
1924 won the title and with it promotion to the
First Division. However, they failed to establish themselves and were relegated in
1926-27. After being relegated Fairclough resigned which paved the way for Ray to return as manager. In the years up until the start of
World War II Leeds were twice relegated, both times being instantly re-promoted the following season. On
5 March 1935 Ray resigned and he was replaced by
Billy Hampson, who remained in charge for 12 years. In the
1946-47 season after the war, Leeds were relegated again with the worst league record in their history.
After this season, Hampson resigned (he stayed with Leeds as their chief scout albeit for only 8 months) and was replaced in April 1947 by
Willis Edwards.
In 1948 Sam Bolton replaced Ernest Pullan as the chairman of Leeds United.
Edwards was moved to assistant trainer in April 1948 after just one year as manager. He was replaced by
Major Frank Buckley.
They remained in the Second Division until
1955-56, when Leeds once again won promotion to the First Division, inspired by Welsh legend
John Charles. However, Charles was hungry for success at the highest level, and manager
Raich Carter was unable to convince him that Leeds could satisfy his ambitions. Charles was sold to
Juventus for a then world record of £65,000; the loss of such a key player led to Leeds' decline, and the team was relegated to the Second Division in
1959-60.
In March 1961 the club appointed
Don Revie as manager. His stewardship began in adverse circumstances; the club was in financial difficulty and in
1961-62 only a win in the final game of the season saved the club from relegation to
Division Three. Revie turned the team around, winning promotion to
the First Division in
1963-64. Between 1965 and 1974, Revie's Leeds never finished outside of the top four, won two League Championships (
1968-69 and
1973-74), the
FA Cup (
1972), the
League Cup (
1968) and two
Inter-Cities Fairs Cups (
1968 and
1971). Set against the success was an unenvied record of second places; during the same period Leeds were runners up in the League five times, losing finalists in the FA Cup three times, runners up in the Fairs Cup once, and losing finalists in the
European Cup Winners Cup. Revie's last season at Elland Road was in 1974, and he left Leeds to take up the role of managing the English national team.
Brian Clough was appointed as Revie's successor. This was a surprise appointment, as Clough had been an outspoken critic of Revie and the team's tactics. The team performed poorly under Clough, and after only 44 days he was dismissed and replaced by former England captain
Jimmy Armfield. Armfield took Revie's ageing team to the
final of the
1974-75 European Cup, where they were defeated by
Bayern Munich. Assisted by coach
Don Howe, Armfield rebuilt Revie's team, and though it no longer dominated English football, it remained in the top ten for subsequent seasons. However, the board was impatient for success and dismissed Armfield, replacing him with
Jock Stein, who also lasted just 44 days before leaving to manage
Scotland. The board turned to
Jimmy Adamson but he was unable to stop the decline. In 1980 Adamson resigned and was replaced by former Leeds and England star
Allan Clarke. Despite spending freely on players, he was unable to stem the tide and the club was relegated at the end of
1981-82. Clarke was replaced by former team-mate
Eddie Gray.
With no money to spend on team building, Gray's concentrated on youth development, but was unable to guide them to promotion from the Second Division. The board again became impatient and sacked him in 1985, replacing him with another former Revie star,
Billy Bremner. Bremner carried on where Gray had left off, but found it just as difficult to achieve promotion, though he did bring the club close; Leeds got to the 1987
play-off final but were defeated by
Charlton Athletic after
extra time, a result which prevented Leeds from winning promotion and ensured that Charlton avoided relegation. Leeds also endured a near miss in the
FA Cup, losing to
Coventry City in the semi-finals.
In October 1988, with the team 21st in the Second Division, Bremner was fired to make way for
Howard Wilkinson, who oversaw promotion back to the First Division in
1989-90. Under Wilkinson the club finished 4th in
1990-91 and then won the title in
1991-92. However, the
1992-93 season was a poor one, with Leeds exiting the
Champions League in the early stages, and eventually finishing 17th in the League, narrowly avoiding relegation. Wilkinson's Leeds were unable to provide any consistent challenge for honours, and his position wasn't helped by a poor display in the
1996 League Cup final which Leeds lost to
Aston Villa. Leeds could only finish 13th in
1995-96, and after a 4-0 home defeat to
Manchester United early in
1996-97, Wilkinson had his contract terminated.
Leeds appointed
George Graham as Wilkinson's replacement. The appointment was controversial as Graham had previously received a one year ban from the
The Football Association for receiving illegal payments from a Football Agent. Graham made some astute purchases, and by the end of the season Leeds had qualified for the following season's
UEFA Cup. In October 1998 Graham moved on to become manager of
Tottenham Hotspur, and Leeds opted to replace him with assistant manager
David O'Leary. O'Leary introduced promising youngsters, and under the coaching of
Eddie Gray Leeds secured 3rd place in the league, sending the club into the
UEFA Champions League. Unfortunately, Leeds' image was tarnished when players
Jonathan Woodgate and
Lee Bowyer were involved in an incident which left an Asian student in hospital with severe injuries. The resulting courtcase took nearly two years to resolve; Bowyer was cleared, and Woodgate convicted of
affray and sentenced to community service.
In the
UEFA Cup, Leeds reached their first
European semi-final in 25 years and were paired against Turkish champions
Galatasaray in
Istanbul. Leeds lost the game, but the result was overshadowed by the death of two Leeds fans, Christopher Loftus and Kevin Speight, who were stabbed to death before the game. Leeds were only able to draw the return leg at Elland Road, thus going out of the competition. A minute's silence is held every year at the match closest to the anniversary of the incident to remember Christopher Loftus and Kevin Speight.
O'Leary's Leeds never finished outside of the top five, but following their appearance in the
UEFA Champions League 2001 semi-final against
Valencia their fortunes began to change. Under chairman
Peter Ridsdale, Leeds had taken out large loans against the prospect of the share of the TV rights and sponsorship revenues that come with
UEFA Champions League qualification and any subsequent progress in the competition. However, Leeds narrowly failed to qualify for the Champions League, and as a consequence didn't receive enough income to repay the loans. The first indication that the club was in financial trouble was the sale of
Rio Ferdinand to
Manchester United for approximately £30m. Ridsdale and O'Leary publicly fell out over the sale, and O'Leary was sacked and replaced by former
England manager
Terry Venables. Leeds performed badly under Venables, and other players were sold to repay the loans, including
Jonathan Woodgate whom Ridsdale had promised Venables wouldn't be sold. Tensions mounted between the pair, eventually resulting in the sacking of Venables, who was replaced by
Peter Reid. By this time Leeds were in danger of relegation, but Reid saved Leeds from the drop in the penultimate game of the season. During this time Ridsdale had resigned from the Leeds board, and was replaced by economics expert Professor
John McKenzie. An unsuccessful start to the
2003-04 season saw
Peter Reid dismissed, and head coach
Eddie Gray took over as caretaker manager until the end of the season.
Gerald Krasner, an
insolvency specialist, led a
consortium of local businessmen which took over Leeds and under his chairmanship oversaw the sale of the clubs' assets, including senior and emerging youth players of any value.
Caretaker manager Gray was largely blameless for the performance of the team during the
2003-04 season as the majority of the squad was sold out from underneath him and despite his best efforts, Leeds were relegated after 14 years in the top flight. Following relegation, Gray's reign as caretaker manager was terminated, and
Kevin Blackwell was appointed manager. Most of the remaining players were sold or released on free transfers to further reduce the wage bill. Leeds were eventually forced to sell both their training ground, for £4.2m, and their
Elland Road stadium in the autumn of 2004.
The board finally sold the club to
Ken Bates for £10m. Blackwell stabilized the team by signing players on free transfers and low wages and Leeds finished the
2004-05 season mid-table in the
Championship. In the
2005-06 season Leeds finished in the top 6 and made the
promotion playoff final, which they lost to
Watford. On
10 September 2006,
Kevin Blackwell announced that within a year the club would be debt-free. However, the
2006-07 season started badly and on
20 September 2006 Kevin Blackwell's contract as manager of Leeds United was terminated.
Dennis Wise was eventually installed as his replacement after a month without a permanent manager, but was unable to lift the team out of the relegation zone for much of the season, despite bringing a number of experienced loan players into the squad . With relegation virtually assured, Leeds entered a Company Voluntary Arrangement (
administration) on
4 May 2007, thus incurring a league imposed 10 point deduction which officially relegated the club to the third tier of English football.
.
The CVA was due to end on
3 July 2007 which would have allowed Bates to regain full control of the club. However
HM Revenue & Customs challenged the CVA, a decision which could ultimately have resulted in the
liquidation of the club. Under league rules, if the club were still in administration at the start of the next season, Leeds would have been prevented from starting their campaign by the Football League . Following the challenge by HMRC, the club was put up for sale by
KPMG, and once again Ken Bates' bid was accepted. The league eventually sanctioned this under the "exceptional circumstances rule" but imposed a 15 point deduction due to the club not following football league rules on clubs entering administration. On
31 August 2007 HMRC decided not to pursue their legal challenge any further.Wise guided Leeds to the play-off places at the start of 2008, despite the 15 point deduction. However, he controversially quit as manager on
January 28 to take up a position in
Kevin Keegan's new set-up at . The following day former club captain
Gary McAllister was appointed as manager of the club. In spite of this mid-season managerial change, plus the well-publicised 15-point deduction, Leeds went on to secure a play-off place with one game to spare. They were however beaten 1-0 in the final by
Doncaster Rovers in their first appearance at the new
Wembley Stadium.
Colours and badge
In Leeds' first fifteen years the club kit was modelled on
Huddersfield Town's blue and white striped shirts, white shorts and dark blue socks with blue and white rings on the turnovers, because Huddersfield's chairman
Hilton Crowther was attempting to merge the two clubs.. He eventually left Huddersfield to take over at Leeds.
In 1934 Leeds switched to blue and yellow halved shirts incorporating the city crest badge, white shorts and blue socks with yellow tops. The kit was worn for the first time on
22 September 1934. The club also adopted their first badge in 1934, using the city crest as Leeds City had. In 1950 Leeds switched to yellow shirts with blue sleeves and collars, white shorts and black, blue and gold hooped socks. In 1955 Leeds changed again to royal blue shirts with gold collars, white shorts, and blue and yellow hooped socks, thus echoing the original Leeds City strip.
In 1961 Don Revie introduced a plain white strip throughout, in the hope of emulating Spanish side
Real Madrid. A perching owl was added the strip in 1964 as the clubs emblem. The design was a surprise, given Revie's superstition about the symbolism of birds. The owl came from the city crest, which itself was based on the crest of
Sir John Saville, the first
alderman of Leeds. In the late 1960s and early 1970s Leeds used the LUFC script found running down the centre of the current badge, however this was presented in a diagonal fashion rather than the current vertical. In 1973 came the embodiment of seventies imagery with the iconic LU smiley badge. Revie's predilection for gimmicks was years ahead of its time, and done with the explicit intention of gaining acceptance from a public outside West Yorkshire.
In 1984 a new club badge was introduced, lasting until 1998, making it the longest lived of the modern era. The rose and ball badge was distinctive, in the traditional blue, gold and white, incorporating the white rose of
Yorkshire, together with the club's name.
Stadium and supporters
Elland Road was sold by the club in
October 2004 with a 25-year sale-lease back deal being agreed. A commercial buy-back clause was also included for when the club’s finances improve. According to a recent Board of Directors statement, Leeds United should have become debt free in the 2006/07 season. However, the club went into administration at the end of the
2006-07 season.
Initially the ground was the home of the Holbeck Rugby Club who played in the northern rugby union, the forerunner of the rugby football league.. One of Leeds' first nicknames, 'The Peacocks', comes from the original name of Elland Road - 'The Old Peacock ground'. It was named by the original owners of the ground, Bentley's Brewery, after their pub 'The Old Peacock' which still faces the site.. It is however owned by a leasing company at present. The stadium is currently the 10th largest football stadium in England.
The most recent stand at Elland Road is the East or Family Stand, a
cantilever structure completed during the
1992-93 season, and which can hold 17,000 seated spectators. It is two tiered stand which continues around the corners, and is the largest part of the stadium. The Don Revie Stand was opened at the start of the
1994-95 season, and can hold just under 7,000 seated spectators. The roof of the West Stand holds a television commentary gantry and walkway for TV personnel.
Alex Ferguson has said that Elland Road has one of the most intimidating atmospheres in European Football. Leeds are 10th in the all time average attendance figures for the
Football League &
Premier League, and have the third most rivalries in the English League.
Peter Reid commented after being relieved of his managerial duties at Elland Road that "In 30 years I've never seen support like I did at the Arsenal game [atElland Road] a couple of weeks ago. The fans at Leeds are fantastic." Reid was also joined by two other previous managers on the eve of Leeds' first appearance in the third tier. Reid said that "the support is fantastic" and "incredible", Blackwell said "fans will follow them everywhere" and O'Leary commented "There is an immense fan base and they're still with the club".
Music
In April 1972 the Leeds squad released a single, "
Leeds United" with the b-side being
"Leeds! Leeds! Leeds!" (commonly known as "
Marching On Together"). It was issued to coincide with the team reaching the
1972 FA Cup Final; the vocals on the original recording were by the Leeds team. The record reached number 10 in the
UK singles chart. Whilst it isn't officially the club anthem, "
Marching On Together" is played before every home game. Unlike many football songs that are just new words set to existing music, "
Leeds Leeds Leeds" is an original composition by
Les Reed and
Barry Mason, purposely written for Leeds United. The song
Strings for Yasmin by
Tin Tin Out is played before kick off at Elland Road, whilst
Nightmare by
Brainbug is played before the second half.
Current squads
Current squad
» As of 25th May 2008.
Reserve and Youth team
As of 13th April 2008(trialist)
(trialist)
Notable Players
Personnel
Club officials
George Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood KBE}}
Ken Bates }}
Shaun Harvey }}
Mark Taylor }}
Norbert Pinchler }}
Steve Lewis }}
Hayley Kelly }}
Katie Holmes Lewis }}
Mark Broadley }}
John Hemmingham }}
Daniel Jeffery }}
Paul Dews }}
Coaching and medical staff
Gary McAllister}}
Steve Staunton}}
Gwyn Williams}}
Neil McDonald}}
Andrew Beasley}}
Neil Thompson}}
Daryl Pugh}}
Harvey Sharman}}
Paul Perkins}}
Donna Gormley}}
Chris Beasley}}
Darren Mowbray}}
Norman Southernwood}}
Honours
Domestic honours
League titles
Football League Second Division / Championship
Football League One
- Play-Off Runners-up (1) 2007-08
Cups
FA Cup
League Cup
FA Charity Shield
- Winners (2) 1969, 1992
- Runners-up (1) 1974
FA Youth Cup
European honours
European Cup
UEFA Champions League
Inter-Cities Fairs Cup
UEFA Cup
European Cup Winners' Cup
Records
» For a season by season record of all competitions see Leeds United A.F.C. competitions record
For the league record against an individual club see League record club by club
Personnel Honours
English Football Hall of Fame
The following have either played for or managed Leeds and have been inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame :
Football League 100 Legends
The following have played for Leeds and were included in the Football League 100 Legends :
Wilf Copping
John Charles
Johnny Giles
Billy Bremner
Norman Hunter
Ian Rush
Eric Cantona
FWA Player of the Year
The following have won the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year award whilst playing for Leeds :
1965 Bobby Collins
1967 Jack Charlton
1970 Billy Bremner
1991 Gordon Strachan
PFA Players' Player of the Year
The following have won the PFA Players' Player of the Year award whilst playing for Leeds :
1974 Norman Hunter
PFA Young Player of the Year
The following have won the PFA Young Player of the Year award whilst playing for Leeds :
2000 Harry Kewell
PFA Team of the Year
The following has been included in the PFA Team of the Year whilst playing for Leeds :
2002 Rio Ferdinand
2006 Gary Kelly
Goal of the Season
The following have won the Goal of the Season award whilst playing for Leeds :
1993–94 Rod Wallace
1995–96 Tony Yeboah
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Further Information
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