Leeds United F.C.
Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football.
Leeds United have won the League Championship three times, five Second Division titles, the FA Cup once, the League Cup once, the Charity Shield twice and the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup twice. The club had their most successful period under the management of Don Revie in the 1960s and 1970s, when they won the League title twice, the FA Cup once, the League Cup once and the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup twice. The club have also been runners-up five times in the League Championship, three times in the FA Cup, once each in the League Cup, the Charity Shield, the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, the Cup Winners' Cup and the European Cup, and lost the play-off to keep the Inter-City Fairs Cup trophy.
Leeds United share rivalries with Manchester United and Chelsea. The team's traditional kit colours are white shirts, white shorts and white socks. Their badge features the White Rose of York, which is a symbol of Yorkshire.
History
Pre-Leeds United
Leeds United's predecessor, Leeds City, was formed in 1904 and elected to League membership in 1905. In 1919, Leeds City were forcibly disbanded by the Football League, in response to allegations of illegal payments to players during the First World War. At Salem Chapel in 1919, Leeds United was formed, and they received an invitation to enter the Midland League, being voted into it on 31 October 1919, taking the place vacated by Leeds City Reserves. Following Leeds City's disbanding, Yorkshire Amateurs bought their Elland Road stadium and then sold it to Leeds United for £250.Huddersfield Town chairman Hilton Crowther loaned Leeds United £ to be repaid when Leeds United won promotion to the First Division. He brought in former Barnsley manager Arthur Fairclough taking charge on 26 February 1920, replacing Dick Ray.
1920–1960: Beginnings
On 31 May 1920, Leeds United were elected to the Football League. Leeds consolidated their position in the Second Division and in 1923–24 won the title and with it promotion to the First Division. Leeds failed to establish themselves and were relegated in 1926–27. After their relegation, Fairclough resigned, which paved the way for Dick Ray to return as manager. In the years up until the start of World War II, Leeds were twice relegated; on both occasions, they were re-promoted the following season.On 5 March 1935, Dick Ray resigned after 8 years being manager, and was replaced by Billy Hampson, who remained in charge for 12 years. In 1946–47 after the war, Leeds United were relegated again, with the worst league record in their history. After this season, Hampson resigned 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 manager in April 1948 after just one year as manager. He was replaced by Frank Buckley.
Leeds United remained in the Second Division until 1955–56, when they once again won promotion to the First Division, inspired by John Charles. 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. Leeds were relegated to the Second Division in 1959–60. On 30 November 1957, Gerry Francis became Leeds' first black player.
1961–1974: Don Revie era
On 17 March 1961, Don Revie was appointed as manager following the resignation of Jack Taylor. 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 the Third Division. Revie implemented a youth policy and a change of kit colour to an all-white strip in the style of Real Madrid, and Leeds United won promotion to the First Division in 1963–64.In 1964–65, Leeds United finished second to rivals Manchester United on goal average. They also reached the final of the FA Cup, losing 2–1 to Liverpool at Wembley after extra-time. In 1965–66, Leeds again finished second in the league, whilst also reaching the semi-finals of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, losing on aggregate to Spanish side Real Zaragoza despite Revie ordering the fire brigade to flood the pitch before the replay at Elland Road. In 1966–67, Leeds finished fourth in the league, as well as reaching the semi-finals of the FA Cup, losing 1–0 to Chelsea and the final of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, losing 2–0 to GNK Dinamo Zagreb.
Leeds United nearly doubled their record transfer in 1967–68, buying Sheffield United centre-forward Mick Jones for £100,000. Leeds won their first major trophy, the League Cup, with Terry Cooper's goal securing the win against Arsenal in the final. Leeds finished fourth in the league and were beaten in the FA Cup semi-finals by Everton. They also reached a second successive Inter-Cities Fairs Cup final and this time won the trophy, beating Hungarian side Ferencváros over two legs; Leeds won the first leg 1–0, and a month later defended their lead with a 0–0 draw in Budapest. In 1968–69, Leeds secured the title in April after a draw with challengers Liverpool at Anfield, whose supporters congratulated Leeds. Leeds set a number of records including most points, most wins, fewest defeats, and most home points ; a still-unbroken club record is their 34 match unbeaten run that extended into the following season.
Leeds United broke the British transfer record in 1969–70, by signing Leicester City centre-forward Allan Clarke for £165,000. Leeds targeted the treble and came close to achieving it, only to fail on all three fronts in a congested close season, finishing second in the league to Everton, losing the FA Cup final to Chelsea, and exiting the European Cup with a semi-final defeat to Celtic. In 1970–71, Leeds and Arsenal both challenged for the title that season, though it would be Arsenal who would claim the league title, finishing one point ahead of Leeds after the latter lost to West Bromwich Albion following a controversial "offside" goal. Leeds were also knocked out of the FA Cup by Fourth Division side Colchester United. Leeds again found success in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup though, beating Juventus in the final on away goals. In 1971–72, Leeds again finished as runners-up in the league, but did reach the FA Cup final, lifting the trophy after a win over Arsenal. In 1972–73, Leeds again came close to a treble, but finished third in the league, lost the FA Cup final to Second Division Sunderland against all expectations, and reached the final of the European Cup Winners' Cup against AC Milan, where they were beaten following some controversial refereeing decisions by Christos Michas who was later banned by UEFA for 'fixing' other matches. In 1973–74, Leeds won the title for the second time with a five-point lead over second-placed Liverpool. Don Revie left at the end of the season to become England manager.
Don Revie guided Leeds United to two Football League First Division titles, one FA Cup, one League Cup, two Inter-Cities Fairs Cups, one Football League Second Division title and one Charity Shield. He also guided them to three more FA Cup Finals, two more FA Cup Semi-finals, one more Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Final and one Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Semi-final, one European Cup Winners' Cup Final and one European Cup Semi-final. Leeds also finished second in the Football League First Division five times, third once and fourth twice. In a survey of leading football writers, historians and academics by Total Sport magazine, Revie's Leeds were voted as one of the 50 greatest football teams of all time.
1974–1988: Post-Revie and relegation
was appointed as Don Revie's successor. This was a surprise appointment, as Clough had been an outspoken critic of Revie and the team's tactics. Clough's tenure as manager started badly, with defeat in the Charity Shield against Liverpool in which Billy Bremner and Kevin Keegan were sent off for fighting. Under Clough, the team performed poorly, and after only 44 days he was dismissed. Clough was replaced by former England captain Jimmy Armfield. Armfield took Revie's ageing team to the final of the European Cup, in which they were defeated by Bayern Munich under controversial circumstances. Armfield continued to rebuild Revie's team, and though it no longer dominated English football, it remained in the top ten for subsequent seasons. Impatient for success the board dismissed Armfield in July 1978, replacing him with Jock Stein, who also lasted just 44 days before leaving to manage Scotland. Jimmy Adamson was appointed as his replacement but he was unable to stop the decline, and in October 1980 he resigned and was replaced by Allan Clarke. Clarke was unable to stem the tide, and the club was relegated at the end of 1981–82. Clarke was replaced by former teammate Eddie Gray. Impatient for success again the board dismissed Gray in October 1985, replacing him with former teammate Billy Bremner. In 1986–87, Leeds reached the play-off final, but were defeated by Charlton Athletic. Leeds also endured a near miss in the FA Cup, losing out to Coventry City in the semi-finals.1988–2002: Wilkinson, Graham and O'Leary
In October 1988, with Leeds United 21st in the Second Division, Bremner was dismissed to make way for Howard Wilkinson. Leeds avoided relegation that season, and in March 1989 signed Gordon Strachan from Manchester United for £300,000. The Scottish midfielder was named captain, and helped Leeds win the Second Division in 1989–90 and gain promotion back to the First Division. Leeds finished fourth in 1990–91, and in the 1991–92 season they became champions of England for the third time. During the close season Leeds were founder members of the new Premier League, which became the top division of English football. However, the 1992–93 season saw 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 was not helped by a poor display in the 1996 League Cup final losing to Aston Villa. Leeds United could only finish thirteenth in 1995–96, and after a 4–0 home defeat by Manchester United early in 1996–97, Wilkinson had his contract terminated. One of the legacies of Wilkinson and youth coach Paul Hart was the development of Leeds United's youth academy, which has produced numerous talented footballers over the years.File:Billy Bremner Statue - Elland Road - geograph.org.uk - 624224.jpg|thumb|Billy Bremner statue outside Elland Road
Leeds United appointed George Graham as Wilkinson's successor. This appointment was controversial as Graham had previously received a one-year ban from The Football Association for receiving illegal payments from a football agent. Graham made some astute purchases and also helped blood youngsters from Leeds' youth cup winning side. By the end of the 1997–98 season, Leeds had qualified for the following season's UEFA Cup. In October 1998, Graham left to become manager of Tottenham Hotspur, and Leeds opted to replace him with assistant manager David O'Leary.
Under O'Leary and assistant Eddie Gray, Leeds never finished outside the top five in the Premier League, and secured qualification for both the UEFA Cup and the UEFA Champions League, enjoying cup runs to the semi-finals of both competitions. However, during the same period, the team's image was tarnished when players Jonathan Woodgate and Lee Bowyer were involved in an incident that left an Asian student in hospital with severe injuries. The resulting court case took nearly two years to resolve; Bowyer was cleared, but Woodgate convicted of affray and sentenced to community service. Additionally, in the UEFA Cup semi-final against Galatasaray in Istanbul, two Leeds fans were stabbed to death before the game.