Leeds United

Leeds United have played at Elland Road since their formation in 1919. It was previously home to Leeds City FC who were disbanded owing to financial irregularities and then Yorkshire Amateur FC for a short while.

The ground was originally called the Old Peacock Ground which was named after the Old Peacock Arms which is opposite the ground behind the South Stand. One of the clubs nicknames is The Peacocks in recognition of this, although that is hardly ever used these days. The club are more commonly known as United or The Whites.

In 1920 United were bought by Huddersfield Town Chairman Hilton Crowther who wanted to amalgamate the clubs. The Huddersfield public campaigned vigorously against this and raised enough money to buy the club from him. Promotion to the First Division was achieved in 1924 after the Division Two title was lifted, although their spell there lasted three years. In 1928 they regained their top flight status.

Leeds had a relegation and a promotion in the 1930's but two years after World War Two they were relegated back to Division Two with a record low points total. Major Frank Buckley was appointed as manager the following year as John Charles made his League debut. A couple of seasons later Buckley changed Charles from a centre back to centre forward as Jack Charlton made his first appearances. 

A short time later Buckley departed to be replaced by Raich Carter. He moved Charles back to defence for the 1955-56 season and was rewarded with promotion as United finished as Division Two runners up. 

Sadly in United's first division back in the top flight, the West Stand burnt down. The clubs' insurance cover was inadequate so as a consequence Charles was sold to Juventus for a then world record fee of £65,000. 

Carter soon departed and a couple of other managers came and went leading to relegation before Don Revie was appointed in 1961. Money was tight initially as Revie built his team around Charlton, Bobby Collins, Norman Hunter and Billy Bremner. 

In 1964 Johnny Giles was signed from Manchester United as the team were promoted. They immediately made an impact finishing as runners-up and reaching the FA Cup Final where they were defeated by Liverpool at the end of the 1964-65 season.

After a seasons experience of European football under their belts, they reached the final of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, which was later to become the UEFA Cup and then the Europa League. In the final Leeds lost 2-0 to Dinamo Zagreb. 

The 1967-68 season saw the first major trophy arrive at Elland Road as Arsenal were defeated in the League Cup Final with a Terry Cooper goal. They also lifted the Fairs Cup by defeating Ferencvaros over two legs in the final.

The 1968-69 season saw United crowned as League champions. They followed this up with a season of near misses as they lost in the F Cup final after a replay to Chelsea, as well as finishing runners up in the league. Their first venture in the European Cup ended in a semi final defeat to Celtic. 

In 1970-71 they once again finished runners up in the league in controversial circumstances. In the vital end of season home game to West Bromwich Albion the referee Ray Tinkler allowed an astonishing goal to stand. This led to violent crowd scenes, which would see Elland Road being closed for five games the next season with the team having to decamp to alternative home venues. 

To see the West Brom incident, click here:

Consolation was found with a second Fairs Cup win, this time against Juventus. United didn't let the setback affect them and came out to challenge for the league and cup double the next season. In one game against Southampton they put in what is considered as one of the greatest performances seen in the First Division.

The 7-0 demolition of Southampton can be seen here as Leeds put many sides to the sword in that dominant period. They lifted the centenary FA Cup Final 1-0 against Arsenal with an Allan Clarke goal in 1971-72. however, the side failed to win their deciding League fixture two days later away to Wolverhampton Wanderers. 

The match was marred in controversy, with claims that would be later shot down in court alleging that United tried to bribe the Wolves team to throw the game so the Whites could complete the double. It is said that the Wolves players were so incensed that they came out and beat Leeds purely because of the attempted bung. 

1972-73 saw United defeated in the FA Cup Final by Sunderland in one of the competition's greatest ever shocks and in the Cup Winners Cup Final to AC Milan. It later transpired that the German referee had been bribed and was later banned for life, while Milan got off scot-free. 

Again Revie's charges fought back and went on to win the 1973-74 League title at a canter. Revie resigned at the end of the season to take the job as England manager. During his reign, the team were often disliked, but he forged a tight and successful unit based on skill, physical presence and organisation. 

The board surprisingly appointed Brian Clough as the new boss despite Revie recommending Johnny Giles for the job. Clough was a bitter rival of the club from his time at Derby County. 
He didn't endear himself to the players by telling them to place all their medals in a dustbin as they had won them by cheating. 

The ill feeling which was already in abundance naturally spread further, with Clough being sacked after just forty-four days after a string of poor results. Jimmy Armfield took over and led the side to the European Cup Final where they were beaten 2-0 by Bayern Munich. Again they were victims of some terrible and suspicious refereeing, as seen here.

By now many of the senior players were coming to the end of their time at the club. New players were brought in, but they couldn't emulate former glories. Although Armfield's sides were consistent the board wanted more and replaced him with the former legendary Celtic boss, Jock Stein in 1978. 

He lasted for precisely the same time as Clough, so they then opted for Jimmy Adamson. His spell was unsuccessful and unpopular leading to the appointment of Allan Clarke in his place two years later. Despite spending lavishly Clarke's side were relegated at the end of the 1981-82 season. 

Eddie Gray took over having to rely on youth as the clubs' finances were poor. The likes of John Sheridan, Neil Aspin and Denis Irwin were all introduced. Gray was replaced within two years by club legend Billy Bremner. He took his side to the 1987 FA Cup semifinal and also the playoff final where they succumbed to Charlton Athletic. In October 1988 the board sacked Bremner and appointed Howard Wilkinson.

Wilkinson built a side which including Mel Sterland, Vinnie Jones, Gordon Strachan, Lee Chapman and products of the youth set up, David Batty and Gary Speed. At the end of the 1989-90 season, the club were promoted back to the First Division. The classy Gary McAllister was added the following season followed by Tony Dorigo, Steve Hodge and Eric Cantona.

Leeds United were crowned League champions for the 1991-92 season. Although United failed to follow up this success, they were consistent and added quality players such as Lee Bowyer and Nigel Martyn. Unfortunately, Wilkinson also added some poor players. At the height of this success, a new East Stand was built. His contract was terminated during the 1996-97 season, around the same time that board member Peter Ridsdale became Chairman. 

George Graham was appointed as the new manager and did a decent job, introducing youth player Harry Kewell into the team. However, he decided to leave to take the Tottenham Hotspur manager job early into the 1998-99 season. 

Graham's assistant David O'Leary took over and introduced more youngsters like Jonathan Woodgate and Alan Smith to the side. Ridsdale was popular with the fans at the time as was O'Leary. 

United reached the semi-final of the UEFA Cup in 1999-00 where they were defeated by Galatasaray in tragic circumstances as two of their fans were murdered before the first leg in Istanbul.  United qualified for the Champions League the season after and once again reached the last four where Valencia defeated them. 

Big signings such as Robbie Fowler and Seth Johnson were made as Ridsdale used loans against the money for Champions League qualification to pay the fees. Unfortunately, the team didn't reach the competition, so the debts mounted and couldn't be repaid. 

The fans were unaware of the development at the time. The first sign that all was not well was when record signing Rio Ferdinand was sold much to O'Leary's annoyance. This helped lead to his eventual sacking to be replaced by Terry Venables. In January 2003 Fowler, Woodgate, Bowyer, Robbie Keane and Olivier Dacourt were all sold, which upset the manager. 

He was sacked with Peter Reid taking over as the team flirted with relegation. They escaped as Ridsdale resigned with the club saddled with £100M worth of debts. More players were sold as Reid was sacked with Eddie Gray returning in a caretaker role with the 2003-04 season ending in relegation.

A consortium led by Gerald Krasner, and including former Scarborough and Bradford City Chairman, Geoffrey Richmond had taken over to try and stabilise the club. They sold the training ground and Elland Road. All this was just a few years after planning a new stadium as Elland Road was considered not big enough. Markings had even been made on the A1 north of the city in readiness!

Leeds popularity then hit an all-time slump as former Chelsea Chairman and owner, Ken Bates became Chairman of the club, although the names of the actual owners were not unveiled. Bates had never been the most popular amongst fans countrywide. 

Kevin Blackwell did his best under difficult circumstances as manager and led the side to the playoff final where they lost out to Watford. Bates managed what many thought was impossible by alienating himself and the club from the football fans even further, by employing the widely disliked Dennis Wise as manager soon into the following season.

Bates attempted to block many self-financing supporter clubs by insisting that the club themselves should receive all monies and set up new clubs to do this. The old clubs were stopped from receiving tickets, despite them being run by loyal fans over many years which upset many loyal and lifelong fans.

Bates continued a personal crusade and battled with the football authorities as he pushed every rule to the limit and certainly went beyond the spirit of the game. The club were on the verge of relegation to League One (Division 3) so they entered into 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 for the first time. 

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 and 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 (the Administrators) and once again Ken Bates' bid was controversially 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. Bates and Leeds still appealed against the points deduction despite them getting away with absolute murder in the opinion of many involved in the game. 

Many businesses in Leeds who had previously supported the club through thick and thin by offering services or sponsorship suffered greatly because of the actions of the club. Some Leeds fans liked Bates as he fits into their "the whole world is against us" profile. Many fans of football were absolutely appalled.

The club employed Simon Grayson as boss from Blackpool. He soon guided the fine young team back to the second tier and they just missed out on the playoffs in their first season back. Grayson complained that he was limited in his signings by Bates' tight purse strings, which was unsurprisingly denied. 

Grayson was relieved of his duties in February 2012 to be replaced by Neil Warnock, who was also not exactly top of the United fan's most popular lists. Rumours abound that Bates was close to selling the club in the summer of 2012 with potential new owners being rumoured to be based in the USA and the Middle East. Meanwhile, work on the East Stand took place to improve the revenue streams on non-football days.

Bates did eventually sell up to the Middle East-based private equity group GFH Capital in November 2012. Warnock resigned at the back end of the season to be replaced by Brian McDermott. However, the new owners failed to invest in the playing squad. A battle ensued over the club ownership before a rival bid from Massimo Cellino, the president of the Serie A club Cagliari Calcio was accepted.

Cellino then faced an initial battle, which he eventually won against the FA over his suitability to be an owner owing to a conviction in the Italian courts. In the interim, he seemingly sacked McDermott but reprieved him within hours in January 2014 before finally relieving him of his duties at the close of the 2013-14 season. 

David Hockaday was named as the new manager, to much surprise and some annoyance from the club's faithful. Hockaday was sacked a few games into the new season. Neil Redfearn took over as caretaker yet again until the former Slovenia and Sturm Graz boss Darko Milanic arrived. 

Milanic lasted until October 2014 before he was replaced by Redfearn permanently a few weeks later. Off the pitch, Cellino was disqualified as an owner by the  Football League owing to tax issues in Italy. He was forced to have no involvement in the club from December 2014 until March 2015. In the interim the club was run by its official owners; Eleonora Sport Ltd.

Inevitably Cellino returned to the club when his ban ended. In the summer of 2015, the popular Redfearn was replaced by Uwe Rösler in the hot seat. The former boss was offered his old role as Academy Manager, but he declined the invitation.

Rösler had gone within a few months to be replaced by Steve Evans, while Cellino offered to sell the majority of his shares to Leeds Fans Utd but he later reneged on the deal. Evans was replaced by Gary Monk after another mid-table finish in the 2015-16 season.

Monk's side performed well on the pitch, while United fans received good news, as Italian businessman Andrea Radrizzani purchased 50% of the club from Massimo Cellino. The team ended the season just outside the playoff places. Monk departed to take up the Middlesbrough manager job in May 2017, just two days after Radrizzani completed his 100% purchase of the club. 

In June 2017 the former Spanish international Thomas Christiansen was appointed as the new manager at Leeds. Radrizzani's popularity increased even further when Elland Road was bought back into club ownership for the first time since 2004. Christiansen was replaced by Paul Heckingbottom. Further investment arrived at Elland Road in the summer of 2018 as a group connected with the San Francisco 49ers NFL franchise put money into the club.

Experienced Argentinian manager Marcelo Bielsa replaced Heckingbottom in June 2018 as the team got off to a great start, finding themselves at the top of the table at Christmas before losing in the playoff semi-finals to Derby County. However, there was to be no mistake in 2019-20 as United romped to the title to return to the Premier League. 

Starring roles from Patrick Bamford, Kalvin Harris, Luke Ayling, Ben White, Stuart Dallas, Ezgjan Alioski, Hélder Costa, Pablo Hernández, Jack Harrison and Mateusz Klich all contributed to the success. Leeds strengthened further in 2020-21 with the acquisitions of Rodrigo, Robin Koch, Raphinha and Diego Llorente which led to a ninth-place finish. 

However, results were inconsistent the following season. In February 2022 Bielsa was replaced by Jesse Marsch to the outcry of many Leeds fans. United stayed up on the final day of the season. However, 2022-23 was to be one of upheaval. Players departed, while Javi Gracia was appointed as team boss in February of that campaign. 

He lasted just a couple of months before Sam Allardyce was given the task of trying to keep the team up in the last few games. He failed, and with Leeds back in the Championship, the former Norwich City manager Daniel Farke was brought in. Meanwhile, off the pitch the American-based 49ers Enterprises increased the shares to own the club by buying out Radrizzani. 

The side defeated Norwich City in the 2023-24 playoffs before losing to Southampton in the final.

Leeds United FC will play in the EFL Championship in the 2024-25 season.

My visits

Leeds United 2 Swansea City 0 (Saturday 16th January 1982) Division One (att: 18,700)

I was planning to travel to Marine to watch Scarborough in the FA Trophy in January 1982. The big freeze of the time put pay to that so I went with a schoolmate, Paul Dye to Elland Road.  We had a good day in a big city wandering around what seemed like huge shopping precincts. We decided to stand in the Gelderd End (or Kop) and got there early. Swansea City were the visitors for the Division 1 encounter which attracted a crowd of 18,700.

We stood at the back and thought we had a great view. How little we knew! We stood right behind a crush barrier like we did at Boro games and enjoyed all the singing from the fans. Anticipation and excitement were high as Leeds were to play at Tottenham in the FA Cup the following week. 

It was at the time of the Falklands War and fans taught me many new songs about the Argentine, Ossie Ardiles and his family. Suddenly the last minute fans poured in from the pub and we were in severe discomfort, trapped against the barriers. We managed to escape just before half time as the crush eased as fans needed to relieve themselves. 

We watched the second half from the relative comfort of the North West Corner. United ran out 2-0 winners in what was my first-ever top-flight game. The ground seemed enormous to a relative newcomer to big stadiums. The Gelderd End was a large terracing split half way up. To the right was the West Stand with seats at the back and also downstairs where it was once a terraced paddock. 

The far end, the South Stand, was seated in a similar style to the West Stand with executive boxes along the back. This had replaced the old Scratching Shed in 1975. Finally to our left was an open terracing with the Lowfields Road Stand with seats perched on the banking behind it.

Leeds United 1 Hull City 1 (Saturday 24th August 1985) Division Two (att: 16,689)

I had three visits as an away fan with Hull City. The first one on 24 August 1985 ended in a 1-1 draw. I was filled with fear leading up to the game as I'd heard plenty of stories about away fans being set upon over the past few seasons. 

My Leeds mates had been winding me up for weeks in advance. In the end, nothing happened apart from them displaying a banner in my honour in the Kop at halftime questioning my sexual ability, which caused me plenty of the intended embarrassment in front of a crowd of 16,689! 

City were excellent on the day and should have won. I was more than relieved when the away fan's coaches were parked inside the ground, behind the Lowfield Road terracing were we were stood so we had no contact with any Leeds fans after the match.

Leeds United 3 Hull City 0 (Saturday 27th September 1986) Division Two (att: 13,551)

Sadly the following season the Tigers put in a poor performance when Richard Jobson handled for no apparent reason after twelve minutes and gave away a penalty that was duly converted by former City player Keith Edwards. 

John Sheridan came close to doubling the lead soon after the restart before Ian Baird headed in a John Stiles cross. Brendan Ormsby wrapped up the scoring with a header from a free kick.

Leeds United 4 Hull City 3 (Saturday 10th February 1990) Division Two (att: 29,977)

I risked life and limb with Nick in February 1990 as Leeds were heading to promotion. They were attracting full houses so they gave away fans just 500 tickets in a section of the terraced bottom tier of the South Stand. We couldn't get a ticket in there so we got my much-missed mate (RIP Paul Denton) got us seats in the West Stand. 

We had a couple of pints for some Dutch courage and did some shopping before getting a taxi to the ground. I remember purchasing a pair of dungarees in the market. Oh for those trendsetting days! We were probably a little paranoid but the atmosphere at the ground was vibrant but not too hostile. Manager Wilkinson had a real battling line up who played at a hundred miles an hour. 

The signing of Vinnie Jones had fired the home fans up further, not that they needed much encouragement! It was a fantastic game which ebbed and flowed throughout. Leeds went one up with a John Hendrie header before Andy Payton levelled from the spot. Vinnie Jones restored the lead with a brilliant long-range volley. My respect for this bloke changed after this game. He was a far better footballer than I ever gave him credit for. 

Payton levelled again from the spot after the awkward Dave Bamber had been brought down. Steve Doyle put the Tigers ahead with a volley nearly up there with Jones's effort. Imre Varadi equalised after being set up by the excellent Gordon Strachan who netted the winner in stoppage time after being set up by Jones.

I expected a thwack around the back of the head after I tried to restrain myself after Doyle's goal. I was not upset when we got back to the station for the train home in one piece after walking back among the celebrating home fans. It was an excellent game of football and good day out.

The pictures of Elland Road have been taken from the internet, except the one of the distant West Stand from outside.