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DIVISION ONE<br />
Leeds United<br />
1969-70<br />
A Season in Brief<br />
Preview<br />
Although they had just won the league<br />
title for the first time, Don Revie was<br />
acutely aware that he needed an out and<br />
out goalscorer to take the team to the<br />
next level. Along with many others, he<br />
was an admirer of Allan Clarke, recently<br />
relegated with Leicester City, who had<br />
just put in a transfer request. The lure of<br />
playing for the best team in the country<br />
and European Cup football was enough to<br />
persuade the player to put pen to paper,<br />
for a new record club signing of £165,000.<br />
The Season<br />
The season began with the usual curtain<br />
raiser of the Charity Shield, Leeds<br />
overcoming cup winners Manchester City<br />
to win 2-1.<br />
The league campaign started with a<br />
convincing 3-1 home victory over Spurs<br />
and a first goal for Clarke, before the team<br />
hit an inconsistent patch, with only one<br />
win in the next seven games, but also<br />
only one defeat against early pacesetters<br />
Everton. This game also saw the end of the<br />
run of thirty four unbeaten league games,<br />
stretching over two seasons.<br />
Although the team were trying to adopt<br />
a more attacking outlook, goals were<br />
difficult to find, that is until the first round<br />
of the European Cup (EC) against SFK<br />
Lyn Oslo, who were outclassed with an<br />
aggregate score of sixteen goals to nil.<br />
The second round pitted United against<br />
old rivals from Hungary. Ferencvaros,<br />
a team in decline, were beaten 6-0 on<br />
aggregate and it could have been more.<br />
The team began another run of eighteen<br />
102 /((’681,7(’<br />
unbeaten games in the league, that took<br />
them to top spot, until an unlikely defeat<br />
at Newcastle ended that run. During this<br />
period, Mick Bates whenever he was called<br />
upon to deputise for Johnny Giles, was<br />
singled out for praise.<br />
The club progressed through the early FA<br />
Cup rounds with a run of games against<br />
lowly opposition; Swansea, non league<br />
Sutton, Mansfield and Swindon before<br />
they faced Manchester United in the semifinal.<br />
Over three fiercely contested and<br />
sometimes brutal games, Leeds eventually<br />
prevailed at Burnden Park, Bolton, after an<br />
eighth minute Bremner goal.<br />
Leeds made the short trip to Belgium in<br />
the quarter finals of the European Cup to<br />
meet Standard Liege. Leeds more than held<br />
their own in a physical encounter and in<br />
fact snatched a later winner when Lorimer<br />
hammered home. It was virtually the same<br />
story in the second leg, Liege were content<br />
to play on the break. It was not until a 79th<br />
minute Giles penalty, that the home fans felt<br />
safe enough to enjoy the occasion.<br />
Revie was now left with a difficult<br />
decision, continue with what looked like<br />
an impossible attempt on the treble, or<br />
concentrate on the two cup competitions.<br />
They were five points behind Everton with<br />
only six games remaining. After a 3-1 home<br />
defeat to Southampton, he made his mind<br />
up and made eleven changes for the league<br />
game away at Derby, which incidently was<br />
only two days before the first leg against<br />
Celtic. United were also asked to fulfil a<br />
league fixture the day after the Celtic game<br />
in London against West Ham. How could<br />
any team be expected to maintain that<br />
schedule?<br />
The home game against Celtic ended<br />
with disappointment, an early goal from<br />
Connelly, deflected in off Cooper, proved<br />
enough for the Scots to secure a 1-0 win.<br />
The Leeds players didn’t need to be told that<br />
they had played badly.<br />
Seven days rest before the FA Cup final<br />
did Leeds the power of good, but despite<br />
dominating, they allowed Chelsea to<br />
escape with a 2-2 draw, in a match that<br />
encapsulated the best of football in the<br />
seventies, containing flair, aggression<br />
and attitude, with neither side prepared<br />
to back down. They now faced another<br />
game, with the first Cup Final replay since<br />
1912.<br />
With no chance to relax, it was straight off<br />
to Glasgow for the second leg against Celtic.<br />
Inevitably called the ‘Battle of Britain’<br />
by the media, the game, was switched to<br />
Hampden Park to maximise revenue. The<br />
attendance was an unbelievable 136,000.<br />
The United players didn’t believe they<br />
were out of it, a confidence built on an<br />
array of impressive away performances in<br />
Europe. This was different though, they<br />
had to win, not just contain.<br />
They were given an early boost when<br />
Bremner fired home and for a period it<br />
looked as if the game could swing either<br />
way. Leeds reached half-time leading 1-0,<br />
but within eight minutes after the break,<br />
Celtic had scored twice, Sprake had been<br />
carried off and Leeds hopes of European<br />
glory had disappeared.<br />
There was now just one chance left for<br />
glory, the cup replay at Old Trafford<br />
against Chelsea. United again dominated<br />
but once more it went to extra time. The<br />
game had an unlikely hero, Dave Webb<br />
who had been given a roasting over both<br />
games by Eddie Gray, scored the winner<br />
for the Blues.<br />
Postscript<br />
A season that until the very end promised<br />
immortality, ended once more in<br />
disappointment. Fatigue and fixture<br />
congestion, not helped by a truncated<br />
season that preceded the Mexico World<br />
Cup, once more led to a period of soul<br />
searching. What could they do differently?
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