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Leeds United<br />
1973-74<br />
A Season in Brief<br />
DIVISION ONE<br />
Preview<br />
After all the consternation and disruption<br />
of the ‘Revie for Everton’ saga, he didn’t<br />
go. Whether the Leeds board made him<br />
an offer he couldn’t refuse or he simply got<br />
‘cold feet’ we will never know for certain.<br />
In the meantime he was back, declaring<br />
his ambition that he wanted the team to<br />
go through the entire season unbeaten.<br />
It was the end of an era in one sense, as<br />
Jack Charlton moved on to take up the<br />
manager’s position at Middlesbrough.<br />
The Season<br />
After an unconvincing pre-season, Leeds<br />
opened with an emphatic 3-1 home win<br />
over Everton followed by a further six<br />
victories and it just got better and better<br />
after that, culminating in a run of thirty<br />
unbeaten league games. At long last it<br />
seemed as if the manager was prepared to<br />
let the players off the leash and trust their<br />
vast experience.<br />
They were even receiving praise about<br />
their improved behaviour, Vernon Stokes<br />
from the FA Disciplinary Committee<br />
even took the time to write to the club<br />
expressing his personal satisfaction about<br />
the teams new approach.<br />
Fighting for honours on all fronts had<br />
often stretched the squad to it’s limits,<br />
there was a feeling that in order to win<br />
the league, they should manage their<br />
resources with this in mind. So when<br />
they played Stroemsgodset of Norway<br />
in the Eufa Cup, five squad players were<br />
brought in, but they still progressed 7-2 on<br />
aggregate.<br />
After thirteen years at Elland Road,Gary<br />
188 /((’681,7(’<br />
Sprake left to join Birmingham City,<br />
the fee of £100,000 was a world record<br />
fee for a goalkeeper at that time. Revie<br />
immediately moved to sign Dave Stewart<br />
from Morton as his replacement, making<br />
the club a quick £70,000 profit on the<br />
exchange.<br />
Hibernian were beaten on penalties,<br />
after United again rested players,<br />
although United eventually went out of<br />
the competition to Vitoria Setubal from<br />
Portugal 3-2 on aggregate. As a clear<br />
example of the manager’s new strategy, for<br />
the second leg against Setubal, full back<br />
Peter Hampton was played in mid-field<br />
whilst Frank Gray operated as a sweeper.<br />
The new relaxed Revie even allowed the<br />
players to take their golf clubs with them.<br />
As the new year began, Leeds were still<br />
unbeaten after twenty three games, eight<br />
points clear of Liverpool in second place.<br />
United also reached the fifth round of the<br />
FA Cup, but surprisingly lost at home to<br />
Bristol City after a replay.<br />
This result appeared to knock the player’s<br />
confidence, even though the unbeaten run<br />
continued, the teams performances began<br />
to stutter.<br />
A series of drawn games followed, the<br />
pressure to maintain the run against<br />
opponents who treated the games as cup<br />
ties was becoming a heavy burden. It was<br />
a widely held thought that it wouldn’t be<br />
a bad thing to lose a game and relieve the<br />
pressure.<br />
The run did eventually end at the Victoria<br />
Ground Stoke, the thirtieth game, but even<br />
then the way it happened was unusual.<br />
After taking a two goal lead, they seemed<br />
in no trouble, but the home side powered<br />
back to equalise before half-time and<br />
then went on to score the winner mid-way<br />
through the second half.<br />
The managers and players put a brave<br />
face on, claiming that defeat was for the<br />
best, but two more drawn games allowed<br />
Liverpool to chip away at their lead. After<br />
interrupting this spell by defeating Man<br />
City, they then lost the next three games<br />
including a morale sapping defeat to<br />
Liverpool.<br />
After losing 4-1 at home to Burnley, it<br />
looked as if the wheels had come off.<br />
As it turned out, the worst was over,<br />
Liverpool suddenly began dropping points<br />
and at the same time, the United defence<br />
stopped conceding goals, only one went<br />
past Harvey in the last six games of the<br />
season.<br />
At one stage it looked as if they might<br />
need something from the last game away<br />
at QPR, but after Liverpool lost to Arsenal,<br />
the championship was confirmed and they<br />
finished the season five points clear of<br />
their closest rivals.<br />
Postscript<br />
This Leeds team had an indefatigable<br />
spirit, year after year they had picked<br />
themselves up, after disappointments<br />
that would have crushed any other sets of<br />
players, and went again. Despite all the<br />
pressure on them, they produced such<br />
high quality team performances that must<br />
rank with the best ever, this in an era of<br />
defensive football, runners up Liverpool<br />
and third placed Derby had only scored<br />
fifty two league goals this season.
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