LEEDS BOOK 1963 - 1975

Leeds United
1966-67
A Season in Brief
DIVISION ONE
Preview
Again there was a lack of transfer activity,
but it was not for want of trying that they
failed to land Alan Ball. Ball had been a
resounding success in England’s World
Cup winning team, and the Blackpool
board realised that they couldn’t hang on
to the player any longer. The asking fee
of £110,000 was met by two clubs, United
and Everton and the decision was left to
the player, who after speaking to his father
plumped for a move to Merseyside.
Revie was despondent to lose out on
his primary target, so again decided to
promote from the club’s youth system.
His first problem was, could he
accommodate Collins in a midfield
alongside Bremner and Giles? It was
tried pre-season at Celtic, but didn’t work,
Collins and Giles were too alike. Attacking
options were limited with injuries to
Peacock, O’Grady and Johanesson. Eddie
Gray and Lorimer were given their chance
to claim a forward spot, but injuries were
to play a major part in how the season
panned out.
The Season
Tottenham at White Hart Lane was the
first game of the season, remembered
fifty years later for an iconic photograph
of Dave Mackay angrily grabbing Billy
Bremner by his shirt front, after a poor
challenge on a player just returning after
breaking his leg twice in eighteen months.
There were changes in team selection
every match, caused either by injuries,
or trying to find a winning combination.
Early season saw Paul Madeley deputising
50 /((’681,7(’
for Jack Charlton who had damaged his
hamstring.
A run of only one win in eight games
saw Leeds adrift in thirteenth place, but
there was some success to report as they
despatched DWS Amsterdam 8-2 on
aggregate in round two of the ICFC, after
they had been invited to take part in the
tournament again.
A low point of the season arrived two
weeks later, as first they crashed 7-0 to
West Ham in the League Cup and then 5-0
at Anfield against Liverpool.
Don Revie was casting his net far and wide
for re-enforcements, but he refused to pay
what he thought were inflated transfer fees,
and he was prepared to wait for exactly
the right player, ‘be patient’, he asked
supporters. There was some good news
off the pitch however, when Chairman
Harry Reynolds announced that profits
from the past two seasons meant that the
club was out of debt for the first time in
their forty seven year history.
Amazingly, at the turn of the year, despite
an underwhelming start, Leeds were only
five points off the top with a game in hand.
League results continued to improve and
Bremner was proving an inspiration to
everyone, but yet again he found himself
embroiled in a rough game at Forest and
got himself sent off.
Surprisingly, Revie let Bobby Collins leave
for Bury on a free transfer. Although
injuries had prevented the player from
being a regular, whenever he was called
upon he always gave a good account of
himself.
Leeds enjoyed success in two cup
competitions, reaching the semi-finals
of the FA Cup, eventually going out to
Chelsea, then going one better in the
Inter Cities after knocking out Valencia,
Bologna and Kilmarnock along the way,
earning the right to play Dynamo Zagreb
in the final. The competition had got so
far behind schedule, the final itself was
held over until the following August.
Postscript
Injuries definitely played a major part in a
season that at times struggled to take off.
Older experienced squad members had
moved on, allowing talented youngsters
such as Eddie Gray, Peter Lorimer and
Jimmy Greenhoff to be introduced. These
lads of course would need time to find
their feet, but having shown that they had
the ability, the coming season offered the
promise of even greater success.
There was another break with the past
when Jim Storrie left to join Aberdeen
for a fee of £13,500. After top scoring for
several years, the goals had dried up and
Jim had fallen out of favour with Don
Revie.
Low Lights
The injuries sustained by 32 people when
sections of crowd barriers collapsed during
an FA Cup replay against Sunderland at
Elland Road. It could have been a tragedy,
but by the grace of God, no-one was killed.