Leeds United Landmarks – The Revie Era, 1992 Title Success & Stunning Old Rivals
Ahead of that clash with Marcelo Bielsa's Yorkshire outfit, LCFC.com looks at three defining moments for the Whites, dating back to the 1960s...
A cult figure at Leeds United with a statue placed outside of Elland Road (installed in 2012 to mark the 40th anniversary of the club’s 1972 FA Cup triumph), Don Revie is regarded as one of the most influential managers of his generation and a powerful driving force behind Leeds' resurgence during the 1960s and early 1970s. Revie was appointed as manager of Leeds in March 1961 – re-joining the club he once represented as a player – and immediately put his stamp on the team in a unique way, changing the club’s kit colour to all-white to replicate the great Real Madrid side of the late '50s and early '60s.
That, along with Revie’s influence as manager, proved defining and Leeds won promotion to the First Division in 1964 before embarking on a hugely successful era, whereby they won eight trophies, including two First Division titles, the FA Cup and the League Cup, as well as reaching a European Cup Winners’ Cup Final and a European Cup Semi-Final. Inheriting a talented group of players, including the legendary captain Billy Bremner, Revie – who started his senior career with Leicester City in 1944 – created a team with steel, aggression and a superb winning mentality, before becoming England manager in 1974.
In a similar fashion to Leicester City’s incredible Premier League title win in 2015/16, Leeds United accelerated through English football at a tremendous pace before claiming their most recent top-flight title, going from a 10th-place finish in the Second Division in 1988/89 to promotion the following season, a fourth place top-flight finish in 1990/91 and then their famous title win in 1991/92; all achieved under manager Howard Wilkinson.
This Leeds side had proven goalscorers in the likes of Lee Champman and Rod Wallace, and a reliable backline featuring Tony Dorigo and Mel Sterland, but it was the perfectly-blended midfield quartet of Gary Speed, David Batty, Gary McAllister and Gordon Strachan which created the recipe for victory. With just one defeat (1-0 to Crystal Palace) between the start of the season and mid-February, Leeds spent the entire season in the hunt for the title but had to wait until the penultimate game of the season to claim it, as their 3-2 win at Sheffield United meant they couldn’t be caught by arch-rivals and eventual runners-up, Manchester United. Moving into the following season, Wilkinson’s men struggled to maintain their lofty status and finished the 1992/93 season 17th in the table, narrowly avoiding relegation by a couple of points.
Until promotion from the Championship at the end of 2019/20, Leeds United supporters will be the first to admit that there has been little to celebrate since the turn of the century. However, despite not resulting in promotion, silverware or even points, one January afternoon in 2010 sticks out as a special day in their recent history.
Facing their fierce rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford in the third round of the FA Cup, sitting 42 places behind them in the English football pyramid, Simon Grayson’s side secured a memorable 1-0 triumph to hand Leeds supporters a moment to savour after the club’s dramatic fall over the previous decade. Before this game, Manchester United had never lost in the third round of the FA Cup under Sir Alex Ferguson and the odds were firmly stacked against the visitors pre-match, but a display full of endeavour – and a well-taken goal from Jermaine Beckford, who latched onto a long ball from Johnny Howson and poked past Tomasz Kuszczak into the bottom-corner – meant the bragging rights went back to Yorkshire, along with 9,000 travelling supporters, who had just witnessed an ‘I was there’ moment.