LEEDS UNITED A.F.C.

'Leeds United Association Football Club' are an English professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire. They currently compete in the Football League One for the 2007-08 season. The club was founded in 1919, following the demise of Leeds City. They play their home games at the Elland Road stadium.
Under the management of Don Revie during the 1960s and 1970s, Leeds won a number of domestic and European trophies. After Revie's departure to manage the England team Leeds were relegated to the Second Division in 1982, not returning to the top flight until 1990, when they were managed by Howard Wilkinson. Leeds were league champions in 1992.
The club's nicknames are "Leeds", "United" or "The Whites". Another nickname that is rarely used is "The Peacocks". This nickname stems from the old name of the Elland Road stadium (The Old Peacock Ground) which was named after the Old Peacock pub across the road WAFLL - Elland Road History .
Although the club name bears the "AFC" suffix,^[2] the current badge displays "LUFC", however previous badges have included the official suffix.^[3]

Contents

History

Colours and Crest

Stadium and supporters

Music

Current squad

Personnel

Club officials

Coaching and medical staff

Honours

Domestic honours

European honours

Records

English Football Personal Honours

English Football Hall of Fame

Football League 100 Legends

PFA Players' Player of the Year

FWA Player of the Year

PFA Young Player of the Year

Shirt sponsors and manufacturers

Notes

See also

External links

History

Leeds United's predecessor team Leeds City FC was formed in 1904, but was forcibly disbanded by The Football League in 1919 in response to allegations of illegal payments to players during the First World War. A new club, Leeds United, was formed and began playing in the Midland League, taking the place vacated by Leeds City's reserve team. Yorkshire Amateurs, who occupied Elland Road, offered to make way for the new team under the management of former player Dick Ray. In 1920 Leeds were elected to the Football League and acquired by Huddersfield Town's chairman, Hilton Crowther.
Over the following few years, Leeds consolidated their position in the Second Division and in 1924 won the title and with it promotion to the First Division. However, they failed to establish themselves and were relegated in 1926-27. In the years up until the start of World War II Leeds were twice relegated, both times being instantly re-promoted the following season. In the 1946-47 season after the war, Leeds were relegated again with the worst league record in their history.
They remained in the Second Division for a further nine seasons until 1955-56, when Leeds once again won promotion to the First Division, inspired by Welsh legend John Charles. However, Charles was hungry for success at the highest level, and manager Raich Carter was unable to convince him that Leeds could satisfy his ambitions. Charles was sold to Juventus for a then world record of £65,000; the loss of such a key player led to Leeds' decline, and the team was relegated to the Second Division in 1959-60.

In March 1961 the club appointed Don Revie as manager. His stewardship began in adverse circumstances; the club was in financial difficulty^[4] and in 1961-62 only a win in the final game of the season saved the club from relegation to Division Three. Revie turned the team around, winning promotion to
the First Division in 1963-64. Between 1965 and 1974, Revie's Leeds never finished outside of the top four, won two League Championships (1968-69 and 1973-74),
the FA Cup (1971-72), the League Cup (1967-68) and two Inter-Cities Fairs Cups (1967-68 and 1970-71). Set against the success was an unenvied record of second places; during the same period Leeds were runners up in the League five times, losing finalists
in the FA Cup three times, runners up in the Fairs Cup once, and losing finalists in the European Cup Winners Cup. Revie's last season at Elland Road was in 1974, and he left Leeds to take up the role of managing the English national team.
Brian Clough was appointed as Revie's successor. This was a surprise appointment, as Clough had been an outspoken critic of Revie and the team's tactics.^[5] The team performed poorly under Clough, and after only 44 days^[6] he was dismissed and replaced by former England captain Jimmy Armfield. Armfield took Revie's ageing team to the final of the 1974-75 European Cup, where they were defeated by Bayern Munich."Welcome To Elland Road", Les Rowley & James Brown (1999), IFG Publishing, ISBN 0953633802 Assisted by coach Don Howe, Armfield rebuilt Revie's team, and though it no longer dominated English football, it remained in the top ten for subsequent seasons. However, the board was impatient for success and dismissed Armfield, replacing him with Jock Stein, who also lasted just 44 days before leaving to manage Scotland. The board turned to Jimmy Adamson but he was unable to stop the decline. In 1980 Adamson resigned and was replaced by former Leeds and England star Allan Clarke. Despite spending freely on players, he was unable to stem the tide and the club was relegated at the end of 1981-82. Clarke was replaced by former team-mate Eddie Gray.
With no money to spend on team building,^[7] Gray's concentrated on youth development, without winning them promotion from the Second Division. The board again became impatient and sacked him in 1985, replacing him with another former Revie star, Billy Bremner. Bremner carried on where Gray had left off, but found it just as difficult to achieve promotion, though he did bring the club close; Leeds got to the 1987 play-off final but were defeated by Charlton Athletic after extra time.
In October 1988, with the team 21st in the Second Division, Bremner was fired to make way for Howard Wilkinson, who oversaw promotion back to the First Division in 1989-90. Under Wilkinson the club finished 4th in 1990-91 and then won the title in 1991-92. However, the 1992-93 season was a poor one, with Leeds exiting the Champions League in the early stages, and eventually finishing 17th in the League, narrowly avoiding relegation. Wilkinson's Leeds were unable to provide any consistent challenge for honours, and his position was not helped by a poor display in the 1996 League Cup final which Leeds lost to Aston Villa. Leeds could only finish 13th in 1995-96, and after a heavy home defeat to Manchester United early in 1996-97, Wilkinson had his contract terminated.
Leeds appointed George Graham as Wilkinson's replacement. The appointment was controversial^[8] as Graham had previously received a one year ban from the The Football Association for receiving illegal payments from a Football Agent. Graham made some astute purchases, and by the end of the season Leeds had qualified for the following season's UEFA Cup. In October 1998 Graham moved on to become manager of Tottenham Hotspur, and Leeds opted to replace him with assistant manager David O'Leary. O'Leary introduced promising youngsters, and under the coaching of Eddie Gray Leeds secured 3rd place in the league, sending the club into the UEFA Champions League. Unfortunately, Leeds' image was tarnished when players Jonathan Woodgate and Lee Bowyer were involved in an incident which left an Asian student in hospital with severe injuries. The resulting courtcase took nearly two years to resolve; Bowyer was cleared, and Woodgate convicted of affray and sentenced to community service.
In the UEFA Cup, Leeds reached their first European semi-final in 25 years and were paired against Turkish champions Galatasaray in Istanbul. Leeds lost the game, but the result was overshadowed by the death of two Leeds fans, Christopher Loftus and Kevin Speight, who were stabbed to death before the game.^[9][10] Leeds were only able to draw the return leg at Elland Road, thus going out of the competition. A minute's silence^[11] is held every year at the match closest to the anniversary of the incident to remember Christopher Loftus and Kevin Speight.
O'Leary's Leeds never finished outside of the top five, but following their appearance in the UEFA Champions League 2001 semi-final against Valencia their fortunes began to change. Under chairman Peter Ridsdale, Leeds had taken out large loans against the prospect of the share of the TV rights and sponsorship revenues that come with UEFA Champions League qualification and any subsequent progress in the competition.^[12] However Leeds narrowly failed to qualify for the Champions League, and as a consequence did not receive enough income to repay the loans. The first indication that the club was in financial trouble was the sale of Rio Ferdinand to Manchester United for approximately £30m. Ridsdale and O'Leary publicly fell out over the sale, and O'Leary was sacked and replaced by former England manager Terry Venables. Leeds performed badly under Venables, and other players were sold to repay the loans, including Jonathan Woodgate whom Ridsdale had promised Venables would not be sold. Tensions mounted between the pair, eventually resulting in the sacking of Venables, who was replaced by Peter Reid. By this time Leeds were in danger of relegation, but Reid saved Leeds from the drop in the penultimate game of the season. During this time Ridsdale had resigned from the Leeds board, and was replaced by economics expert Professor John McKenzie. An unsuccessful start to the 2003-04 season saw Peter Reid dismissed, and head coach Eddie Gray took over as caretaker manager until the end of the season.
Gerald Krasner, an insolvency specialist, led a consortium of local businessmen which took over Leeds and under his chairmanship oversaw the sale of the clubs' assets, including senior and emerging youth players of any value. Caretaker manager Gray was largely blameless for the performance of the team during the 2003-04 season as the majority of the squad was sold out from underneath him and despite his best efforts, Leeds were relegated after 14 years in the top flight. Following relegation, Gray's reign as caretaker manager was terminated, and Kevin Blackwell was appointed manager. Most of the remaining players were sold or released on free transfers to further reduce the wage bill. Leeds were eventually forced to sell both their training ground, for £4.2m,^[13] and their Elland Road stadium^[14] in the autumn of 2004.
The board finally sold the club to Ken Bates for £10m.^[15] Blackwell stabilized the team by signing players on free transfers and low wages and Leeds finished the 2004-05 season mid-table in the Championship. In the 2005-06 season Leeds finished in the top 6 and made the promotion playoff final, which they lost to Watford. On 10 September 2006, Kevin Blackwell announced that within a year the club would be debt-free. Leeds may be debt-free in a year However, the 2006-07 season started badly and on 20 September 2006 Kevin Blackwell's contract as manager of Leeds United was terminated. Dennis Wise was eventually installed as his replacement after a month without a permanent manager, but was unable to lift the team out of the relegation zone for much of the season, despite bringing a number of experienced loan players into the squad . With relegation virtually assured, Leeds entered 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.
^[16][17].
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 & Customs challenged the CVA, a decision which could ultimately have resulted in the liquidation of the club^[18]. 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^{[19] [20]}. Following the challenge by HMRC, the club was put up for sale by KPMG^[21], and once again Ken Bates' bid was accepted^[22]. 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^[23]. On 31st August 2007 HMRC decided not to pursue their legal challenge any further^[24].

Colours and Crest

In Leeds' first fifteen years the club kit was modelled on Huddersfield Town's blue and white striped shirts, white shorts and dark blue socks with blue and white rings on the turnovers, Leeds United Mighty Mighty Whites because Huddersfield's chairman Hilton Crowther was attempting to merge the two clubs. Mighty Mighty Whites . He eventually left Huddersfield to take over at Leeds.
In 1934 Leeds switched to blue and yellow halved shirts incorporating the city crest badge, white shorts and blue socks with yellow tops. Mighty Mighty Whites The kit was worn for the first time on 22 September 1934. Mighty Mighty Whites The club also adopted their first badge in 1934, using the city crest as Leeds City had. In 1950 Leeds switched to yellow shirts with blue sleeves and collars, white shorts and black, blue and gold hooped socks. In 1955 Leeds changed again to royal blue shirts with gold collars, white shorts, and blue and yellow hooped socks, thus echoing the original Leeds City strip. Mighty Mighty Whites


In 1961 Don Revie introduced a plain white strip throughout, in the hope of emulating Spanish side Real Madrid. A perching owl was added the the strip in 1964 as the clubs emblem. The design was a surprise, given Revie's superstition about the symbolism of birds. The owl came from the city crest, which itself was based on the crest of Sir John Saville, the first alderman of Leeds. In the late 1960s and early 1970s Leeds used the LUFC script found running down the centre of the current badge, however this was presented in a diagonal fashion rather than the current vertical. In 1973 came the embodiment of Seventies imagery with the iconic LU Smiley badge. Revie's predilection for gimmicks was years ahead of its time, and done with the explicit intention of gaining acceptance from a public outside West Yorkshire. Mighty Mighty Whites
In 1984 a new club badge was introduced, lasting until 1998, making it the longest lived of the modern era. The Rose and Ball badge was distinctive, in the traditional blue, gold and white, incorporating the white rose of Yorkshire, together with the club's name.

Stadium and supporters

Elland Road was sold by the club in October 2004 with a 25-year sale-lease back deal being agreed. A commercial buy-back clause was also included for when the club’s finances improve. According to a recent Board of Directors statement, Leeds United should have become debt free in the 2006/07 season. However, the club went into administration at the end of the 2006-07 season.
Initially the ground was the home of the Holbeck Rugby Club who played in the northern rugby union, the forerunner of the rugby football league. Mighty Mighty Whites . One of Leeds' first nicknames, "The Peacocks", comes from the original name of Elland Road - "The Old Peacock ground". It was named by the original owners of the ground, Bentley's Brewery, after their pub "The Old Peacock" which still faces the site.
When Leeds United were formed, the council allowed the new club to rent the stadium until they could afford to buy it themselves. With the exception of periods from the 1960s until 1983, and from 1997 to 2004, the council has owned the stadium^[25]. It is however owned by a leasing company at present. The stadium is currently the 10th largest football stadium in England.
The most recent stand at Elland Road is the East or Family Stand, a cantilever structure completed during the 1992-93 season, and which can hold 17,000 seated spectators. It is two tiered stand which continues around the corners, and is the largest part of the stadium. The Don Revie Stand was opened at the start of the 1994-95 season, and can hold just under 7,000 seated spectators. The roof of the West Stand holds a television commentary gantry and walkway for TV personnel.

Elland Road from the East

Previous manager Kevin Blackwell said that the club had over 250,000 ticket applications for the 2005/06 Championship Play Off Final, but the club currently struggles to fill Elland Road for home matches, with attendances averaging around 20,000 in the 2005/06 season - down from 30,000 the previous season. Alex Ferguson has said that Elland Road has one of the most intimidating atmospheres in European Football.^[26] Leeds are 10th in the all time average attendance figures for the Football League & Premier League,^[27] and have the third most rivalries in the English League. Rivalry Uncovered! Peter Reid commented after being relieved of his managerial duties at Elland Road that "In 30 years I've never seen support like I did at the Arsenal game [at Elland Road] a couple of weeks ago. The fans at Leeds are fantastic." ^[28] Reid was also joined by two other previous managers on the eve of Leeds' first appearance in the third tier. Reid said that "the support is fantastic" and "incredible", Blackwell said "fans will follow them everywhere" and O'Leary commented "There is an immense fan base and they are still with the club"^[29].

Music

In April 1972 the Leeds squad released a single, "''Leeds United''" with the b-side being "Leeds! Leeds! Leeds!" (commonly known as "''Marching On Together''"). It was issued to coincide with the team reaching the 1972 FA Cup Final; the vocals on the original recording were by the Leeds team. The record reached number 10 in the UK singles chart.^[30] Whilst it is not officially the club anthem, "''Marching On Together''" is played before every home game. Unlike many football songs that are just new words set to existing music, "''Leeds Leeds Leeds''" is an original composition by Les Reed and Barry Mason, purposely written for Leeds United. The song ''Strings for Yasmin'' by Tin Tin Out is played before kick off at Elland Road, whilst ''Nightmare'' by Brainbug is played before the second half.
The 2006 movie ''The Penalty King'' concerns a Leeds United fan and football player who descends into depression when he goes blind, but who is encouraged to take up the game again by a maverick American and the inspiration of Leeds Utd legend, Billy Bremner.
^[31]

Current squad

:''As of 3 September 2007''.^[32]

Personnel

Club officials

★ 'Club President': The Right Honourable The Earl of Harewood KBE LLD

★ 'Chairman': Ken Bates

★ 'Directors': Shaun Harvey and Mark Taylor
:''For information on Leeds United chairmen, see:Leeds United A.F.C. Chairmen''

Coaching and medical staff

★ 'Manager': Dennis Wise

★ 'Assistant Manager': Gus Poyet

★ 'Technical Director': Gwyn Williams

★ 'Academy Manager': Neil Thompson

★ 'Goalkeeping Coach': Andrew Beasley

★ 'Head Physio': Harvey Sharman

★ 'Groundsman': Dr Adam Cowell

Honours

Domestic honours

^[33]

★ 'Football League First Division'

★
★ 'Winners (3)' 1968-69, 1973-74, 1991-92

★
★ 'Runners-up (5)' 1964-65, 1965-66, 1969-70, 1970-71, 1971-72

★ 'Football League Second Division'

★
★ 'Winners (3)' 1923-24, 1963-64, 1989-90

★
★ 'Runners-up (3)' 1927-28, 1931-32, 1955-56

★ 'FA Cup'

★
★ 'Winners (1)' 1972

★
★ 'Runners-up (3)' 1965, 1970, 1973

★ 'League Cup'

★
★ 'Winners (1)' 1968

★
★ 'Runners-up (1)' 1996

★ 'FA Charity Shield'

★
★ 'Winners (2)' 1969, 1992

★
★ 'Runners-up (1)' 1974

★ 'FA Youth Cup'

★
★ 'Winners (2)' 1993, 1997

European honours

^[34]

★ 'European Cup'

★
★ 'Runners-up (1)' 1975

★ 'UEFA Champions League'

★
★ 'Semi-Finalists (1)' 2001

★ 'Inter-Cities Fairs Cup'

★
★ 'Winners (2)' 1968, 1971

★
★ 'Runners-up (1)' 1967

★
★ 'Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Trophy Play-Off (1971) - Runners-Up'
::''(Decided who kept the trophy when the competition was replaced by the UEFA Cup)''

★ 'UEFA Cup'

★
★ 'Semi-Finalists (1)' 2000

★ 'European Cup Winners' Cup'

★
★ 'Runners-up (1)' 1973

Records

:''For a season by season, decade by decade record of all competitions see Leeds United A.F.C. competitions record''
:''For the league record against an individual club, see: League Record Club by Club

English Football Personal Honours

English Football Hall of Fame

''The following have either played for or managed Leeds and have been inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame''

'Players' ★ John Charles (2002 Inaugural Inductee) ★ Jack Charlton (2005 Inductee) ★ Billy Bremner (2004 Inductee) ★ Eric Cantona (2002 Inaugural Inductee) ★ Ian Rush (2006 Inductee)

'Managers' ★ Don Revie (2004 Inductee) ★ Brian Clough (2002 Inaugural Inductee)

Football League 100 Legends

''The following have played for Leeds and were included in the Football League 100 Legends''

★ Wilf Copping

★ John Charles

★ Johnny Giles

★ Billy Bremner

★ Norman Hunter

★ Ian Rush

★ Eric Cantona

PFA Players' Player of the Year

''The following have won the PFA Players' Player of the Year award whilst playing for Leeds''

★ 1974 Norman Hunter

FWA Player of the Year

''The following have won the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year award whilst playing for Leeds''

★ 1965 Bobby Collins

★ 1967 Jack Charlton

★ 1970 Billy Bremner

★ 1991 Gordon Strachan

PFA Young Player of the Year

''The following have won the PFA Young Player of the Year award whilst playing for Leeds''

★ 2000 Harry Kewell

Shirt sponsors and manufacturers

Year	Kit Manufacturer	Main Shirt Sponsor	Secondary Sponsor
1972-73	Umbro	none	none
1973-81	Admiral
1981-83	Umbro	RFW
1983-84		Systime
1984-85		WKG
1985-86		Lion Cabinets
1986-89		Burton
1989-91		Top Man
1991-92		Evening Post
1992-93	Admiral	Admiral
1993-96	Asics	Thistle Hotels
1996-00	Puma	Packard Bell
2000-03	Nike	Strongbow
2003-04		Whyte & MacKay
2004-05	Diadora		Rhodar
2005-06	Admiral
2006-07		Bet 24	Empire Direct
2007-present		Red Kite	None

Notes

1. General Facts
2. History of the Club - the birth of Leeds United
3. Leeds United Fan Club - Club Badges
4. 1961-62
5. The manager with the Midas touch
6. When should you sack the manager? (Page 17)
7. 1983-84
8. 1996-97
9. Fans killed in Turkey violence
10. Turk 'admits' stabbing Leeds fan
11. Silence for killed Leeds fans
12. McKenzie sees rosy future for troubled Leeds
13. Leeds hopeful over new investors
14. Leeds sell ground after bid fails
15. Bates completes takeover of Leeds
16. Leeds Utd calls in administrators
17. Relegated Leeds in administration
18. HM Revenue to challenge Leeds Utd
19. Leeds 'may not start next season'
20. Leeds United: the unanswered questions David Conn and Matt Scott
21. Debt-ridden Leeds put up for sale
22. Leeds United resold to Ken Bates
23. Leeds hit with 15-point penalty
24. Taxman pulls out of Leeds United court challenge Paul Robinson
25. Fan’s Briefing Paper
26. Football: Ferguson prepared for Elland Road examination Phil Shaw
27. All Time League Attendance Records
28. Reid reveals regret
29. Ex-bosses tip fans to boost Leeds
30. Guinness British Hit Singles 12th Edition, , , , Guinness Publishing, ,
31.
32. Squad Numbers
33. leeds fans Honours
34. leeds fans Honours

See also

★ Football in Yorkshire

★ Sport in Leeds

★ Square ball - A Leeds United Fanzine

External links

★

★ Official website