Leeds United 1970s nostalgia trip

4 thoughts on “Leeds United 1970s nostalgia trip”

1. Oh, c’mon.

   You know that they were a bunch of thugs. I’m not speaking of Premiership (ugh) standards.

   They were thugs in their day.

   I guess you know that, though!

2. No response, Michael? Is that because you know I’m right?

   I’m only teasing. I do have some nostalgia for the soccer played in the &)s.

   I don’t want to go into full-blown Fast Show mode, but I recall the days of the FA cup final when coverage started at the teams’ separate “secret” hotel and continued with quizzes etc through to the victory lap around Wembley – at which stage we’d run out to play in the names of the heroes of the day – crowd noises and commentary et al.

   I was a Liverpool man – purely on the basis of the 1971 FA final and solely because, miracle of miracles, Liverpool had an Irish player – Steve Heighway.
   My brother was a Leeds fan and remains pasionate – if somewhat sardonic – about them to this day.

   I recall watching them being hammered by Forest in the last couple of years. Something llike 3-1 but could have been more. The Forest manager was sacked after the game. Beating Leeds in some style was not good enough.

   Other things I remember from the &)s was the total lack of squad rotation. The team which took the field for the first game of the season was likely to be almost exactly the team that played the last. Players underreported injuries for fear of losing their place.

   The pitches were a memory too. The Baseball Ground would be a quagmire from Novmber until March.

   It was a rambunctious game, more joyous than today’s, more democratic and closer to its audience.

   A final memory: a WC qualifier at Dalyer between France and Ireland.

   Under floodlights. We won. Giles was playing and I dimly recall Dunphy playing too. For an 8 year-old to watch live soccer under headlights was a notable memory. Nothing Rhymed was in the charts and I was with my Dad and had a bag of Japanese Mix in my pocket.

   And Leeds were a rough team. Sort of charming about it, though..

3. You’ve missed out FA Cup Final It’s a Knockout!

   I remember Steve Heighway’s goal that day. It was the first FA Cup Final we watched in colour.

   We used to buy chewing gum cards with Steve Highway branding. And he was one of the few professional footballers of the seventies with a university degree. I remember one Liverpool player saying in an interview that Heighway was different to the rest of the team because, on away trips, he never pissed in the hotel sinks.

   Leeds used to say that they would give the opponents a game if they wanted a game, and a fight if they wanted a fight. I think it was Giles who said they would start the game by ‘letting the other team know that they are there.’

   George Best recalled a game in which, after several early fouls by Leeds players, Best retaliated by flattening Leeds midfielder Billy Bremner. Best was proud he had stood up the Leeds bullying, until his team-mate Denis Law said, ‘You idiot, George. Now you’ve got them annoyed.’

4. Absolutely.

   I read somewhere that the referrees’ association held a seminar where they were asked to virtuall referee *that* final between Chelsea and Leeds. By half-time most of them had recorded enough sending-offs as to have ended the match. My always faulty recall suggests that once one team drops to seven players the match must be abandoned.

   Giles was a beautiful player, though not unadverse to going over the ball. That said, his team-mates knew what they had in him and tried to protect him.

   In those days when a player fell down it was usually with good reason.

   I also remember Bobby Moore saving a penalty. A league cup match, I think.