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Don Revie remains the yardstick against which other Leeds
managers find themselves measured. Although the team only won 6
trophies in his 13 years in charge, the team that he built and the
way they imposed themselves on other teams was legendary. However
his legend has been tarnished by the number of times his side
stumbled at the final hurdle, and by the manner of his departure
from the England manager's position.
Looking at what he inherited - a side on the brink of relegation
to Division 3 - and what he achieved in those first few years, it
seems nothing short of miraculous. Having been with the club as a
player since 1958, Revie was starting to think about management
positions when Jack Taylor resigned, and shortly afterwards, Revie
took up the reins at Elland Road. In his third full season in
charge, Leeds romped to the 2nd Division title, with his inspired
signings - Bobby Collins included - playing alongside the
youngsters that were being produced by the system set up by Lambton
and Taylor.
In the first season back in the top flight, his side finished
second in the league and were beaten in extra time of the FA Cup
Final by Liverpool - a "failure" that made many people sit up and
take notice of the new-look Leeds side. 1968 saw the arrival of the
first real silverware at Elland Road - the League Cup, with Arsenal
being beaten at Wembley, and the season-spanning Inter-City Fairs
Cup was also captured before the year end. The following season the
League Championship was captured for the first time, with Revie
picking up the Manager of the Year award.
1969/70 was a year of too many games in too short a time, as the
League, FA Cup and European Cup campaigns all misfired at the very
end, but by 1972 Leeds were back for more with Arsenal again beaten
at Wembley, this time gaining the FA Cup for Revie's side. After a
shock defeat in the 1973 final by Sunderland, 1973/74 was the last
shout of Revie's great - but now aging - side, and a supreme effort
saw the League Championship captured again.
When the England job fell vacant, Revie was an obvious choice to
take over and in July 1974 he did. Revie tried to recreate the
"family" atmosphere that had been so successful for the club at
national level, but it never really worked out. Qualification for
the 1978 World Cup in Argentina was looking almost impossible and
with rumours of a bullet coming from Lancaster Gate, Revie decided
to jump before he was pushed. He had a very well-paid job lined up,
coaching the United Arab Emirates side for a tax-free £60,000
a year. He became fair game for all the sleaze merchants in the
press, and numerous unsubstantiated allegations were made against
him and his side about match-fixing - mainly coming from has-been
and never-was players and managers. Some of the mud did stick, and
he never returned to professional football in England - although he
did act as an occasional consultant to Leeds United in later
years.
After four years coaching the national UAE team, he spent three
years at Al Nasr where he introduced a new professionalism and
opened the side up to influences from Europe.
He died of Motor Neurone disease in 1989 and is survived by his
wife, Elsie. When the old Kop was demolished at Elland Road, it was
natural that the replacement stand should be named "The Revie
Stand" in honour of the man who achieved miracles at a club that
would probably be languishing in Division 1 or 2 today but for his
supreme contribution.
Anonymous says: the story of the Revie years is the backdrop to
our lives. By endurance we succeed.
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