History of Leeds United F.C.

By this time, Buckley had grown steadily more frustrated with the inability of some players in the squad to fulfil their potential, whilst the lack of funds from the board made radical action impossible.

Revie also made a shrewd purchase in acquiring former Busby Babe winger John Giles from Manchester United, who Leeds' coaching staff would mould into one of the most influential central midfielders of the game.

Revie's young side chased an improbable league and cup double finishing the 1964–65 season as runners up only to Busby's Manchester United, losing the title on goal average.

[9] The 1965–66 season saw Leeds consolidate their place in the First Division, finishing as runners up in the league again,[10] and progressing through to the semifinals of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup with victories over sides such as Valencia and Torino.

Other factors, such as fixture congestion and the FA's insistence that Leeds play 9 games in 22 days (the 1969–70 season was foreshortened by England's early departure to Mexico to defend the World Cup) meant that Revie was often forced to field tired players.

There was consolation in Europe though; Leeds won the Fairs Cup for a second time, beating Juventus over two legs, with Mick Bates, Paul Madeley and Allan Clarke scoring the crucial goals.

Eric Todd of the Guardian wrote on the situation in the week prior to these games: "If Leeds fail to win either the Cup or the League title they need not blame loss of form.

This speculation and Revie's revelation one hour before the match, that he had decided to accept the job, created a despressed atmosphere inside the Leeds dressing room, but the remaining players determined they were going to win the trophy as a tribute to their seemingly departing manager.

The shock of losing to Sunderland and the manner of defeat in Greece caused Revie to turn down the Everton managers job, and inspired his team to attempt to go through the following league season unbeaten.

[20] Runners Up: Charity Shield (1974–75) Don Revie had recommended Johnny Giles as his replacement; however, the Leeds board instead appointed one of England's most successful and outspoken managers, Brian Clough, who had guided Derby County to the league championship in 1972.

He also antagonised several senior players, including captain Billy Bremner and Norman Hunter, and reportedly told the injury-prone Eddie Gray that if he had been a horse, he would have been shot years ago.

In October 1978 the board turned to Jimmy Adamson, a long-time manager at Burnley, who took Leeds back into Europe and reached a League Cup semi-final in his first season in charge.

However, some wretched sales in the transfer market – notably Tony Currie and Frank Gray – caused a rapid decline in Leeds' fortunes, with the team winning just four of their first seventeen league games during the 1979–80 season.

Clarke broke the club's transfer record when he purchased Peter Barnes for an initial £750,000, but his impact was slight – between 12 December 1981 and 6 April 1982, the team scored just five goals in fourteen league games.

[23] Runners-up: Second Division play-off final (1986–87) Semi-Finalists: FA Cup (1986–87) Clarke's spending had left Leeds in a precarious financial situation, and Gray was forced to concentrate on youth development to rebuild the team.

Young players to emerge during this period included Neil Aspin, Denis Irwin, John Sheridan, Scott Sellars and Bob Taylor – who all enjoyed considerable success at other clubs after leaving Leeds.

[24] 96 policemen were injured, hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of damage was caused by vandalism and graffiti, and the collapsed wall also crushed several parked motor vehicles beyond repair.

Under Bremner, the club were defeated 2–1 in the 1987 play-off final, after extra time, against Charlton Athletic and, in the same year, were beaten 3–2 (after extra-time) in the FA Cup semi-final, losing to eventual winners Coventry City.

The club finished the 1990–91 season in fourth place in the First Division, also reaching the semifinals of the League Cup, and the board continued to make money available to Wilkinson, allowing the signings of Tony Dorigo, Steve Hodge and Rod Wallace in 1991.

Controversially, Eric Cantona was sold to rivals Manchester United for £1.2 million in November 1992, having already being dropped from the time despite being the top scorer, and Leeds seemed incapable of any consistency – the team failed to win an away game all season, becoming the only defending League champions ever to achieve this dubious record.

Brolin had arrived at Elland Road in October 1995 as one of the most highly rated forwards in Europe, but his form for Leeds was disappointing and he made his last appearance for the club barely six months later, although he lingered on the payroll for nearly two years afterwards before finally leaving on a free transfer.

Despite the arrival of Nigel Martyn and Lee Bowyer, Leeds made a slow start to the 1996–97 season, and after a 4–0 home defeat by Manchester United, Wilkinson had his contract terminated.

[26] When Graham arrived, he stepped into a club where the players' morale was low; he started work immediately by sorting out the team's defence and Leeds became "bore draw" specialists, finishing the 1996–97 season in 11th place.

Things began promisingly under Venables; Leeds won four of their opening six Premier League games, including a 1–0 win over old rivals Manchester United, and they briefly topped the table.

Reports of the club's precarious financial position continued to circulate, and in the January 2003 transfer window, more key players departed: Robbie Fowler, Olivier Dacourt, Lee Bowyer and Jonathan Woodgate were sold to repay the debt, and to reduce an unsustainable wage bill.

A period of serious financial difficulty resulted in takeover offers, including a £60 million bid by Ugandan property tycoon Michael Ezra,[40] but the team was eventually sold in early 2004 to a consortium led by new chairman Gerald Krasner.

At the end of the season, other members of the team – Paul Robinson, Dominic Matteo, Mark Viduka and Alan Smith – were transferred, and even Milner, whom Leeds had been intent on keeping, had to be sold.

Despite a promising opening day win against Derby County, Leeds's form at the start of the 2004–05 Coca-Cola Championship was little better than in the previous season, and they spent the first half of the campaign looking in serious danger of a second successive relegation.

They immediately set about re-signing players whose loan or permanent contracts had expired during the summer including the experienced Alan Thompson, Tore André Flo[63] and Casper Ankergren.

The club’s first season back in the Premier League produced a top half finish, their points tally was the most by a newly promoted side since Ipswich Town two decades earlier.