One Don Revie

May 26th 1989, a date so significant in the hearts of all Leeds fans. The life of the club’s greatest ever manager came to an end, 25 years later, in 2014, the club Don left behind is somewhat different to back then.

Revie was born in Middlesbrough on the 10th July 1927. He grew up in a relatively poor household with his father. A lot of his ideas about football were formed at a young age, whilst he played for his local team Middlesbrough Swifts under the guidance of Bill Sanderson. He learnt his trade using a small bundle of rags, in a tiny yard behind his home, this had influence on his thinking in later life, Revie argued that young players should learn using smaller footballs, on smaller pitches, so they would be more adept in control when progressing to a bigger football.

Don Revie was a striker in his playing career, which started in 1944 at Leicester City and spanned 18 years. He also had spells at Hull City, Manchester City, and Sunderland. The humble man from the North East finished his playing career at Leeds United. It would be here that Revie made his first foray into management. He was appointed player- manager of the Whites in 1961. What was to follow surely surpassed even the wildest dreams of the man himself.

Leeds weren’t in the strongest of positions when Revie took over, in a story very similar to today, they were in debt and the club had shown little signs of success in the past. He immediately began to bring about radical changes such as the implementation of a youth policy, and the famous change of kit from the old blue and yellow to an all-white strip in the style of Real Madrid. Revie treated those around the club like his family, he was seen as a fatherly figure to a lot of the players.

After a slow start, he won the Football League Second Division within three years as manager. Don Revie built a new team with youth at its core. Norman Hunter, Jimmy Greenhoff, Gary Sprake, Paul Reaney, Paul Madeley, Billy Bremner, Eddie Gray, Terry Cooper, and Peter Lorimer are all examples. Don Revie revolutionised training, he introduced strict diets and entered some of his best apprentices into youth tournaments abroad so they could learn from continental opposition.

Early on during Don’s reign much of the team’s attack was based around the South African winger Albert Johanneson. Revie added to his young squad by signing Johnny Giles from Manchester United and Bobby Collins from Everton, two players deemed surplus to requirements at their respective clubs. It was perhaps these signings, along with the decision to give Billy Bremner the captaincy in 1966, which really inspired Leeds’ long and successful period during the 1960s and 1970s.

Revie’s team played without fear, they were confident and became known for their physical approach, earning them the title of ‘Dirty Leeds’, a tag which still sticks to this very day. People are all too easy to label that Revie team with that particular tag, but many forget the clinical manner of some performances and the quality demonstrated on the pitch. A prime example of this is the 7-0 victory over Southampton at Elland Road on 4th March 1972, a game which has been voted one of the club’s greatest ever games.

Under the leadership of Don Revie, Leeds United became a force in English football, winning the league title in 1969 and 1974, and finishing as runners up a further five times. Leeds also won an FA Cup, a League Cup, two Inter-Cities Fairs Cups, along with plenty runners up spots across these competitions in other years. This golden era of success for United, jettisoned Revie into Leeds folklore, easily the greatest ever manager to sit in the Elland Road dugout, the man who transformed Leeds from near relegation to the Third Division, into the footballing giants they became.

As a result of his huge success in West Yorkshire, Don was given the England manager’s job in 1974 after winning his second First Division title. Following in Revie’s footsteps was always going to be an impossible job, his Leeds United were more than a team, they were a family. So many came and went after him, yet none have managed to come close to emulating the success of the great man. Fast forward to 2014, Revie’s beloved Leeds United languish in the second tier of English football, having shown no realistic chances of a return to England’s top tier for some time. Ten years outside the Premier League would have been too long in Don’s eyes, safe to say things would be different if he were still around.

Rest in peace Donald George Revie, there will never be another like you. Marching on Together with you watching over us.