Leeds United Club 200

I was never lucky enough to see Billy Bremner play for Leeds United, I did however see him play in a charity match where a few of the 1987/88 squad turned out with him and Peter Mumby, there was some great banter and I remember Billy was quite a wind up merchant with the players, he also scored a cracking goal when he hit the ball from the edge of the area and it hit the top corner of the goal off a post. He signed my programme afterwards and was really friendly. A true gent and a Leeds legend.  -Sheepy

The Mirror archive: http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/archive/Billy-Bremner-article8319.html

Played at right back, very hard tackling & ferocious player.
George Best hated playing against Leeds when Reaney was in the team because he never got a kick of the ball but was definitely kicked a fair few times by Reaney!
Can be seen staggering around the hospitality suite in the West Stand half cut at most home games. For the Liverpool Carling Cup tie he appeared just before the start & had most of us in the West Stand join him in the singing of MOT.

RamseyWhite

Played at left half, people have said he could only use his cultured left foot & his right was only for standing on. This was a fallacy, he just preferred his left & I remember him scoring a fantastic 25 yarder with his right foot against Sheffield Wednesday. Fondly & rightly described as Norman ‘Bite Your Legs’ for his very aggressive tackling, he was nether the less respected by his fellow pro’s who voted him player of the year.
I remember a postponed cup tie at Sunderland when Norman was standing outside the player’s bus munching on an apple.
He was saying he was very disappointed that the match had been called off because he was certain Leeds would have won the match. That’s how confident the players were in those days.

RamseyWhite

It was a privilege to see Paul Madely play for Leeds, a quiet unsung hero who played in every outfield position for Leeds & I honestly cannot remember him having a bad game. His unique ability enabled him to switch positions during a match when the occasion arose & he would immediately slot into his new role.
I frequently shopped at his brother’s DIY outlet in Harrogate & I remember one occasion when I was there, I actually bumped into Paul & his brother. At this time I was in awe of the Revie team but managed to splutter out some sort of greeting to Paul, 10 mins later I was still chatting to Paul, he was so down to earth & I immediately felt at ease talking to him. He was such a nice guy & was more than happy to spend some of his time talking to a complete stranger about football.
Unfortunately his brother did not offer me any discount on my purchase!

RamseyWhite

My best memory of Peter Lorimer is not one of him in a Leeds United shirt. When I was a kid I used to watch sunday football at the local park and one morning whilst watching the football a bloke noticed I was wearing a Leeds United shirt (blue and yellow 1987 away shirt!), he told that their number 10 was Peter Lorimer. I didn't believe him at first but sure enough it was him, this was confirmed to me when he scored from almost the halfway line. What a goal! and what a player.

I was recently lucky enough to meet him in his pub in Holbeck, he's a nice chap and friendly, it was an honour to be in his company.

Sheepy

Standing behind the goal in the scratching shed I remember this teenage winger take a shot from well outside the box, the ball swerved wickedly & nestled in the top corner of the net. A fantastic goal scored by Eddie Gray at the tender age of 18.
Unfortunately he was injury prone & many opposition full backs would exploit this weakness by persistent fouling. His injuries also appeared to coincide with the big games where his presence was greatly missed & could have been a contributing factor in our failure to secure more trophies.
In their wisdom the fans concocted a song about Eddie - ‘He’s here, he’s there, he’s never fit to play, Eddie Gray, Eddie Gray'.
At his very best Eddie Gray was as good as any winger in this country & who can forget that goal he scored against Burnley at home when he dribbled past numerous defenders.
Despite all his injuries he still played around 450 games for Leeds & never played for any other club.
A one club man, I doubt if there is a more loyal ex player to our club than Eddie Gray.
I see him most home games when he passes me to take up his commentary position for Yorkshire Radio & he always takes time to have a quick chat with the fans.

RamseyWhite

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My all time favourite player is Eddie Gray. I have met him a few times and he is a fantastic bloken and we've invited him to be the president of the Stockport Whites RMC.

My first meeting goes back to 1971 when I was 6. My parents allowed me to go to ER in the school holidays to collect autographs when the players arrived for training. The autograph I really wanted was Eddie's. I saw his car pull up and nervously approached him, after signing a few others he saw this shy kid in flaresand star jumper holding up a tartan book for signing. He took my pen...at last, Eddie Gray was signing MY book!!....then he shook his head, looked at me and said "yer pen's nae working sonny" handed back the book and pen and walked off!!!

I forgave him.

StockportWhite

Played predominately at left back but could play in other defensive roles. Underrated & not well liked by some because of his Huddersfield connection. He was also unfairly compared with Terry Cooper.
Not as flamboyant or adventurous as Cooper, Cherry was however a very solid & reliable full back who was good going forward & scored some important goals for Leeds.

RamseyWhite

I only saw him play a handful of games before he left to manage Bradford City. He played at left back & was replaced by Willie Bell.
Unusually, Grenville Hair only ever played for Leeds United & made nearly 500 appearances for the club in a career spanning 16 years.
He was just starting to build a useful looking side at Bradford City when sadly he died of a heart attack aged only 36.

RamseyWhite

David Batty was my hero when I was growing up, as a young impressionable Leeds fan David Batty was everything you wanted in a player, he was tough, passionate and a Leeds lad, he even wore the number 4 shirt (although initially it was number 7, then 8 and finally 23).

I recall his debut against Swindon Town and almost taking someone's head off when he went into a tackle rather high, im proud to say I've seen every goal he has scored at Elland Road - they are few and far between!

Sheepy

Billy Bremner was my all time favorite player so when David Batty came on the scene I saw a Leeds player who is still probably the only one who has ever come close to matching the attributes of our Billy. I have many fond memories of Batty, he was a quite an unassuming character who preferred to do the simple pass & keep control of possession but no one should ever underestimate the significant impact he could have on games.
The one game I will always remember is when Blackburn with Allan Shearer came to ER on Oct 23 1993, after only half an hour our midfield & defence had capitulated & we were 3-0 down thanks to hat trick from Shearer.
It was a different story in the second half, David Batty came off the bench & McAllister was pushed further forward. Our midfield took control & there was no further threat from Shearer, we eventually managed to draw the game 3-3 but without the Batty influence we would have most definitely lost that game.

RamseyWhite

Clarke & Jones one of the best goal scoring partnerships in Leeds history. Mick Jones was the battering ram & Allan Clarke used to feed off the scraps. Originally from the Midlands he is so dedicated to Leeds you would think he was actually from our City.
Often gives a pre match talk in the Pavilion & like many ex players does his corporate entertaining. I was in the pavilion once when Alan was giving a talk & at one point he made a reference to MU but he actually called them scum which for me was true testament to the man’s allegiance to Leeds United.
The other thing about ‘Sniffer’ is that he does not appeared to have aged, he is now 63 but I swear he looks no different to when he was playing.

RamseyWhite

The Mirror archive: http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/archive/John-Charles-article81105.html

The Mirror Archive: http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/archive/Gary-Speed-Record-breaking-career-of-the-Welsh-wonder-article80968.html#

The Mirror Archive: http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/archive/Nigel-Martyn-article2955.html

'Merve the swerve' - a player who was always described as a veteran whilst at the club but somewhat turned back the years and gave us a very good service indeed. I remember getting his autograph in 1987 after Coventry had beaten us in the FA Cup semi-final 3-2 (the team had just returned to Elland Road on the coach), most of the players were understandably subdued but he still was there to sign stuff for the fans - a decent guy and good keeper.

Sheepy

Mervyn Day was one of Leeds United’s most reliable goal keepers. He produced solid performances week in week out & hardly ever had a bad game.
His commendable Leeds United service was ended prematurely in my opinion by the re-signing of John Lukic.
He went on to play 16 games for Carlisle United before retiring & taking over as manager. In his first season he led them to promotion into Div 2 & was handily placed for another promotion when that idiotic bafoon, Michael Knighton sacked him after an argument.

RamseyWhite

Revie shrewdly converted the Scot from half back to a hard tackling left back in the early 60’s.
Although not particularly good going forward he was a competent, reliable defender & hard as nails.
An underrated player who failed to get the recognition that the likes of Charlton, Hunter & Reaney enjoyed.
Surprisingly for such a hard case, when he finished with football he turned to Religion & became very active in the Church.

RamseyWhite

Strachs was the player who seemed to be the catalyst in our return to the top flight back in the late 80's, early 90's. I recall that goal he scored against Leicester City, just thinking about it makes the hairs on the back of my kneck stand up!

'Have you ever seen a better goal, have you ever seen one better timed?' John Helms words of wisdom will never leave me!

Sheepy

Chris Fairclough was probably the first defender I ever saw defend with such ease and style in my time as a supporter, before Fairclough I was used to the likes of David Rennie, Jack Ashurst and Peter Swan. Fairclough came into the side and gave us pace at the back and control, he was probably one of the most under-rated and under-praised players in Wilko's team.
My fondest memory of him was man-marking John Barnes when we beat Liverpool 1-0 the season we won the championship, not many players could keep Barnes in their pocket but Fairclough did, and with ease.

Sheepy

From Thirkers' website:

Born Briton Ferry, Glamorgan, 17th June 1924. Debut against Queens Park Rangers at home, Division Two, 20th August 1949, drew 1-1. 5ft 4ins, 8st 11lb. (1953). Harold Williams first came to the attention of Leeds United when he roasted United in an FA Cup-tie as a Newport County player. The Welsh minnows pulled off a shock 3-1 win, inspired by Williams who had been up in the early hours of the day to complete his milk round before travelling to Leeds. As a boy he was rejected by Swansea after trials, but he made wartime guest appearances for Belfast Celtic and Cliftonville. When he was demobbed from the Royal Navy, where he served on destroyers, he signed for Briton Ferry Athletic and then joined Newport in November 1946. Major Buckley paid £12,000 for him in July 1949. The winger with the size five and a half boots could dribble with either foot and was therefore employed on either wing. He already had two Welsh International caps when he joined Leeds and added a couple more during his stay at Elland Road. He fought back from a broken leg sustained in a game against Everton in 1952 to reclaim his first-team place. In March 1957 he returned to Newport, but left Somerton Park after only three months to join Bradford where his career ended after a succession of injuries. He moved into the licensed trade, running the Railway Inn public house at Beeston, near Elland Road, and The Griffin Head in Gildersome before retiring in 1986. Harold is still in excellent health and lives in Morley, Leeds. http://www.thirkersleeds.co.uk/styled-2/index.html

Harold's entry in David Saffer's book: “Leeds Legends”

“Harold Williams caused havoc for defenders with his tricky wing play as Leeds United developed from an
ordinary side to one consistent enough to win promotion back to the first division. A wonderful talent, Williams
was one of the most dangerous players to represent Leeds who could be a genuine threat from both flanks.
Williams returned from injury on the first day of the 1953-54 season. All sorts of records were broken as
John Charles scored a club-record 42 league goals. Williams assisted in many of the gentle giant’s goals
and notched 7 himself including strikes in Leeds’ 6-0 win against Notts County and 7-1 victory against
Leicester City.”

Jonathan Mark "Jonny" Howson (born 21 May 1988) came through the prolific Leeds United Academy, and made his first team debut in September 2006. Just over six months later, in April 2009, Howson became youngest player to captain the club since Billy Bremner. His memorable goals against Carlise propelled Leeds into the 2008 play-off final, and Howson swept the young player of the year awards.

He was sold to Norwich City in January 2012, much to Leeds supporter's disgust. His sale prompted wide-spread criticism, as the popular player and club captain was felt by many to be one of the club's best assets. Despite the controversy of his departure, Howson is highly regarded for his commitment and passion while he was at the club, and will be remembered fondly by Leeds supporters.   - Deebo

Becchio will go down in Leeds lore as a true legend. He saw us through the desperate days of League 1 and was a regular goal scorer at the club, despite some criticism from certain fans as being too one-dimensional a player.

The bitter pill to swallow for now, however, is yet another Leeds player departing to Premier League strugglers Norwich City. Either the club only has one scout permanently sitting in the car park at Thorpe Arch, or the club cannot see past the team it pipped to automatic promotion back in League One as its benchmark.

Becchio was a bright spark during some dark days at Leeds United. It is truly a shame to see him go.

-Deebo

Dorigo I believe is the best left back the club has ever had, I'm sure a few Paul Madeley and Terry Cooper fans may disagree with that statement.
Tony joined us from Chelsea and was an instant hit, he had pace, vision and could hit a great dead ball.

My main memories of him were getting his autograph before the match at Villa Park when he was warming up, he signed every single thing that was shoved his way without any grumbles or moans, a really nice chap, We went on to win that match 4-1 infront of the ITV cameras - a great day!

Albert Johanneson was probably the first black footballer to achieve true prominence in the English professional game. Johanneson was a left winger with explosive pace, and with a knack of scoring important goals he was an important part of the revival of Leeds United under Don Revie.
Unfortunately like many skillful wingers in those days he was dogged by injuries & had to retire when he was just 32 after a successful spell at York City.
I remember seeing him in a pub in Harrogate but by then his health was deteriorating as he became more dependent on alcohol. He died alone in a council flat in a Leeds tower block, aged only 55. A sorry end for a player who had earned true affection from the Leeds faithful & I can still here the chants of ‘Albert’, ‘Albert’ echoing round ER.

RamseyWhite