Sunday Times 25/3/07
Caught in time
Leeds win the Second Division, 1964
Greg Struthers
So how can the current Leeds United side avoid relegation to League One? One way would be to find a Bobby Collins. Don Revie, the manager in 1962, pulled off the coup and never looked back.
Collins was 5ft 3in tall, weighed 10 stone and wore size four boots, but the diminutive Scotland midfielder saved his club in crisis. He was 31 years old and believed to be past his sell-by-date at Everton when a desperate Revie got word that he might be available. After initial talks, the manager waited five hours in his car for Collins and then chatted to him until 2.30am, persuading him to join the struggling Second Division side. The £24,000 deal was sealed and, on March 3, 1962, Collins moved across the Pennines.
His first task was to stop Leeds from sinking into the Third Division. They went nine games unbeaten and secured their safety. Then followed a season of rebuilding and by late 1963 they were ready to launch a title challenge. The combative Collins, with a new lease of life, was their fulcrum, cajoling and inspiring the young players around him.
Norman Hunter, a tough-tackling defender, recalls the period with fondness. "It was my second season. I was 19 at the time and we had a very young side. What started it all rolling was the signing of Bobby Collins. He was a huge influence. He was our captain and set our mentality with his determination."
With the acquisition of Johnny Giles for £33,000 from Manchester United, Revie bolstered his midfield for a promotion tussle with Sunderland. Leeds had a strong finish to the season, winning eight of their last 10 games and drawing the other two. They clinched the title with a 2-0 win at Charlton on the final day. Sunderland finished second, two points adrift.
"When we got promoted," says Jim Storrie, a Scottish striker, "nobody was talking about relegation the next season. The targets were set much higher. Revie sat us down and said he would give us incentive bonuses. Every week we were in the top four, we would be paid extra. If we dropped out of the top four, we would get nothing. He also gave us a crowd bonus. If gates were between 15,000 and 20,000, we would get something and more for 20,000 to 25,000. There was extra for anything over 25,000. He dangled these carrots for us and we spent most of the season in the top four and had full houses for our games."
Leeds had a superb season, finishing run-ners-up to Manchester United in the First Division and losing 2-1 to Liverpool in the FA Cup final. It was the start of the finest era in the club’s history.
However, their robust style and win-at-all-costs attitude had its detractors, even among their own. "We played high-pressure football which didn’t suit my style," says Storrie. "I spent the afternoon chasing fullbacks and it was soul destroying when you came off the field after the team had scored a late goal to win a game. The end justified the means. Leeds played it hard and people didn’t like playing against us. One of the things that Revie got out of the players was that everybody played for each other."
Hunter agrees. "He created a them-and-us mentality which we quite enjoyed. He used to show us what people had been writing about us. Other footballers appreciated what we achieved. They used to say: ‘We hated you, but what a good side you were’. Teams were intimidated. I saw sides that were beaten before they even stepped on to Elland Road."
- Willie Bell The Scotland fullback managed Birmingham and Lincoln and then moved to the United States where he was a coach in Virginia. He and his wife run a Christian ministry which visits prisons around Britain
- Paul Reaney A motor mechanic before his football career took off, the England fullback runs coaching courses and works for charity
- Freddie Goodwin A Lancashire county cricketer in his playing days, the wing-half managed Brighton, Birmingham and Scunthorpe before moving to the United States where he coaches
- Gary Sprake A Wales goalkeeper who once threw the ball into his own net in front of Liverpool’s Kop, he is a business training officer in Birmingham. His autobiography is called Careless Hands
- Brian Williamson The reserve team goalkeeper played five league games for Leeds and moved to Australia to settle in Erina, New South Wales
- Norman Hunter An England central defender, he managed Barnsley and now works for Radio Yorkshire
- Ian Lawson An England youth inside forward, he spent three years at Leeds and finished his career at Port Vale. Has dropped out of football circles
- Johnny Giles A Republic of Ireland midfielder, he managed West Brom and the Republic and is a panellist on Irish television’s Match of the Day
- Billy Bremner Dynamic Scotland midfielder who won 54 caps and managed Leeds to the 1987 FA Cup semi-finals. He died at the age of 54 in December 1997
- Jim Storrie A forward who managed St Johnstone and then worked at a sports centre in Cumernauld for 14 years. Also worked at Stirling University and now retired
- Bobby Collins The Scotland midfielder coached, managed and then worked in the wholesale fashion business. He was a driver at Leeds University. Now retired
- Don Weston A much-travelled goalscorer, he was a senior salesman for a Ford dealership in Wrexham
- Jimmy Greenhoff A Leeds apprentice who had spells with Stoke City and Manchester United, he works in insurance in Audley, Stoke
- Jack Charlton A lanky World Cup-winning England defender, he managed Middlesbrough and the Republic of Ireland and is a football analyst, after-dinner speaker and fisherman