We Are the Damned United

by Phil Rostron

  Manchester City: MacRae, Barrett, Donachie, Doyle, Booth, Oakes, Summerbee, Bell, Marsh, Hartford, Tueart.

  Leeds United: Harvey, Reaney, Cherry, McGovern, McQueen, Hunter, Lorimer, Clarke, O’Hare, Giles, Yorath (Jordan).

  Referee: Gordon Hill (Leicester).

  Don Warters, Yorkshire Evening Post

  * * *

  Duncan McKenzie, the player whom Clough intended to be his inside man, was getting the impression that United’s boss might be starting to crack. McKenzie says: ‘I remember my phone going at one o’clock in the morning before a testimonial match at Southampton. I was half asleep, but I recognised the voice barking at me: “Young man, mezzanine, now.” When I got there, Clough started giving me a rollicking about being drunk on the journey to Southampton, which was ridiculous because I didn’t drink. But it became clear he had called me just to have someone to talk to. He was lonely, and the pressure was getting to him more than he would let on. So we stayed up and talked. He admitted how hard it was for him with Revie’s picture on every wall and corridor at Elland Road. Although I was the new boy, I was the only one he seemed able to confide in.’

  * * *

  SATURDAY, 7 SEPTEMBER 1974

  LEEDS UNITED 1, LUTON TOWN 1

  If Leeds United manager Brian Clough was shaken by the boos and jeers a large section of the Elland Road crowd aimed at him after the 1–1 draw with Luton Town, he is not showing any reaction.

  Few people enjoy being the target of such disapproving actions, not even a man like Clough, who appears to have thrived on being controversial in recent years.

  When asked about the crowd’s action Clough retorted: ‘They were disappointed by the result. We all were, we worked hard to win.’

  Clough was upset, however, about the attitude of the crowd to one of his three new signings – John McGovern, from Derby County, who to be frank, had what must have been his worst first-team game.

  The 24-year-old midfield man could do little right and quickly became the target for a section of the crowd who voiced their disapproval in the strongest manner.

  Said Clough: ‘To say the crowd gave him some stick is the understatement of the season. Their attitude to him sickened me. But though he is a boy in stature, he is a man out there on the pitch and he won’t allow it to destroy his game.’

  The crowd, who at one stage during the game sang out the name of Clough’s predecessor – Don Revie – also called for Terry Yorath, who sat on the substitute’s bench throughout.

  ‘I would not have brought McGovern off if we were losing 5–1,’ Clough said.

  ‘Terry Yorath spoke to McGovern at half-time and told him that when United won the title last year the fans were giving him the “bird”. Today they were wanting him – that is how it goes in football,’ Clough added.

  McGovern had the sympathy, too, of former United centre-half John Faulkner, who, after playing his part in holding the league champions to a draw, said: ‘I felt very sorry for him. Clough brought him here and the team is not doing well so they had to pick on someone.’

  Despite only being able to draw with the sort of opposition the United of old would quite conceivably have ‘gobbled up’ the United boss was not pessimistic.

  Clough must have been mindful, too, that one leading firm of bookmakers had seen fit to offer United as a 10–1 bet for relegation – the first time in ten years that United had been quoted in the relegation stakes.

  But Clough is a man who sees a way out of the present crisis in which United find themselves.

  Four points out of a possible twelve is a disastrous start, but Clough says dogmatically: ‘Our performance against Luton was only a yard away from being a superb performance.

  ‘It was a question of confidence and the confidence is down to me. I instil it or destroy it, and I have not been able to instil it as yet. If we had stayed at 1–0 for a time against Luton and then got another one, we would have blossomed,’ he added.

  As manager it is up to Clough to motivate his team, to give it back the confidence, the flair and general arrogance it had last season when United swept to a record 29 matches without defeat in the league.

  As manager it is Clough who has to bear the brunt of the disappointment and frustration the crowd felt at Saturday’s display.

  Clough is by no means a quitter and he will tackle the problems that face him. There can be no doubt about that.

  In some ways Clough has been given a difficult Elland Road ‘baptism’ because he has been hampered in his team selections initially by injury, illness and suspensions.

  Now he is unable to call upon the drive and leadership of the man who means so much to the side – skipper Billy Bremner, who is suspended until the end of the month.

  Against Luton, United badly missed his leadership, though Johnny Giles worked well in midfield.

  Bright spots for United were the displays of Paul Reaney, Peter Lorimer, who contributed much on United’s right flank, and Allan Clarke, who scored United’s goal.

  Leeds United: Harvey, Reaney, Cherry, McGovern, McQueen, Hunter, Lorimer, Clarke, O’Hare, Giles, Madeley.

  Luton: Barber, Shanks, Thomson, Anderson, Faulkner, Ryan (John), Hindson, Husband, Butlin, West, Alston (Jim Ryan).

  Referee: John Bunting (Leicester).

  Don Warters, Yorkshire Evening Post

  * * *

  Peter Lorimer says now: ‘The boys I felt sorry for were O’Hare and McGovern, because they were smashing lads who had been accepted in the dressing-room and obviously they felt caught up in the middle of it all. It quickly became apparent what was going on, and poor old McGovern was made to bear the brunt of the backlash, with the fans constantly getting on his back. As a fellow pro, you felt sorry for John because the problem was not of his making.

  ‘But McGovern and O’Hare, frankly, were not good enough to get into our team and, further, I think they knew they were not good enough to get into our team. Certainly it was evident to the crowd, who were not getting the entertainment they had been accustomed to only a few short weeks before when we were celebrating winning the title with them.

  ‘It was no surprise to me that after six games we were second bottom in the league. We didn’t even look like winning a match. There was a simple reason: nobody was going to play for Brian Clough.’

  But Clough hit back at his critics in a Yorkshire Evening Post front-page article, saying, ‘Do people really believe I would go out and destroy something for the sake of destroying it?’ He insisted, ‘I am getting the full support of the players. I have never been so convinced of anything in my life as that.’

  Leeds chairman Manny Cussins echoed his manager’s comments, saying, ‘I know there is no unhappiness among the players.’

  However, alarm bells were ringing.

  10

  HERE TODAY, GONE TOMORROW

  If a chairman sacks the manager he initially appointed, he should go as well.

  Brian Clough

  ‘So after these half-dozen games, here we were,’ says Lorimer. ‘We were the reigning champions, and just as we were about to embark on our European campaign, the whole place was falling apart.

  ‘It was apparent to the directors who had appointed Clough that things were going awry. Manny Cussins and Sam Bolton, a former Leeds United chairman who was still on the board while ensconsed in the higher echelons of the Football Association administrative structure, called a players’ meeting. It was apparent, they maintained, that a problem existed and what they wanted to know this day was what that problem was. We basically told them exactly what Clough had said and what he had done, and they let it be known that they had already heard Clough’s take on matters but he would now be brought into this meeting so that we were all under one roof together.

  ‘“What is this?” asked Clough when he came in. It was put to him by the directors that we, as a group of players, were not responding to him or his managerial techniques and that this was obviously detrimental to the welfare of the club. “Ar
e you sure?” asked Clough. “Who’s saying that?” Again, astonishingly, it was Paul Madeley who was first into top gear and he said, “We just don’t think you’re any good as a manager. What you’re doing is simply wrecking the football club.” Paul had our full endorsement of this, and, it being our turn now to express an opinion on the capabilities and talents of an individual, we let him know what we thought of him. He wanted to know what he had done wrong and why in our view we were at the bottom of the league, and we told him.

  ‘The following evening brought an away fixture against our lower-league West Yorkshire neighbours Huddersfield Town in the League Cup.’

  * * *

  TUESDAY, 10 SEPTEMBER 1974

  LEAGUE CUP SECOND ROUND:

  HUDDERSFIELD TOWN 1, LEEDS UNITED 1

  The sight of Brian Clough leaping to his feet with fist clenched in triumphant salute told its own story at Leeds Road, home of Third Division Huddersfield Town.

  That was how the Leeds United manager greeted the 89th-minute equaliser Peter Lorimer lashed into Town’s goal from a near-impossible angle to give the league champions a 1–1 draw in their League Cup second-round tie.

  It mattered little that United had been only 60 seconds away from the embarrassment and encumbrance another defeat would have brought.

  It mattered little either that Lorimer’s face-saving act had earned a draw against a side currently second from the bottom of the Third Division.

  For these are difficult times for United, who are still searching for the light at the end of a dark passage. In circumstances like these any crumb is a comfort.

  The relief Clough obviously felt was mirrored in his reaction when Lorimer’s shot thundered past Town goalkeeper Terry Poole into the net, and it showed, too, when I talked with him afterwards.

  Speaking like a man who had just had a load lifted from his shoulders Clough said: ‘It was a goal good enough to win a cup final. After the misses it was going to take something like that to get us one.’

  No one, however, was more delighted with the goal than Lorimer, who, as early as the ninth minute, missed a penalty he had to take twice.

  Ironically for United, Lorimer’s first effort beat Poole and went in, but referee Pat Partridge ordered the kick to be taken again because Allan Clarke had moved into the penalty area while the kick was being taken.

  Lorimer sent Poole the wrong way with his second kick but the ball hit the keeper’s foot and was diverted to safety.

  ‘That is the sort of thing that happens when a team is going through a bad patch like we are,’ Lorimer said. ‘The keeper dives the wrong way and still manages to save it.

  ‘It did not worry me really because I thought at that stage we were playing well enough to win. And in any case it would not have helped me in any way if I had let it bother me.’

  After yesterday’s ‘clear-the-air’ talks between players, manager and chairman, there was no doubt United were keen to answer their critics on the field.

  It showed in their early play when for the first 20 minutes they were the more impressive side – even if they lacked the flair and poise of last season.

  Despite this, the honours of the evening must go to the Town side, who rose to the occasion these ‘derby’ clashes provide in magnificent fashion.

  After that initial period Town matched the champions in every department – in midfield, in defence, up front, in determination and even in skill.

  It was the kind of display Town usually reserve for matches against United, and it thrilled and delighted Town’s biggest crowd of the season – 15,013.

  And it brought a fitting tribute from Clough. ‘I have never in my life seen a Third Division side play as well. They never stopped running from 7.30 until the final whistle. It was not just their running that caused us problems – it was their football which was superb.

  ‘It would have been different if that penalty had gone in, but if Huddersfield play that sort of football week after week, they will walk it in the league.’

  Both sides contributed much to a gripping game which saw fine displays from goalkeepers Poole and David Harvey.

  Poole twice thwarted Allan Clarke and Joe Jordan, and Harvey produced splendid saves to efforts from Alan Gowling and one from Town newcomer Billy McGinley, signed for £8,000 from Elland Road and making his home debut.

  In addition there were misses at both ends. Clarke, of all people, missed a sitter in the 69th minute, and Gowling and Bobby Hoy fluffed chances for Town.

  Gowling, however, had the satisfaction of giving Town the lead with a good goal in the 78th minute, beating Norman Hunter and Gordon McQueen before hitting a rising shot past the advancing Harvey.

  Clough, who replaced John McGovern and John O’Hare with Mick Bates and Jordan, was given a chanted welcome by a section of the United fans on a night when Don Revie chose to watch the side he managed until this season.

  The England manager missed United’s face-saving equaliser. He left ten minutes before the end!

  Don Warters, Yorkshire Evening Post

  * * *

  Lorimer continues: ‘My last-minute equaliser took the game back to Leeds for a replay, but as we arrived back at Elland Road on the team bus from Huddersfield, the chairman was heard to say that he wanted a chat with the manager. The next thing we knew, the press were ringing to say that Cloughie had been relieved of his position. It was all very sad really.’

  After 44 days, it was all over for Clough. One of the shortest and most volatile reigns in football was ended with Leeds paying up Clough’s contract.

  Ray Fell, the Leeds United Supporters Club chairman, says: ‘It is difficult to analyse the appointment and short reign of Brian Clough at Leeds. Much has been written and said about the period, a good proportion of it fictional, lots of it guesswork. Observers are often biased and can be too quick to apportion blame in accordance with their prejudices.

  ‘Clough’s arrival at Elland Road saw him become manager of a club who were current champions and a team that had felt the sting of many of his comments. Not all of the Leeds fans were hostile to Mr Clough, but there were many who remained apprehensive about his appointment.

  ‘I firmly believe that the parting of Clough and Peter Taylor was instrumental in driving Brian’s desire to succeed at Leeds, so that he went at it full throttle. His early approach to the job only alienated the players and the fans, who questioned why the board had decided to appoint a manager whose every word and deed appeared to indicate that he resented Don Revie and the Leeds United players.

  ‘Before Clough’s arrival at Elland Road he attended a tribute dinner in which Peter Lorimer was to receive an award as Yorkshire Footballer of the Year. To the amazement of the audience when Brian rose, supposedly in tribute, he decided to attack and deride the player who was being honoured. Brian had previously attacked Billy Bremner and other members of the team and, shortly after his arrival at Leeds he castigated a player of the calibre of Eddie Gray. These outbursts were not the actions of a friend knocking on your door.

  ‘The previous criticisms of Leeds United that had come during their early days as a top club had, by 1974, abated, and respect was starting to come, albeit often begrudgingly. The occasional reference to “Super Leeds” showed that their performances in the early 1970s were earning them some cachet. The timing of Clough’s ill thought through remarks, coupled with the overall consensus, too simplistic in my view, that “player power” alone removed him, did, I believe, damage Leeds tremendously and gave rise to much of the criticism that we still suffer, often from those who weren’t born at the time. Contrary to the popular perception, Leeds were at that time a squad of 14 internationals, and the quality of football that won them the championship still has the media delving into the archives to relive the experience.

  ‘My own encounter with Brian Clough came with his one and only visit to the Supporters Club. His address followed the same pattern as his previous outbursts. He addressed the meeting by outlining the faults of
Billy Bremner and teammates, stressing that he was going to change the dressing-room, the attitude of the players and the image of the team. Accompanying Brian Clough on this occasion were the trainer Jimmy Gordon and two players, John McGovern and John O’Hare. These were the players who were to replace icons like Billy Bremner and Johnny Giles and others who were, of course, the reigning champions.

  ‘Having said all that, I think Clough’s time at Leeds ended too soon. The board, having made the questionable decision to appoint him, proceeded to fall at the first hurdle. They parted company with him without backing their own judgement or giving him time to prove himself.

  ‘Brian Clough was, I believe, delighted to be offered the Leeds United post. I think he showed he was happy to have the opportunity to further the success of a big club like Leeds United. The sad thing was his burning desire to show he could equal or better the achievements of Don Revie. Unfortunately, his ego and so-called wit robbed him of the advantages that may have been his reason for accepting the job. He was inheriting a club at the top with tried and trusted players. He lost the chance he had to win them over with the right early appeal and take the club forward to the further success that both he and the fans could have enjoyed together.

  ‘Who can say? Perhaps with Taylor alongside him to calm him down and advise him, he might have tackled the job differently. Suffice to say that when Clough and Taylor were reunited, they went on to great achievements, and Brian duly earned his rewards as a manager. I believe that the success he achieved afterwards owed a little to his experience at Leeds.’

  Within an admirably short time of Clough’s sacking, Yorkshire Television pulled off a considerable coup by persuading Revie and Clough to go head-to-head in an interview with TV journalist and lifelong Leeds United fan Austin Mitchell, now the long-serving Labour MP for Great Grimsby. The body language of the two former Leeds managers, brought up just streets apart in Middlesbrough, was awkward, akin to two miscreants in front of the local beak, and at times the interview made for excruciating viewing. Why, Revie wanted to know, had Clough taken the job in the first place when he so despised the club? Because, said Clough, it was the best club job in England. They were the champions. ‘And I wanted to do it better than you.’