Unforgiven

In 1961, when Don Revie became manager of Leeds United, they were a struggling Second Division club. By 1974 they had won two League Championships, the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (twice), the FA Cup and the League Cup; players like Jack Charlton and Billy Bremner were household names.Yet this was a team that inspired neither admiration nor grudging respect, but rather a deep and visceral loathing – matched only by the bellicose devotion of their own supporters. The undeniable artistry of players like striker Allan Clarke was overshadowed by a ruthless professionalism, epitomised in the scything tackles of Norman Hunter. Still, when Revie’ s Leeds United side were let off the leash – the 7-0 humiliation of Southampton is enshrined in Match of the Day mythology – their brilliance was compelling. At the heart of their outlaw status was the eccentric personality of Don Revie himself. Clad in his lucky blue suit, a man for whom team-building meant rounds of carpet bowls, here reigned less a football manager than, in his own estimation, the ‘ head of the family’ . The aftermath of the Revie era is explored, including Brian Clough’ s infamous 44 days at the helm of the ‘ Damned United’ . The Unforgiven is the definitive history of the most defiantly unconventional team in British football.