Leeds United, a welcome sight, a blast from the past.
Marsh and Yorath join battle in 1973 |
Leeds represent something of a bulwark in our rose-tinted memories of past years. They strutted about in their all-white kit. They tinkered about with little number flags sticking out of their socks. They kept the ball for twenty minutes against Southampton that time on Match of the Day, enabling Barry Davies to go and make himself a cup of tea in the middle of his BBC commentary. They always seemed to be on the point of winning something, then messing up. It was a right royal soap opera, with The Don directing the traffic in his mac and lucky blue suit. There was Sniffer Clarke and Mick Jones with his cup final bandages. Paul Madeley, the "Rolls Royce" of English defenders and little Chic Bates. They won the league at a canter in 1974, then rocketed to the European Cup Final, where, after the referee decided to be on Bayern's side for the evening, the Leeds support gave us the other image that has lasted the test of time, that of rioting hooligans. A penalty not given; a goal mysteriously disallowed. There were so many seats on the pitch that night at the Parc des Princes that the Leeds fans invented safe standing in extremis all by themselves. There was probably precious little else safe in Paris that night.
The 3rd round
FA Cup tie City played at Elland Road, Leeds in January 1978 was not only a
classic of its kind but represented the end of that great Leeds era and also a microcosm of all that was seventies
football: two star-studded sides, flowing football, flowing hair, heaving
terraces, ill discipline amongst the players and considerable crowd trouble.
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On 4th April
1992, City -flying in the top six of the table under the high octane
stewardship of Peter Reid and Sam Ellis- were preparing for the visit of a Leeds
United, who were one of only five teams ahead of them in the league. Leeds
it was, under the schoolmasterly Howard Wilkinson, that were providing the main
challenge to Manchester United in their seemingly never-ending quest for the
league title.
The
Yorkshiremen arrived at Maine Road
in rich form and there seemed little to point towards the humbling experience
that awaited them. By the end of the game, they had been handed a lesson in
attacking football and clinical finishing, had had their title hopes severely
dented and had ended up receiving what would remain their heaviest defeat of
the season. It was one of two consecutive home 4-0 thrashings dealt out by City to their Yorkshire neighbours at this time.
A more recent cup tussle in 2000 reduced City to rubble, as a young attacking Leeds side took the Blues to the cleaners. Still we had the memory of a shot from Ian Bishop that for its beauty, accuracy and deadliness still takes some beating today.
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There have been many a tussle along the way. Here are a few memories to whet the appetite before one of football's great rivalries is rejoined on the Etihad pitch this evening:
August 1993: Opening day of the season. Flitcroft's late goal looks all the way the winner, but Brian Deane steps up and deservedly brings Leeds level at 1-1 |
April 1977: Brian Kidd nets one of his two goals in a 2-0 win at a packed Maine Road. Eddie Gray, Peter Hampton, Terry Yorath and Paul Reaney watch the ball fly in. |
September 2000: Jeff Whitely and Mark Viduka struggle for possession in City's first away game of the season, an unexpected 2-1 win for the Blues. |
September 1979: A shot goes flying in during City's 2-1 Elland Road win. Goals from Paul Power and Kaziu Deyna sealed the victory that day. |
April 1992: the first of two consecutive 4-0 home routs of Leeds, this one almost derailing the visitors' hopes of winning the title in front of Manchester United |
March 1993: Gary Flitcroft does battle with the late Gary Speed in a 1-0 win for Leeds at Elland Road. |
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