When the summer behaves like the Danish one did this year, it is nice to have the possibility to fly to the south of spain and lay on the beach with good books and cold beer! I went through my bookshelve and found a couple of great books about Leeds United that i brought with me, and surprisingly (for me and my girlfriend) all read!
The first book i read was David Peace great novel, The Damned United, which is about Brian Clough and his 44 day chaotic tenure at Elland Road. That in itself is pretty interesting, to read about how he was recieved, especially by the players, who saw his predessocer, Don Revie, as a fatherfigure to them. Another exiting thing in the book is that the reader gets a "look inside Cloughs head", a crazy place filled with demons and insecurities, especially since his right hand man, Peter Taylor, did not join him at Leeds. BUT the by far most catching thing in the book is the way it is written. David Peace have split the book in two parts, one is in the present, with Clough at Leeds, and the other is looking back at his previous years, especially in Derby, where he grew to hate and demonise Leeds United and Don Revie (which made him getting the job even more strange). I would like to credit David Peace for doing a thing with his book that seems strange to me, as a Leeds fan, he actually manages to make the reader feel a bit sorry for Clough, which is a feeling I never thought I'd feel towards Ol' Big ead!
Fun fact from the book: Allan "Sniffer" Clarke actually wanted the board to give Clough more time in the manager seat.
Rating: 9 out of 10
The second book I read was Rob Bagchi & Paul Rogerson's The Unforgiven, a book about the Leeds United created by Don Revie. The book focuses alot on the players, trophies and glory brought to Leeds United by the great Don, but also has a more darkened agenda - focusing on the fact that Don Revie ended his days as an unforgiven figure in English football. After 13 glorious seasons at Elland Road where he won almost everything, Don Revie quit his Leeds United to become manager of England - when he failed, he choose to leave England for the middleeast and apparently that was a wrong move, since people soon after accused him of treason towards England - and stories about matchfixing in his Leeds days came back in the press.
Unlike other great managers of the 60's and 70's (Shankly and Busby) Don Revie and his team never recieved the same credit that Liverpool and Man United did, people saw Leeds as dirty and cheating (non more the Brian Clough) and Don Revie was until his dead in 1989 always, The Unforgiven.
Fun fact from the book: Carpet bowls and bingo, two things Don used with great success for teambuilding in Leeds, were actually part of his downfall as England manager - Players from especially the south found him weird and kind of crazy.
Rating: 7.5 out of 10
The last book was actually read in my bedroom instead of on the sunny beaches of Spain. Promised Land by Anthony Clavane is about alot more then Leeds United, it is alot about Leeds as a city, and the ups and downs from 1960 up till today. From Don Revie to Simon Grayson, from industrial city to finacial HQ, from tolerance to racism and, thankfully back to tolerance. The book takes place in the authors head, and focusses alot on him and his family and their relationship to Leeds (as a city) and Leeds (as a football club). It is more of a book book, then the two others, because there is so much else involved. I did find it interesting to read about how Leeds changed, both as a city and as a club. And as the author himself, I am still waiting for Leeds United to make it back into The Promised Land.
Fun fact from the book: The massive difference between Leeds United chairmen, from non-spending - to VERY VERY big spending - back to non-spending.
Rating: 6.5 out of 10
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