1974–75 Leeds United A.F.C. season

Leeds United
1974–75 season
Chairman	Manny Cussins
Manager	Brian Clough (until 12 September 1974); Maurice Lindley (caretaker); Jimmy Armfield (from 4 October 1974)
Stadium	Elland Road
First Division	9th
FA Cup	Quarter-finals
League Cup	Fourth round
European Cup	Runners-up
Charity Shield	Runners-up
Top goalscorer	League: ; All: ; Allan Clarke (22)
Average home league attendance	34,496
	Home colours
	Home colours
	← 1973–74 1975–76 →

The 1974–75 season saw Leeds United compete in the Football League First Division. As reigning English champions, they also competed in the European Cup.

Season summary

Manager Don Revie left after many successful years at Leeds to manage the England side. He was replaced by Brighton & Hove Albion's Brian Clough—this appointment raised many eyebrows, as Clough had often made public his disdain for both Revie and the playing style of his Leeds side, even clamouring for the club to be relegated on disciplinary grounds.

As it turned out, Clough only lasted 44 days at Elland Road. He alienated several key players like Johnny Giles, Norman Hunter and Billy Bremner^[1] and reportedly, in his first training session, told the players to "throw [their] medals in the bin because they were not won fairly."^[2] After a poor start which saw Leeds in 19th place after one win from the opening six games and only 4 points from a possible 12 won, the Leeds directors sacked Clough.

Replacing Clough was Bolton Wanderers' Jimmy Armfield. Armfield, while unable to turn the club's fortunes around to finish higher than ninth, bought the Yorkshire club better success in the European Cup, with the club reaching the final against Bayern Munich in Paris. The German side won 2–0 with two goals in 10 minutes late in the second half, but Leeds could have won the match, having denied two strong penalty appeals for fouls by Bayern's Franz Beckenbauer. Indeed, Leeds did get a goal in the 63rd minute, through Peter Lorimer, but Beckenbauer successfully convinced referee Michel Kitabdjian to consult with the linesman, who had not raised his flag; Kitabdijan subsequently indicated Lorimer was marginally offside. This decision to not allow the goal caused riots to break out amongst the travelling Leeds fans.

The violence during the riots saw Leeds banned from European competition for four years (later reduced to two on appeal);^[3]^[4]^[5] but, as Leeds would not qualify for European competition again until the early 1990s, the ban was never applied.

Nonetheless, bitterness remains amongst the Leeds fans even today, due to their perception of being cheated of victory and the European Cup. Over 40 years on, Leeds fans can still be heard chanting at away matches "We are the champions, champions of Europe".

Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	GK	WAL	Glan Letheren
—	GK	SCO	David Harvey
—	GK	SCO	David Stewart
—	DF	ENG	Trevor Cherry
—	DF	ENG	Peter Hampton
—	DF	ENG	Norman Hunter
—	DF	ENG	Paul Madeley
—	DF	ENG	Paul Reaney
—	DF	WAL	Byron Stevenson
—	DF	SCO	Frank Gray
—	DF	SCO	Gordon McQueen
—	MF	ENG	Mick Bates


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	MF	WAL	Carl Harris
—	MF	WAL	Gwyn Thomas
—	MF	WAL	Terry Yorath
—	MF	SCO	Billy Bremner (captain)
—	MF	SCO	Eddie Gray
—	MF	SCO	Peter Lorimer
—	MF	IRL	Johnny Giles
—	FW	ENG	Allan Clarke
—	FW	ENG	Mick Jones
—	FW	ENG	Duncan McKenzie
—	FW	SCO	Joe Jordan
—	FW	SCO	Gary Liddell

Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	MF	SCO	John McGovern (to Nottingham Forest)
—	FW	SCO	John O'Hare (to Nottingham Forest)


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	DF	ENG	Terry Cooper (to Middlesbrough)

Competitions

First Division

Table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts
7	Middlesbrough	42	18	12	12	54	40	1.350	48
8	Manchester City	42	18	10	14	54	54	1.000	46
9	Leeds United	42	16	13	13	57	49	1.163	45
10	Burnley	42	17	11	14	68	67	1.015	45
11	Queens Park Rangers	42	16	10	16	54	54	1.000	42

Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored

Matches

17 August 1974 (1974-08-17) 1	Stoke City	3–0	Leeds United	Stoke
				Stadium: Victoria Ground

21 August 1974 (1974-08-21) 2	Leeds United	0–1	Queens Park Rangers	Leeds
				Stadium: Elland Road

24 August 1974 (1974-08-24) 3	Leeds United	1–0	Birmingham City	Leeds
				Stadium: Elland Road

27 August 1974 (1974-08-27) 4	Queens Park Rangers	1–1	Leeds United	Shepherd's Bush, London
				Stadium: Loftus Road

31 August 1974 (1974-08-31) 5	Manchester City	2–1	Leeds United	Moss Side, Manchester
				Stadium: Maine Road

7 September 1974 (1974-09-07) 6	Leeds United	1–1	Luton Town	Leeds
				Stadium: Elland Road

14 September 1974 (1974-09-14) 7	Burnley	2–1	Leeds United	Burnley
		Report		Stadium: Turf Moor

21 September 1974 (1974-09-21) 8	Leeds United	5–1	Sheffield United	Leeds
				Stadium: Elland Road

28 September 1974 (1974-09-28) 9	Everton	3–2	Leeds United	Liverpool
				Stadium: Goodison Park

21 September 1974 (1974-09-21) 10	Leeds United	2–0	Arsenal	Leeds
				Stadium: Elland Road

12 October 1974 (1974-10-12) 11	Ipswich Town	0–0	Leeds United	Ipswich
				Stadium: Portman Road

15 October 1974 (1974-10-15) 12	Birmingham City	1–0	Leeds United	Birmingham
				Stadium: St Andrew's

19 October 1974 (1974-10-19) 13	Leeds United	2–0	Wolverhampton Wanderers	Leeds
				Stadium: Elland Road

26 October 1974 (1974-10-26) 14	Liverpool	1–0	Leeds United	Liverpool
				Stadium: Anfield

2 November 1974 (1974-11-02) 15	Leeds United	0–1	Derby County	Leeds
			Lee	Stadium: Elland Road Attendance: 33,551

9 November 1974 (1974-11-09) 16	Coventry City	1–3	Leeds United	Coventry
	Cross		Bremner O'Hare Hindley (o.g.)	Stadium: Highfield Road Attendance: 25,414

16 November 1974 (1974-11-16) 17	Leeds United	2–2	Middlesbrough	Leeds
			Stuart Boam Smith	Stadium: Elland Road Attendance: 45,488

23 November 1974 (1974-11-23) 18	Carlisle United	1–2	Leeds United	Carlisle
				Stadium: Brunton Park

30 November 1974 (1974-11-30) 19	Leeds United	2–0	Chelsea	Leeds
				Stadium: Elland Road Attendance: 30,444

4 December 1974 (1974-12-04) 20	Leeds United	2–1	Tottenham Hotspur	Leeds
			Duncan	Stadium: Elland Road Attendance: 25,832

7 December 1974 (1974-12-07) 21	West Ham United	2–1	Leeds United	Upton Park, London
	Jennings Gould			Stadium: Boleyn Ground Attendance: 39,562

14 December 1974 (1974-12-14) 22	Leeds United	3–1	Stoke City	Leeds
				Stadium: Elland Road

21 December 1974 (1974-12-21) 23	Newcastle United	3–0	Leeds United	Newcastle
				Stadium: St James' Park

26 December 1974 (1974-12-26) 24	Leeds United	2–2	Burnley	Leeds
		Report		Stadium: Elland Road

28 December 1974 (1974-12-28) 25	Leicester City	0–2	Leeds United	Leicester
				Stadium: Filbert Street

11 January 1975 (1975-01-11) 26	Leeds United	2–1	West Ham United	Leeds
				Stadium: Elland Road

18 January 1975 (1975-01-18) 27	Chelsea	0–2	Leeds United	Fulham
				Stadium: Stamford Bridge (stadium)

1 February 1975 (1975-02-01) 28	Leeds United	0–0	Coventry City	Leeds
				Stadium: Elland Road

8 February 1975 (1975-02-08) 29	Derby County	0–0	Leeds United	Derby
				Stadium: Baseball Ground Attendance: 36,003

22 February 1975 (1975-02-22) 30	Middlesbrough	0–1	Leeds United	Middlesbrough
				Stadium: Ayresome Park Attendance: 39,500

25 February 1975 (1975-02-25) 31	Leeds United	3–1	Carlisle United	Leeds
				Stadium: Elland Road

1 March 1975 (1975-03-01) 32	Leeds United	2–2	Manchester City	Leeds
				Stadium: Elland Road

15 March 1975 (1975-03-15) 33	Leeds United	0–0	Everton	Leeds
				Stadium: Elland Road

22 March 1975 (1975-03-22) 34	Luton Town	2–1	Leeds United	Luton
				Stadium: Kenilworth Road

29 March 1975 (1975-03-29) 35	Leeds United	1–1	Newcastle United	Leeds
				Stadium: Elland Road

31 March 1975 (1975-03-31) 36	Leeds United	2–2	Leicester City	Leeds
				Stadium: Elland Road

1 April 1975 (1975-04-01) 37	Sheffield United	1–1	Leeds United	Sheffield
				Stadium: Bramall Lane

5 April 1975 (1975-04-05) 38	Leeds United	0–2	Liverpool	Leeds
				Stadium: Elland Road

12 April 1975 (1975-04-12) 39	Arsenal	1–2	Leeds United	Highbury, London
				Stadium: Arsenal Stadium

19 April 1975 (1975-04-19) 40	Leeds United	2–1	Ipswich Town	Leeds
				Stadium: Elland Road

26 April 1975 (1975-04-26) 41	Wolverhampton Wanderers	1–1	Leeds United	Wolverhampton
				Stadium: Molineux

28 April 1975 (1975-04-28) 42	Tottenham Hotspur	4–2	Leeds United	Tottenham, London
				Stadium: White Hart Lane

^[6]^[7]

European Cup

First Round

18 September 1974

First Round 1st Leg

Leeds United	4–1	FC Zürich
Clarke 15', 42' Lorimer 25' (pen.) Jordan 48'	Report	Katić 89'

Elland Road, Leeds

Attendance: 20,012

Referee: Jan Keizer (Netherlands)

2 October 1974

First Round 2nd Leg

FC Zürich	2–1 Leeds won 5–3 on aggregate	Leeds United
Katić 37' Rutschmann 42' (pen.)	Report	Clarke 36'

Letzigrund, Zürich

Attendance: 16,500

Referee: Sergio Gonella (Italy)

Second Round

23 October 1974

Second Round 1st Leg

Újpesti Dózsa	1–2	Leeds United
Fazekas 19' (pen.)	Report	Lorimer 7' McQueen 22'

Népstadion, Budapest

Attendance: 24,389

Referee: Kurt Tschenscher (West Germany)

6 November 1974

Second Round 2nd Leg

Leeds United	3–0 Leeds won 5–1 on aggregate	Újpesti Dózsa
McQueen 28' Bremner 46' Yorath 65'	Report

Elland Road, Leeds

Attendance: 28,091

Referee: Alfred Delcourt (Belgium)

Quarter Finals

5 March 1975

Quarter Final 1st Leg

Leeds United	3–0	Anderlecht
Jordan 10' McQueen 42' Lorimer 89'	Report

Elland Road, Leeds

Attendance: 43,195

Referee: Rudi Glöckner (East Germany)

19 March 1975

Quarter Final 2nd Leg

Anderlecht	0–1 Leeds won 4–0 on aggregate	Leeds United
	Report	Bremner 74'

Stade Émile Versé, Anderlecht

Attendance: 33,948

Referee: Paul Schiller (Austria)

Semi Finals

9 April 1975

Semi Final 1st Leg

Leeds United	2–1	Barcelona
Bremner 9' Clarke 78'	Report	Asensi 66'

Elland Road, Leeds

Attendance: 50,393

Referee: Vital Loraux (Belgium)

23 April 1975

Semi Final 2nd Leg

Barcelona	1–1 Leeds won 3–2 on aggregate	Leeds United
Clares 69'	Report	Lorimer 7'

Camp Nou, Barcelona

Attendance: 110,000

Referee: Erich Linemayr (Austria)

Final

1974–75 European Cup Final

28 May 1975

Final

Bayern Munich	2–0 Bayern Munich win the European Cup	Leeds United
Roth 71' Müller 81'	Report MatchCentre

Parc des Princes, Paris

Attendance: 50,000

Referee: Michel Kitabdjian (France)

Awards

At the end of the season, defender Gordon McQueen was named the club's Player of the Year.

Notes and references

^ "Brian Clough in pictures: Re-live his 44 days at Leeds United". Daily Mirror. UK. Archived from the original on 1 June 2009. Retrieved 11 July 2009.
^ Robinson, Paul (9 October 2009). "The Ten Best Mass Insults". The Independent. London. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
^ '"Season 1974–75". European Cup History.com. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
^ "England told: more rioting and you're out". The Guardian. 19 June 2000. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
^ "Unlucky Paris match for Leeds". BBC News. BBC. 19 May 1999. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
^ The Breedon book of football records, 1871–2000. Smailes, Gordon. Derby: Breedon. 2000. ISBN 1859832148. OCLC 59556187.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
^ "Leeds United match record: 1975". www.11v11.com. Retrieved 7 August 2019.

[1] "Brian Clough in pictures: Re-live his 44 days at Leeds United". Daily Mirror. UK. Archived from the original on 1 June 2009. Retrieved 11 July 2009.

[2] Robinson, Paul (9 October 2009). "The Ten Best Mass Insults". The Independent. London. Retrieved 31 March 2014.

[ech-3] '"Season 1974–75". European Cup History.com. Retrieved 31 March 2014.

[4] "England told: more rioting and you're out". The Guardian. 19 June 2000. Retrieved 31 March 2014.

[5] "Unlucky Paris match for Leeds". BBC News. BBC. 19 May 1999. Retrieved 31 March 2014.

[6] The Breedon book of football records, 1871–2000. Smailes, Gordon. Derby: Breedon. 2000. ISBN 1859832148. OCLC 59556187.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)

[7] "Leeds United match record: 1975". www.11v11.com. Retrieved 7 August 2019.

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