February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
The neighbors had what was called pipe television back then and soccer fanatics on the street believed Johnny Giles would control the game as we piled onto the floor.
There were mixed feelings. While most wanted Celtic to win, many wanted to see Giles do it for the Irish first and then Leeds. The Great Whites were on for a treble that year with the FA Cup and the Championship beckoning. Having to play 12 games in 31 days took its toll on Giles and Co. They fell to Celtic 2-1 at Hampden Park and had nothing left in the tank in a 2-1 loss to Chelsea in the FA Cup. Their sad season captured the hearts of many Irish fans as support prevailed.
The mastermind behind it all was Don Revie and everybody across the length and breadth of Ireland knew the classic Leeds lineup of Sprake, Reaney, Cooper, Charlton, Hunter, Bremner, Giles, Lorimer, Gray, Jones, Clarke and Madeley. Then in 1972 Leeds was now becoming a team associated with bad luck when it came to final games. Revie’s side had grown up but age and injuries were taking its toll. Trevor Cherry, David Harvey and Joe Jordan joined the Whites as United were still the team to watch. Who can ever forget that FA Cup when goalkeeper Jim Montgomery stopped Leeds? Ten days later, the football world tumbled down on Leeds when in the Cup Winners Cup Final they were beaten by AC Milan and Greek referee Christos Michas, who was suspended by UEFA immediately after the game.
Revie’s appointment in 1961 was the key moment for Leeds becoming a force in football. After promotion in 1964 they were runners-up twice before winning the championship in 1969 with a League and Fairs Cup to boot. Eventually, consistency in the league moved Leeds on from hard-luck stories. They finished in the top three for six successive seasons, winning the championship again in 1974. They reached the FA Cup final three times, winning once, and won the Fairs Cup again in 1971. But in 1974 Revie departed and the decline of Leeds United was inevitable spending most of the 1980s out of Div. I. Howard Wilkinson arrived in 1988, got the Whites back in the top flight and won the title in 1992. Irish international David O’Leary was up next, and while he managed to take Leeds to a Champions League semifinal, it cost the club an insurmountable financial debt. O’Leary departed, Peter Reid stepped in, and now he’s gone too. The roller coaster ride of the club has lost many an Irish heart and fan.
Still there is decent Irish interest at the moment as Gary Kelly finishes his career at Leeds. Ian Harte makes his way back into the side and Stephen McPhail arrives back at Elland Road after being out on loan. The later two can thank caretaker manager Eddie Gray for their first team resurgence. Gray has become a popular choice with the players and the fans as Leeds have put some good results together. If there is anybody at the club who knows exactly what the club has been through, it’s Edwin (Eddie) Gray. He has been there through thick and thin with Leeds. They have let him go and he has come back. He has coached the team and managed both the youths and seniors.
Gray was born in Glasgow in 1948. He played 455 league games for Leeds and scored 52 goals. A gifted player who was compared to the wizardry of George Best, Gray was also versatile enough to play full back. He also played 81 domestic cup games and played 39 times in Europe, bringing his total goals to 68. Gray was plagued by injuries from 1970 to ’75 and we probably never truly saw what he was capable of. However, when he got the ball and ran at defenders, he was one of the most exciting players of his time to watch. He played in the same style as Damien Duff. Gray’s trademark was dropping his shoulder, just like Bestie, feint, go one way, and off in the other. Pure class was Gray, elegant and fast, very fast. As far as his coaching is concerned he is well respected, his real test as we fast forward to 2003 is his man management skills.
He is caretaker right now and is expected to leave Leeds by January. Leeds may want to reconsider. If there is one thing they need right now is a loyal Leeds man and that’s what Gray is; he is Leeds through and through. There is no shortage of passion when it comes to Mr. Gray. In fact, if there has been one steady influence for Leeds during this roller coaster ride it’s Gray. He has been a devoted servant for the last 30 years. When Leeds hit their toughest times, he was — and still is — there, unconditionally. His three-year spell as a player manager in the early ’80s may well stand by him when Leeds was in Div. II. He worked very closely with O’Leary and Terry Venables as coach of the first team only to be told he had no future at Elland Road upon Reid’s arrival.
Gray is back and his first move was to secure Mark Viduka in the lineup, which he did. “I have no problems handling Mark,” Gray said. “He is definitely an important member of the first-team squad.”
Gray is also looking into getting Danny Mills back to Leeds as the full back is on loan to Boro.
“I’ll do my best to try to pick points up,” he said. “If you are in there fighting, you always have a chance, and we will look to move up the league.”
The misfortune continues to plague Leeds as Gray was informed when the League Managers’ Association confirmed that he should not be acting as a temporary replacement for Reid, as he’s ineligible under a new legislation. But three months was granted for Gray should Leeds stick by their most devoted servant and legend at Elland Road.