GOD'S OWN TEAM - LEEDS UNITED

Leeds United were formed in 1919, their predecessors, Leeds City, being disbanded for illegally paying players during the First World War. Existing mainly on a shoestring budget, the results were as inconsistent as the club's status. They spent time yo-yoing between the old First and Second Divisions, rarely managing to stay in the top flight for more than a few seasons at a time - until the arrival of the man who would be King: Don Revie.

Revie took up the manager's position in 1961 and, by the time he left for the England manager's job in 1974, he had made the Whites into the best team in Europe, if not the world. During Revie's reign, Leeds won the Championship twice, were Runners-Up on 5 occasions, and also won the FA and League Cups (for the only times in their history), as well as the Fairs (now UEFA) Cup (twice). Following his departure, Leeds were unable to find a worthy successor, and, eventually, the club sank to the ignominy of relegation to the Second Division in 1982.

Despite the best efforts of former players to revive the club (including current Assistant Manger Eddie Gray, and Billy Bremner, may God rest his soul) Leeds struggled. Eventually, Howard Wilkinson was brought in from Sheffield Wednesday - and a new era began. 'Sergeant Wilko' resurrected the club, bringing them the Second Division title in 1989 and, alongside it, promotion back to the First Division. Two years later, during the 1991/1992 season, he went one better and Leeds United became the last team to win the old First Division title.

Unfortunately, with the advent of the Premier League and the money it brought with it, Leeds found themselves lacking the cash to bring in big-name players and Wilko was unable to repeat his success during the following years, his best being leading the club to 5^th place (and European football) for two seasons running. Though they managed to reach the Coca-Cola (League) Cup Final in 1996, the Final itself was one-sided and a weak Leeds team were over-run by their opponents, Aston Villa. Despite having made some good signings for Leeds, Wilkinson was sacked by the club later that year following a damning defeat by the Scum.

His successor came in George Graham - and success seemed bound to follow. During his two-year stint at Elland Road, Graham revived the club's fortunes and returned European football to Elland Road. However, his refusal to commit his future to God's Own Team and his subsequent departure to Tottenham Hotspur mean that he is remembered now as 'Judas Graham' - and deservedly so. However, Graham's departure may well have been a blessing in disguise since it led to David O'Leary taking over at the helm of the Super Whites.

O'Leary's term in charge of the Whites was a mixed one. We reached the semi-finals of both European competitions, broke the transfer record for a defender and blooded some impressively talented youngsters. But this was undercut by the court case, by other teams unsettling our players and, eventually, by the manager's inability to deal effectively with a media who were out to get him - sometimes he just didn't know when to keep his mouth closed. At the end of it, O'Leary still gave Leeds European qualification consistently and raised both the profile of the team and the expectation of the fans. Whether the new manager Venables can provide the final pieces of the jigsaw remains to be seen. The time for judgement will be at the end of the season.

Information about the current squad of players, as well as about the management, can be found below. Leeds United's results to date can also be viewed (well, for as long as I've been keeping records on this site), as can statistics relating to the seasons '98/'99 to '01/'02. Summary statistics for the current season ('02/'03) will be compiled at the end of the season. Until then, you can check out the fixtures below.