Leeds United

Leeds didn’t do much from their founding in 1919 until the 1950s, when a player named John Charles arrived on the scene. He was one of the all-time greats, a six-foot-two giant who excelled at defending and who, upon switching to striker for a season, scored 42 goals in 39 games. But in 1956 a fire wiped out much of the stadium, and to pay the bills they had to sell Charles to Italian club Juventus. (He is a legend there as well, known as “The Gentle Giant” because he never even got a yellow card in his career.)

By 1961 Leeds were back down in the Second Division. But that’s when they hired Don Revie as manager and became one of the great forces in English football. From Revie’s arrival until he left in 1974, Leeds won the Second Division, the First Division (twice), the FA Cup, the League Cup, and the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (basically the current Europa League). But to keep things in perspective, they also finished second in the league five times and lost the FA Cup final three times. So they were right in the middle of everything, playing a style that was both free-flowing and attacking—and also tough as nails. The leader on the pitch was a Scotsman named Billy Bremner, whose statue outside Elland Road is always decorated for game days. It was Revie, by the way, who switched Leeds to their all-white strip to emulate Real Madrid. He has a statue as well.

Revie left in 1974 and was replaced by Brian Clough, who had won the league with tiny Derby County but was also brash and outspoken, in particular while being critical of Revie and Leeds. So it was an odd appointment—and it famously lasted for just 44 days. The book and movie The Damned United tell this story, sort of. Liberties were taken, especially in the book, but what’s clear is that Clough’s tenure marked the end of the Revie era; by 1982 they were back in the Second Division and had a reputation for some of the roughest hooligans around.

They had another run in the ’90s, even winning the league in 1992 and making the UEFA Cup semis in 2000 and the Champions League semis in 2001. But money troubles sent them down again, and by 2007 the mighty Leeds United were in League One. They got out of there and back to the Championship in 2010, but you’ll still hear “doing a Leeds” to mean handling money so poorly that your team falls apart.

In 2019 under legendary Argentinian manager Marcelo Bielsa (famous for sitting on  a bucket during games), they built a fantastically entertaining team that, in 2020, swept to the top of the Championship, winning the title by 10 points and reaching the promised land. See below for a fantastic documentary about that.

Bielsa left in 2022, and an American manager, Jesse Marsch, kept them up with a win on the final day. Marsch was later fired during the 2022–23 season as Leeds were on a seven-match winless streak. Leeds continued to struggle and ended the season in 19th, sealing their relegation to the Championship. They lost the 2024 playoff final, 1–0, to Southampton at Wembley, but last season they won the Championship outright.

We strongly advise you to put Elland Road at the very top of your groundhopping list; it truly is the old-fashioned but big-time experience you’ve been looking for.

2024–25 SEASON: Champions of the Championship (promoted), 4th Round FA Cup, 1st Round League Cup

2025–26 SEASON: Premier League (promoted in 2025)

I Love the Amazon Prime Show, “Take Us Home, Leeds United”

Amazon Prime is offering yet another behind-the-scenes football series, and this one is my favorite — mainly because of the subject matter. It’s called “Take Us Home, Leeds United,” and in one sense you already know what it’s about. The...

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Review: <i>The Damned United</i>

We should make clear at the outset that neither the book nor film called The Damned United is a work of nonfiction history. Both, in varying degrees, are fictionalized accounts of a very famous time in English football, featuring a notorious...

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Manchester United gets the most mention, both from the glory days of football and the War of the Roses. Otherwise, their fellow Yorkshire clubs Sheffield Wednesday, Bradford City, and Huddersfield Town are rivals. Millwall (from the hooligan days) is also especially disliked.

Leeds United Women play their home matches at the local home of Garforth Town. They are in the Women’s National League Division One North, tier 4 of the women’s game.

Leeds are one of the few to still enthusiastically sing their old-timey song. Used to be everybody had a Cup song, but “Marching on Together” is a legit good soccer song, and they belt it right out at the beginning of the game, finishing up with the famous, “We love you Leeds! Leeds! Leeds!” The singers on the official recording are the 1972 Leeds team that made the FA Cup final.

Elland Road is absolutely one of our favorites, a combination of old and new, a central location, and what feels like just the right size. Look around for pieces of the old days like brick walls left up near entrances. The site was the home of Leeds City FC before United came into existence, so football has been played here since the 1890s. Today it holds 37,890 people in four stands, the most recent of which was built in 1993. Plans are underway to expand it to nearly 50,000.

The Revie Stand is usually called the Kop by fans; it holds 7,000 and is the source of a lot of noise. The grand East Stand holds 14,900, and the 1974 South Stand holds 5,000 including its two corners. One of these was painted yellow and used to house the away fans until it wasn’t big enough anymore. It’s known as the Cheese Wedge. The 11,000-seat John Charles Stand dates from 1957 and includes the longest TV and press gantry in the country, spanning almost the whole length of the pitch. This is also where the away fans now sit, toward the south end.

TOURS: Occasionally tours are offered on game days, and they sell out quickly. Check the website for details. Many are led by a longtime staffer named “Sticks” whose Yorkshire accent and storytelling alone were worth the price of admission. Tell ’em you want a tour with Sticks!

A Tour and a Game at Leeds United FC

Leeds is an exciting place to catch some football and among the places I most recommend getting to for a game. Here’s a report from my trip there on New Year’s Day, 2018. I had been to Leeds before —...

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GETTING THERE: It’s a two-mile walk from the station; in the hooligan days, Leeds fans used to taunt the visitors by singing, “You’ll never make the station.” There is a shuttle bus from near the station for £3 return. You can also take bus 51, 52, or 55 from the center to the ground. You can take a taxi, but getting one after the game is a hassle. The line forms on Elland Road across from the Volkswagen dealership.

PUBS: The most obvious is The Old Peacock right across the road. They have a big tent out back on game days; the loud band isn’t for everyone, but pints are reasonable and the wait isn’t bad. There’s also a bar called Billy’s attached to the stadium.

GRUB: We are told that Graveley’s, a chippy right next to The Old Peacock, has excellent fish and chips. We wouldn’t know, because both times we have been to Leeds the line was far more than seemed worth it. Maybe you can confirm this rumor.

AROUND TOWN: Leeds is a great city, with an old center, a university feel, and lots of new construction going on. It was a major mill center in the Industrial Revolution and today is the third-largest city in England after London and Birmingham. It’s also a great base for soccer explorations at one hour from Manchester or Sheffield, two and a half from London, and near many Yorkshire clubs.

Here are just some of the sites around:

— The old center includes great architecture like Leeds Town Hall, the Corn Exchange, and the Leeds City Museum.

— The Victoria Quarter has lots of fancy shops and arcades—not the video-game kind but the 19th-century-shopping-mall kind.

— There are the ruins of Kirkstall Abbey, a 12th-century monastery.

— The Leeds Industrial Museum is in an old mill building.

— Kirkgate Market (Monday through Saturday) is one of the largest indoor markets in Europe; it includes a farmers market on the first and third Sunday of the month.

— Call Lane is the hotspot for evening entertainment.

–River tours are available from Skipton Boat Tours