Don Revie, arguably the best manager in league at the time of his era, and factually the best and greatest manager Leeds United have ever had to date. Don Revie built up, and managed a team full of stars and internationals, which would've been a bloody hard job in itself but what was his secret, what was his personal recipe for creating what he created at Leeds United. Don Revie used to play for Leeds back in the old Div 2, after becoming manager he slowly and surely began building a camaraderie and family environment amongst his players and the players families. He would send flowers to players sick family members and visit them in hospital, he got the players playing bingo to relax them, he even joined in and helped to massage the players; Don was a man on a mission, and with the exception of the controversial European Cup against Bayen Munich, he achieved it. What was the recipe he used, what ingredients did he need to make a great Leeds United team? Don Revie it seemed also had a good eye for a great player, Johnnie Giles wasn't highly rated by Man United, but Revie saw something and brought him to Elland Road, Giles went on to become a maestro in our midfield and, arguably the greatest and most accurate passer of the ball. The rest is history. Don made a personal trip to Scotland to try and convince the parents of a 15yr old he would be better off at Leeds, Eddie Gray came to Leeds United, the rest is history. During his playing days in Div 2 with Leeds, Don called big Jack Charlton a lazy player, and if he was manager he wouldn't pick Jack. Jack, in his usual straight talking way told Revie to fook off, the rest is history. Don bought Clarke from Leicester, from memory, Clarke became the first 100 quid a week player, the rest is history. Billy Bremner, Norman Hunter, Peter Lorimer were all brought through the youth ranks, the rest is history. Revies team are all Leeds United legends in the true sense of the word, and will remain so for decades to come. While many have laughed at, and mocked Cellino's superstitions, Revie too had is own superstitions, same suit and tie before a match, and the walking up the street and around the traffic lights and back again etc. The article below asks, do Leeds need to learn lessons from the Revies golden years. What's your opinion/s? http://www.thefootyblog.net/2016/10...ons-from-revies-golden-years-at-elland-road/? I've added a video documentary on Don Revie below, great to watch when there's no match on, especially for those who haven't seen it before........enjoy. http://documentaryvine.com/video/the-don-revie-story/
Despite the odd awful result, Ive mainly only happy memories of The Don and his team. However, in todays game, I dont believe theres much that can be learnt. In his days, the footie was tough tackling, if you found a gem, you could keep them for a decade at a club. It was more about love of the club and supporters than your bank account. The modern footballer is a different animal unfortunately
players were paid similar wages no matter the club, and extra cash was made through performance bonuses ... players stayed at clubs longer because there was no need to move if you were happy and settled ... players respected the game and the manager, and they were close to the supporters and the press ... in those days the team would take a train to an away match, sitting with reporters and supporters ... players used to play with broken legs if they had to, and there was very little squad rotation look at how sanitised football has become today, with the constant falling over and rolling around, and the high amount of muscle strains and pulled hammys ... Messi would have found it a lot harder to waltz through defences in those days, because someone would have clattered him every game and this would have tested his nerve ... different era that produced exciting football, teams going for it and players desperate to play every week ... now it's all flash softies wearing baseball caps and designer headphones with huge bank balances and no respect for the fans Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Don was great but don't underestimate the parts played by Syd Owen and Les Cocker they formed a great partnership with Don.
