Off Topic My new book - Back to Reality, Leeds United 2017-18

Have you ever considered Heidi having your books distributed in digital form through the apple ibook store for example. I never buy hard copies anymore only digital as you have the digital version with you at all times. Seems to be the preferred choice for many these days

 

Sorry but I hated clough and still do to this day as he should never have come in the first place and would never have succeeded. I was on Calendar the day he was appointed saying he wasnt the right person and had too big a mouth. He'd slagged us off so many times beforehand and the team as well as the majority of fans wouldn't accept him. The red hatred came a bit later than this as I actually wore red socks when we went to Anderlecht (it's recorded in my first book). I can't say how it came about but the more I thought about it, we had trouble at nearly every game and there was a common denominator, Scum, Forest, Liverpool, Stoke, Arsenal, Donny Rovers and off hand can't think of anymore at this moment but they all played in red. It was hell for Leeds fans to travel away to support their team and that hatred for the colour and them still remains because of what we as a support base had to go through. If you do buy the books, what is in them all is true and no made up nonsense. My first book is based on a diary I kept at the time when I didn't miss a game home or away for 7 years and went abroad to see Leeds. I was a girl in a man's world which wasn't pleasant at times and it was only because I wasn't going to be driven away from doing something I loved of following my team, by others.

 

The first ones were put on as e books which I even got myself for my kindle. Because the last two haven't been done that way as apparently there isn't much call for them I don't think they'll get done. I'll still put it to my publisher though

 

I believe the apple I books tore is a simple process to upload to. Would make it easy for many of us that prefer that format and especially in other parts of the world to access them

 

As I said, I’m too young to remember Clough before he came although I have watched some footage of him and get your take. To me, he’s just someone’s grandad who’s now dead but was immensely successful in the same years as we gradually went into decline so there is no hatred towards him from me, just respect and a bit of envy. Someone had to gradually re-build from the Revie era and nobody did. Fact is, Paisley, Clough and possibly Bobby Robson were the most successful managers in that period and we had one of them in place.

Funnily enough, the only time I’ve been caught in nasty trouble at ER was Sheffield United so you could be onto something. Or maybe just a lot of teams play in red??

 

Actually, I remember trouble against Sheffield Wednesday, Huddersfield, Birmingham, Millwall and Chelsea so maybe it was a blue thing to?

No, come to think of it, I saw a van load of Leeds fans being chased by a mob of baseball bat wielding Grimsby fans after a match at Blundell Park in the 80’s and they were a somewhat nondescript black and white and being barricaded in a pub near White Hart Lane against the Lilly white spuds yobs.

Perhaps it wasn’t a colour thing at all, more of a mankind problem??

 

The manager role should have been given to Jonny Giles as recommended by the Don. Keeping things in-house would have maintained our success as per Liverpool. Jimmy Armfield was the one they should have kept as the rebuilding was only going to take time but they didn’t and we know what happened then sadly. You are entitled to your opinion Marcos and I appreciate you were too young to see the hurt that man caused us in the short time he was here.

 

I ended up with trouble following me around which is all recorded in the books and there were very few grounds where nothing happened in those days; chased by lads with knives at Newcastle, ambushed at the graveyard in Stoke, Boro’s Ayresome Park and Man City’s Maine Road were the two worst grounds to visit as a Leeds fan. I’d recommend you start with my first book Follow Me and Leeds United and then maybe it gives an understanding of what we Leeds fans went through every week just to follow our team

 

Thanks I’ve no problem with it personally so will have a word with my publisher. I know he’s got a different distributor now

 

My only visit to Old Trafford was a 0-0 draw but a very enjoyable game. Two of us travelled up from Northampton and we parked the car a good mile away from the ground. Both with our Leeds shirts on we did our zips to our jackets up not to attract attention and a beating.

After the game the police kept us behind for a good 30 minutes, as we were allowed to leave we were lead into the car park and waiting supporters club coaches, the barrier around the car park surrounded by a ring of coppers and Manchester fans looking for trouble.

We approached a copper who was shepherding us towards the coaches explaining how we had made our own way and needed to get through the ring of Manchester fans “good luck with that” was his reply and he turned away from us.

We got to the coaches, went the other side and legged it across the car park and we found a quiet way out, zips done up to our necks we zig zagged through the streets towards where we had parked.

Twice a herd of Manchester fans legged past us on news that Leeds fans were in a nearby pub or a coach had stopped to fuel, I don’t mind admitting it was a terrifying experience I’d never repeat.

 

My first and only visit to OT was when I was at Scumchester Uni. A scum fan I knew, knew I supported Leeds and got tickets

Anyway we smashed them 0-1

OT was a quiet place that day

Oh and I did the classic of half raising my arms when we scored, got away with it ghough

 

You definitely needed your wits about you that's for sure

 

We went in the Stretford End when Clarke scored in front of it when we won 1-0. We were in the seats above the terracing and stood up with everyone when the ball trickled over the line trying hard not to cheer and go mad lol

 

Totally disagree Marcus he was hell bent on destroying the club and had no support remember Taylor opted to stay at Brighton

 

You miss my point, I’m not saying it as fact, I’m saying from a generational point of view it made sense. Armfield nearly made a fist of it and was a lovely guy but try and hang up Adamson, Clarke, Bremner etc and even Eddie (who possibly could have made it) managerial records vs Clough and they are nowhere

 

Marcus, Clough was a great manager but totally wrong for Leeds

Leeds United were at the time a close knit family with Revie as the father figure. They'd been together for the best part of a decade and the players clearly respected him and looked up to him

In the years leading up to Revie's departure Clough took every opportunity to criticise and insult Revie and Leeds, there was no love lost and the feeling was mutual

As soon as Clough was appointed manager he called the players to a meeting and informed them that all the medals they had won they'd won by cheating and they should throw them in the bin - good way to immediately lose the dressing room

It was doomed and destined never to work

 

I know mate, I’ve seen the film and read the books. I’m saying, factually, when Revie left the decline started and no manager could stop it or re-build after the Revie team was broken up. Like it or not, at the same time and without a bigger budget, Clough took forest from Division two to promotion, Division One titles, League Cup wins and two European Cup successes.

Obviously we’ll never know if he could have repeated that at Leeds but, as I have said three or four times, taking away the hatred because of my age, logic tells me we would have been far less likely to fall away into, more or less, decades of decline if we had given it a chance.

 

Accepting both sides of this it must come down to this: Clough would have been a success maybe the following season but to achieve that he would have dismantled the squad and rebuilt it. No other way to do it as Billy wasn't having it, and nor were the rest of that International squad. Fans would have hated Clough for getting rid of our heroes but Clough would never achieve anything with that squad. Clough used a particular type of player and an obedient one whereas we had a squad of household names many with as big a personality as Clough

 

Clough without Taylor was like a ship without a rudder