1969–70 Leeds United A.F.C. season explained

Club:Leeds United
Season:1969–70
Chairman:Percy Woodward
Manager:Don Revie
Stadium:Elland Road
League:First Division
League Result:2nd
Cup1:FA Cup
Cup1 Result:Runners-up
Cup2:League Cup
Cup2 Result:Third round
Cup3:European Cup
Cup3 Result:Semi-final
Cup4:FA Charity Shield
Cup4 Result:Winners
Prevseason:1968–69
Nextseason:1970–71

The 1969–70 season was Leeds United's 43th season in the Football League, and their sixth consecutive season in the First Division. Along with the First Division, they competed in the FA Cup, Football League Cup and the European Cup. The season covers the period from 1 July 1969 to 30 June 1970.

Season summary

At the beginning of the 1969–70 season Don Revie completed the signing of Allan Clarke from Leicester City, in the hope of trying to win all three of the major competitions – the League, the FA Cup and the European Cup. In the end, they won none of them – in the League, Leeds were runners up to Everton, and in the European Cup they went out in the semifinals to Celtic. Leeds also reached the FA Cup final and, despite a memorable performance from Eddie Gray, lost to Chelsea after a replay. Revie's Leeds were victims of their own success; FA rules at the time stipulated that a squad of only 20 players could be used, and as a consequence some of the Leeds players took part in 62 competitive games that season. Additionally, FA rules only allowed the use of one substitute, and even then only in case of injury. Other factors, such as fixture congestion and the FA's insistence that Leeds play 9 games in 22 days (the 1969–70 season was foreshortened by England's early departure to Mexico to defend the World Cup) meant that Revie was often forced to field tired players. Geoffrey Green of the Times wrote: "It has been a strenuous slog, greatly pressurised by the loss of a month because of the demands of Mexican acclimatisation for England's players in the World Cup. None have suffered more than Leeds United's players ... At the beginning of March, Leeds looked capable of winning everything and anything, including the General Election. At that time they seemed unbeatable, but in the end a condensed programme of highly competitive fixtures overwhelmed them. Should it be any consolation to them, Leeds have now probably won something more in defeat as good losers than they would have done in many hours of victorious celebrating – universal public sympathy."[1]

At the end of the season, Leeds won only the Charity Shield, although consolation came in the form of Manager of the Year and Player of the Year awards for Revie and Bremner respectively.

Competitions

First Division

Matches

WinDrawLoss
Scorers!!Attendance
9 August 1969Tottenham HotspurHome3–1Bremner, Clarke, Giles (pen.)35,804
13 August 1969ArsenalHome0–037,164
16 August 1969Nottingham ForestAway4–1Clarke, Giles (pen.), Gray, Lorimer34,290
19 August 1969ArsenalAway1–1Lorimer45,160
23 August 1969Newcastle UnitedHome1–1Jones40,403
26 August 1969BurnleyAway1–1Jones28,000
30 August 1969EvertonAway2–3Bremner, Clarke51,797
6 September 1969Manchester UnitedHome2–2Sadler (o.g.), Bremner44,271
13 September 1969Sheffield WednesdayAway2–1Clarke, Gray31,998
20 September 1969ChelseaHome2–0Giles (pen.), Lorimer33,130
27 September 1969Coventry CityAway2–1Clarke, Gray36,091
4 October 1969Stoke CityHome2–1Giles (2, 2 pens.)35,860
11 October 1969West Bromwich AlbionAway1–1Jones33,688
18 October 1969Crystal PalaceAway1–1Lorimer31,910
25 October 1969Derby CountyHome2–0Clarke (2)44,183
29 October 1969Nottingham ForestHome6–1Lorimer (3), Charlton, Bates, Hibbitt29,636
1 November 1969SunderlandAway0–031,842
8 November 1969Ipswich TownHome4–0Giles, Jones, Hunter, Gray26,497
15 November 1969SouthamptonAway1–1Jones23,963
19 November 1969SunderlandHome2–0Jones, Lorimer25,890
22 November 1969LiverpoolHome1–1Giles (pen.)43,293
29 November 1969Manchester CityAway2–1Gray, Jones44,590
6 December 1969Wolverhampton WanderersHome3–1Holsgrove (o.g.), Charlton, Clarke33,090
13 December 1969Sheffield WednesdayHome2–0Clarke (2)31,114
17 December 1969West Ham UnitedHome4–1Lorimer (2), Clarke, Giles30,699
26 December 1969Newcastle UnitedAway1–2Giles54,527
27 December 1969EvertonHome2–1Jones (2)46,770
10 January 1970ChelseaAway5–2Clarke, Cooper, Giles (pen.), Lorimer, Jones57,221
17 January 1970Coventry CityHome3–1Clarke (2), Charlton34,295
26 January 1970Manchester UnitedAway2–2Jones, Bremner60,514
31 January 1970Stoke CityAway1–1Giles35,908
10 February 1970West Bromwich AlbionHome5–1Gray, Jones, Giles (2), Lorimer31,515
14 February 1970Tottenham HotspurAway1–1Lorimer41,713
28 February 1970Crystal PalaceHome2–0Jones (2)37,138
7 March 1970LiverpoolAway0–051,435
21 March 1970Wolverhampton WanderersAway2–1Jones, Clarke35,057
28 March 1970SouthamptonHome1–3Lorimer38,370
30 March 1970Derby CountyAway1–4Kennedy41,011
2 April 1970West Ham UnitedAway2–2Clarke (2)26,140
4 April 1970BurnleyHome2–1Gray (2)24,691
18 April 1970Manchester CityHome1–3Belfitt22,932
21 April 1970Ipswich TownAway2–3Hibbitt, Gray16,875

FA Cup

See main article: 1969–70 FA Cup.

WinDrawLoss
Scorers!!Attendance
Third round3 January 1970Swansea TownHome2–1Giles, Jones30,246
Fourth round24 January 1970Sutton UnitedAway6–0Clarke (4), Lorimer (2)14,000
Fifth round7 February 1970Mansfield TownHome2–0Giles, Clarke48,093
Sixth round21 February 1970Swindon TownAway2–0Clarke (2)27,500
Semi-final14 March 1970Manchester UnitedNeutral0–055,000
Semi-final replay23 March 1970Manchester UnitedNeutral0–062,500
Semi-final second replay26 March 1970Manchester UnitedNeutral1–0Bremner56,000
Final11 April 1970ChelseaNeutral2–2 Charlton, Jones100,000
Final replay29 April 1970ChelseaNeutral1–2 Jones62,078

League Cup

See main article: 1969–70 Football League Cup.

WinDrawLoss
Scorers!!Attendance
Second round3 September 1969FulhamAway1–0Charlton20,446
Third round24 September 1969ChelseaHome1–1Madeley21,933
Third round replay6 October 1969ChelseaAway0–238,485

European Cup

See main article: 1969–70 European Cup.

WinDrawLoss
Scorers!!Attendance
First round, first leg17 September 1969LynHome10–0O'Grady, Jones (3), Clarke (2), Giles (2), Bremner (2)25,979
First round, second leg1 October 1969LynAway6–0Hibbitt (2), Belfitt (2), Jones, Lorimer7,595
Second round, first leg12 November 1969FerencvárosHome3–0Giles, Jones (2)37,291
Second round, second leg26 November 1969FerencvárosAway3–0Jones (2), Lorimer5,400
Third round, first leg4 March 1970Standard LiègeAway1–0Lorimer38,000
Third round, second leg11 March 1970Standard LiègeHome1–0Giles (pen.)48,775
Semi-final, first leg1 April 1970CelticHome0–145,505
Semi-final, second leg15 April 1970CelticAway1–2Bremner136,505

FA Charity Shield

See main article: 1969 FA Charity Shield.

GK Gary Sprake
RB Paul Reaney
LB
RH Billy Bremner (c)
CH Jack Charlton
LH Norman Hunter
OR Paul Madeley
IR Allan Clarke
CF Mick Jones
IL
OL Eddie Gray
Substitute
Peter Lorimer
Manager:
Don Revie
GK Joe Corrigan
RB Tony Book (c)
LB Glyn Pardoe
RH Mike Doyle
CH Tommy Booth
LH
OR Mike Summerbee
IR Colin Bell
CF Francis Lee
IL Neil Young
OL
Manager:
Joe Mercer

Notes and References

  1. News: Treble heartbreak . 28 October 2003 . mightyleeds . 25 February 2013 . mightyleeds.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "1969–70 Leeds United A.F.C. season".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2025, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.