Cor blimey, one of the things I wish is that I’d have seen us play live in the 1960s and 1970s. Obviously, I’ve seen a lot of footage of us under Don Revie and that great side we had, but I bet to be there in the Scratching Shed on a matchday was summat else.
I mean, when you think about some of the players today, falling over in a stiff breeze, prancing around on the ball like tarts, scared to use their ‘wrong foot’, bloody ‘ell, some of ‘em are overpaid, over-pampered little primadonnas.
Then look at that Leeds side. Playing with broken ribs, bloody faces and missing teeth – without complaining and (at least in today’s money), for a pittance. Warriors on the pitch, could use either foot, most of ‘em could rattle it from 40 yards (hard, heavy leather balls an’ all) and stick their bonce on it whenever they needed to.
So, it got me thinking. There’s gotta be at least five players from that side who would easily get into any starting lineup in today’s game. Read on to see who I came up with.
William ‘Billy’ Bremner
There’s a reason he’s immortalised in statue form outside the ground. Bremner just had everything; the best in the country at the time and a hell of a pass, be it a simple five yarder or long-range. I bet if you asked any manager around, they would take him in a heartbeat, if he was playing today. A great leader as well.
Johnny Giles
Ask any die-hard football fan over the age of 70 who the best Irish footballer was and I bet they’d say Giles. Many of today’s millennials grew up watching Roy Keane, Robbie Keane, Damien Duff and others – yeah, they were good, no doubt, but Giles was incredible.
A midfield machine – him and Bremner were the best duo in the land at the time and, probably the most feared. Pick any team around today and he’d walk into it and still perform better than most with one arm tied behind his back.
Peter Lorimer
Blimey, Scotland had some talent back then, including Bremner, but you can mention Lorimer in the same breath. A wide forward as they were called back then, Lorimer still holds the goalscoring record for the club with 151 goals in 450 appearances and boy could he hit it.
Bear in mind, these weren’t the poncey lightweight balls they play with today either – many of his goals were recorded at speeds of up to 90 miles per hour and he didn’t faff around from the spot either. One penalty kick nearly put a hole in the net – 107 miles per hour. Cristiano who?
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💬 "Peter was a truly great player, but he was also a great man." pic.twitter.com/bU0bXv5Z5a
— Leeds United (@LUFC) March 20, 2021
Allan Clarke
With 110 goals in 273 games, Clarke is one of the best strikers to ever play for Leeds United, who broke the British transfer record for him when we bought him in 1969 for £165,000 from Leicester City.
A natural battering ram of a goal-scorer with a predatory instinct and fearless in the challenge Clarke put the fear of God into opposition defences and could rattle it with either foot as well. Him and Mick Jones formed one of the best strike partnerships in Europe and to be fair both of ‘em would get into many teams now.
Norman Hunter
Absolutely no way I can leave out “Bites Yer Legs” – a true product of the youth academy and one who went on to make 540 appearances for the club – scoring 18 goals from centre-back. Formidable and ferocious in the tackle, he do also do whatever he needed to with a ball – pass, strike, head and, with ease. Probably one of the best centre-backs around at the time and would easily get into most starting lineups today.
