As a tribute to those we have lost in recent years, this is my selection of the players who now represent our great club up in the clouds. At least I hope they’re all up there and not down below! Is the almighty a fan of dirty Leeds?
I only published this last night, but already I'm having to change it due to the sudden availability of the newly late Trevor Cherry. Who does of course come straight into the side in place of Grenville Hair, who drops to the bench, which now has a more balanced look, with options to cover more positions on the field.
To make the best of the players available I’ve opted for a Bielsa style 4-5-1 formation. And to bolster the defence I’ve opted to play the Gentle Giant in his centre half role, though no doubt he’ll be going up at set pieces to give the Don a bit of a helping hand.
I hope I haven’t overburdened the Don with his dual role, bearing in mind that after a disappointing first season in the Leeds hot seat he decided to give up playing to concentrate on management full time. But in his day he was one of the finest strikers in the land, so we can’t have a player of his quality available without including him in the side.
Revie used to operate in quite a deep role as part of the mid-1950s ‘Revie plan’ used by Manchester City, which might leave us a little light up front when he’s the lone striker. But there should be plenty of goals coming from that midfield, even with Speed moving in from the left to a more central role to give Johansson space to get down the wing. And here is the team:-
Gary Sprake
Paul Madeley
John Charles
Norman Hunter
Trevor Cherry
Rocky Rocastle
Bobby Collins
Billy Bremner
Gary Speed
Albert Johansson
Don Revie (Player/Manger)
Substitutes
Harry Searson
Grenville Hair
Terry Hibbit
Phil Masinga
Jim Storrie
Of the players on the subs bench, Grenville Hair will be one of the least familiar. But I remembered him from a book on the history of the club, which has a photo of the team in the mid-1950s and another at the start of the Revie era in 1962, with Grenville the only one to appear in both pictures. And I really like his name.
And if you’re wondering about Harry Searson, he was a fairly random choice when I thought I needed a substitute keeper. He was the first of all the above players to represent the club, having been a member of the Major Frank Buckley side just after the war.
Is there anyone obvious I’ve overlooked?