Nowadays the TV cameras are pretty much permanent fixture around Elland Road, especially during the pandemic but when ITV'S "The Match" rolled into LS11 on Sunday December 16th 1990 it was the first time we had been broadcast on that particular channel from our home ground- whatever happened to Elton Welsby? not to mention the first live match in nearly six years to be screened live from Elland Road, the previous being the FA Cup 3rd round defeat to that days opponents Everton during the 84/85 season.
Howard Kendall was back with "his wife". Just five-weeks earlier we'd mercilessly taunted the Manchester City fans about Kendall leaving them to return to Everton, he described his time with City as like having an affair but going home to Goodison was like returning to his wife. However we Leeds fans weren't in any mood for any romantic sentiment, "Who the fucking hell are you?" boomed around the ground as the Toffeemen took to the field literally shaking in their blue jerseys. In those days there was none of this nonsense where both teams and the match officials walk out together and shake hands before the game, the away team would face the wrath of Elland Road first, it was a poisonous atmosphere if you were a visitor back then. A huge Leeds flag was passed around the Lowfields before kick-off (pictured above), it actually belonged to a lad from Burton who rarely spoke to anyone. The "quiet man" did say that he'd got "some wimmin at work" to stitch it together for him - a tremendous effort and it looked very impressive back in the day.
Everton further enraged the crowd by electing to defend the Kop in the 1st half, however within 25 minutes it was easy to see how the once mighty Blues had slipped into the bottom three as Leeds were 2-0 up inside 25 minutes thanks to goals from Gordon Strachan and Carl Shutt. That was how it finished, our first "double" of the season accomplished. We'd also beaten
In the programme, Chris Kamara was featured as the latest to fall foul of the "Leeds left back jinx". Kammy had been stretchered off with ankle ligament damage at Coventry three-weeks earlier. It was a bitter-blow for him seeing as he was 33 on Christmas Day and had waited 17 years to play in the top-flight. It pretty much signalled the end of his Leeds career too. Peter Haddock, himself a victim of an achilles injury earlier in the season at left back wore the No.3 shirt that day, the other two "unlucky" ones were Glynn Snodin (flu/glandular fever) and Mike Whitlow (brain blood clot). Amazingly though Leeds despite their injury-woes were looking forward to playing Aston Villa in the quarter-finals of the Rumbelows League Cup the following month, had a trip to Wolves in the Zenith Data Systems Cup the following Wednesday AND were £15,000 better-off by competing in the "Guinness Soccer Sixes" at Manchester G-Mex the previous week, losing in the play-off final to their Rumbelows Cup opponents Aston Villa!
Wilkinson made five changes for the trip to Wolves, our old Second Division rivals from the previous season. The Zenith Data Systems Cup had began life in 1985 following the ban on English clubs competing in Europe after the Heysel Stadium disaster. Originally called the Full Members Cup and then the Simod Cup, it ran through to 1992. Despite its lowly status, a decent crowd of 11,080 turned up just six days before Christmas at Molyneux to see Leeds win 2-1 and earn a home tie with Derby in the next round.
Christmas Day arrived and I did quite well to be fair, I got the VHS Video tape of Howard Wilkinson picking the greatest ever Leeds United team, which basically was the Revie "Glory Days" team plus John Charles but a brilliant watch with Wilkinson, despite his Sheffield roots and the inevitability of the outcome, providing a genuine and entertaining analysis of our finest players. I also got a Leeds United "Top Man" tracksuit which I absolutely loved and I think ive still got the top somewhere! Looking back at the Christmas Gift Guide in the Everton programme I was spared the dreaded "having to make false, enthusiastic murmors of gratitude" as my loved-ones steered clear of the jigsaw puzzle (£5.70), the colouring poster (£1.85) or even the horrendous football shaped slippers (adult size £15.50)!
Our next home game was against Chelsea on Boxing Day, one of the most eagerly anticipated fixtures of the season and usually a magnet for trouble. However Leeds was hit with a torrential downpour that day. I doubt even the warring Headhunters and Service Crew would have wanted to get their designer-gear saturated. Much to our satisfaction, as well as seeing the Chelsea fans in the uncovered corner get drenched, we stormed to a 3-0 lead, Sterland and Chapman with his 11th and 12th of the season. Kerry Dixon pulled one back for the visitors but the pick of the crop came from Mike Whitlow, on as sub, who lashed home from 25 yards. What a way to mark his return from a blood clot on the brain and undoubtedly the highlight of Whitlow's brief Leeds career. We had gone 13 games unbeaten now and were up to fourth. The crowd of 30,893 was the biggest so far of that season.
Just three-days later, yet more opponents in Blue and this time it was Wimbledon' s turn. The so-called "crazy gang" were comfortably placed in mid-table. As was their modus operandi, they continued to sell on some of their best players and bring in and develop cheaper replacements, or in the case of Terry Gibson, established players. Gordon Strachan gave the lowdown on his ex Manchester United team-mate Gibson by claiming he was a regular in McDonald's and had scoffed 22 packets of Cheese and Onion crisps en-route to a testimonial at Celtic. Elsewhere in the programme, David Batty relived a "nightmare" 15-hour journey after being selected for Lawrie McEnemy's England "B" team to play in Albania. Having been unable to get his own car out due to the bad weather, Batty borrowed his Dad's car, failed to pick up John Lukic and Mel Sterland due to a mix up, ended up in a minor car crash, turned back to Leeds and having been unable to get a train had to fly to Heathrow from LBA and get a taxi to Luton, costing him £80. The England party flew out 24 hours later and Batty admitted he was "disappointed" that he was not even picked to play!
Batty obviously made the Leeds team to face the Dons and a typically blistering opening 45 for Leeds saw us storm to a 3-0 lead thanks to Lee Chapman, Gary Speed and Mel Sterland, his third in three. We seemed to ease of in the Second Half as Liverpool away on New Years Day loomed on the horizon which would now be 3rd versus 1st. I remember the Wimbledon striker John Fashanu getting lots of stick off the Leeds supporters about his brother Justin, who had "come out" as gay just two-months earlier. Shortly afterwards, John Fashanu described his brother as "an outcast" and offered him £70-100k (depending on what source you read) to keep his mouth shut however the Sun newspaper got wind of it and threatened to "out" him. I felt a bit sorry for John Fashanu, the jeers directed at him that afternoon were undeniably homophobic and no doubt it was the start of many, many years where he would have to "carry the can" for his brother "coming out" which is utterly shameful on all accounts and, sadly, homosexuality is still a taboo subject in the game 30+ years on. Justin Fashanu eventually would take his own life in 1998 having been accused of sexually assaulting a teenage boy in the United States. Allan Clarke had tried to sign him from Norwich in 1980 but was put off by the £2m price tag quoted
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