31- Wilko's Warning and March mayhem

 

It's funny how things come around again. I write this blog in 2021 about events which happened in 1991, back then as per this year we saw a newly promoted Leeds team surprise many and make an impact on the top half of the Division. At the time of writing, we've just moved up to eighth which is remarkable having won at Southampton 2-0 (Bamford and Roberts), we started March 1991 with a 2-0 loss at Southampton, Paul Rideout and Glenn Cockerell scoring for the Saints with Rod Wallace providing the assist- a certain Alan Shearer missed a penalty! No doubt if I could be bothered to look, there would be suggestions from the so-called experts that Leeds were burning-out as the final part of the 1990/91 season drew to a close and let's face it, unlike the rubbish the hacks write about Leeds and "Bielsa burnout" these days they might have had a point back then!

Leeds were still fourth despite the Strachan-less reversal on the South Coast. They had 1-2 games in hand down to their  extensive cup runs that season. Although they'd been knocked out in the fourth round of the FA Cup to beaten semi-finalists Arsenal, we'd played six games in the FA Cup that season - the replay rules back then meant you'd play on until an eventual winner would emerge, Arsenal edged through on the third replay. Barnsley had also taken us to a replay in the Third round.

The bitter-taste of defeat to Manchester United in the semi-final of the League Cup still lingered on our lips, although we'd have the last laugh of sorts when John Sheridan would score the winner for Sheffield Wednesday (then of Division Two) in the final the following month. That fruitless run had added another seven games to the calendar. On the subject of the Owls, we'd played them in Mel Sterland's testimonial in November 1990, Leeds losing 7-2. Around the same time we'd sent a strong side to something called "The Guinness Soccer Sixes" in Manchester at the Gmex Arena. The absence of English clubs in Europe due to the Heysel Stadium disaster six-years earlier had spawned The Full Members Cup, or Zenith Data Systems Cup. A regionalised competition, we were awaiting the winners of the Barnsley v Everton tie to contest the Northern final later in March over two-legs.

By my calculations, Leeds welcomed Coventry City on March 9th in what was our 42nd match of the season, with 13 league matches still to play, plus the Full Members Cup Northern Final matches and possibly the final at Wembley.

Howard Wilkinson chose his "man at the top" column in the Coventry programme to talk about Europe, there was talk that UEFA having allowed two English clubs into Europe on a probationary basis that season, a third place could be in the offing. Aston Villa, as runners-up of the First Division in 1990 had gone forth as our sole representatives in the UEFA Cup and had bowed out in the early stages to eventual winners Inter Milan. Unfortunately Manchester United fared much better and had reached the Quarter-Finals, although they'd been held to a 1-1 draw at home to Montpellier the previous week.

But the words of Wilko in those programme notes on that particular day sent a shiver down my spine. He wrote: "I have no doubts that a European Super League is inevitable. Indeed, the first moves will come with the plan to make the prestigious European Cup a mini-league affair so that no team can be knocked out after just one home game as is the current practice."

As I said, funny how these things come around again.

So with the potential for European Football for the first time in over a decade tantalising us, Leeds despatched Coventry City with relative ease that afternoon, Bobby Davison on his comeback and Chris Whyte the scorers in our 2-0 win. I don't recall that much about the game however the programme was worth a read not just for Wilko's words of wisdom and warning! Chris Whyte had had something to smile about despite our heartbreaking Rumblelows Cup exit to Man U, he'd been named as Man of the Match in the 1st leg and was presented with a Sony TV for his efforts. Another man with good reason to be happy was director Maxwell Holmes who'd been appointed to the Football League management committee at the expense of....Ken Bates! The headline writers were, like Bobby D, on fine form with the caption "Beech has a ball" Rick Beech, a Leeds fan from Derby had spent 18 months making an origami football in Leeds colours consisting of 122 pieces. Another Leeds fan from distance who might have had more pressing things on his mind was L/S Wayne Bentley, he was stationed out in the Gulf and after 10 years in the navy was seeking out a Pen Pal, stating "I don't care how many girls write, the more the merrier". 

ITV's "The Big Match" obviously thought the viewing public still had plenty of appetite for  Arsenal v Leeds as our league fixture with the Gunners was switched to Sunday March 17th. Sadly it was same-old same-old as George Graham edged his side towards his 2nd and last league title with a 2-0 win both goals coming from emerging talent Kevin Campbell.

Just two days later, we faced Everton in the two-legged Northern final Zenith Day Cup thing. I can't even remember if I bothered watching it on telly and I most certainly didn't go to Elland Road on the Tuesday or Goodison on the Thursday. If you are interested, it finished 6-4 to Everton, who would go on to face Crystal Palace in the final at Wembley. With hindsight it was ridiculous to expect us to play four games inside six days including a two-legged final in some meaningless tin-pot Cup.

But at least we got an idea of how the final may have shaped up as Palace were our next opponents on Saturday March 23rd 1991. Again not a game that particularly lives in my memory, other than Nigel Martyn being in goal for them in their 2-1 win to pretty much seal 3rd place for them, going into the game although we had two games in hand over them, they were nine points clear and extended that gap to 12 with their smash and grab raid at Elland Road. To be fair, they were a decent side, as well as Leeds legend in waiting Big Nige, they has Ian Wright, Mark Bright, Andy Gray, Geoff Thomas, John Salako et al as well as youngsters Gareth Southgate and Stan Collymore. Director Maxwell Holmes was still basking in his elevation to the Football League Management Committee, our first representative since Sam Bolton 16 years earlier. "Mad" Max vowed to get tough on hooliganism that blighted the English game, citing his experiences with Leeds in the 1980's standing him in good stead. He had some no nonsense advice for Leeds fans...."...1) first of all behave yourself and 2) if you see any bad behaviour point it out to the stewards." 

Although I can't be certain, I'd not be surprised if Mr Holmes was in the Stamford Bridge Directors Box the following Saturday in what would have been an interesting encounter with Ken Bates, the then Chelsea chairman. Holmes's new powerful status had come at the expense of the belligerent Bates, who no doubt would not have held back on speaking his mind at not being elected. Maybe it would have been a meeting of minds, Bates after all had come up with a unique method of dealing with trouble-causers when his proposal to put electric fences around the perimeter fence were knocked back by the authorities just a few years earlier. Most importantly Leeds got back to winning ways beating Chelsea 2-1, Tony Dorigo easily beaten in the air for our first goal on 10 by Carl Shutt and Chris Fairclough wrapping up the 2nd before half time.

Left-back Dorigo, an England international probably had his future on his mind after a contract dispute with cuddly Ken. Obviously we didn't know at the time that the next time we'd see him he'd be in a white Leeds shirt, Wilkinson signing him in the close season for a bargain £1.3m and solving our left back hoodoo.

Dorigo told the "Quickly Kevin, will he score?" Podcast back in 2018 "I remember going to see Mr Bates because I'd actually wrote a transfer request. I sent it and he called me in to discuss it. .....He said 'Ok Tony let's get your contract out of the filing cabinet'....he let me turn it over....and said 'Now on the back of a football players contract is now many years you have....Tony it does seem you have two years left. There's the fucking door!"

Leeds 2 Coventry 0

Arsenal 2 Leeds 0

Chelsea 1 Leeds 2