Leeds

The story of Leeds United Football Club, an association football team of professional standing located within the town of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England began in 1919 at the time that Leeds United Football Club was founded after the dissolution from Leeds City F.C.

Leeds enjoyed the best time under the leadership by Don Revie in the 1960s and the 1970s. The club was awarded their English League title two times and also and the FA Cup once, the League Cup once and the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup twice. They were also runners-up in the European Cup Winners Cup in 1973, and also in they also won the European Cup in 1975. Leeds also won a League title during 1991 and 1992 under the direction of manager Howard Wilkinson.

Leeds United's parent club, Leeds City, was established in 1904 before being were elected into League Membership in 1905. They attracted bigger fans for Elland Road following Herbert Chapman's arrival. In 1914, Chapman stated that "This city is designed to be a place for top-flight football" however, Leeds City were forcibly disbanded and ordered to sell all of their members in the hands of The Football League in 1919 as a response to claims of illegal payment to athletes in The First World War. In the Salem Congregational Chapel, Leeds in 1919, Leeds United was formed and was given an invitation to join in the Midland League, being voted in on the 31st of October and taking over the spot that was vacated in the hands of Leeds City Reserves. After Leeds City's disbanding Yorkshire Amateurs bought their stadium Elland Road. Yorkshire Amateurs offered to make way for the new team that was under the leadership that of ex-player Dick Ray.

Chairman of Huddersfield Town, Hilton Crowther gave Leeds United PS35,000, to be paid back when Leeds United won promotion to Division One. He hired Barnsley's coach Arthur Fairclough and on 26 February 1920, Dick Ray stepped down to be Fairclough's assistant.

On May 31, 1920 Leeds United were elected to the Football League. In the years following they maintained their place at the top of the Second Division and in 1924 they won the title, and then were promoted into the First Division. They were unable to make themselves known and they were sent to the Third Division in 1926 and 1927. After their demotion, Fairclough resigned, which allowed Ray to be reappointed manager. From the time of his appointment until the beginning in World War II Leeds were twice relegated, and on each occasion, they were promoted in the following season.

5 March 1935 was the day that Ray quit in order to replace Billy Hampson, who remained in charge for 12 years. After the 1946-47 season, following the conflict, Leeds were relegated again in the league with the worst performance in the history of Leeds. After the year, Hampson resigned (he stayed at Leeds as their chief scout for 8 years) He was then replaced, in April of 1947, by Willis Edwards. in 1948, Sam Bolton replaced Ernest Pullan as chairperson of Leeds United. Edwards was appointed Assistant Manager in the month of April, 1948, after only one year as manager. He was succeeded with Major Frank Buckley.

Leeds continued to be within the Second Division until 1955-56, which was the time they again secured promotions into the First Division, inspired by John Charles. Charles was aspired to success at the top level, and Leeds manager Raich Carter could not convince Charles that Leeds could meet his expectations. Charles was transferred to Juventus at the time for a record of P65,000. The demise of Charles led to Leeds being dropped into the Second Division in the 1959-60 season.

In March of 1961 the club was appointed by the former players Don Revie as manager, after the departure of Jack Taylor. The stewardship of Don Revie began under difficult conditions; the Leeds team was "in financial trouble" and only one win at the end of the campaign was enough to save Leeds from being sent in Division Three. Revie adopted a youth-friendly policy as well as changing the team colours that was all-white, in the fashion similar to Real Madrid, and Leeds was promoted in the First Division in 1963-64.

In the 1964-65 season, Leeds finished second behind rivals Manchester United on goal average. They also made it to the semi-finals in the FA Cup, losing 2-1 to Liverpool at Wembley following extra-time. The 1965-66 season saw Leeds also finished 2nd in league and also made it to finals for the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, losing by a 2-1 aggregate score to Spanish team Real Zaragoza despite manager Revie directing the fire brigade to fill the stadium with water prior to they played in the second round at Elland Road.

The 1966-67 season was a season in which Leeds finish fourth in the league in addition to reaching the semi-finals of FA Cup, losing 1-0 to Chelsea and also the finale in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, losing by 2-0 in the final to GNK Dinamo Zagreb.

In the wake of Leeds in the process of not winning the trophy, they almost the record of their transfer in 1967-68when they bought Sheffield United centre-forward Mick Jones for PS100,000. The season witnessed Leeds achieve their first important trophy in the form of that of the League Cup, with Terry Cooper scoring the only goal in the 1-0 win over Arsenal at the end of the game. Leeds ended up third within the First Division and were beaten in the FA Cup semi-finals by Everton. Leeds also made it to the second consecutive Inter-Cities Fairs Cup final and this time they took home the trophyby defeating Hungarian club Ferencvarosi over two legs. Leeds took the first leg by 1-0 and then, a month later, held their advantage with the draw at Budapest.

After achieving success in both national in both domestic and European cups, coach Revie made the decision to focus on the league during the 1968-69 season. Leeds achieved the title in the month of April in 1969 after a draw with rivals Liverpool at Anfield and their supporters congratulated Leeds. 19 Leeds established a variety of records, including the highest number of points (67) and the winning the most (27) as well as the smallest number of defeats (2) and the most domestic points (39) and a resounding record for the club is their 34-match unbeaten streak that lasted through the next season. Leeds increased their frontline by breaking their own British transfer record when they signed Allan Clarke from Leicester City for the sum of 165,000 pounds. They aimed for the treble during 1969-70 , and were close to achieving it however they failed on three fronts during an extremely busy final season being second behind Everton but dropping the 1970 FA Cup Final to Chelsea (after replay) as well as being eliminated from their participation in the European Cup with a semi-final loss to Celtic.

Refusing the chance to run Birmingham City, Revie chose to stay at Leeds for the 1970-71 season. Leeds along with Arsenal both competed for the title that year however it would be the Gunners who would take the league title with a one-point advantage of Leeds following their loss at West Bromwich Albion following a controversial "offside" goal. United were also eliminated from the FA Cup by Fourth Division club Colchester United. Leeds continued to win the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup though, defeating Juventus at the end with away goals. Leeds was runner-up in the 1971-72 campaign, however, United made it to their 1972 FA Cup Final, lifting the trophy following an 1-0 win over Arsenal during the championship.

In the 1972-73 season the Whites were close to an unbeaten record, but were at the third place in league. defeating in the 1973 FA Cup Final to Second Division Sunderland 1-1, which was against expectations. They also reached Final of European Cup Winners' Cup in the final against Italian team A.C. Milan at the Kaftanzoglio Stadium which they lost by 1-0 due to a controversial refereeing by Christos Michas, who was later barred by UEFA for manipulating other games. Revie received the manager job at Everton in the summerof 1973, however, he decided to stay at Leeds. In the following season, they took the 1973-74 First Division with a five-point advantage over the second-placed Liverpool. Revie decided to accept the role of England national manager at the conclusion of the 1973-74 season.

Over his thirteen years of the Leeds squad, Revie guided Leeds to two Football League First Division titles One FA Cup, one League Cup and two Inter-Cities Fairs Cups, one Football League Second Division title and one Charity Shield. The team also won three additional FA Cup Finals, two additional FA Cup Semi-finals, one additional Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Final and one Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Semi-final, one European Cup Winners' Cup Final, and the European Cup Semi-final. The team was also third on the Football League First Division five times, and third fourth twice. In a survey of top sports writers, historical experts,, and academics, conducted by Total Sport magazine, Revie's Leeds United were voted as one of the top 50 football teams ever.

After the 1973-74 campaign, Revie left Leeds and Elland Road to manage the England national team. Brian Clough was appointed as Revie's successor. This was a surprise selection given that Clough was a vocal opponent about Revie as well as the club's methods. Clough's time as manager began poor, culminating in a loss in the Charity Shield against Liverpool in which Billy Bremner and Kevin Keegan were dismissed for fighting. Under Clough his management, the team did poorlyand, after just 44 days, he was fired.

Clough became the replacement for the former England captain Jimmy Armfield. Armfield led Revie's aging team into the semi-finals of 1974-1975's European Cup, in which they were defeated by Bayern Munich under controversial circumstances. Aided by Coach Don Howe, Armfield rebuilt Revie's team. Although it did not dominate English footballat the time, they continued to be at the top of the list for the following seasons. The board, however, got impatient with the team's successes and exiled Armfield in 1978. They replaced his replacement by Jock Stein. He had a short time of just 44 days before departing to lead Scotland. The board also appointed Jimmy Adamson, but he could not stop the decline and in the year 1980 Adamson left to be replaced the former footballer Allan Clarke. Although he lavishly financed players, he was not able to stop the trend and the team was dropped at the conclusion of the 1981-82. Clarke got replaced his former player Eddie Gray.

Without money on team development, Gray concentrated on youth growth, but was unable to lead them towards promotion to into the Second Division. The board became increasingly frustrated and fired Gray in 1985. They replaced Gray with a Revie colleague, Billy Bremner. Bremner was just as difficult to be promoted however, Leeds were in the play-off final but were lost to Charlton Athletic. Leeds also suffered a close loss during the FA Cup, losing out to Coventry City in the semi-finals.

On October 28, 1988 when Leeds ranked 21st in the Second Division, Bremner was removed to make room to Howard Wilkinson. Leeds did not fall into relegation during that time and, in March 1989, the club signed Gordon Strachan from Manchester United for the sum of £300,000. Gordon Strachan was a Scottish midfielder was promoted to captain and played a key role in helping Leeds achieve their Second Division in 1989-90 and be promoted back into the First Division. Leeds were fourth in the 1990-91 season and in 1991-92, they were the champions in England in the 3rd time.

The final season of the season Leeds were the first to join the newly created Premier League, which became the highest division in English football. However, the 1992-93 campaign was characterized by Leeds leaving from the Champions League in the early stages, before eventually being 17th overall in the league (having not won any away games during the season) and narrowly avoiding being relegated. Wilkinson's Leeds could not offer an even-handed challenge to distinction, and his situation was not affected by a poor performance during the 1996 League Cup final which Leeds lost to Aston Villa.

Leeds did not even finish 13th in the 1995-96 season and, following the loss at home to Manchester United early in 1996-97, Wilkinson had his contract was terminated. One of the legacy left by Wilkinson and his youth trainer Paul Hart was the development of Leeds United's academy for youth that has produced many skilled footballers throughout the many years.

Leeds named George Graham as Wilkinson's successor. The appointment was controversial because Graham was previously subject to a one-year suspension by The Football Association for receiving unauthorised payments from a soccer agent. Graham had made some smart purchases and also aided young blood players from Leeds who were a youth cup winning team. In the final stages of the 1997-98 campaign, Leeds were in the running for the next year's UEFA Cup. On October 28, 1998 Graham quit to take over the management of Tottenham Hotspur, and Leeds decided to replace him with the assistant director David O'Leary.

Under the leadership of O'Leary and the assistant Eddie Gray, Leeds never was outside the top five of the Premier League, and secured eligibility for two competitions, the UEFA Cup and the UEFA Champions League with cups that reached the semi-finals of each competition. In the same time the image of the club was marred when two players Jonathan Woodgate and Lee Bowyer were involved in an incident that put an Asian student hospitalized suffering serious injuries. The court case that resulted took more than two years to settle; Bowyer was cleared, however, Woodgate was found guilty of affray, and was sentenced for community servitude. Also, in the UEFA Cup semi-final against Galatasaray in Istanbul two Leeds supporters were stabbed death prior to the game.

Under the chairmanship of Peter Ridsdale, Leeds had obtained large loans in the prospect of receiving a portion of TV rights and sponsorship revenue generated by UEFA Champions League qualification and following progress in the tournament. But, Leeds barely failed get into to play in the Champions League in two successive seasons and, as a result, didn't earn enough to pay back the loans. The first sign that Leeds was financially troubled came from the purchase of Rio Ferdinand to Manchester United for a sum of PS30 million. Ridsdale and O'Leary openly fought over the deal and O'Leary was fired and was replaced by the former England director Terry Venables. Leeds did poorly under Venables and other players were sold to pay back the loans, such as Jonathan Woodgate, whom Ridsdale had said Venables that he would not sell. The tensions grew among Ridsdale as well as Venables and, due to Leeds' performance falling short, Venables was sacked and was replaced with Peter Reid. Ridsdale quit the Leeds board, and was replaced by current Director of the club who was not executive director, Prof. John McKenzie. At the time, Leeds were on the verge of being relegated, but they were able to stay out of the bottom in the final game of the season defeating Arsenal 3-1 at Highbury by a late goal of Mark Viduka.

Reid was awarded a permanent contract with Leeds the following summer , and added a few player on loan. A shaky start to the season 2003-04 was the reason for Reid removed, then Eddie Gray take over as the interim manager until the conclusion in the current season. A specialist in insolvency, Gerald Krasner, led an alliance of local businessmen that assumed control of Leeds and supervised the sale of Leeds' assets, including senior players and young players worth anything. Leeds were dropped from the league in the 2003-04 season.

After Leeds were relegated to the Championship After the Championship was relegated, Assistant manager Kevin Blackwell was appointed manager. Many of the remaining players were either sold or released through free transfers in order to lower the cost of wages; Blackwell was forced to rebuild the entire team by free transfers. Leeds had to dispose of their training facility and their arena in fall of 2004.

The board eventually sold Leeds in the end to Ken Bates for PS10 million. Under the leadership of Blackwell, Leeds reached the Championship play-off final, but the team lost against Watford. The team was performing poorly the contract of Blackwell was terminated in the summer of 2005, and Leeds appointed John Carver as caretaker manager however, his tenure was not successful and he was let go of his duties. Dennis Wise eventually installed as his successor. Wise failed to get the team out of the relegation area throughout the entire season, despite recruiting several experienced loan players as well as free transfers from short-term contracts.

Relegation was almost certain. Leeds was placed in administration on 4 May 2007 and was then subject to an unavoidable 10-point penalty from the league that officially sent the club down to the third division of English football. The club previously had never played at a lower level than the second class. The players Wise hired were dismissed and he was required to create a team almost entirely from scratch. As a result of the administration Leeds could not take on any player until just a few days before the start of the season.

On the 3rd of July, 2007 HM Revenue & Customs lodged an action in court challenging Leeds the Creditors' Voluntary Agreement (CVA). In accordance with league rules in the event that the club were not in the process of being dissolved at time of the start of the next season, Leeds would have been stopped from starting their season through the Football League. In response to the claim by HMRC Leeds was listed for auction by KPMG and, again, Ken Bates's offer was accepted. The League ultimately approved this sale as per the "exceptional circumstances rule" however, it imposed a 15-point reduction due to the club's failure to leave administration by completing the aid of a CVA in the manner that Football League rules required. The 31st of August 2007 was the date that HMRC chose not to pursue the legal challenge further.

Despite the loss of 15 points, Wise and his assistant Gus Poyet guided Leeds to the playoffs and then to see Poyet to depart for Tottenham as well as Wise quit to take on an assistant post in Newcastle United. Wise was replaced by the former captain of the club Gary McAllister. Leeds were able to make it into the play-off final but were defeated by Doncaster Rovers. The following season was the team suffer from a lack of success which led to the fact that McAllister was dismissed following losing five times in the space of a few weeks. McAllister got replaced with Simon Grayson, who resigned from his position as the manager at Blackpool to take over the role. In the time of Grayson, Leeds made the play-offs for the second time but were defeated in the two semi-finals by Millwall.

In the 2009-10 season Leeds enjoyed the best start ever by an Leeds team, and also created a huge upset in the final round of the FA Cup by beating Manchester United at Old Trafford. After a successful performance during the FA Cup, Leeds' League form deteriorated as the team earned only seven points out of 24. But, the team fought back and Leeds were victorious in their final game of the season to secure their promotion into the Championship as runners-up to Norwich City.

Leeds went through the majority of the season 2010-2011 in the playoff spots however, they ended up in seventh position, barely being left out of the playoffs.

In May of 2011 the news broke in May 2011 that Leeds Chairman Ken Bates had bought the club and was now chairman of Leeds. Prior to the game against Middlesbrough around 300 Leeds supporters protested against the perceived lack of investment in the team side. Bates replied by saying that the protesters were "morons".

Although he was able to secure promotion into the Championship, Grayson was sacked because he was unable to mount an ongoing challenge to be promoted towards the Premier League. Neil Warnock was appointed as the new manager of the club on February 18 His initial contract running through the close this season.

On the 21st of November, 2012 the Middle Eastern-based private equity company GFH Capital finalised a deal to take over Leeds and acquiring an all-inclusive share of Leeds' club. The deal was also announced that Ken Bates would remain as chairman until the conclusion of the 2012-13 campaign and later become the club's president. The transfer was officially concluded on the 21st of December, 2012.

Despite reaching the quarter-finals of both the League Cup and the fifth round of the FA Cup (albeit with both games ending in five-goal defeats at the hands of Chelsea as well as Manchester City respectively), Leeds's league performance during the 2012-13 season was generally poor and the club was never even a serious challenge to the play-off spots. Warnock quit with just six games left, leaving Leeds only five points clear of the zone of relegation. Brian McDermott replaced Warnock, and Leeds took three victories in the last five matches of the season which was enough to prevent being relegated. The following summer, Bates stepped down as chairman, and then quit the club within a couple of weeks due to a dispute regarding the cost of expenses.

On January 7, 2014 Leeds United's chief executive David Haigh was involved in Sport Capital, a consortium which included the Leeds United's primary sponsor, Enterprise Insurance, Andrew Flowers. Sports Capital came close to closing a deal together with GFH Capital that would have granted them 75% of the company.

On the 30th of January the takeover of Sport Capital fell through due to the insufficient "financial support". Haigh issued a statement acknowledging that the company was unable to close a deal despite having two months ago agreed to buy 75% of the club from its owner Gulf Finance House. Haigh stated that the club along with Sport Capital had "injected substantial amounts into the club to ensure its survival" however earlier in the week , fellow consortium members Andrew Flowers, the managing director of Leeds' shirt-sponsor Enterprise Insurance, stated that GFH had "breached their contract against us" after soliciting a rival offer by Massimo Cellino, the president of the Serie A club Cagliari Calcio. Haigh's statement stated:

As you may have heard that the company signed an share purchase arrangement in conjunction with GFH Capital at the end of the year. That meant, as I saw it that we were in the position to move things ahead and complete the deal before the transfer window in January. ... Unfortunately, a few of the supporters of the consortium did not feel they were able to give the financial support we wanted to get in order to move the club ahead.

The 31st of January, 2014 under circumstances that were controversial there was a report in the media that club Manager Brian McDermott had been removed from his post as the club's manager due to several poor performances and the ongoing controversy over the club was settled. New captain Ross McCormack expressed his support for the former manager. On February 3, online casino malaysia reported that McDermott was contacted by a lawyer for Massimo Cellino "and informed that he was removed from his duties". But, Cellino had not yet control the club, since his contract with the Football League had not yet given its approval to his purchase, meaning neither he or his lawyer could dismiss the manager. McDermott was, therefore, still in his position.

Following weeks of speculation about the acquisition from Leeds United, on 7 February 2014, Leeds United had announced that they traded contracts to sell Leeds to the Cellino family's group Eleonora Sport Ltd. The deal resulted in the Cellino family purchase 75% ownership stake in the club, subject to the approval of the Football League.

In its meeting on March 23rd, 2014 The board of directors of directors for the Football League decided unanimously that Cellino's conviction by an Italian court indicated that he was not able to meet the directors and owners criteria, and therefore could not assume the role of Leeds United.

As a result of Cellino's purchase, Leeds suffered an appalling second part of the season, being pushed down from the play-offs to the margins of the relegation fight. The poor performances of teams below Leeds ensured that Leeds were never really in risk of being relegated as a late streak of victories put their survival in doubt before the close to the campaign. Yet, McDermott still resigned his job a few months after the end of the season.

On April 5, Cellino was successful in his battle against independent the QC Tim Kerr to take over the club. The acquisition was completed on April 10 Cellino's firm, Eleonora Sport Limited, purchasing 75% of the shares of the club. Two months later, unexperienced Dave Hockaday was surprisingly appointed as head coach. He was assisted by Junior Lewis hired as his assistant. After just 70 days they were both fired by Cellino. Darko Milanic was promoted to the position of head coach in September 2014 and became the first manager of the club who was not from the British islands, and also being the very premier Slovene coach in English football. He resigned from the club within a month. On November 1, 2014 Neil Redfearn was confirmed as the new head coach.

1 December 2014 Cellino had been disqualified from the Football League after it obtained documents from an Italian court where Cellino was found to be guilty of tax avoidance. Cellino was banned from managing the club until April 10, 2015, and then on 24 february 2015 Cellino said he wouldn't return to the club until the suspension had expired. The position was taken over by the former Man City Player Uwe Rosler as the head coach during his summer 2015 however Rosler was substituted with Steve Evans after only a few months in the job.

On the 30th of October, 2015. Cellino signed a contract in principle Leeds Fans Utd to sell a majority stake in the club. When the club asked him to legally agree to an exclusivity period in order to permit due diligence to begin but he refused.

On June 2nd, 2016, Garry Monk was appointed as the new head coach taking over from Steve Evans.

On the 4th of January, 2017 Italian billionaire Andrea Radrizzani purchased a 50 percent share of his club's assets by purchasing the club from Massimo Cellino.

The final game of the 2016/17 campaign, Leeds barely missed out on the Playoffs. Leeds were in the Playoff position throughout the season, but a poor performance during the final game resulted in them dropping to seventh position. This was further compounded by the fact that they were defeated in the fourth round of the F.A. Cup by non-league club Sutton United 1-0, who at the time were 84 positions and three divisions lower than Leeds United.

On May 23, 2017 Radrizzani made an announcement of a 100 percent purchase from Leeds United, buying the remaining 50% of shares from former co-owner Massimo Cellino Massimo Cellino, with Radrizzani owning 100% of Leeds United. Garry Monk resigned as head coach two days following the takeover, following one season with the club during which he led them to seventh. In June of 2017 the the former Spain player Thomas Christiansen was announced as the new head coach at Leeds who was hired from APOEL. The announcement was followed by Radrizzani's announcement of Leeds United Ladies back to Leeds United ownership. In July, Radrizzani was able to purchase Elland Road from Jacob Adler's company, Teak Commercial Limited for PS20 million, through his company Greenfield Investment Pte Ltd.

On the 4th of February, Christiansen was sacked after an inexplicably poor run of matches (not one win in the time since Boxing Day 2017 across all competitions) which left the team in 10th place at the top of the Championship table. On the 6th of February, Paul Heckingbottom was confirmed as Christian's replacement two days later, he signed a brand new deal with Barnsley. On the 24th of May, 2018 Leeds revealed that 49ers Enterprises has bought shares in the club in order to become an investor in the minority. It is 49ers Enterprises is the business part for the NFL team San Francisco 49ers, owned by Denise DeBartolo York, Jed York and John York.

Heckingbottom was fired by Leeds at the beginning of June after having been at Leeds for only four months. Argentine coach Marcelo Bielsa was announced as the new Leeds manager on June 15, signing an agreement for two years with an option for the third year. He became the most-paid Leeds United manager in the club's history.

The first season of Bielsa's presidency led to Leeds get off to a strong start and Leeds continued to be in the top two spots alongside Norwich City for the majority of the season. The team was with the intention of an automatic transfer to the Premier League. However, a disappointing conclusion in the league saw the club be denied promotion automatically into Sheffield United. They made it to the playoffs in the match against Derby County, but despite being 1-0 winners in the initial match, they ultimately lost 4-3, which meant they lost the match and forced them to another championship season.

On the 17th of July, 2020, following 16 years without a place in the Premier League, Leeds were returned to the top division following the loss of West Bromwich Albion against Huddersfield Town. Stoke City's loss to Brentford the next day was a confirmation that they would rise as the victors in the Championship. Leeds were in the top two positions throughout the entire season and never dropped to lower than 5th position in the table. They ended up finishing 10 points ahead from West Brom in 2nd.

Leeds the first time within the Premier League produced a 9th-placed place after collecting more than 59 points. This was the most of a newly promoted team in the Premier League since Ipswich Town in 2001. The following season was not as productive and after a series of disappointing results, Bielsa was sacked by Leeds on February 20, 2022. Jesse Marsch was appointed as Bielsa's replacement and was able to lead the team to avoid relegation on the final game day coming 17th.

In Leeds in the initial 15 years the club's kit was modeled on Huddersfield Town's white and blue striped white shorts, white shirts as well as dark blue socks, with white and blue rings on the turnovers due to the fact that the chairman of Huddersfield Hilton Crowther was attempting to join both clubs. He later decided to leave Huddersfield to join Leeds.

The year 1934 saw Leeds adopted halved blue and yellow-colored shirts, which included the city logo, white shorts and white socks with yellow tops. The outfit was first worn for the first time on the 22nd of September 1934. Then, in 1950 Leeds changed to yellow shirt with blue collars and sleeves as well as white shorts, gold, black and blue hooped socks. Then, in 1955 Leeds switched back to blue royal shirts that had silver collars, black shorts as well as blue and yellow hooped socks. This was a resemblance to the initial Leeds City strip. Then, in 1961 Don Revie introduced a plain white strip that ran throughout.

Leeds United's initial badge debuted in 1934. As with Leeds City before them, Leeds United adopts Leeds United's Coat of arms of Leeds that was displayed on the shirt in various forms until 1961. There were a few seasons following 1961-62, after which the all-white strip was substituted for the gold and blue stripes and the shirts were not adorned with a badge.

Perching owl badges were introduced to the cartoon in 1964. The design came as a shock due to Revie's belief in the meaning of birds. The owl was derived from the three owls which appear on the city's coats of arms, that were then taken directly from Sir John Savile, the first alderman of Leeds. The owl's colour was typically navy blue, however it was painted gold in at the time of the 1968 Football League Cup Final.

Between 1971 until between 1971 and 1973 Leeds employed in the years 1971-73, the "LUFC" script, which runs along the center of the badge currently in use, however, it was diagonal instead of the vertical. The script was reintroduced in the'retro-look' Asics kit worn during the season 1995-1996. In 1973, Revie introduced the best of 1970s-era imagery, featuring the well-known "smiley" badge, which was made out of characters L in the form of U written in bubbles. Revie's inclination to tricks was years ahead of the times, and was carried out with the intent of earning acceptance by a wider audience outside of West Yorkshire. In 1977 the smiley badge was turned around 45deg, and the blue and yellow colors were switched. The yellow smiley was reintroduced in the year following, but was now contained in a circular enclosure and surrounded by the words "LEEDS United AFC".

In the 1978-79 campaign, the club's badge was changed. It was identical to that of that of the preceding season but it contained the words "LEEDS United AFC" included an stylized peacock (a allusion to the nickname of the club, "The Peacocks") instead of the smiley in yellow.

In 1984, a different badge was introduced, which ran until 1998 this made it the longest-running badge of the current time. The unique rose and ball badge was made of the classic blue gold and white shades and included an emblem of the White Rose of York, the name of the club, and the football (a triangular icosahedron, similar to the Adidas Telstar, however in Leeds colors) in the central section.

In 1998-99 the club's logo was changed to the new, more "European" shield style. The shield was still a white rose and also the blue white, gold and red colours, and "LUFC" appearing vertically down the middle.  In 1999 the badge was altered by adding the football that was on the badge of 1984 is now in the center of the rose in white.

On the 20th of February, 2019 Leeds United revealed a mostly gold-colored badge that will be worn on kit of the players in the centenary season of the club. The badge was based on the current shield design but added with the "LUFC" text with "LEEDS United" over and "100 years" beneath the shield. The crest also contained the year "1919" that was the year in which the club was established in, and also the year of its centenary "2019".

Leeds United have only ever had one stadium for their stadium of home, Elland Road, where they've played since 1919, when they were founded. A football stadium with all-seaters located within Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, it is the 14th most crowded sports stadium within England. Elland Road used to be owned by the previous owners, Leeds City before their disbanding. After their founding the council permitted Leeds City to lease their stadium till they were able to purchase it. Except for a few years between the 1960s and 1983 and 1997 until 2004 the local council was the owner of the stadium.

The ground was eventually taken over by the club in October of 2004 and a 25-year sale-leaseback arrangement being negotiated, with the commercial buy-back clause in place for the time that the club's finances are improved. The ground was initially used as the site of play for Holbeck Rugby Club. Holbeck Rugby Club, which was part of the Northern Rugby Union as the precursor to the Rugby Football League. One of Leeds's initial nicknames, 'The Peacocks is derived from the name that was originally used for Elland Road - 'The Old Peacock ground'. The name was coined by the first owners of the site, Bentley's Brewery, after its pub The Old Peacock, which is still located on the site.

The newly-formed Leeds City agreed to rent and later acquire Elland Road. Following their disbandment, the stadium was purchased by Leeds United. The latest stand located at Elland Road is the East, or Family, Stand, a cantilever structure built in the 1992-93 season. It is able to accommodate 17,000 spectators seated. It's a two-tiered structure that extends around the corners, and is the biggest part that the Stadium has. It is the Don Revie Stand. inaugurated at the beginning of the 1994-95 season and holds around 7,000 spectators seated. The top part of the West Stand holds a television commentary gantry as well as a walkway to TV staff.

Elland Road was named in December 2009 as one of the potential venues to host The England 2019 World Cup bid. In the wake of an offer, Leeds came up with plans to renovate portions of Elland Road and increase the capacity of the stadium. Ken Bates also revealed plans to move the executive boxes in the South Stand to increase the capacity to start by an additional 2,300-3,000. Executive boxes would be constructed in the east stand.

Alex Ferguson has said that Elland Road has one of the most intimidating stadiums in European football.

A statue of the legendary Captain Billy Bremner was unveiled outside the stadium in 1999, in the Bremner Square area. Square'. Then , a bronze statue dedicated to Leeds the club's greatest coach Don Revie was also unveiled in 2012 to mark an anniversary that was 40 years old since Leeds taking home the FA Cup. In the course of the restoration of the Bremner statue, in the summer of 2018 a 'Bremner square XI' was unveiled. The XI included ten more legendary Leeds players' with inscribed stones with their primary statistics and accomplishments throughout their time at Leeds United.

On June 28, 2017 the new Leeds owners Andrea Radrizzani completed the re-purchase of Elland Road, via his investment company, Greenfield Investment Pte Ltd which utilized to purchase Leeds. Leeds will be able to enjoy a time that will not pay rent and can put money into other aspects of the team. In July of 2018, Elland Road was voted the 'Best Ground at the Championship by the football fans.

The year 2003 was the first time Peter Reid commented on the fan support in Elland Road after being relieved of his managerial duties declaring that "In thirty years, I've never had the support I received during the Leeds-Arsenal match just a few weeks ago. The Leeds fans Leeds are amazing." Other former Leeds manager have praised Leeds' fans; Kevin Blackwell said "fans are always following Leeds wherever they go" while David O'Leary commented "There is an incredible fan base and they're still at Leeds".

Leeds fans are known for singing the iconic tune "Marching together" in the lead-up to matches and before. Other songs that Leeds fans perform during matches include "We are the Champions," Champions of Europe" (more often referred to in the form"WACCOE") as a reference to the 1995 European Cup Final which Leeds were eliminated due to questionable refereeing decisions. A riot by Leeds supporters during the game caused UEFA baning Leeds out of European tournament for four years. However, the ban was reduced to just two years after an appeal.

Some famous Leeds supporters include the actors Ralph Ineson, Matthew Lewis, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau; comedian Jon Richardson and boxer Josh Warrington.

Leeds United supporters also have their own version of the salute. Leeds are ranked 10th on the annual average of attendance of both the Football League and Premier League. Leeds has the third highest competitions in the English League. The legendary Sir Alex Ferguson once said that Elland Road has one of the most intimidating environments in European football.

An LGBT fan club was founded in 2017 and will be a member on the supporters' Advisory Group. It is well known as a hooligan group within the Leeds United fanbase, called Leeds United Service Crew. Leeds United Service Crew.

Leeds is the main rival of Leeds. They are generally regarded as Manchester United. They are the most populous cities within the counties Yorkshire and Lancashire The animosity between the two regions dates from the War of the Roses, however, some of the tensions that have erupted between football clubs go from the 60s and legendary managers that included Don Revie and Matt Busby. The rivalry is described as one of the most intense in the world of football, and one of the most intense and unfathomable on the continent of England. Sir Alex Ferguson has described Elland Road as hostile and 'frightening'. He also said that the intensity of the games played between the two rivals was higher than games played by Liverpool.

On the field they have played for championships and league titles in the 1960s the 1970s, 1990s, and into the early 2000s. players like Johnny Giles, Gordon Strachan and Eric Cantona have been highly successful following their shifts between clubs. Leeds were relegated back to the Football League in 2004 caused an extended period of games between the twoteams, but promotion in 2020 brought back their status as top of the league.

Leeds The secondary rivals to Leeds are usually regarded as Chelsea and Chelsea, which is a result of that 1970 FA Cup Final. They played in the top tier of the Premier League in the late 1990s and the early 2000s. games were frequently violent. The rivalry has cooled since Leeds the club's relegation in 2004 controversial figures like Ken Bates and Dennis Wise -- who both had lengthy ties to Chelsea and Chelsea -- ruled Leeds' relegation to third division, in 2007, and the subsequent administration, extending the rivalry.

Leeds have also expressed extreme resentment toward Turkish club Galatasaray after the tragic deaths of two supporters on in the evening prior to an UEFA Cup semi-final in Istanbul in April 2000. In the course of the match, fans of Galatasaray ridiculed the deaths and their team were not allowed to sport black arm bands. Then Leeds chairman Peter Ridsdale accused the club of not displaying common decency.

The time they were not part of in the Premier League between 2004 and 2020, Leeds had a number of rivalries that were temporary with divisional rivals like Cardiff City, Derby County and Millwall and also Yorkshire close neighbors Sheffield Wednesday and Huddersfield Town.

The song 'Leeds United The song first came out on April of 1972 as a celebration of the team's participation in their 1973 FA Cup Final, composed by Les Reed and Barry Mason with the team performing the vocals. The single remained on the UK Singles Chart for almost three months, reaching the 10th position. The B-side was titled 'Leeds! Leeds! Leeds!' (commonly typically referred to as Marching on Together) has since become the club's official anthem and is frequently performed by fans

The current manager of Leeds, Jesse Marsch, is the thirty-eighth incumbent on the job since Leeds began in 1919. Leeds also had nine managers who were caretaker with three who have previously held the post in full-time capacity and one was in the position for three times. Most successful coach at Leeds United is Don Revie who took home the club two League Championships, two Inter-Cities Fairs Cups and two Inter-Cities Fairs Cups, one Division Two Championship, one FA Cup, one League Cup and one Charity Shield in his 13-year tenure as Leeds' manager. The club's longest-serving manager, having presiding over 740 games from 1961 until 1974.

P = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against

Name	From	To	P	W	D	L	F	A	Win %
Dick Ray	17 Oct 1919	1 Feb 1920	17	4	5	8	25	31	23.52
Arthur Fairclough	1 Feb 1920	1 May 1927	326	118	81	127	427	425	36.19
Dick Ray	1 July 1927	1 March 1935	342	143	72	127	622	552	41.81
Billy Hampson	1 July 1935	1 May 1947	231	74	51	106	334	418	32.03
Willis Edwards	1 May 1947	30 April 1948	47	13	8	26	60	87	27.65
Major Frank Buckley	1 May 1948	30 April 1953	224	87	63	74	324	306	38.83
Raich Carter	1 May 1953	1 June 1958	217	90	51	76	370	336	41.47
Willis Edwards	1 June 1958	1 Dec 1958	10	5	1	4	17	16	50.00
Bill Lambton	1 Dec 1958	30 April 1959	30	10	7	13	40	57	33.33
Jack Taylor	1 May 1959	1 March 1961	81	27	17	37	136	169	33.33
Don Revie	1 March 1961	4 July 1974	740	394	197	149	1,262	703	53.24
Brian Clough	30 July 1974	12 Sept 1974	7	1	3	3	6	10	14.28
Jimmy Armfield	4 Oct 1974	30 June 1978	193	87	47	59	277	222	45.07
Jock Stein	21 Aug 1978	4 Oct 1978	10	4	3	3	13	8	40.00
Jimmy Adamson	25 Oct 1978	1 Oct 1980	98	35	29	34	138	136	35.71
David Merrington	1 Oct 1980	1 Oct 1980	1	0	1	0	1	1	0.00
Allan Clarke	1 Oct 1980	30 June 1982	84	27	22	35	77	104	32.14
Eddie Gray	4 July 1982	11 Oct 1985	157	57	55	45	214	193	36.30
Peter Gunby	11 Oct 1985	11 Oct 1985	1	0	1	0	1	1	0.00
Billy Bremner	11 Oct 1985	28 Sept 1988	143	58	31	54	192	186	40.45
Peter Gunby	28 Sept 1988	10 Oct 1988	3	0	0	3	2	5	0.00
Howard Wilkinson	10 Oct 1988	10 Sept 1996	411	178	117	116	622	488	43.30
George Graham	10 Sept 1996	1 Oct 1998	95	37	27	31	118	99	41.05
David O'Leary	1 Oct 1998	27 June 2002	203	101	47	55	320	217	49.75
Terry Venables	8 July 2002	21 March 2003	42	16	7	19	53	52	38.09
Peter Reid	21 March 2003	10 Nov 2003	22	6	4	12	36	51	27.27
Eddie Gray	10 Nov 2003	31 May 2004	26	6	7	13	30	51	23.07
Kevin Blackwell	1 June 2004	20 Sept 2006	115	44	37	34	128	117	38.26
John Carver	21 Sept 2006	23 Oct 2006	5	1	0	4	7	17	20.00
David Geddis	24 Oct 2006	24 Oct 2006	1	0	0	1	1	3	0.00
Dennis Wise	24 Oct 2006	28 Jan 2008	68	30	12	26	88	78	44.11
Gwyn Williams	29 Jan 2008	29 Jan 2008	1	0	0	1	0	1	0.00
Gary McAllister	30 Jan 2008	21 Dec 2008	50	25	8	17	84	61	50.00
Simon Grayson	23 Dec 2008	1 Feb 2012	169	84	40	45	259	186	49.70
Neil Redfearn	1 Feb 2012	18 Feb 2012	4	2	0	2	8	6	50.00
Neil Warnock	18 Feb 2012	1 April 2013	63	23	15	25	81	92	36.50
Neil Redfearn	1 April 2013	12 April 2013	1	0	0	1	1	2	0.00
Brian McDermott	12 April 2013	30 June 2014	54	20	9	25	68	77	37.01
Dave Hockaday	1 July 2014	28 Aug 2014	6	2	0	4	5	11	33.33
Neil Redfearn	28 Aug 2014	23 Sept 2014	4	3	1	0	8	2	75.00
Darko Milanič	23 Sept 2014	25 Oct 2014	6	0	3	3	4	8	0.00
Neil Redfearn	1 Nov 2014	30 June 2015	33	11	7	15	36	44	33.34
Uwe Rösler	1 July 2015	18 Oct 2015	12	2	6	4	11	16	16.67
Steve Evans	19 Oct 2015	31 May 2016	38	14	12	12	44	45	36.84
Garry Monk	2 June 2016	25 May 2017	53	25	11	17	69	55	47.17
Thomas Christiansen	15 June 2017	4 Feb 2018	33	15	5	13	50	38	45.45
Paul Heckingbottom	6 Feb 2018	1 June 2018	16	4	4	8	18	27	25.00
Marcelo Bielsa	15 June 2018	27 Feb 2022	170	80	33	57	224	155	47.1
Jesse Marsch	28 Feb 2022	Present	12	4	3	5	13	19	33.3

Leeds United achievements :

League

• First Division/Premier League
  • Champions (3): 1968–69, 1973–74, 1991–92
  • Runners-up (5): 1964–65, 1965–66, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1971–72
• Second Division/Championship
  • Champions (4): 1923–24, 1963–64, 1989–90, 2019–20
  • Runners-up (3): 1927–28, 1931–32, 1955–56
  • Play-off runners-up: 1986–87, 2005–06
• Third Division/League One
  • Runners-up: 2009–10
  • Play-off runners-up: 2007–08

Cup

• FA Cup
  • Winners: 1971–72
  • Runners-up: 1964–65, 1969–70, 1972–73
• EFL Cup
  • Winners: 1967–68
  • Runners-up: 1995–96
• FA Charity/Community Shield
  • Winners: 1969, 1992
  • Runners-up: 1974

• European Cup/Champions League
  • Runners-up: 1974–75
• UEFA Cup Winners Cup
  • Runners-up: 1972–73
• Inter-Cities Fairs Cup
  • Winners: 1967–68, 1970–71
  • Runners-up: 1966–67
  • Trophy play-off runners-up: 1971–72