The Biography of Leeds

A warmly written history of Yorkshire's biggest football club!

In The Biography of Leeds United, Telegraph journalist and lifelong fan Rob Bagchi writes the story of this famous club and chronicles a century of history that will educate, entertain and inform both old and new supporters. Packed with fresh stories about and from former players, managers and the money men, as well as the fans, the book is an affectionate and insightful portrait of a football club like no other.

Leeds United were founded in 1919 to revive professional football in Yorkshire's biggest city following the expulsion of their fragile and bungling predecessors, Leeds City. A century on from their formation, a club that makes a virtue out of its many ups and downs in its own anthem, has endured a turbulent existence of crushing disappointment and conflict tempered by extraordinary, often mercurial, success.

When United mark their centenary in October 2019, vivid recollections of their greatest days, the three league championships, FA Cup, League Cup and floodlit memories of nights of European glory will be celebrated throughout the vast fanbase. Elland Road icons John Charles, Billy Bremner, Jack Charlton, Peter Lorimer, Norman Hunter, Eddie Gray, Tony Currie, John Sheridan, Gordon Strachan, David Batty, Eric Cantona, Gary Speed and Lucas Radebe played for teams that were both revered and reviled, contributing to the club's fame throughout the world. Don Revie's team of the Sixties and Seventies propelled the club and city to unprecedented heights. But when they reached the top, they failed to plan and there was nowhere to go but down. The theme of the past five decades has been the struggle to get back, a story of great adventures, fleeting splendour, relegation and defiant, hard battles against authority, owners and self-sabotage.