Book description
Don Revie was the football man about whom few were neutral. The Leeds
United team he created was possibly the finest in the history of
English league football, one of legendary endurance, it characters
strong and unyeilding. Yet is remained unpopular, for many felt its
voracious pursuit of honours was hallmarked by cynicism and ruthlessness.
This fascinating study of Revie, one of English football's most
complex and controversial figures, examines the factors and influences
that moulded him. In interviews with team-mates, the footballers he
managed and others who worked alongside him, Andrew Mourant reflects
on the many seemingly paradoxical aspects of Revie's nature.
After depicting Revie's childhood living on the breadline in
Middlesbrough, from which the game was his great escape, Mourant
traces his development through playing days with five league clubs to
management of Leeds United, England and beyond. He also considers the
legacy Revie left Leeds: a craving for a return to the days of glory
and triumph he engineered.
It is a turbulent story of success and failure. The tragic nature of
Revie's untimely death in 1989 through motor neurone disease served
only to sharpen memories of his achievements. He continues to cast a
shadow over Elland Road and remains the yardstick against whom all
successors are judged. Amid the triumphs, near misses and traumas, his
reign brought Leeds United an era of unparalleled prosperity and
stability.
The story of Revie's career is one of intense dedication, willpower
and pursuit of the near impossible. For some it was an inspiration;
while for others its darker elements tainted the success he brought to
Elland Road and all he strove to achieve for England.
Andrew Mourant is a freelance writer and journalist who has followed
Leeds United since boyhood. He is the author of several books on the
club and, most recently, The Essential History of England. He also
writes on education and business topics, and works in TV documentary
production.
