Leeds United Bygones: O’Leary’s sacking start of the decline
Published: 06:10 Monday 25 June 2018
Former Leeds United manager 'David O'Leary.
It’s been an exciting week for Leeds United. Marcelo Bielsa’s appointment is a signal of intent that most could only dream of.
There is a sense of tangible ambition, of genuine optimism sweeping the corridors of Elland Road for the first time since their decline from the upper echelons of the Premier League began.
Leeds United's Lucas Radebe captained South Africa in the 1996 World Cup.
Leeds United's Lucas Radebe captained South Africa in the 1996 World Cup.
If Leeds fans were to pinpoint a moment in which that decline kick-started into overdrive, many would plump for what happened 16 years ago this week, when David O’Leary was unceremoniously sacked as manager.
Bielsa, many of those same fans say, is the boss the club has been waiting for since that very day.
His sides play with a swagger that O’Leary’s lot played with, and he has a way of developing young talent as former Arsenal and Republic of Ireland defender O’Leary did.
The two men are far from similar in so many ways, but the comparisons are there to be made, if you want to make them.
1966 World Cup-winning Leeds United defender, Jack Charlton. PIC: Popperfoto/Getty Images
O’Leary, who also had a spell playing for the Whites, presided over four happy years at Elland Road, picking up a club in the doldrums following a turbulent George Graham era. A successful tenure as caretaker put him in the hot seat full-time, with swathes of Whites support sceptical of his suitability.
But they were soon convinced. In his first season Leeds finished fourth and qualified for the UEFA Cup, losing out at the semi-final stage of that competition in tragic circumstances the season after.
O’Leary implemented a philosophy at odds with that of Graham.
His side played on the front foot, with a direct but free-flowing attitude that saw his young side flourish.
He promoted the likes of Jonathan Woodgate, Lee Bowyer, Alan Smith, Harry Kewell, Stephen McPhail, Eirik Bakke and Ian Harte, signed the likes of Danny Mills and Rio Ferdinand and fused them with experience pros like Lucas Radebe, Nigel Martyn and Gary Kelly. This was a Leeds side with identity.
The infamous old adage goes that “you can’t win anything with kidsâ€, and in this particular instance that holds water. O’Leary’s Leeds never won a trophy, but they provided a generation of United fans with memories that far outweigh any League Cup victory.
That Leeds side took them to Madrid and Milan, to Rome and Barcelona.
Leeds United were eating at the top table of European football, followed by some of the most passionate supporters in the world, playing with the sort of fearless confidence that clubs up and down England could only dream of.
Whilst always domestically competitive, it was on the continent that that Leeds side will always be remembered.
There were times of stress, of fights outside Leeds nightclubs, training ground bust-ups and of rampant overspending that sent that same fanbase to Crewe Alexandra and Carlisle United .
The beginning of the end came with the sale of Rio Ferdinand to cross-Pennine rivals Manchester United, which O’Leary publicly lambasted.
Within days, as the Irishman visited the club before heading off on his summer holidays, he was removed from his position as manager. It was an exit that exposed the cracks of mismanagement the club is still feeling the effects of today.
Chairman Peter Ridsdale hurriedly announced that O’Leary had left the club my mutual consent, only for the man himself to embarrass the club by revealing he was sacked. It may well be that Marcelo Bielsa is the man to take Leeds back into the Premier League, with a flair and reliance on youthful exuberance that took the club to the finer corners of European football.
For now, all they have is memories.
1966
Leeds pair Billy Bremner and Willie Bell were part of the Scotland side who drew against Brazil in a pre-World Cup friendly at Hampden Park. Celtic’s Stevie Chalmers stunned the visitors with a first-minute goal, but Servilio levelled for Brazil after 15 minutes and that’s how it remained.
1966
England were also in World Cup warm-up action against Finland in Helsinki. United defender Jack Charlton marked his first appearance for the Three Lions in a year by scoring and 88th-minute third. Fellow centre-back Norman Hunter also played for England along with future Whites manager Jimmy Armfield.
1973
Scotland met Brazil again in an end-of-season friendly, but the home side, featuring United pair, captain Billy Bremner and striker Joe Jordan, slipped to a 1-0 defeat at Hampden Park.
1996
United legend Lucas Radebe captained South Africa in their first World Cup tournament, but Bafana Bafana were knocked out after a 2-2 draw with Saudia Arabia saw both sides elminated at the group stages.