Product Description

They were the team from nowhere...In 1961, when Don Revie became manager of Leeds United, they were a struggling Second Division club. By 1974 they had won two League Championships, the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (twice), the FA Cup and the League Cup, and players like Jack Charlton and Billy Bremner were household names. Yet this was a team that inspired not admiration, not grudging respect, but a deep and visceral loathing, matched only by the bellicose devotion of their own supporters. The undeniable artistry of players like striker Alan Clarke was overshadowed by a ruthless - and thoroughly modern - professionalism, symbolised by the scything tackles of Norman Hunter. The new Leeds - especially in the intimidating arena of Elland Road - took no prisoners.At the heart of their outlaw status was the eccentric, superstitious personality of Revie himself. Clad in his lucky blue suit, a man for whom team-building meant rounds of carpet bowls, here reigned less a football manager than, in his own estimation, the 'head of the family'. But whenever his great Leeds United side were let off the leash - the 7-0 humiliation of Southampton is enshrined in Match of the Day mythology - their brilliance was compelling. So compelling it was almost cruel. The Unforgiven is the full story of the most defiantly unconventional team in British football. The book is reissued to coincide with the release of BBC Films' adaptation of David Peace's bestselling The Damned United (9780571224333) - starring Michael Sheen as Brian Clough and adapted by Peter Morgan (The Queen). It includes a new chapter detailing the aftermath of the Revie era - including Brian Clough's infamous 44 days at Elland Road; Revie's tenure as England manager; and his continuing influence on Leeds' fortunes to this very day.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9579 in Books
• Published on: 2009-03-10
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

Review
'Excellent' --Sunday Times

'Well-researched and thought-provoking' --When Saturday Comes

Harry Pearson, When Saturday Comes, December 2002
[A] well-researched and thought-provoking 'revisionist' history... Well argued and backed by telling statistics.

Richard Whitehead, The Times, 2 November 2002
Written with considerable style. The most important question is whether it could be read by enthusiasts who are not Leeds fans...emphatically, yes.

Customer Reviews

An essential primer for all 'new wave' Leeds fans.
Although the book owes a debt of acknowledgement to the fabulous Leeds United-The Glory Years video and makes two errors (find out for yourselves...oh, o.k then, the blessed Don Revie died on May 26th 1989, not March), the book is a wonderful mouthwatering read, written with just enough reverence to satsify even the most boneheaded Leeds fans but at the same time acknowledging that some of the Elland Road 'black arts' need addressing.
A book of this sort has been overdue for some time and those of us fortunate to grow up with the team in the 1960's and 1970's will remember that the Leeds United team of the time were a thing of beauty, a fact which has now been belatedly acknowledged (at least Elsie Revie can be comforted by that fact).
I think that now the authors should sit down and address themselves to what went wrong in the immediate post Don Revie period, through to 1983 or so.
For those of you who need further evidence, get a copy of the Glory Years video, a worthy companion to The Unforgiven.

Memory Lane Read
This is a good book on the history of Leeds when they were power to behold in the late 60's and 70's. Full of details of how Don Revie got his team up and running. There are also interesting bits on the teams they played, the players attitudes and on how the Board viewed things at Leeds.

For anyone who has an interest in Leeds and wants to take a trip down memory lane, this is a book to have. There are some nice photographs also and generally I found the pace of the book to be just right.

Definitely one for any Leeds Fan to have in their collection

One of the best
i read this book years ago and found it intriguing, well written, informative and entertaining, even though I couldn't agree with all the points raised by the authors. I think there were a couple of tiny errors too but nonetheless, it's a great read.

This is one of the best Leeds-related books I've ever read - I'd recommend it even though it's not always the 'prettiest' reading for Leeds fans!