When Leeds play their FA Cup semi-final next weekend, many fans will remember the day they last did so, nearly 40 years ago. Things were very different then, of course – not least at Elland Road.
By the time that last semi-final took place, in April 1987, the ‘Whites’, as they are sometimes called, had already been cup-winners, and double league champions too boot. They had also claimed a League Cup and three European trophies. And they had even made it to a European Cup final, only to suffer a bitter defeat.
Fortunes failed but glory beckoned
But Don Revie, the manager who oversaw much of that success, had departed, and the golden days quickly became a thing of the past. Leeds had plummeted down the table, and attendances had plummeted too, from almost 40,000 to barely half that by 1982. That was also the year in which they were relegated to the second division. The stadium was then sold off to the city council. And in March 1987, the club announced losses of more than half-a-million pounds.
The club had gone through 10 managers since Revie. The 1987 incumbent, Billy Bremner, was a much-loved former player, who had returned to Elland Road after a stint at Doncaster Rovers. The cup run he had overseen had been the best for a decade. After wins at Telford, Swindon and Wigan, and a home victory over Queens Park Rangers, Leeds would now face Coventry City at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield.
“Will pay almost anything”
Thanks in no small part to this unfamiliar success, crowds at Elland Road were on the rise again. League matches regularly drew in 15,000 people, with over 20,000 attending the derby against Bradford City. And the cup tie with QPR attracted more than 30,000.
Tickets for the semi-final went on sale 10 days beforehand, and many thousands of supporters besieged the ground in the hope of getting their hands on them. The crush was so great that surrounding roads had to be closed, and traffic on the nearby M621 was held up for two hours. The club shop closed its doors mid-morning. Advertisements began appearing in local newspapers, offering tickets for £100 each (the equivalent of almost £300 today). Fans were becoming desperate. “Wanted – Ticket for FA Cup semi-final,” a personal ad in the Huddersfield Examiner screamed. “Will pay almost anything.”
South Yorkshire police warned people travelling by coach that they would be turned back on the motorway if they didn’t have a match ticket. The force claimed to be mounting the biggest ever operation at a British football ground, and the largest operation of any kind since the miner’s strike two years earlier. All leave was cancelled. And it was said that a thousand officers would be on duty, with half of them deployed inside the ground and so-called ‘hoolivans’ patrolling the streets outside.
Hauled to safety
The weekend of the semi-final was warm and sunny. Madonna, Fine Young Cannibals and Bon Jovi were all on their way up the UK Singles Chart. The Duchess of Windsor’s jewellery had just sold at auction for the equivalent of £90mn. And Yorkshire’s rugby union team claimed the County Championship at Twickenham. At Hillsborough, meanwhile, the gates opened just after breakfast on Sunday. Most spectators didn’t arrive there until much later, however, and with thousands caught up in congestion on the motorways, the lunchtime kick-off had to be put back.
The official attendance that day was just over 50,000, almost half of whom were Leeds fans. They were shepherded into the west end of the ground and, in an eery foreshadowing of the tragedy two years later, crowded into pens on the Leppings Lane terrace. Though, mercifully, there were no serious injuries, many spectators would complain that they had barely been able to move or even breathe, while some were crushed against fences and had to be hauled to safety by police officers or their fellow fans.
The game, when it finally got under way, was a thrilling affair. Leeds started well and took the lead with a goal by midfielder David Rennie. Coventry’s goalkeeper was called into action time after time. But gradually, his side got on top. They claimed a deserved equaliser midway through the second half and took the lead themselves 10 minutes later. The Whites drew level seven minutes from the end, with a header from Keith Edwards, who had only just come on as a substitute. But Coventry won the day with a goal in extra time. They would go on to lift the FA Cup with another extra-time victory, over Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley.
A great ovation
The Leeds players received a great ovation as they trooped off the pitch, and some of them were plainly in tears. “There is an awful atmosphere in the dressing room,” Keith Edwards told reporters later. “It’s very upsetting in there.” The team were back in action only two days later, however, as they attempted to secure promotion back to the First Division. And they ended up qualifying for the Football League’s very first playoffs. It was there, however, that their season finally came to an end.
Billy Bremner lasted another 18 months at Elland Road, before being relieved of his duties and returning to Doncaster. His replacement, Howard Wilkinson, would take the Whites back to the First Division. And under him, they would become champions for the third time in 1992.
Leeds might not have won anything of note since then, but their fortunes have certainly improved. The club once again owns its own ground, the team has played in the Premier League in four of the past six seasons, and they’ve just beaten their old rivals Manchester United. Whether that will serve them well against Chelsea, of course, only time will tell.
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