Derbyshire Leeds the Way Again

Just three games to go and a place in the playoffs is still possible. We go to Leeds United AFC  hoping not only for a win, but a rare 'double' in this disintegrating season, having won 2-1 at the CG between Christmas and New Year thanks to a spectacular goal by Derbyshire in one of his (at that time) rare appearances. As usual we scored first (a Halford header in the first half) and were leading by this single goal quite comfortably when they scored an undeserved equaliser with only seven minutes to go. However, we went straight back at them from the kickoff and Derbyshire fired in an unstoppable shot from the right corner of the area across Paddy Kenny and into the far top corner. Possibly goal of the season, not only for the style of it, but also the pure joy of seeing the happy Leeds fans suddenly silenced. (Edit:  I'm writing this well after the event and that goal has been voted our Goal of the Season).

Leeds United were formed in 1919 as a direct result of the forcible disbanding of Leeds City FC by the Football League. Leeds City, formed in 1904, had played in the Football League, at Elland Road, from the start of the 1905/6 season until WWI brought an end to organised matches from the end of the 1914/15 season. After hostilities had ceased Leeds City were found guilty of having committed severe financial irregularities (allegations about paying players during the war years) and were disbanded and ejected from the League eight games into the 1919/20 season, to be replaced by Port Vale. They are the only club to be removed from the league mid-season and the only club to be removed for such financial dealings.

The area on which the stadium now stands was originally used for Rugby League matches from the 1898/99 season and was named the Old Peacock Ground (the owners were brewers and their pub opposite the ground was, and still is, the "Old Peacock") . After several tenants, mostly playing the association game,  had come and gone, Leeds United took it over in 1920, though by then it had become simply Elland Road after the thoroughfare running alongside it. Hence one of the nicknames of the club, The Peacocks. They are also known as The Whites and United. Interesting that they have a nickname The Whites because they have only played in an all-white kit since 1961 when Don Revie decided that they should look more like Real Madrid who by then had already won 5 European Cups. Prior to that date, Leeds had played in a variety of shirt colours; I remember seeing John Charles in a rather fetching shirt of royal blue and yellow, I think it was.

Leeds entered Division 2 of the Football League in 1920/1 and have been in the league ever since, rising to become champions of the old Division 1 on no less than three occasions, twice during the stewardship of Don Revie. Revie is fondly remembered by Nottingham Forest fans as being the bete noir of Brian Clough, who regarded his teams as "the dirtiest and most cynical in the country". It was the greatest surprise, therefore, when Clough was asked, and agreed, to become the manager of Leeds United in 1974. He lasted just 44 days before being sacked by the club's directors on 12 September 1974. A sacking which initiated the greatest period in Forest's long history, but we won't go into that now.

There is a statue outside the ground of Don Revie which gazes up at the mighty East Stand.
There is also a statue of Billy Bremner, a pugnacious all-action half back who played over 750 times for the club and has been voted their greatest player of all time. However, I'm not entirely sure the statue does him justice. During the 1970s there was a risque dance troupe known as Hot Gossip and I remember one of the male, black dancers had dyed blond hair. I'm sad to say, when I saw the Bremner statue, I was reminded of that chap!

The Elland Road ground consists of four stands, the giant East Stand, the South Stand, John Charles Stand and the Don Revie Stand. The corners are all in-filled with seating, except between the South and John Charles Stands where there is a large video screen, and the ground holds nearly 38,000 spectators, 15,000 of them in the East Stand, which has two tiers with a row of executive boxes along the centre.

Compared to the East Stand the rest of the ground looks comparatively modest, with the other three stands being of uniform height, their two tiers being equal to the lower tier on the East Stand. There are further executive boxes at the back of the South Stand and the police control box is in the corner between the Revie and John Charles stands.

The away fans are housed in the southern end of the John Charles Stand, which commemorates the man who I think ought to be regarded as Leeds United's greatest ever player. Equally at home as a centre half or centre forward he was the Gentle Giant of British football (he was Welsh, born in Swansea), never cautioned or sent off in a great career.

The John Charles Stand has one real drawback, which is probably why away fans are put in there; the TV and media gantry is placed so low under the roof that it severely restricts the eyeline of spectators at the back of the stand. If you stand up in the back row, you can't see the touchline running alongside the East Stand. Which is probably why, on our visit, seats on the back row were not sold. This stand also has the players tunnel and the dug outs placed by the halfway line, with the added advantage of the away dugout pretty much right in front of the travelling fans, which led to some light-hearted banter between fans and staff when we were safely in the lead.


Outside the ground, whilst wandering around, I noticed several banqueting and dining facilities. Behind the John Charles Stand there is a building housing the Leeds United Banqueting Suite, containing the Bremner Suite. Also within the same stand there is "Howard's Restaurant", a nod to Howard Wilkinson, another very successful manager of the club, who guided them to winning the final Division 1 title. This latter bar is for away fans only and is situated near the away fans turnstiles.
And in the South Stand there is "Billy's Bar". Facing the East Stand across Lowfields Road is the Leeds United Centenary Pavilion, a top class Conference and Events centre and one of the largest such venues in the North of England. On the day of our match, at half time, numerous local football clubs and teams paraded round the ground and the Centenary Pavilion was the location, before the match, for organising all these young people before they moved over to the stadium to sit in the yellow corner seating area between the East and South Stands.

I walked from my hotel along Gelderd Road and down Lowfields Road (which gave it's name to the stand demolished to allow erection of the East Stand) through a pedestrians-only bridge under the main dual carriageway M621 to the ground. A few minutes walk which allowed me to reach the ground feeling quite fresh as we were scheduled to appear on TV with a kick off time of 5.15pm. The late kick off gave us the chance to see if the results of the other games, which kicked off at 3pm, had finished in our favour. If so and we gained points in the last three games, the playoffs might still be possible.

This match was played only two days after the Birmingham game, because it was Easter Monday bank holiday. I wondered if the close proximity of the two matches had affected Gary Brazil's thinking regarding team selection. It did affect team selection in one way, Darlow and Fox sustained knocks which just had not time to heal, so De Vries and Harding came in. Lee Peltier had turned out for Leeds in that late December game, but was unable to appear against his old teammates because of the terms of his loan, so Stephen McLaughlin was given the chance of a first team debut. Thus the team was substantially similar to the Saturday team and the game also went substantially the same way! Except for one very important difference.

Almost from the kick off, Forest scored another goal! The travelling fans went into raptures over this unexpected turn of events, not only an away goal to cheer, but another so early in the match. Paterson and McLaughlin played a neat one-two before the latter sent an inch-perfect through ball to Derbyshire's feet. He was racing clear of the square Leeds defence and calmly placed the ball past the advancing 'keeper. Leeds were playing a dangerous game, using their full backs as attackers and leaving the centre backs exposed. Forest took full advantage of this tactical move and dominated the early exchanges.

Fifteen minutes later and our advantage doubled to the delight of the travelling support, present in numbers despite our poor recent form. This time the ball came in from the right and the chance looked to have been lost when the Leeds defence got to the ball first. But Derbyshire hounded the defender who hurriedly tried to clear, but only succeeded in kicking the ball against Derbyshire. The rebound fell straight into the striker's path. He needed no second invitation, calmly rounding the 'keeper and slotting the ball into the net. He must be enjoying his season against Leeds. A fine winner in the CG game and a double here to finish them off.

This was what we had needed to calm both fans and players. All too often the second goal has not been forthcoming and we have gone on to lose the advantage, but this time there was to be no slip-up. Despite a much improved showing in the second half, the home team had no answer to our resolute display. One slight problem was an injury to de Vries midway through the second half. Making a routine save to his right, he pulled up in pain. He carried on for a bit, but was again forced to seek attention from the physio when a decision was taken to substitute him and bring on the young Bulgarian, Dimitar Evtimov. Another debutant and another promising young player given a chance to taste first team action.

There were no more goals and Forest moved to within a point of the playoffs (with another 'double') because all the other results had indeed gone our way. All to play for next Saturday at the Goldsands Stadium, formerly known as Dean Court, home of AFC Bournemouth.

After Leeds, I had plans to visit Bradford City and York City. So it was a short pleasant walk, past another reminder of the great man, John Charles Way,
and back to my hotel for a sleep prior to making the short journey to Bradford in the morning. Normally, I attend our match on the Saturday and then tour round the other grounds on Sunday, but this week, as our game was on Easter Monday, I was to visit on Tuesday, a working day, and I harboured high hopes that I could persuade the nice people at each ground to let me in to see their facilities.

I was not disappointed. I set off to Bradford City AFC and their ground Valley Parade, now known as the Coral Windows Stadium as a result of sponsorship naming rights.
Valley Parade is the name of the short road leading down to the ground. I dare say that at one time the main reception and offices were actually on Valley Parade, but due to large scale redevelopment of the ground the reception is now to be found on a parallel road, Burlington Street. So I went down Valley Parade, round into South Parade and so on, round the ground until I got to what I thought was the car park for the Kop, but in fact turned out to be the car park associated with the "One in a Million" Free School. Not to worry, it was school holidays and the car park was empty.

I still hadn't actually found the offices of the club, but a short walk round the corner sorted that problem. I told the young lady in reception about my quest and asked if it was possible to see inside. A few phone calls followed and it was possible. She was so helpful and interested in all my visits, a really nice lady. An equally pleasant gentleman showed me round the ground. It was interesting chatting to him about the season that had passed and about hopes for the future. I suppose the football world is a small world and he seemed to imply that it was no surprise to him that the Billy Davies saga turned out as it did. Anyway, I had a great tour with him, another example of someone making that small effort and showing me how much they care about their club and equally, giving me a warm feeling for that club. I shall watch the progress of some clubs much more carefully in the future because of the kindness shown me by such nice individuals.

During my drive around the ground it was evident that the ground is on quite a steep hill and the development of the ground reflects this. Not only does the Main Stand (The JCT 600 Stand) tower over the ground because of it's size, but because it is built on highest point of the ground. It is joined to an equally impressive stand, the Community Kop, by a corner stand, the Bradford College Community Stand, giving that area of the ground a very impressive look. The other two stands at the ground suffer in comparison, not only because they are much smaller, but  because they are lower down the hill; the TL Dallas Stand behind the goal opposite the Kop runs parallel to Holywell Ash Lane down the hill and the Northern Commercials stand runs parallel to Midland Road at the bottom.


Bradford City was formed in 1903 as a result of the financial problems of Manningham FC, a rugby league club, who had played at Valley Parade since 1886. The new club decided to switch codes to association football and was immediately elected into the Football League in season 1903/04 despite not having played a game of association football. Bradford play in claret and amber, the only league club to do so, and inherited the colours from Manningham rugby club. Their nickname is The Bantams;  The Paraders and the Citizens have also been used in the past, but they no longer seem to be current.

One of the blackest events in Bradford's history occurred on 11 May 1985 when a serious fire destroyed the old Main Stand in just 9 minutes, killing 56 fans and injuring more than 250 others. Looking at the memorial outside the main entrance to the JCT 600 Stand it is difficult not to shed a tear because it is obvious that grandfathers and grandsons died together as well as whole family groups on that terrible day.
As well as the memorial outside the ground, there is a memorial flag draped over a whole section of seats to one side of the Main Stand and also,above the Main Reception entrance, there is a sculpture commemorating the event.

In the lobby of the JCT 600 Stand there is the name plate from the LNER Class B17 locomotive named Bradford City salvaged from the loco when it was scrapped and presented to the club.
There is a video screen in the corner between the TL Dallas Stand and the Northern Commercials Stand. The Main Stand does not run the full length of the pitch, but only three quarters of it, the rest of that side of the ground is taken up by brick buildings. Outside the ground these serve as the Club Shop and inside the ground as the changing rooms and security offices and the area above the flag decorated seats is used as a disabled fans area. The dugouts are, however, situated on the half way line.

I was most impressed by the ground. My guide pointed out that last season was one of great success for the Bantams, getting to Wembley twice, once in the Carling Cup Final and secondly in the playoff final, which they won, gaining promotion from League 2. He was quite content with progress this season, which meant consolidation in League 1.

The weather was a bit changeable as I bade farewell to Valley Parade and my most accommodating companion and made tracks to York.

By the time I arrived at Bootham Crescent, home of York City FC since 1932, it was pouring with rain. I have to admit to again getting lost; initially I drove straight past Bootham Crescent and tried to turn round to retrace my steps. Turning in the middle of a medieval city is not easy, as I quickly found out, crawling slowly up and down very narrow two-way streets until I could regain the main road and retrace my steps to Bootham Crescent, which road runs down to the ground. The club is actually situated on Grosvenor Road; a very narrow entrance leading through to a small, cramped car park.
In fact, the whole ground is shoe-horned in between residential housing and has nowhere to expand, which has meant that the last few owners have spent considerable time and energy seeking a new home for the club. As a result, the ground has not had a facelift for some time, though like all clubs I have visited, it has a vibrant heart and is attended by people who care for it deeply.

The club was first formed as an amateur side in 1908, turned professional in 1912, playing in the Midland League until folding in 1917. The present club was established in 1922. They played mostly in the lower reaches of the League until being relegated to the Football Conference in 2004, after 75 years in the League. They won the FL Trophy in 2012 as well as winning back their League place later that year in the playoff final at Wembley. In fact, over the years York have had several notable Cup runs and gained some fine victories over top clubs. York presently play in red shirts and white shorts and have done so for most of their history, though for one short period in the 1930s they played in chocolate and cream striped shirts, probably a nod to the local sweetie industry. In fact the ground was for some time called KitKat Crescent as a result of a sponsorship deal. The club nickname is the Minstermen, for very obvious reasons.

As usual, I wandered over to the main reception, though here it was described with the business-like term, 'General Office'.

Inside I explained the purpose of my visit and immediately the kind gentleman working in there offered to accompany me around inside the ground. He had no outer coat though the rain was still tumbling down. We kept under cover as much as possible, but it was not possible to visit all areas without venturing out from under cover. I was getting wet but at least I had a leather jacket on, he was still just in a short sleeved pullover, so I rather rushed through my visit, not wishing to get him too wet. Nevertheless, we chatted amiably when back under cover and it transpires that all the formalities have been sorted in respect of a move and it just remains for i's to be dotted and the t's crossed. I wish them well, he was such a nice chap he actually thanked me for coming to see their ground.

Arriving at Bootham Crescent after the magnificence of Valley Parade was a bit of a culture shock. The ground has three covered stands and one uncovered terrace reserved for away fans and, believe me, if you are due to visit York City FC before they move, get a seat in the stand or prepare to get wet. I can vouch from personal experience, the Grosvenor Road End in the face of the wind and rain can be most inhospitable!
None of the other three stands actually stretches the length or width of the pitch it overlooks, though the Popular Stand is only just short of it's target.
It stretches alongside the pitch opposite the Main Stand (labelled the York Pullman Main Stand, after sponsorship by a local bus company)  starting and ending by the six yard box in each penalty area.
The Main Stand straddles the half way line and covers about half the length of the pitch, tending to have more of it's length towards the David Longhurst Stand. It has sort of two tiers, the lower tier with smart red plastic seats and the upper tier with what looked like wooden armchairs.
The tunnel (a very modest affair) and dugouts are situated opposite the half way line.

David Longhurst was a striker who died during a match at Bootham Crescent in 1990 aged just 25 years. I was not aware that he started his career at Forest and, though never played for our first team, in all, he played for four League clubs. The David Longhurst Stand stretches nearly all the way across the Shipton Street End, but has to be attenuated towards the Main Stand because of the encroaching housing which cuts across the back of the stand and that corner of the ground.

The executive facilities are housed on the outside of the Main Stand, not one of them facing towards the pitch. Another good reason for moving to a more comfortable and modern ground. The club shop is squeezed in just inside the main gateway as are more of the club's offices.

When York gained a new chairman and owner in 2002, they also gained a new name. This eccentric individual re-named the club York City Soccer Club! However, his bizarre handling of the club's affairs resulted in severe financial difficulties and his reign ended after a year and the name reverted to York City FC.

I was getting wet and photo opportunities were becoming hard to find, so I decided to head for home having had another pleasant couple of days looking around football grounds.