Breaking the Offside Trap 03.31.09: The Damned United

Posted by Matt Snelling on 03.31.2009

With the release of the film ‘The Damned United’, the late great Brian Clough has once again been dominating the headlines. However, the achievements of the film's 'villains' Leeds United and their manager Don Revie should not be overlooked

If you're an avid fan of both film and football then you will no doubt be aware of last week's opening of the cinematic adaptation of David Peace's novel ‘The Damned United.' The book, and now the film take us back to 1974 and describe the infamous and incendiary 44 day spell that the late Brain Clough spent in charge of Leeds United, the then reigning champions of England. The book has been described by its author Peace, a man born and brought up in Yorkshire as a work of "fiction based on a fact", designed to be an account told from the perspective of Clough of his tumultuous, barely two month spell in charge of one of football's most talented yet reviled teams.



It's hard not to spoil the ending to a film when it's based on real life events (even fictionalised accounts of them) so I'm afraid if you don't want to know the ending either look away now or press the back button on your browser. Done that? Right well if you're still here, and I would hope you are, the ending of Clough's brief and tempestuous reign at Elland Road ended with the sack after just one win in six games and a player revolt, all in a whirlwind of bitter acrimony.

Countless films and books could be made on the life and times of Brain Clough. The man widely hailed as being one of the greatest football managers in the history of the game is also a man who through his undeniable charisma, wit and intelligence continues to rightly leave a glowing legacy as one of English football's most iconic figures. Accordingly, the release of the film and the hype surrounding it has once again thrust Clough right back to where he always seemed to belong; squarely in the media spotlight. Michael Sheen (also critically acclaimed for his roles as Tony Blair and Sir David Frost) is captivating in his role as Clough and just like the real life figure, steals the show whenever he is on screen.

That was what the real Brian Clough did best and this fictional version it would be fair to say, takes over the film just like the character did the book. Because really, even though he is a leading character in this particular chapter of the story of a football club, it was originally Peace's intention to write a novel or stylised account of Leeds United during a time when they were the best team in the country and amongst the best in Europe. The figure of Clough however became somewhat all encompassing and this is definitely the angle the film is taking.

Clough was a firebrand, of that there is no doubt but the fascination with this period, to me, as much as it is because of Clough's hypnotic and captivating personality is because of the particular football team involved, the particular football club with whom he takes over as manager of but in the end goes to war against. For the team he took over have a somewhat infamous reputation in history and are the perfect protagonists for a man with as much self regard and personal confidence that Clough had.

The approach the film takes and the discussions that have surrounded its opening, in many ways have lost sight of the other half of the story, that of the ‘damned united' of the title. As I say, the role of Leeds in the story is crucial to help shape how combustible this brief period was. The legendary quote attributed to Clough when he arrived as manager of Leeds in 1974 was that the players of the Yorkshire club, who had been fashioned into one of the most formidable teams that you are ever likely to see should hand back all of the medals they had won as they had achieved them all through cheating. It's a reputation and legacy that survives to this day and indeed, is one that helps shape the identity of the club and its fans.



For many football fans, even those of generations too young to have seen the team, the men from Elland Road will be forever known as ‘dirty Leeds' a team who were seen to have achieved success on the back of thuggery and intimidation. Sure, in the 1960's and 70's there were many ‘hard man' players and it was a time of universal tough tackling but even in that environment, Leeds appeared to stand out. As Rick Broadbent, writing in the Times describes it the team are seen as; ‘Doyens of the dark arts and reviled by revisionists.'

It's a reputation that endures some of it founded on myth some on reality. To many, to Clough indeed, all their success was built on a fifteen year spell of unadulterated x-rated violence in which rules were bent so that bones could be broken. Some elements of this image cannot be denied, as a team they were certainly no shrinking violets. Indeed they were hard, rock hard and did they go over the top sometimes? Yes, undoubtedly they did but then that was English football at the time, don't the names Tommy Smith and Ron ‘Chopper' Harris spring to mind?

What is not as readily recognised however is just how much talent was in that team, just how fantastic they could be on their day and just how visionary their manager at the time was. In all the attention surrounding the release of the film, that man once again has had to take a backseat role. That man is Don Revie.

Revie is of course featured in the film, as the man who Clough succeeds and who between the pair there existed a mutual loathing and contempt. As with the film, history appears to have chosen its side in this battle, with Revie, for various reasons becoming damned and then forgotten. As Broadbent puts it; ‘He is the ursine villain of The Damned United, a gruff northerner bereft of Clough's wit and charm. The ending of the film is gratuitous in its light and shade, telling us Clough went on to win the European Cup twice, while Revie failed at England and fled to the Middle East amid allegations of financial impropriety.'

Famously before joining the club as manager, Clough was an outspoken critic of Revie as a man and Leeds as a team. He decried their style, or indeed lack thereof and argued that the team's players were overly aggressive who too often crossed over the line of legality. According to James Corbett, writing in an article on Revie for the Observer Sport Monthly at the end of 2007; ‘By the time of their second League title in May 1974, rival fans hated Leeds and their supporters. Revie was widely disliked. "Don Revie's so-called family had more in keeping with the mafia than Mothercare," Clough said. But even Clough, who often used his weekly newspaper column to attack Leeds, admitted a grudging respect for Revie's achievements.'



Some grudging respect then, but certainly no admiration. This was perhaps most famously symbolised by the head to head debate the two men had on Yorkshire Television in 1974, whilst Revie was the then manager of England. The scene is recreated in the film and perhaps shows, not that he would be prepared to admit it, that Clough must in some ways have felt in Revie's shadow. To a man with as much pride, and indeed as much as what we might call arrogance as Clough this was always going to be tough to swallow.

The spirit at the club Revie forged, amongst his players and the supporters were very much this idea of ‘us against them.' A legacy that prevails to this day and one that is so important in helping to both understand how Leeds United define themselves today and how such a talented manager as Clough failed in this particular endeavour. As Corbett argues; ‘In The Damned United... Revie appears as a ghost, stalking out Clough. To many, including Clough, Leeds remained 'Revie's club', and the disdain towards Leeds, 'Dirty Leeds', persists. Few outside Yorkshire lamented their recent relegation to League One - the old Division Three, from which Revie once saved them - and flirtations with bankruptcy.'



Revie transformed a football club, turned them from a team struggling against bankruptcy at the wrong end of the third tier of English football to a club who were champions of England and who won trophies in Europe. In almost fifteen years at the helm Revie was responsible for leading the club back into the top flight and then onto two league titles, two UEFA Cups, the League Cup and the FA Cup. Over the decade they were back in the top division they never finished lower than fourth. They were also runners up in ten competitions during that time. It's a CV that should demand respect and admiration but instead while Clough is almost universally adored, Revie's achievements and those of Leeds were, and in fact still are, almost universally reviled. As Broadbent comments, ‘The hatred of Leeds will be refreshed by the film.'

Successful teams are never much liked but as Corbett argues;

‘Leeds' brand of football made them hated by many. It was a high-tempo pressing game that suffocated opponents and overwhelmed those that tried to outpass them. If your side tried to kick them, Leeds would kick back twice as hard. They feigned injuries, harassed officials and pinched, kicked and hit opponents. The image of 'Dirty Leeds' was reinforced on the terraces, where their supporters earned a reputation for viciousness. George Best claimed that the only time he needed to wear shin pads was when he played Leeds. 'I hated playing against them, I really did,' he said. 'They also had a hell of a lot of skill, too, but they were still a bloody nightmare.'

There are also the (unfounded) allegations of match fixing that cloud the air and the personal dislike many in the country felt for Revie after he left the England job, just before he was pushed mind, for a lucrative contract as manager of the United Arab Emirates. Clearly these haven't helped when it has come to preserving any sort of legacy for either the man and by extension his team, and certainly when comparisons are made with as charismatic a showman as Clough then there is no competition when it comes to the attraction of people's affections.

Revie claimed to have jumped before he was pushed but to the public, the news that broke on 12 July 1977 that he was leaving the England manager's job to take up a six-year contract worth £340,000, tax-free, to coach the United Arab Emirates national team was only taken as a sign of the man's' greed. His reputation never recovered and he died in Scotland in 1989 never having been involved in English football again. Managerial contemporaries of Revie, such as Clough, have their legacies, but despite his enormous successes and revolutionary practices the former Leeds manager is still cast out in the dark. His portrayal in the film will do little for any rehabilitation.

The reputation that Leeds United, under the stewardship of Don Revie gained during the 1960's and 70's is still with us in the 21st Century and continues to shape both the way the club is perceived and the way that Leeds supporters define themselves. Just like Millwall, the club seems to revel in its role as something of a footballing antichrist that is universally loathed. For many of a certain generation, team and manager will never be particularly liked but they do deserve respect. Any that have seen the footage of Revie's Leeds in action should know that they also deserve a reputation for being a fantastic football team. While it is a terrific and entertaining film, the Damned United offers very little case for the defence.

For a final word then, here is Rick Broadbent again; ‘The Damned United has sparked an entire movement devoted to defending Clough, but nobody has come forward to speak up for Don Revie, the flawed genius. Twenty years after his death, it is time to acknowledge that he has been damned with faint praise for too long.'