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The 1969–70 season was Leeds United's 43th season in the Football League, and their sixth consecutive season in the First Division. Along with the First Division, they competed in the FA Cup, Football League Cup and the European Cup. The season covers the period from 1 July 1969 to 30 June 1970.
| 1969–70 season | |
|---|---|
| Chairman | Percy Woodward |
| Manager | Don Revie |
| Stadium | Elland Road |
| First Division | 2nd |
| FA Cup | Runners-up |
| League Cup | Third round |
| European Cup | Semi-final |
| FA Charity Shield | Winners |
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At the beginning of the 1969–70 season Don Revie completed the signing of Allan Clarke from Leicester City, in the hope of trying to win all three of the major competitions – the League, the FA Cup and the European Cup. In the end, they won none of them – in the League, Leeds were runners up to Everton, and in the European Cup they went out in the semifinals to Celtic. Leeds also reached the FA Cup final and, despite a memorable performance from Eddie Gray, lost to Chelsea after a replay. Revie's Leeds were victims of their own success; FA rules at the time stipulated that a squad of only 20 players could be used, and as a consequence some of the Leeds players took part in 62 competitive games that season. Additionally, FA rules only allowed the use of one substitute, and even then only in case of injury. Other factors, such as fixture congestion and the FA's insistence that Leeds play 9 games in 22 days (the 1969–70 season was foreshortened by England's early departure to Mexico to defend the World Cup) meant that Revie was often forced to field tired players. Geoffrey Green of the Times wrote: "It has been a strenuous slog, greatly pressurised by the loss of a month because of the demands of Mexican acclimatisation for England's players in the World Cup. None have suffered more than Leeds United's players ... At the beginning of March, Leeds looked capable of winning everything and anything, including the General Election. At that time they seemed unbeatable, but in the end a condensed programme of highly competitive fixtures overwhelmed them. Should it be any consolation to them, Leeds have now probably won something more in defeat as good losers than they would have done in many hours of victorious celebrating – universal public sympathy."[1]
At the end of the season, Leeds won only the Charity Shield, although consolation came in the form of Manager of the Year and Player of the Year awards for Revie and Bremner respectively.
First Division
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Everton (C) | 42 | 29 | 8 | 5 | 72 | 34 | 2.118 | 66 | Qualification for the European Cup first round |
| 2 | Leeds United | 42 | 21 | 15 | 6 | 84 | 49 | 1.714 | 57 | Qualification for the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup first round |
| 3 | Chelsea | 42 | 21 | 13 | 8 | 70 | 50 | 1.400 | 55 | Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round[a] |
| 4 | Derby County | 42 | 22 | 9 | 11 | 64 | 37 | 1.730 | 53 | Qualification for the Watney Cup[b] |
| 5 | Liverpool | 42 | 20 | 11 | 11 | 65 | 42 | 1.548 | 51 | Qualification for the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup first round |
Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions
Notes:
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions
Notes:
- Chelsea qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup first round as the 1969–70 FA Cup winners.
Matches
| Win | Draw | Loss |
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 August 1969 | Tottenham Hotspur | Home | 3–1 | Bremner, Clarke, Giles (pen.) | 35,804 |
| 13 August 1969 | Arsenal | Home | 0–0 | 37,164 | |
| 16 August 1969 | Nottingham Forest | Away | 4–1 | Clarke, Giles (pen.), Gray, Lorimer | 34,290 |
| 19 August 1969 | Arsenal | Away | 1–1 | Lorimer | 45,160 |
| 23 August 1969 | Newcastle United | Home | 1–1 | Jones | 40,403 |
| 26 August 1969 | Burnley | Away | 1–1 | Jones | 28,000 |
| 30 August 1969 | Everton | Away | 2–3 | Bremner, Clarke | 51,797 |
| 6 September 1969 | Manchester United | Home | 2–2 | Sadler (o.g.), Bremner | 44,271 |
| 13 September 1969 | Sheffield Wednesday | Away | 2–1 | Clarke, Gray | 31,998 |
| 20 September 1969 | Chelsea | Home | 2–0 | Giles (pen.), Lorimer | 33,130 |
| 27 September 1969 | Coventry City | Away | 2–1 | Clarke, Gray | 36,091 |
| 4 October 1969 | Stoke City | Home | 2–1 | Giles (2, 2 pens.) | 35,860 |
| 11 October 1969 | West Bromwich Albion | Away | 1–1 | Jones | 33,688 |
| 18 October 1969 | Crystal Palace | Away | 1–1 | Lorimer | 31,910 |
| 25 October 1969 | Derby County | Home | 2–0 | Clarke (2) | 44,183 |
| 29 October 1969 | Nottingham Forest | Home | 6–1 | Lorimer (3), Charlton, Bates, Hibbitt | 29,636 |
| 1 November 1969 | Sunderland | Away | 0–0 | 31,842 | |
| 8 November 1969 | Ipswich Town | Home | 4–0 | Giles, Jones, Hunter, Gray | 26,497 |
| 15 November 1969 | Southampton | Away | 1–1 | Jones | 23,963 |
| 19 November 1969 | Sunderland | Home | 2–0 | Jones, Lorimer | 25,890 |
| 22 November 1969 | Liverpool | Home | 1–1 | Giles (pen.) | 43,293 |
| 29 November 1969 | Manchester City | Away | 2–1 | Gray, Jones | 44,590 |
| 6 December 1969 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | Home | 3–1 | Holsgrove (o.g.), Charlton, Clarke | 33,090 |
| 13 December 1969 | Sheffield Wednesday | Home | 2–0 | Clarke (2) | 31,114 |
| 17 December 1969 | West Ham United | Home | 4–1 | Lorimer (2), Clarke, Giles | 30,699 |
| 26 December 1969 | Newcastle United | Away | 1–2 | Giles | 54,527 |
| 27 December 1969 | Everton | Home | 2–1 | Jones (2) | 46,770 |
| 10 January 1970 | Chelsea | Away | 5–2 | Clarke, Cooper, Giles (pen.), Lorimer, Jones | 57,221 |
| 17 January 1970 | Coventry City | Home | 3–1 | Clarke (2), Charlton | 34,295 |
| 26 January 1970 | Manchester United | Away | 2–2 | Jones, Bremner | 60,514 |
| 31 January 1970 | Stoke City | Away | 1–1 | Giles | 35,908 |
| 10 February 1970 | West Bromwich Albion | Home | 5–1 | Gray, Jones, Giles (2), Lorimer | 31,515 |
| 14 February 1970 | Tottenham Hotspur | Away | 1–1 | Lorimer | 41,713 |
| 28 February 1970 | Crystal Palace | Home | 2–0 | Jones (2) | 37,138 |
| 7 March 1970 | Liverpool | Away | 0–0 | 51,435 | |
| 21 March 1970 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | Away | 2–1 | Jones, Clarke | 35,057 |
| 28 March 1970 | Southampton | Home | 1–3 | Lorimer | 38,370 |
| 30 March 1970 | Derby County | Away | 1–4 | Kennedy | 41,011 |
| 2 April 1970 | West Ham United | Away | 2–2 | Clarke (2) | 26,140 |
| 4 April 1970 | Burnley | Home | 2–1 | Gray (2) | 24,691 |
| 18 April 1970 | Manchester City | Home | 1–3 | Belfitt | 22,932 |
| 21 April 1970 | Ipswich Town | Away | 2–3 | Hibbitt, Gray | 16,875 |
FA Cup
| Win | Draw | Loss |
| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Third round | 3 January 1970 | Swansea Town | Home | 2–1 | Giles, Jones | 30,246 |
| Fourth round | 24 January 1970 | Sutton United | Away | 6–0 | Clarke (4), Lorimer (2) | 14,000 |
| Fifth round | 7 February 1970 | Mansfield Town | Home | 2–0 | Giles, Clarke | 48,093 |
| Sixth round | 21 February 1970 | Swindon Town | Away | 2–0 | Clarke (2) | 27,500 |
| Semi-final | 14 March 1970 | Manchester United | Neutral | 0–0 | 55,000 | |
| Semi-final replay | 23 March 1970 | Manchester United | Neutral | 0–0 | 62,500 | |
| Semi-final second replay | 26 March 1970 | Manchester United | Neutral | 1–0 | Bremner | 56,000 |
| Final | 11 April 1970 | Chelsea | Neutral | 2–2 (a.e.t.) | Charlton, Jones | 100,000 |
| Final replay | 29 April 1970 | Chelsea | Neutral | 1–2 (a.e.t.) | Jones | 62,078 |
League Cup
| Win | Draw | Loss |
European Cup
| Win | Draw | Loss |
| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First round, first leg | 17 September 1969 | Lyn | Home | 10–0 | O'Grady, Jones (3), Clarke (2), Giles (2), Bremner (2) | 25,979 |
| First round, second leg | 1 October 1969 | Lyn | Away | 6–0 | Hibbitt (2), Belfitt (2), Jones, Lorimer | 7,595 |
| Second round, first leg | 12 November 1969 | Ferencváros | Home | 3–0 | Giles, Jones (2) | 37,291 |
| Second round, second leg | 26 November 1969 | Ferencváros | Away | 3–0 | Jones (2), Lorimer | 5,400 |
| Third round, first leg | 4 March 1970 | Standard Liège | Away | 1–0 | Lorimer | 38,000 |
| Third round, second leg | 11 March 1970 | Standard Liège | Home | 1–0 | Giles (pen.) | 48,775 |
| Semi-final, first leg | 1 April 1970 | Celtic | Home | 0–1 | 45,505 | |
| Semi-final, second leg | 15 April 1970 | Celtic | Away | 1–2 | Bremner | 136,505 |
FA Charity Shield
| Leeds United | 2–1 | Manchester City |
|---|---|---|
Gray  55'Charlton 58' |
Report | Bell 90' |
     Leeds United
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    Manchester City
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