This is the definitive story of Don Revie, a player and manager who
singlehandedly changed the face of English football but left behind a
legacy shrouded in allegations of corruption and dishonesty.
Whenever the greatest managers the game has ever produced are mentioned,
names like Busby, Shankly, Paisley and Ferguson always trip off the
tongue. Despite dominating the game in the late 1960s and 70s, there is
clearly one name missing, the former Leeds United and England manager
Don Revie.
Don Revie was one of the most complex and controversial men ever to
grace the game of football. As a player he was crowned footballer of the
year and credited with creating the modern center-forward. As a manager,
he took a Leeds United side languishing in the lower half of the second
division and turned them, not only into league champions, but one of the
most dominant sides in the country.
In 1974, as Sir Alf Ramsay ran out of time as England manager, it was to
Revie, that the Football Association turned.
With England, Revie lost the magic touch he had at Leeds and became
increasingly indecisive. Having failed to qualify for the European
Championships in 1976 and on the brink of going out in the qualifying
stages of the 1978 World Cup, Revie feared the sack. After negotiating a
big money contract with United Arab Emirates Revie became the first man
to walk out on the England job.
Then came the backlash. Branded a traitor and banned from the game for
10 years, the press declared open season on Revie. Accused of offering
bribes to throw matches, Revie's reputation was destroyed. Shunned by
the football establishment, when he died just 12 years after walking out
on England the FA did not even send a representative to his funeral. His
death robbed him of the opportunity ever to rebuild his reputation as
one of the most important figures ever seen in English football. The
life and times of this multifaceted, enigmatic, pioneering football man,
have still never been fully explored and explained in detail before.
Based on exclusive interviews, this is the first biography to examine in
depth the secrets of Revie's life. The book also reveal how today's
football owes so much to Don Revie, in order to redeem the reputation of
Don Revie for the first time ever, so that he can finally take his
rightful place among the greats of the game.
