City DNA: #4 Don Revie - 'The man with a Plan'
City DNA: #4 Don Revie - 'The man with a Plan' As we celebrate the 70th anniversary of our 1956 FA Cup final win, we look back at one of English football’s most fascinating figures. #4 Don Revie: The man with a Plan Who: He was the man with a plan who played a defining role not only in City’s 1956 FA Cup final triumph but in also helping reshape the face of British football. To the wider public, Don Revie is chiefly remembered for his remarkable success as Leeds United manager and subsequent controversial reign in charge of England.
However, for City fans of a certain vintage, Revie is rightly revered as one of the Club’s finest post-war players. A City career record of 41 goals from 178 appearances only scratches at the surface of Don’s huge impact in his time at Maine Road, a spell that culminated in FA Cup glory at Wembley and a revolutionary brand of play that bore his surname Biography Revie’s enduring legacy is as one of the most innovative yet controversial figures in post-war British football. READ: City DNA #2 - Gentleman Max WATCH: City DNA #3 - The Laundry Ladies The straight-talking Yorkshireman become a household name for the way he transformed Leeds United’s fortunes during the 1960s and early 1970s.
Revie turned the Yorkshire side from English also-rans to one of the most successful – and feared – sides in Europe, guiding the club to eight major trophies in 14 years at the helm. His highly-publicised spats with fellow high-profile manager Brian Clough – who ironically was to become Revie’s successor at Leeds – also became the stuff of legend. Revie’s golden spell at Elland Road led to an ill-fated tenure as England manager between 1974 and 1977 - a period which saw the Three Lions miss out on qualifying for both the 1976 European Championships and 1978 World Cup finals in Argentina.
Some never quite forgave the fact that Revie subsequently quit the England role in order to take up a lucrative job in the United Arab Emirates. Yet that would be to do Revie’s vision and forward thinking a huge disservice – as City fans of a certain generation would doubtless testify. For during his own hugely successful playing career, especially during a five-year spell at City between 1951 and 1956, Revie garnered a reputation for being one of the most innovative and imaginative players of his generation.
BUY: Tickets for City v Watford READ: Introducing City DNA So much so that his skill, creativity and tactical acumen ultimately led to the innovation of a system that became known as ‘The Revie Plan’, a way of playing which helped both transform and revolutionise the English game over the second half of the 20th century. Revie rocked up at Maine Road late in 1951 from Hull City but his first few seasons in sky blue proved to be challenging ones with Les McDowall’s side flirting with relegation from Division One. However, Revie and City’s fortunes were to be transformed in 1954 a year after McDowall had watched spellbound – along with 100,000 other bewitched fans at Wembley - as Ferenc Puskas’ Hungary stunned England by winning 6-3.
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