Too good a life

Finishing 5th in 1993/94 might have been a considerable improvement on the 17th-place title defence of the previous season, but the uncertainty of Leeds’ post-champions direction under Howard Wilkinson continued to hang like a grey cloud while everyone was yearning for some summer sunshine. Eric Cantona was winning leagues with the team Leeds had beaten to the title two years earlier. David Batty was playing for runners-up Blackburn, after being inexplicably sold just two months into the season. Leeds still managed to climb to 2nd by Christmas after losing three of their opening five, but come the end of the campaign Gordon Strachan was telling reporters, “For the ability we have got at this club, 5th place is not good enough. We have got to improve on that next year.”

⬢

To read the rest of this article, you need to join TSB+ — members get access to this plus extra podcast and video episodes, all podcasts advert-free, can read every issue of our magazine online and much more. You can join or log in below.