Dirty Leeds [Paperback]

This was not the book I was expecting. Though told in the first person, not to the extent of the author's previous two books. I anticipated the life and times of Jimmy O Rourke interspersed with the fortunes of Leeds United 1961-1974, it's somewhat the opposite.
We do learn about Jimmy and his long suffering Gran but I would have perhaps preferred more because a lot of the history of the club that's documented is familiar territory to this particular reader. The pace is brisk and the timing of the flashback passages to the TV show impeccable. It's a very well structured and crafted book and the match reports told from a supporters perspective add to the feeling of 'being there'.
It's a superb chronicle of a man [Revie] and a club [Leeds United] and their period of marriage with all the ups and downs that brings from proposal to ultimate divorce.
A great read for any Leeds supporter but with a much broader appeal to those not blessed to be part of our family. I would have liked more of Jimmy, perhaps we'll get it in a future book. 9/10.

Finished Dirty Leeds the other day and thoroughly recommend it to all Leeds fans... and Colchester fans... and fitball fans in general. So special, it's worth a quick review....

Learned a fair bit of new stuff from reading the book - Endeacott must be one the most expert of experts on the subject of Leeds 1960-74 after the research that has clearly gone in to this. Never knew, for example, that the classic Leeds v Southampton ole keep-ball debacle came about because Revie was friends with their manager and told his players to step off the gas when the score became embarrasing. 25 years later and those flicks and tricks are still being played over - it'd have been better for the Saints if they'd gone down 11-0.

The 72-3 and 73-4 season were just brilliant to run through in detail. He zooms in and out of the action. Sometimes a game being passed over with a paragraph. Other times, like when Mick Jones runs for the line to make the cross for Clarke's FA Cup final goal, 20 yards of possession take up half a page.

As a Leeds fan, I really think the author has done us a big favour writing this book. Where else is all of this amazing history gathered together in one place? Nowhere. It's an amazing story the way the Don brought the club from nowhere in particular to become a name acknowledged across Europe. The details of a legend have hunted down and put to paper for those of us who remembered some of it and for those to come.

The Dirty Leeds element isn't in the foreground in that he doesn't prate on about how unfair the 'dirty' reputation was. The quality from the match reports speaks for itself. And the treatment other teams get is bang on. When we deserved to be beaten, it's all out in the open. If you are a Colchester fan, it's well worth the cover price for the review of that fateful match alone

Great pacing - a gripping story. I'll admit I had a bit of grit in my eye once or twice reading this. It's passionate stuff, football, and that passion's captured here in places.

Thanks for getting this all down on paper, Mr E. It's our heritage and I'm grateful. In the afterword, I realised it was also a homage to the authors father's life. All the more powerful for it.

Ole

It is a shame that this book is always going to get compared to David Peace's "Damned United". In some ways, its a natural comparison, Peace and Endeacott are contemporaries, and indeed very good friends and both have tackled the same football team (Leeds United) and blended fact and fiction.

But let's make this very clear: each writer is attempting something very different here. Peace attempts to step into the mind of a man (Brian Clough) while Endeacott's novel attempts to capture the aura of a team (Leeds) and the era of their greatest success, viewed through the eyes of a besotted young fan.

Probably one of the hardest things about writing about football, is your audience has usually made up its mind about your subject before they turn a page, and as a writer, your own bias is often hard to conceal. Whereas Peace's (a Huddersfield Town fan and writing as Brian Clough) novel paints unflattering pictures of Leeds United and its players, Endeacott (a life long Leeds supporter) goes the more complimentary path with his heroes. So I guess what I am trying to say is, if you love Leeds United, then you might have found "Damned United" as I did, a hard read at times, while "Dirty Leeds" is a very pleasant one.

If you are expecting another "Damned United", then you might be disappointed. That's not meant to sound critical, either. Its just that they are different books in almost every way. But if you would like to read a tender and affectionate look back at one of England's best ever teams, and follow the highs and lows through the eyes of character who is there through it all, then you will love this book.

And I don't think that Endeacott should be apologetic for this either. He has been writing fiction based on Leeds United long before it became vouge (read his excellent novella 'One Northern Soul' to see what I mean), and is unashamedly a Leeds supporter though and through. He lived and breathed the Revie era through his father (a member of the grounds staff at Elland Road for 26 years) through his fellow fans, and through the team itself. "Dirty Leeds" is very much a blend of all of these experiences, both personal and shared.

So this book isn't an attempt to be a "Damned United". And it isn't attempting to be a factual account of everything that happened during the Revie years either (although its pretty bloody accurate throughout). But it is a well written and thoroughly enjoyable walk through the Revie years, which is, after all, what Endeacott was attempting to write. In that, he has succeeded wholeheartedly. Robert loves Leeds United, and the Revie era, and wants you to share in that. If that sounds as good as it did to me, to you, then this book is for you!