User:Chappy84/History of Leeds United A.F.C. (1920-1927)

thumb|right|150px|Arthur Fairclough Between 1920 and 1927 Leeds United A.F.C. were managed by Arthur Fairclough. Arthur joined Leeds from Huddersfield Town. He was recruited by the new Leeds chairman Hilton Crowther who had purchased the club before their first season in The Football League. Fairclough had a good record behind him having won the FA Cup for Barnsley in 1910, and had also been with Crowther when he was chairman at Huddersfield Town. When Crowther was bought out of Huddersfield he turned his complete attentions to Leeds United and knowing Arthur's pedigree felt he was the best man for the job. Fairclough ensured Leeds performed well in their first season for a newly established club finishing mid-table, and following two seasons of finishing in the top half of the table Leeds were promoted as League Champions. Fairclough's skills however didn't prove good enough in the First Division and after two seasons Leeds were relegated and Fairclough left his managerial position.

Trophies

 * 1923-24
 * Division 2 - Champions

Seasons
1920-21 - 1921-22 - 1922-23 - 1923-24 - 1924-25 - 1925-26 - 1926-27

1920-21
Having secured their election to the Second Division, Leeds had to assemble a team able to compete. Most of the players signed were for little or nothing. The team was built around Leeds' first captain, Jim Baker, whose brother Alf played for Arsenal and England, while younger brother Aaron would later join him fleetingly at Elland Road.

Ironically their first game was away at Port Vale on 28 August 1920 and a crowd of 15,000 saw the home team victorious 2-0. Four days later, on 2 September 1920, Jim Baker led his side out against South Shields for Leeds' first Football League game at Elland Road. It appears that it was Len Armitage who scored Leeds’ first-ever goal, but in front of a 16,958 (£1,016 takings) the visitors spoiled the party by scoring two.

Despite the disappointment, 15,000 turned up on Saturday, 4 September to witness Leeds' first League victory. Leeds tasted the sweetness of victory, gaining some revenge for Leeds City as they beat Port Vale 3-1. Ellson scored a brace and Best the other.

Jim Baker, Billy Down and Bert Duffield were ever-present, while Jimmy Walton only missed one game. Robert Thompson led the goal-scorers with 11, but as his goals dried up, Fairclough forked out £1,750 for Tommy Howarth from Bristol City. In Leeds' last nine games he was the only scorer and finished with 6 goals in only 11 appearances. Ivan Sharpe and later Tommy Lamph, became the first and only former Leeds City players to play for Leeds United.

While never playing a League game for Leeds, Eugene O’Doherty is credited with scoring the first ever hat-trick for the club, when he appeared in some under-strength teams for the FA Cup qualifying rounds. Leeds had to play eight qualifying rounds to get to the First Round proper. These games clashed with Second Division games. After a 5-2 victory over Boothtown (a team from near Halifax) next opponents Leeds Steelworks forfeited home advantage and the FA allowed Leeds to field their second team, provided they then pulled out of the competition after the game. A crowd of 3,000 saw a 7-0 victory, with Walter Butler getting a hat-trick. Subsequently Robert Thompson obtained Leeds’ first League hat-trick in a 3-0 victory over Notts County.

Record:

1921-22
With the emergence of Ernie Hart as a reliable stopper, Jim Baker was able to move to half back. Fairclough strengthened his team with experienced keeper Fred Whalley from Grimsby Town, half-back Harry Sherwin from Sunderland and veteran inside-forward Jim Moore from Southampton. Robert Thompson, Robert Musgrove, Jerry Best and Jack Lyon took the exit door.

After a flying start of five victories and two draws from their first seven fixtures, the next twelve produced only three wins and three draws. The goals again dried up and Jack Swann was bought from Huddersfield Town. Bill Poyntz, a close season signing as a reserve inside-forward from Llanelli, wrote himself into the history books with a wedding day hat-trick against Leicester City. He however also has the unwanted title of being the first-ever player to be sent off, which was the previous week at Bury.

Tommy Howarth (13) and Jack Swann (10) were the only players to manage double figures. Swann did also get his name on the score sheet in Leeds' 2-1 Round 1 defeat at Swindon Town in the FA Cup.

Record:

1922-23
Left-winger Joe Harris was a big summer signing from Bristol City and Jim Moore left for Brighton, but, although points were being accumulated, there was a lack of goals. This was rectified by the purchase of the classy Percy Whipp from Sunderland for £750, who immediately repaid the faith placed in him with a debut hat-trick and finished as leading goal-scorer with 16 goals.

Fairclough was building a team capable of pushing for promotion. He had two reliable keepers in Fred Whalley and Billy Down. Fred Duffield, Ernie Hart and Captain Jim Baker were models of consistency in defence and Percy Whipp added a new dimension to the strike force.

In the FA Cup Leeds survived the First Round with a 3-1 replay victory over Portsmouth at Elland Road, after holding them 0-0 at Fratton Park, but fell 3-1 in the Second Round at Bolton Wanderers.

Record:

1923-24
By 1923-24 Leeds had brought together a blend of players good enough to win the Second Division Title. Assistant Manager Dick Ray had moved on to Doncaster Rovers and was replaced by Bill Norman, who had managed Blackpool. In attack, Leeds now had the formidable trio of Jack Swann, Percy Whipp and Joe Richmond, with winger Joe Harris being their main supplier. However, Second Division title was built on a strong defence, built around Baker and Hart with Leeds only conceding 35 goals in the 42 games. A feat only matched by runners-up Bury.

Leeds however made a poor start to the season with only one victory in their first six games. However Leeds only lost twicein a 17-match sequence which included seven successive wins, putting Leeds on a roll. Billy Down also kept six consecutive clean sheets. Leeds eventually won the League with three points above second placed Bury.

In the FA Cup, Stoke City were beaten 1-0 at Elland Road in the First Round with West Ham United also losing to the same score after a 1-1 away draw. However Leeds were eliminated in the Third Round as Aston Villa beat them 3-0.

Jack Swann (18) led the scorers with Percy Whipp (11) and the emerging Joe Richmond (15) also contributing well.

Record:

1924-25
Leeds had been run on a tight budget and not unsurprisingly was unable to make any signings of note to for the higher division. Incoming players were mainly for the reserve team, while Jimmy Frew departed.

Leeds faced Sunderland at Elland Road for their first game in Division One, before a crowd of 33,722. Sunderland had finished third in the previous season and contained several top players. To hold them to a 1-1 draw was no mean feat. At the end of the month the visit of Champions and local rivals, Huddersfield Town, saw a new record crowd of 41,800 appreciate another 1-1 draw, with Jack Swann scoring the Leeds goal in each of the matches.

The team’s inconsistency was highlighted by a 6-1 thrashing at Arsenal, while five days later Aston Villa were thrashed 6-0 at Elland Road. Surprisingly, Arsenal finished 20th, two places below Leeds while Aston Villa finished 15th. Lack of success on the road was the main problem in Leeds' season, with only two victories, while only four games were lost at Elland Road. The victory was followed by only one win in thirteen games. This prompted the signings of Willis Edwards from Chesterfield, Tom Jennings from Raith Rovers and Russell Wainscoat from Middlesbrough all in March. All three played their part in winning three of the final five games.

In the FA Cup, Leeds made their usual early exit in the First Round, losing 3-0 away at Liverpool. Top scorer was Swann with 11 goals closely followed by and Whipp with 10 but there were no significant contributions from others.

Record:

1925-26
The season saw Leeds wave goodbye to several old stalwarts, Jim Baker, Bert Duffield, Jack Swann and Joe Harris. Jim Baker later became a Director of Leeds United

Right-Winger Bobby Turnbull was signed from Bradford Park Avenue. An England International, he was a class act but was sometimes let down by inconsistency. The change in the offside law saw him as Leeds’ trump card with his dazzling footwork and ability to cross at speed, and the games rained goals. Tom Jennings cashed in with a new Leeds goal-scoring record of 26 league goals. Only a 4-1 win in the final match at home to Tottenham Hotspur ensured Leeds’ safety 1 point above the relegation zone.

The FA Cup saw another First Round exit after a 5-1 thrashing at Middlesbrough.

Record:

1926-27
Despite the injection of new faces, locals Harry Roberts and George Reed, and the purchase of winger Tom Mitchell from Newcastle United for £785, the slide could not be stopped. After a shocking run from November to April, when only one win was registered in 18 games, the outcome was inevitable. Even the big money signing of Scottish International John White from Hearts for a new record £5,600 failed to avert it. The only minor plus point was the visit of Newcastle United in the Christmas fixture saw a new crowd record of 48,490 established although Leeds lost that match 2-1.

Tom Jennings was the main source of goals, scoring 35 goals of the 69 league goals, and he broke his own club goal-scoring record. Goals were plentiful around this time as defences were still coming to terms with the new off-side law introduced the previous season. Nineteen of Jennings' goals came in only nine games, including three consecutive hat-tricks. Unfortunately the shaky defence had leaked 88 goals and their fight against relegation was in vain. Leeds duly accompanied bottom of the league West Bromwich Albion in relegation to the Second Division.

Progress was made in the FA Cup with a 3-1 victory over Sunderland at home in the 3rd Round. A crowd of 42,694 was on hand to witness the goal-less draw at home to Bolton Wanderers in the 4th Round, but Leeds' hopes were dashed as they were handed a 3-0 defeat in the replay.

Arthur Fairclough and his assistant Bill Norman accepted responsibility for the failure and resigned.

Record: