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| LEEDS UNITED went into the long awaited Fairs' Cup final, first leg, in Zagreb out of form, having taken only one point from their opening three fixtures of the 1967-68 season, and to make matters worse they had injury problems once again. It was no great surprise therefore when they went down 2-0, and faced a stiff task which proved too much in the second leg match at Elland Road, where Dynamo Zagreb held out for a goalless draw and fully merited winning the trophy. Any depression the fans were suffering following that blow was replaced with interested anticipation when Don Revie paid a club record fee, approaching £100,000, to Sheffield United for their England Under-23 striker Mick Jones. The newcomer was playing for Leeds when they went back into European Fairs' Cup action just three weeks after the final failure, in the first round of the 1967-68 competition, and they began with a sensational 9-0 success in Luxembourg against Spora. |
 May 1967: The Fairs' Cup semi-final first leg with Kilmarnock produced six goals - United scoring four of them - and here Rod Belfitt dives to head one of his personal hat-trick. This helped Leeds to take a winning lead to Scotland for the second leg. |
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Just for good measure, United extracted some revenge for previous frustrations suffered at the hands of Chelsea when they hammered the Blues by seven goals at Elland Road - making a total of 16 goals in four days and in so doing completely transformed the atmosphere at the club to one of great confidence and optimism. One tournament that Mick Jones was ineligible to play in that season was the Football League Cup, which had risen in status in 1967 when the final was changed from a two-legged affair to a more prestigious Wembley occasion, and carried with it qualification into the Fairs' Cup for the winners. Leeds United had never made any notable impact in the League Cup, but when Luton Town 3-1 (Home), Bury 3-0 (Home), Sunderland 2-0 (Away), and Stoke City 2-0 (Home) were all accounted for without undue trouble, almost suddenly, it seemed there was another real chance of a Wembley appearance and - dare one say it - that long hoped for first major trophy. Second Division Derby County gave United a hard match in the first of the two-legged semi-final tie, but all the same a Johnny Giles penalty won the game at the Baseball Ground and although Derby again put up a good fight at Elland Road, it was Leeds who triumphed 3-2 with two goals from Rod Belfitt and one from Eddie Gray. In fact, at this time, Leeds United were in with a chance of winning everything they were involved in - League, F.A. Cup, League Cup and Fairs' Cup - and they were becoming just about the most talked about club in the country as they steamed through two matches a week carrying all before them. Indeed, some cynics said it was a surprise that Leeds were not entered for the Grand National and Wimbledon as well ! |
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