Leeds United, founded in 1919, has spent a significant amount of time outside the top tier of English football, achieving only 54 seasons in the top flight. Marcelo Bielsa played a crucial role in ending a 16-year Premier League exile in 2020. In the late 1980s, Howard Wilkinson became manager and signed Gordon Strachan from Manchester United for 300,000. Strachan’s leadership and performance, notably scoring key goals, greatly influenced the promotion ambitions of the club, culminating in a vital win against Leicester City in 1990.
When Howard Wilkinson was appointed as Leeds boss in October 1988, the Whites had been marooned in Division Two for six seasons, after a host of Revie-era players such as Allan Clarke, Eddie Gray and Billy Bremner had failed to replicate their on-the-pitch heroics in the dugout.
Strachan was handed the captain's armband and his influence soon became clear, as he helped the likes of Gary Speed and David Batty break into the first-team midfield, with Vinnie Jones providing the bite.
Leeds had been well-placed for promotion going into the 1989/90 run-in, but the nerves kicked in and after a run of one win in seven, Leeds hosted Leicester City in their penultimate game of the season.
Strachan duly stepped up and netted his 18th goal of the season with six minutes left to win the game and leave Leeds on the brink of promotion.
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