Derby County finished a respectable 9th that year. Brian Clough had been at the Baseball Ground for four years, taking the club up as Division Two champions in 1968-69. 4th place in their first year back in the top flight was an excellent effort by the Rams. 9th this time round was
Stfll respectable. But to a perfectionist such as Clough that was never good enough. In 1972 his side won the title, albeit by the narrowest of margins and m the most dramatic circumstances. Derby beat Liverpool in their last game of the season to go one point clear at the top. Clough and his men then promptly decamped to Majorca, leaving Liverpool and Leeds - who both had one remaining fixture - to do their worst. Leeds needed just a point at mid-table Wolves. If they failed, Liverpool could go top with a win at Arsenal.
In the event neither club could meet its target. Leeds went down 2-1, while Liverpool were held to a goalless draw. Liverpool thought they’d won it with a last-minute goal from Toshack, but it was disallowed. Derby were champions for the first time in their history.
Hereford humble Newcastle
Leeds had the consolation of winning the centenary FA Cup Final, Allan Clarke scoring the only goal of the match against holders Arsenal. The highlight of the 1972 FA Cup came in the third round, when Hereford took on Newcastle United. The Southern League side seemed to have had their moment of glory witli a 2-2 draw at St James’s Park. In the replay at Edgar Street Hereford rode their luck until ten minutes from the end, when Malcolm Macdonald finally found the back of the net. Ronnie Radford sent the 15,000 crowd delirious with a 30-yard screamer, and Ricky George slotted home the winner in extra time. Hereford went on to draw 0-0 with West Ham before going down 3-1 at Upton Park in a replay. The club’s Cup heroics helped to earn them election to the Football League the following season.
Opposite: The Leeds squad at the beginning of the 1972-73 season. The early 1970s were a part of the golden age for the club. They won the league in 1974 and were runners-up three years in succession between 1970 and 1972, and also had a series of good Cup runs.
Above top left: George Best in happier days. By the early 1970s, his career in the top flight was almost over. In December 1972 he was transfer-listed by the club after a series of failures to turn up for training and matches, as well as disagreements with United’s new manager, Frank O’Farrell, who was sacked by the board at the same time as Best was given his marching orders. Ironically on the same day as United told him they no longer wanted him as a player. Best had written to the club saying he no longer wished to play for them.
Above top right: Liverpool’s Kevin Keegan races for the ball in his team’s match against Birmingham City in 1973. Keegan won European Footballer of the Year twice in the 1970s.
Above: Smiles on the faces of Leeds manager Don Revie and club captain, Billy Bremner as they hold the FA Cup which the club won in 1972, the competition’s centenary year when they beat Arsenal I-0.
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