Leeds are currently waiting to see whether the Premier League will move yet another fixture.
Oliver Glasner has asked for a rearrangement to Leeds vs Crystal Palace on Sunday 21st December due to his side’s involvement in the UEFA Conference League and Carabao Cup that week.
Leeds have already seen several fixtures rearranged as of late, with schedule changes now causing Daniel Farke to kick off 2026 with league encounters against Liverpool and Manchester United.
While Crystal Palace are currently in a spot of bother with five games to play in just 12 days next month, it is nothing compared to what Don Revie experienced in the 1969/70 campaign.
Leeds averaged three games a week for 46 days and were even fined £5,000
As Leeds battled for the treble under Revie in 1970, disaster struck towards the business end of the campaign.
Leeds were fighting on several fronts, battling Everton for the First Division title with eyes also on the FA Cup and the European Cup.
14th March 1970 saw the Whites take on Manchester United in the FA Cup semi-final, but as the game finished goalless after extra-time to force a replay, fixtures began to pile up for Revie.
Leeds booked a spot in the European Cup semi-final four days later on 18th March with a 1-0 win over Standard Liege, before sealing a 2-1 victory over Wolves in the First Division on 21st March.
Don Revie
Photo by Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
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Just 48 hours later, that FA Cup replay against Manchester United needed to be played, but disastrously ended goalless once again, forcing a second replay on 26th March – which was decided by a goal from Billy Bremner.
Again only 48 hours later, Leeds were back in action for a First Division clash against Southampton, although fitness levels were dangerously low.
Revie had been advised that a number of his key men were close to breaking point, consequently leading him to field a weakened side who suffered a 3-1 defeat.
Two days after that loss, Leeds were beaten 4-1 by Derby when partaking in their seventh game in 16 days, before suffering another loss as Celtic won 1-0 in the European Cup semi-final on April 1st, the same evening Everton took full advantage of this fixture congestion and secured the First Division title.
Alan Hardaker does Don Revie no favours at all
Like Glasner has now done, Leeds asked for some fixtures to be rearranged, but that, and the decision to rest some players against Southampton, landed Revie in hot water with the Football League.
Alan Hardaker – secretary of the Football League at the time – even threatened to pull the Whites out of Europe and fined them £5,000 for “fielding an understrength side” against the Saints.
He said: “The League can forbid clubs to take part in European competitions… if they cannot fulfil commitments at home.”
It led Revie to field his exhausted players just 24 hours later for a league encounter at West Ham, which finished 2-2 and saw Paul Reaney break his leg.
Allan Clarke Of Leeds United 1970
Photo by John Varley/Mirrorpix via Getty Images
The first four days of April actually saw Leeds take part in three games, but fatigue had firmly set in and the season was fizzling out.
To make matters worse, Football Association (FA) rules stipulated that only 20 players could be used in a season and just one substitution per game, and even then that could only be used in the event of an injury.
Celtic ultimately knocked Leeds out of Europe at the semi-final stage, Chelsea reigned supreme in the FA Cup final (after a replay) and as aforesaid, Everton pipped them to the First Division title as well.
Some would argue Leeds were a victim of their own success as Revie contested with two FA Cup finals, three semi-finals, two European Cup semis, one quarter-final and seven league games, although it was ultimately the 1970 World Cup that was to blame.
To aid England’s chances, the Football League insisted all fixtures must be finished before April 30th, causing a tremendous headache for treble-chasing Leeds.
Bill Shankly even memorably remarked: “They would have done that treble had it been a normal season.”
Leeds did at least win the FA Charity Shield that season, and received widespread acclaim for how they went about the situation.
It led Geoffrey Green of the Times to write: “It has been a strenuous slog, greatly pressurised by the loss of a month because of the demands of Mexican acclimatisation for England’s players in the World Cup. None have suffered more than Leeds United’s players.
“At the beginning of March, Leeds looked capable of winning everything and anything, including the General Election. At that time they seemed unbeatable, but in the end a condensed programme of highly competitive fixtures overwhelmed them. Should it be any consolation to them, Leeds have now probably won something more in defeat as good losers than they would have done in many hours of victorious celebrating – universal public sympathy.”
So, as Glasner requests help from the Premier League, his situation truly pales in comparison to what Revie and Leeds experienced in 1970.