The Revie team were Leeds United’s greatest team, and we’re fortunate that there is as much footage as there is to prove it. When it comes to naming John Charles as Leeds United’s greatest player we have to take some things on trust. Read through a few contemporary reports, though, and the evidence soon becomes overwhelming.

‘Nat Lofthouse was asked who was the best centre-half he had played against and without hesitation named John Charles,’ journalist Tom Holley once wrote. ‘The same week Billy Wright was asked who was the greatest centre-forward he had faced, and he again answered John Charles’. A Leeds player before becoming a journalist, Holley had a front row view of Charles’ greatness, because it ended his own career. When watching young Charles for the first time, playing centre-half in a friendly, Holley said, ‘Within twenty minutes I knew that my football days weren’t simply numbered, I knew they were finished.’ Charles took his place and Holley retired that season.

⬢

To read the rest of this article, you need to join TSB+ — members get access to this plus extra podcast and video episodes, all podcasts advert-free, can read every issue of our magazine online and much more. You can join or log in below.