After the fine start to life at Elland Road made by Herbert Chapman, the manager continued to develop his squad during the summer. He dispensed with the services of long-serving Stan Cubberley, Tom Morris and Hugh Roberts who were all in the squad he inherited and had nearly 400 League games for City between them, along with Jimmy Robertson, whom he had brought in the previous year. Before the end of September 1913, Chapman had enlisted First Division players centre half Harry Peart (Bradford City) and England amateur international left winger Ivan Sharpe (Derby). He also went back to his former club Northampton to bring in rugged centre half John Hampson.

Another important defensive signing was that of full back Fred Blackman from Huddersfield Town in February 1914 for £1,000. Blackman was regarded by the Yorkshire Post as "possibly the most polished back in the second division".

For the most part, it was very much Chapman's team that saw City through the season. Goalkeeper Tony Hogg, full back George Affleck, wing half Mick Foley and marksman Billy McLeod had been there when Chapman arrived in 1912, but the rest of the side were Chapman acquisitions.

The manager had got the team playing in the way he wanted and the City supporters were very optimistic as the side began its campaign in September 1913 with a 3-0 victory over Glossop. Interest in the club's progress had increased to such an extent that £2,000-worth of season tickets were sold before the season had started. Attendances had picked up the previous season and they averaged a club record 13,356, but in 1913-14 they soared to an average 16,737 and they drew 30,000 for the visit of Fulham.

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McLeod began the season in prime goalscoring form and enhanced his reputation with a sharp-shooting display against lowly Nottingham Forest as City scored their biggest-ever win. Leeds had already put five past Bradford and won 4-1 at Barnsley as they welcomed Forest on 29 November. McLeod hit four goals as City ran riot, achieving an 8-0 victory. The win pushed Leeds into third place in Division Two and left struggling Forest anchored firmly at the bottom of the table.

That was the highlight of the club's season and they never quite found their way after that amazing win. Their form became very inconsistent.

They did, however, manage a win at Fulham's Craven Cottage just after Christmas, although the footballing battle with the Londoners was nothing to the conflict off the pitch. The two clubs met at Elland Road on Christmas Day, but City could not pay Fulham their cut of the receipts so the London club took swift retribution by withholding money from the return game. At an FA inquiry the following February, City said that there had been a tram strike on Christmas Day so many supporters arrived late and there was no police to stop them rushing into the ground, so the club had to take admission money on account. The inquiry ordered Fulham to pay the £20 4s 5d owed to City from the Boxing Day gate, plus three guineas expenses. City got away with a verbal warning for not taking money on the gate.

A brief but damaging loss of form during January, during which City lost three consecutive League matches and were defeated 2-0 at home by West Bromwich in the FA Cup second round, probably cost them promotion. The campaign was further undermined by a farcical match at Clapton Orient on 2 March which the London team arranged to kick off at 4.30pm. In a pre-floodlights era it was inevitable that the game would finish in the semi-darkness of an early spring evening. Clapton Orient won 3-1, but City goalkeeper Billy Scott claimed he was unable to see the last two goals put past him. On those grounds, Leeds City appealed - without success - against the result. The Yorkshire Post wrote that "the referee asked linesmen if they could follow the ball and, receiving an affirmative reply, the game was allowed to proceed. It was quite certain, however, that the players themselves could not follow the ball."

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In a way which was eerily similar to their fortunes in the 1960's and 70's, Leeds fell away at the death from a strong position in mid-season and finished 4th, just two points off promotion. A 2-1 defeat in the return match at Forest (who went on to finish bottom) on 4 April was probably the result which was most damaging, but a scoreless home draw with third placed Arsenal on April 11 allowed Bradford to sneak through and secure the second promotion place behind champions Notts County.

Leeds City had finished with six fewer points than champions Notts County, but only two behind runners up Bradford Park Avenue. "Promotion has been denied them but taking into account the resources of the club, fourth place should be considered satisfactory,"' said the Yorkshire Post. "Not only have the club attained a higher position than ever before but receipts and attendances have outstripped any previous record." Much of the improvement could be attributed to Chapman's management style: he was a pioneer in introducing regular team talks and planned tactics in consultation with the players. He also believed it essential that they should relax, so introduced a weekly round of golf into the team's training routine.

There had been an astonishing turnaround in the two seasons since Chapman had taken over. City had gone from begging for re-election to a place among the Second Division's elite. They were now a formidable outfit at Elland Road, where they lost just two games and conceded only 16 goals all season. Their away form was also much more robust.

There was a high degree of stability in the side and Hogg, Affleck, Hampson, Foley, Price, McLeod, Sharpe and Law missed just 14 games between them all year. McLeod was easily the top scorer and matched his record 27 goals in the League from 1912-13.

After such a promising year, the supporters now looked forward with real hope and enthusiasm to 1914-15 as the spectre of war in Europe grew ever larger.

Other Football Highlights from 1913-14

• Following their first League title in 1912, Blackburn Rovers regained the Championship, finishing seven points clear of second placed Aston Villa
• King George V became the first reigning monarch to see the Cup final, when he presented the trophy at the Crystal Palace to the winning captain, Burnley's centre half Tommy Boyle. England international centre forward Freeman scored the only goal of the game after 58 minutes against Liverpool to secure a first Cup for Burnley. It was the fourth consecutive year that the result was 1-0, although the first two of these finals both needed replays
• Celtic returned to the fore in Scotland, securing another League and Cup Double, after three years of seeing the League title go to Old Firm rivals Rangers
• Ireland won the Home International Championship outright for the first time. Billy Gillespie scored against England for the second year running in a 3-0 win. England also lost to Wales and Scotland. This was the first time England had lost all three home internationals in the same season

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