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Major Frank Buckley had
started making changes to the Leeds United set up in 1948-49,
but they made little difference to fortunes on the field. The
club finished just a couple of points off relegation, but Buckley
had greater success in his next 12 months in charge. He had had
the chance to take a critical look at the players he had at his
disposal and had decided that many were simply not up to the mark
- there was just too much dead wood.
There were many comings and goings in the summer of 1949 as Buckley
commenced some fairly radical surgery. In some cases, that meant
players who had only recently been brought in were disposed of.
Cliff Marsh, Roly Depear, Albert Lomas and Walter Edwards were
all Buckley signings who, for one reason or another, had left
Elland Road by August 1949, and another two, Jimmy Rudd and David
McAdam, followed by the end of the season. 35 year old keeper
Jim Twomey was on his way to Halifax in August and another 35
year old, centre half Tom Holley, retired after 164 League games
for the club, replaced by the teenage sensation John
Charles. Centre forward Albert Wakefield, who had been top
scorer in 1947-48, left in a player exchange deal for Southend's
24 year old forward Frank Dudley. The big signing of the summer,
though, was winger Harold Williams who cost £12,000 from Newport
County. Williams, with his tiny feet and wonderful balance, had
caught Buckley's eye the previous season when he had given the
Leeds defenders a hard time in the Cup upset against the Welsh
club. He already had two Welsh caps to his credit and could play
on either wing, pleasing Buckley, who loved two footed players.
The Leeds side that year had an unmistakable Buckley-esque feel
to it and gave him great hope for the future. Goalkeeper Harry
Searson was a Buckley signing from  Mansfield
for £2,000 in January and was an ever present. Full backs Jimmy
Dunn and Jim Milburn had been at Elland Road when Buckley arrived
but were his sort of players. John Charles had been blooded at
the end of the previous season and was now a fixture at centre
half, playing alongside Jim McCabe, a big money buy from Middlesbrough
at the end of Willis Edwards'
reign, and skipper Tommy Burden, who had been a teenage prodigy
at Buckley's Wolves. Both Charles and Burden played in every match
that year. The defence finally started to provide the cohesion
that had been lacking for years.
Williams and Irishman David Cochrane were wide providers up
front, where Len Browning and Dudley were the main threat. But
the attack did not always click. At 6ft 2in, Browning had an imposing
physical presence and Dudley, who packed a fierce shot, could
unsettle defences, with surging runs on goal; but neither quite
had the craft or consistency to be persistently threatening in
front of goal.
Those players who weren't Buckley signings were certainly being
moulded to his grand design. By 1949-50 the Leeds United team
was more settled and assured.
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The side didn't start off very impressively, however, winning
just one of their first 11 matches, and were struggling in the
relegation zone early on, but gradually the Buckley influence
was felt and the players got their act together. Charles was a
surprisingly mature teenager at the heart of a defence which was
now a tough nut to crack. They kept thirteen clean sheets and
conceded more than two goals on just four occasions in 47 matches.
This was something that had been unheard of in recent seasons.
Three of the clean sheets came in consecutive wins in October
as Leeds got their season rolling, with Dudley scoring in each
game. Hull City turned Leeds over 1-0 on October 29, but that
was the only reverse in a run of 9 games that saw Leeds pull away
from the bottom of the table.
It was around this time that Buckley signed Stalybridge Celtic's
Eric Kerfoot, who went on to make more than 300 appearances for
the club. He was an outstanding non-League half back and made
his debut for Leeds after a single reserve game. He only played
a few games that season, as cover for Jim McCabe, but made a more
telling impact in later years.
Leeds lost 2-0 at Bury on December 10, but had taken on the proportions
of a rolling juggernaut. As Leeds pushed up the table in mid-season,
Buckley's team played before an increasing number of huge crowds
at Elland Road: 41,303 saw a 3-1 win against Preston on Christmas
Eve; 47,817 a victory over Barnsley on December 27; and 50,476
a 3-0 win against leaders Tottenham on 14 January, during which
David Cochrane, in irrepressible form on the right wing, tore
Spurs' defence to pieces.
They had another unbeaten run, this time of 13 matches, which
encompassed impressive progress in the FA Cup. United had  probably
the poorest Cup record of any side in the top two divisions. They
had only ever made it to the fifth round twice in their history,
in 1933 and 1936, and had progressed beyond the third round on
just two occasions since 1936. However, 1950 saw a dramatic improvement
in their fortunes.
Leeds easily disposed of Third Division side Carlisle in the
third round, by 5-2 on their own pitch. That secured a difficult
fourth round tie against First Division Bolton, whose centre forward
Nat Lofthouse was to be such a force in the 1950's. Leeds only
managed to draw 1-1 in the match, which was held at Elland Road,
and were odds on to go out in the replay at Burnden Park. However,
the players then showed real mettle, digging into their mental
and physical reserves on a quagmire of a pitch at Burnden Park
to win 3-2 in extra time, a victory which amazed even their most
loyal supporters. 51,488 fans had witnessed the first game against
Bolton and more than 53,000 attended the fifth round match against
Second Division rivals Cardiff on February 11. Leeds had already
beaten the Welshmen 2-0 in the League at Elland Road and gave
them similar treatment in the Cup, winning 3-1. Ray Iggleden got
the vital third goal, having fought his way back into the side
at the beginning of January.
A fortnight later, Leeds visited Cardiff in a Second Division
game and saw their long unbeaten run ended, as City got their
revenge, winning by the only goal.
The sixth round of the Cup was new territory for Leeds and they
faced a massive battle on March 4, away to mighty Arsenal, a club
with a wonderful history, having been reshaped by former Leeds
City manager Herbert Chapman
to be the dominant club side of the Thirties. The Gunners had
recaptured the League title in 1948 and were still a power in
the land. Thousands of West Yorkshire fans made the trip to London
for the game and made their presence felt as a new and vibrant
Leeds outfit set about their illustrious opponents. Buckley's
men, by no means overawed by the occasion or by the 62,973 crowd,
played superbly, defending in depth and counter attacking effectively.
But they were beaten by the only goal of the game, prodded in
by Reg Lewis after 52 minutes and despite a desperate late onslaught,
could not fashion an equaliser. The Gunners went on to win the
trophy, beating Liverpool in the final, but Leeds had run them
very close and proved that they were, indeed, a force to be reckoned
with.
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The Leeds team's form after that match petered out and the efforts
had obviously taken their toll. They crashed 5-2 at Sheffield
Wednesday on March 25 in their worst display of the season as
what had become a promotion challenge began to fade.
They closed their campaign with two straight wins, beating Bury
4-1 in the final match at Elland Road. Lapses in March and April
had left them with too much to do, but they finished in a wonderful
fifth spot, five points behind the two Sheffield clubs and Southampton,
who all finished on 52 points. The gallant Leeds players could
look back on an impressive season, which had included a marvellous
3-0 victory at Elland Road over eventual Second Division champions
Tottenham, about to rise to  eminence
in the Fifties and Sixties. A plucky Leeds team had proven that,
on their day, they could handle the best in the division. Only
Sheffield Wednesday of the teams above them had not lost to Leeds.
The long suffering United fans revelled in their new found form
and pushed club attendances up to record levels, for the third
successive year, with the average rising from 29,000 to 32,000.
Frank Buckley was starting to build a sound organisation at Elland
Road and an effective youth development scheme was introduced.
As well as the 18 year old John Charles, the clubemployed another
youngster by the name of Jack
Charlton, who signed for the club on his fifteenth birthday
in May 1950 at the start of an association with Leeds United that
would last 23 years.
Other Football Highlights from 1949-50
- Portsmouth won the League for the second year running, but
this time the race was much closer, with several teams in the
hunt and the title undecided until the end of the season. Wolves
made the early pace, not losing until their 13th match. They
were overhauled by Liverpool, who went 19 matches before being
beaten. Manchester United were as strong as ever and Portsmouth,
Blackpool and Sunderland were not far behind. Only one point
separated the top three clubs as they played their last matches
on May 6. Portsmouth led Wolves on goal average and Sunderland
were one point behind. All three clubs won emphatically on the
last day to leave Pompey winners
- Arsenal's ageing stars won the FA Cup with a resounding 2-0
victory over Liverpool in the final, a fitting finale for Denis
Compton who retired through injury at the end of the season
- Arsenal's North London rivals Tottenham also had a good season
in the Second Division, going 23 matches without defeat, topping
the table throughout the season and running away with the title
by nine points
- England lost their first international at home to non-British
opposition when they were beaten 1-0 by the Republic of Ireland
on September 21. The Irish victory was orchestrated by their
captain Johnny Carey
- FIFA decreed that the top two teams in the Home International
Championship would both be granted a place in the 1950 World
Cup finals. The Scottish FA decided they would only take part
if they finished top. England beat the Scots 1-0, leaving them
the only British competitors in the first World Cup finals after
the war
- It didn't do the English much good, however. Despite being
among the tournament favourites, they suffered one of the biggest
shocks in the history of the tournament when the minnows of
the USA beat them 1-0 to effectively end their interest in the
competition
- The final stages of the tournament, held in Brazil, were played
as a group. The host nation just had to draw their final match
against Uruguay to win the trophy for the first time. They lost
2-1 and Uruguay, the first champions in 1930, regained the title
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