The FA Cup draw always seem to throw up a mouthwatering tie and the 5th Round clash between Chelsea and Leeds gets the juices flowing. For starters, it stirs up memories of footballing past. Chelsea and Leeds went at it hammer and tongs for several years during the 1960s and early 70s.
That rivalry has never gone away and there is guaranteed to be a huge and vocal Leeds following at Stamford Bridge this Wednesday night.
It grabs the neutral’s attention too as Chelsea are back in action just three days after their painful Carabao Cup loss at Wembley. How will the under-pressure Blues react against an in-form Leeds side who have won six on the bounce?
Chelsea v Leeds – And So It Begins
The sensational FA Cup saga between Chelsea and Leeds during the 1951/52 season, was a precursor of things to come. After two drawn encounters, Jimmy Smith scored a hat-trick as Chelsea recorded a 5-1 victory in a second replay at Villa Park. Match reporters described the tackling as being ferocious and that would be a recurring feature in matches between the two over the years to come.
The Rivalry Intensifies
Hostilities were further flamed during the 1960s, with Don Revie at the Leeds’ helm and Tommy Docherty holding the reins at Chelsea. Both clubs underwent a renaissance period, and it stepped up the competitive nature of the clashes between the two.
The sides would finish in the top-5 for three consecutive seasons (1963-1966). Revie’s boys were dubbed ‘dirty’ Leeds by many at the time, but Chelsea refused to be tamed. They went toe-to-toe and often fist-to-fist with the Yorkshire outfit. Docherty would depart in 1967, though several of his ‘Diamonds’ including Peter Osgood, Ron ‘Chopper’ Harris and Peter Bonetti would remain during the subsequent Dave Sexton regime.
The Tea Drinkers v The Party Animals
The North/South divide was part of the ongoing strife between the sides. That divide was further highlighted during the late 1960s/early 1970s. Sexton’s Chelsea were seen as glamorous, money spenders, associated with the fashionable King’s Road set.
Revie’s Leeds had an aura of being gritty and dour, who would rather be drinking tea and play cards, rather than hitting the clubs. “Yorkshire grit versus flash Cockney.” as Rick Glanvill stated in his 2006 book (Chelsea FC: The Official Biography: The Definitive Story of the First 100 Years)
The Unforgettable 1969-70 Season
Chelsea and Leeds would meet six times during the 1969–70 season. A series of fiercely contested and controversial matches which would culminate in the 1970 FA Cup Final. There was continuing beef between various sets of opposing players. Norman ‘Bite Yer Legs’ Hunter & Peter Osgood, Johnny Giles & Eddie McCreadie, and many more.
Leeds would win both league games that season. In the first of those, at Elland Road, both sides were condemned by reporters for playing ‘venomously,’ with a flurry of bad tackles. Numerous players would miss subsequent matches, because of injuries picked up during the clash.
Chelsea avenged those losses, when ousting Leeds from the League Cup (which required a replay). And so, to the 1970 FA Cup Final, which is still regarded as one of the most physical and dirtiest matches in English football history. The game which would cement the rivalry/hatred between the clubs. However, it is still cited as being one of the greatest ever FA Cup finals.
The 1970 FA Cup Final
The anticipation at Wembley Stadium was palpable on April 11th, 1970, as Chelsea and Leeds strode on to the sacred turf. Leeds would take the lead twice, but a second late Chelsea equaliser from Ian Hutchinson took the Final to a replay.
It was first time that had happened in almost 60 years and would further add to the intrigue and tension. The replay at Old Trafford attracted a UK TV audience of 28 million, making it the third most-watched sports event ever in British history.
It would be a war. Non-footballing lowlights included: ‘Chopper’ Harris kicking Eddie Gray out of the game in the first half. Hunter and Hutchinson having fisticuffs and McCreadie’s infamous ‘kung fu’ kick on Bremner, that even Eric Cantona would have been proud of.
Amazingly, ref Eric Jennings would book only one player during both Final games. Chelsea would eventually triumph, despite Leeds taking the lead through Mick Jones. David Webb netted in extra time.
The Blue Touch Paper Is Lit
The animosity would continue through the 1970s and not just on the pitch. It often spilled out onto the terraces and streets. The Chelsea’s Headhunters and Leeds‘ Service Crew were among the most notorious football firms at the height of British football hooliganism in the 1970s & 80s.
Both sides would suffer downturns in fortunes though, which would help to chill tensions a tad. However, revivals for both in the 1990s, would coincide with a series of feisty affairs. Eight players were booked and two red-carded during a goalless draw in the 1997-98 season.
The following year, the scoreboard remained blank again, but the ref’s notebook certainly did not. Mike Reed dishing out 11 yellows and a red.
Long Wait Til the Foes Met Again
A 2003 Football Fans Census stated that Chelsea were Leeds’ second-biggest rivals, after Man Utd. Leeds’ relegation in 2004 would put that rivalry on ice though and the sides would not meet in the league again for 16 years.
When the sides did finally meet again in the EPL in December 2020, it was a bit of a damp squib. Chelsea coming from behind to win 3-1 at the Bridge with only two yellows brandished.
There have been five other Premier League clashes between the sides since then with Chelsea holding sway overall, aside from a 3-0 reverse at Elland Road (August 2022), where Chelsea’s Kalidou Koulibaly received his marching orders late on.
What Awaits at Stamford Bridge This Time?
So, what can we expect from Wednesday’s FA Cup clash? Amazingly the sides have met 12 times in domestic Cup competitions since 1937 and Leeds are yet to come out on top.
That will not demoralise the Yorkshire hoards though, with the pressure fully on Mauricio Pochettino’s Blues, especially after their inept performance in the Carabao Cup Final. Chelsea knows how important the FA Cup is to their season now and Pochettino’s job could even be on the line.
The Blues will look to come out of the traps hard and fast. The longer they go without scoring the more vocal the Leeds’ fans will become. At the same time, the Bridge crowd will become nervier and more anxious. Daniel Farke’s Whites are unbeaten in 2024 and on a six-game winning streak. They will be in seventh heaven if they can knock their old foes out.
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