Eddie Gray
Encyclopedia
Edwin "Eddie" Gray was a cultured winger who was an integral member of the legendary Leeds United
Leeds United A.F.C.
Leeds United Association Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system...

 football team of the 1960s and 1970s, later twice becoming the club's manager.
Eddie is currently working on Yorkshire Radio
Yorkshire Radio
Yorkshire Radio is a British digital radio station broadcasting to Yorkshire on DAB. The station is owned by Leeds United A.F.C. and broadcasts live coverage of all first-team games, plus pop music from the 1960s to the present day.-History:...

 commentating on Leeds United matches.

Playing career

Gray was a schoolboy international for Scotland
Scotland national football team
The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...

, he had aspirations of signing for his boyhood team Celtic, but signed professional forms for Leeds at the age of 16. He made his first team debut on New Year's Day
New Year's Day
New Year's Day is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar used in ancient Rome...

 1966, less than three weeks before his 18th birthday, and would go on to play for the club for almost 20 years.

A winger in the classic mould, Gray was feted in world football for his ability to beat opposing full backs for pace and thought. As the Leeds team grew in stature and experience through the 1960s, Gray became a vital component of the team.

In 1968 he was in the Leeds team which won the League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...

 and the Fairs Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...

 and then the League championship
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....

 a year later. It was in 1970 that he made his most famous appearance in a Leeds shirt.

The team was chasing a unique "treble" of League championship, FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...

 and European Cup
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...

 with Gray in sparkling form. He had already scored what many Leeds fans call the greatest goal ever by a Leeds player - a solo run past several Burnley
Burnley F.C.
Burnley Football Club are a professional English Football League club based in Burnley, Lancashire. Nicknamed the Clarets, due to the dominant colour of their home shirts, they were founder members of the Football League in 1888...

 players which involved flicks and backheels as he somehow got from the byline to a shooting position - when his day came at Wembley for the FA Cup final
FA Cup Final 1970
The 1970 FA Cup Final was contested by Chelsea and Leeds United. The match took place on 11 April 1970 at Wembley Stadium and ended 2–2, making it the first FA Cup final to require a replay since 1912...

 against Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...

.

Gray's marking full back was David Webb
David Webb (footballer)
David James Webb is an English former professional footballer who made 555 appearances in the Football League playing for Leyton Orient, Southampton, Chelsea, Queens Park Rangers, Leicester City, Derby County, A.F.C. Bournemouth and Torquay United. He became a manager, taking charge of A.F.C...

, a steady but undistinguished defender whom, for the 90 minutes and extra-time period, Gray would duly torment. Webb was, time and again, left on his backside or looking the wrong way as Gray ghosted past him on countless occasions, including one run where he cut inside onto his 'weaker' right foot and crashed a shot against the crossbar. Though Leeds dominated the match, the game still ended 2-2 and a replay was required - Gray had taken the corner which had allowed Jack Charlton
Jack Charlton
John "Jack" Charlton, OBE, DL is a former footballer and manager who played for Leeds United in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, and was part of the England team who won the 1966 World Cup...

 to open the scoring. In the replay, Chelsea changed tactics and put the more uncompromising Ron Harris
Ron Harris (footballer)
Ronald Edward Harris , better known as Ron "Chopper" Harris, is a former English footballer who played for Chelsea in the 1960s and 1970s. Harris is widely regarded as one of the toughest defenders of his era - along with players such as Tommy Smith MBE and Norman Hunter - hence the nickname...

 on to Gray and as a result, Gray's danger was snuffed out. Chelsea won 2-1 and, in a final twist, it was Webb who scored the winner. Leeds lost the League championship race to Everton
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...

 and the European Cup semi final to Celtic
Celtic F.C.
Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...

, thereby ended with nothing.

Gray's frequent battles with injury started, and he missed more than half of the 1971 season, during which Leeds again snatched League championship defeat from the jaws of victory but won the Fairs Cup again. He was in the team which won the FA Cup against Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...

 in 1972 and duly lost it a year later to Sunderland
Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...

, but missed out on a title medal when Leeds finally won the League again in 1974 thanks to more injury woes. These had become so frequent that when Brian Clough succeeded Don Revie at Leeds United, he began his first team meeting by stating that if Eddie Gray had been a horse, he would have been shot long ago.

His performance on the wing earned the famous tribute from Revie that when he plays on snow, he doesn't leave any footprints.http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1279994/THE-LIST-Top-50-managerial-quotes-time-Nos-10-1.html

Gray played in the team which reached the European Cup final in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 in 1975 but lost, controversially, to Bayern Munich. Also in the team was his younger brother Frank
Frank Gray
Francis Tierney 'Frank' Gray is a Scottish football manager and former footballer.Gray has previously managed Darlington, Farnborough Town, Grays Athletic and Woking....

, who had likewise come through the ranks at Elland Road. This was the swansong of the great Don Revie
Don Revie
Donald George 'Don' Revie, OBE, , was an English footballer who played for Leicester City, Hull City, Sunderland, Manchester City and Leeds United as a deep-lying centre forward. After managing Leeds United he managed England from 1974 until 1977...

 team (Revie himself had left a year earlier to take over as England manager) and Gray's team-mates started to leave the club. By the end of the 1970s, Gray was the only player from any part of the Revie era still at the club (although Peter Lorimer
Peter Lorimer
Peter Patrick Lorimer is a former footballer who formed part of the much-admired and feared Leeds United team of the 1960s and 1970s....

 and David Harvey
David Harvey (footballer)
David Harvey is a former Scottish internationalist professional association footballer. A goalkeeper, Harvey is best known for his successes with Leeds United.-Leeds United:...

 would later make comebacks). Converted to left back, Gray prolonged his career and was in the side which was relegated under former team-mate Allan Clarke
Allan Clarke (footballer)
Allan John Clarke , nicknamed "Sniffer", is a former footballer who played in the Football League for Walsall, Fulham, Leicester City, Leeds United and Barnsley, and won 19 international caps for England.-Early career:Clarke started his career at Walsall and made his debut aged 17, in 1963...

 in 1982.

Gray's unfortunate injury record meant that his Scotland career was short and infrequent. He won just 12 caps and missed the 1974 World Cup through injury. In an era of hard men - Bremner, Harris, Smith, etc., Gray also had the distinction of never being booked in his career.

Management

Gray then took over as player-manager at Leeds in 1982, following their relegation from the First Division. The club had to turn to a youth policy to rebuild the team, with the emergence of players like John Sheridan, Neil Aspin
Neil Aspin
Neil Aspin is an English former professional footballer turned football manager, who is now managing Conference North club F.C. Halifax Town....

, Denis Irwin
Denis Irwin
Denis Joseph Irwin is a former Irish football player who is best known for his long and successful stint at Manchester United, where he established himself as one of the most important players in the United team that won a host of domestic and European trophies in his time there between 1990 and...

 and Scott Sellars
Scott Sellars
Scott Sellars is an English former professional football player, who is the coach of the Manchester City U18 team after previously holding the role of assistant manager at Chesterfield in the League Two....

. After top half finishes in his first two seasons in charge, the 1984-85 season saw a push for promotion that was lost on the final day at Birmingham City. Following failure to gain promotion from the Second Division
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...

, Gray ended association with Leeds after 20 years, 561 games and 68 goals.

He would later manage Whitby Town
Whitby Town F.C.
Whitby Town Football Club is an English football club based in Whitby, North Yorkshire. The club participates in the Northern Premier League, the seventh tier of English football...

. In 1986, Gray took over at Rochdale
Rochdale A.F.C.
Rochdale Association Football Club is an English professional football club based in Rochdale, Greater Manchester. They play their home matches at Spotland Stadium. Formed in 1907, they were accepted into the Football League in 1921...

 and in the 1986-87 season the club managed an escape from near-certain relegation from the Football League.

Gray took over at Hull City
Hull City A.F.C.
Hull City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, founded in 1904. The club participates in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football...

 for season 1988-89, following the departure of Brian Horton
Brian Horton
Brian Horton is an English former footballer and manager, who is working as Phil Brown's assistant at Preston North End.Horton played for Hednesford Town, Port Vale, Brighton & Hove Albion, Luton Town and Hull City as a midfielder...

 the previous season. Hull managed to pull into mid-table and only five points short of the play-offs in February, and they reached the FA Cup 5th round where they lost to Liverpool. Only 1 win in the last 18 games meant that Hull finished fourth from yet clear of relegation danger, but the poor form led to his departure.

Return to Leeds

Gray continued his long standing association with Leeds United by joining the club as a Youth Team coach. His work with the youth set-up nurtured a terrific generation of Leeds players such as Harry Kewell
Harry Kewell
Harold "Harry" Kewell is an Australian professional football midfielder who plays for Melbourne Victory in the A-League. Internationally he has received 55 caps, and scored 16 goals, while playing for the Australian national team...

, Ian Harte
Ian Harte
Ian Patrick Harte is an Irish international footballer who plays for Reading in the Football League Championship. Best known for his spell at Leeds United and also his ability to score goals from long range, including being a free kick specialist...

, Alan Smith and Jonathan Woodgate
Jonathan Woodgate
Jonathan Simon Woodgate is an English footballer who plays for Stoke City in the Premier League.Woodgate started his football career at Leeds United where he established himself in the starting eleven. However, Woodgate was sold to Newcastle United for £9 million in January 2003. He impressed...

, who all went on to become first-team regulars. In 1997, Gray was promoted to Reserve Team Manager and the following year was made new manager David O'Leary
David O'Leary
David Anthony O'Leary is an Irish football manager and former player. His managerial career began at Leeds United and later he managed Aston Villa. He most recently worked as the manager of Al-Ahli Dubai...

's assistant.

To the aggravation of Leeds supporters, Gray was forced to take a back step when Brian Kidd
Brian Kidd
Brian Kidd is an English football coach and former player, who is currently Assistant Manager to Roberto Mancini at Manchester City....

 was promoted from Academy Manager to Head Coach and was given all coaching responsibilities. The fans made their support known for Gray through banners at matches, whilst at the same time verbally abusing Kidd. Both Gray and Kidd were relieved of their duties in 2003 when new manager Peter Reid
Peter Reid
Peter Reid is an English football manager, pundit and retired player, who is currently without a club since his departure from Plymouth Argyle.A defensive midfielder in his playing days, Reid enjoyed a long and successful career...

 took the reins.

When Reid left Leeds in 2003, Gray was charged with the task of trying to preserve their FA Premier League
FA Premier League
The Premier League is an English professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the English football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with The Football League. The Premier...

 status, something which, under immense pressure, he could not do. Gray parted company once again with the club after relegation. Gray was given a one-year football consultancy role at the club before joining BBC Radio Leeds as a matchday analyst. In 2008, the BBC lost their rights to the live radio broadcast of Leeds matches; as a result, Gray left BBC Radio Leeds
BBC Radio Leeds
BBC Radio Leeds is the BBC Local Radio service for the English metropolitan county of West Yorkshire.- Frequencies :It broadcasts from its studios at St...

 and moved to the club's official radio station, Yorkshire Radio
Yorkshire Radio
Yorkshire Radio is a British digital radio station broadcasting to Yorkshire on DAB. The station is owned by Leeds United A.F.C. and broadcasts live coverage of all first-team games, plus pop music from the 1960s to the present day.-History:...

, for whom he still analyses on a matchday.

Career statistics

|-
|1965-66
The Football League 1965-66
-Overview:The 1965–1966 season was the 66th completed season of The Football League.This season is notable for Liverpool winning the title with only 14 squad players.-Final league tables :...

||rowspan="19"|Leeds United
Leeds United A.F.C.
Leeds United Association Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system...

||rowspan="17"|First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....

||4||1||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||2||0||6||1
|-
|1966-67
The Football League 1966-67
-Overview:The 1966–1967 season was the 67th completed season of The Football League.-Final league tables :The tables below are reproduced here in the exact form that they can be found at website and in Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79, with home and away statistics...

||29||4||4||0||1||0||6||0||40||4
|-
|1967-68
The Football League 1967-68
-Overview:The 1967–1968 season was the 68th completed season of The Football League.- First Division :For the first time since 1937 Manchester City won the league title, finishing two points clear of their local rivals Manchester United. Fulham finished bottom of the league and were relegated along...

||32||6||3||0||7||1||8||2||50||9
|-
|1968-69
The Football League 1968-69
-Overview:The 1968–1969 season was the 69th completed season of The Football League.- First Division :Leeds United won the League for the first time in their history, finishing six points ahead of Liverpool...

||33||5||2||0||2||0||6||0||43||5
|-
|1969-70
The Football League 1969-70
The 1969–1970 season was the 70th completed season of The Football League.Everton won their seventh title, finishing nine points clear of Leeds United with Chelsea in third and newly promoted Derby County in fourth. Sheffield Wednesday and Sunderland were both relegated.Huddersfield Town claimed...

||30||9||7||0||2||0||5||0||44||9
|-
|1970-71
The Football League 1970-71
-Overview:The 1970–1971 season was the 71st completed season of The Football League.-First Division:Arsenal won the league championship at the home of their bitter rivals, Tottenham Hotspur, with Ray Kennedy scoring the winner. This would soon be followed by their FA Cup final tie with Liverpool...

||18||1||colspan="2"|-||1||0||5||3||24||4
|-
|1971-72
The Football League 1971-72
-Overview:The 1971–1972 season was the 72nd completed season of The Football League.-First Division:Brian Clough, 37, won the first major trophy of his managerial career by guiding Derby County to their first ever league championship. They overcame Leeds United to win a four-horse race also...

||26||6||6||0||1||0||colspan="2"|-||33||6
|-
|1972-73
The Football League 1972-73
-Overview:The 1972–1973 season was the 73rd completed season of The Football League.-First Division:Liverpool cruised to another championship triumph in Bill Shankly's penultimate season as manager despite competition from Arsenal, Leeds United, Ipswich Town and Wolverhampton Wanderers.Manchester...

||17||1||3||0||3||0||2||0||25||1
|-
|1973-74
The Football League 1973-74
-Overview:The 1973–1974 season was the 74th completed season of The Football League.-First Division:Don Revie marked his last season as Leeds United's manager by guiding them to league championship glory, before taking over from Sir Alf Ramsey as the England national football team manager, with...

||8||0||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||1||0||9||0
|-
|1974-75
The Football League 1974-75
-Overview:The 1974–1975 season was the 75th completed season of The Football League.-First Division:David Mackay guided Derby County to their second league title in four years having overcome strong competition from Liverpool, Ipswich Town, Everton, Stoke City, Sheffield United and Middlesbrough in...

||12||1||6||1||colspan="2"|-||3||0||21||2
|-
|1975-76
The Football League 1975-76
-Overview:The 1975–1976 season was the 76th completed season of The Football League.-First Division:Liverpool won their first major trophy under Bob Paisley by narrowly winning the league title after heated competition from Queens Park Rangers. They also lifted the UEFA Cup for the second time in...

||29||1||1||0||2||0||colspan="2"|-||32||1
|-
|1976-77
The Football League 1976-77
-Overview:The 1976–1977 season was the 77th completed season of The Football League.As of this season, goal difference was used to separate the clubs finishing level on points. The earlier system, used from the season 1894–95 until the 1975–76 had been the so-called goal average , or more properly...

||37||5||5||1||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||42||6
|-
|1977-78
The Football League 1977-78
-Overview:The 1977–1978 season was the 78th completed season of The Football League.-First Division:Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest side took on the First Division by storm, by winning the League Cup on 22 March and confirming themselves as league champions the following month...

||27||5||colspan="2"|-||4||2||colspan="2"|-||31||7
|-
|1978-79
The Football League 1978-79
-Overview:The 1978–1979 season was the 79th completed season of The Football League.-First Division:Bob Paisley won his third league title at Liverpool as his conquering side fought off competition from the likes of Nottingham Forest and West Bromwich Albion to achieve their triumph...

||28||4||1||2||7||3||colspan="2"|-||36||9
|-
|1979-80
The Football League 1979-80
-Overview:The 1979–1980 season was the 80th completed season of The Football League.-First Division:Bob Paisley's Liverpool retained their league championship trophy after fighting off a determined challenge by Dave Sexton's Manchester United...

||30||2||1||0||colspan="2"|-||3||0||34||2
|-
|1980-81
The Football League 1980-81
The 1980–1981 season was the 81st completed season of The Football League.-First Division:Ron Saunders completed Aston Villa's revival, as they ended their 71-year wait for the league championship trophy. They competed in a two-horse race with Ipswich Town during the final stages of the season...

||38||0||2||0||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||40||0
|-
|1981-82
The Football League 1981-82
The 1981–1982 season was the 82nd completed season of The Football League.- First Division:3 points for a win was introduced for the first time in England...

||31||1||2||1||2||0||colspan="2"|-||35||2
|-
|1982-83
The Football League 1982-83
-Overview:The 1982–1983 season was the 83rd completed season of The Football League.- First Division:Bob Paisley’s last season as Liverpool manager ended on a high as they topped the First Division with a comfortable lead. Bob Paisley retired as Liverpool manager with a record 21 prizes in nine...

||rowspan="2"|Second Division
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...

||21||0||4||0||3||0||colspan="2"|-||28||0
|-
|1983-84
The Football League 1983-84
-Overview:The 1983–1984 season was the 84th completed season of The Football League.- First Division:Liverpool had a great first season under the management of Joe Fagan as they wrapped up their third successive league title and the 15th in their history. They overcame strong competition from...

||4||0||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||4||0
454||52||47||5||35||6||41||5||577||68
454||52||47||5||35||6||41||5||577||68

External links

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