Seemingly forever maligned as being too ‘professional’ and obsessed with money, Revie learns that two reasons for England’s downfall have been the lack of professionalism and the mismanagement of the sport by its penny-pinching and not entirely honest rulers.

He was a key player, turning out over 200 times for the Town, mostly at wing half, forming a half back line with John Timmins and Jimmy Kerr. It highlights Cocker’s contribution to success and how he understood the support that injured players needed in their rehabilitation during a period when Leeds were playing for a number of trophies at home and in Europe. The photograph beautifully encapsulates the essence of sport - dedication, discipline, and teamwork. Leslie James Robert Cocker (18 September 1939 – February 2017) was an English professional footballer who played as a wing half. As the players gather around, their faces filled with curiosity and determination, it is evident that this discussion holds immense importance for their development both on and off the field.The great Leeds United side of the late sixties and seventies and the England World Cup winning team of 1966 are remembered for the men that managed them, Don Revie and Sir Alf Ramsey respectively. Here, his distain for the film The Damned United is detailed given its portrayal of people and events, including Cocker.

Born in Wolverhampton, Cocker began his career in the youth team of Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1956, playing in their 1958 FA Youth Cup triumph. Now as a non-Leeds United fan and given my view that the film is deeply fictionalised for cinematic effect, I don’t have the same misgivings or deep rooted anger towards the film as many of the Elland Road faithful have. His rising reputation attracted the FA’s attention, and Cocker helped the England team achieve their pinnacle success in 1966.His novels include One Northern Soul, No More Heroes, Dirty Leeds, After Extra Time (Dirty Leeds Uncut), Disrepute - Revie's England and The Gigante . This image not only celebrates their pursuit of excellence but also pays homage to individuals like Les Cocker who played an integral role in shaping young talents into formidable athletes.

Like many men of the time, we discover that he didn’t like to talk about his wartime experiences and in understated fashion referred to his injury as, “just a graze” indicative of a stoic nature.Despite the England team winning the competition, Cocker was not awarded a medal, and a posthumous campaign for Cocker to be awarded one was launched by his family in February 2008. However, for the England national side dark clouds gather as they miss out on qualification for the 1974 World Cup finals in West Germany. Cocker left Leeds in 1974 to become full-time Assistant Manager to Don Revie with the England national team. However, with Endeacott having expressed this, from this point on for me as a reader, there was a nagging feeling that the book felt like it had to come up with a justification to dispel the ‘fictional’ Cocker figure. April 1974 saw Sir Alf Ramsey sacked, prompting all the backroom staff including Cocker stating they would resign in a show of loyalty to the ex-England boss.

These collection of memorabilia was sent into us by Dave Cocker the son of former Leeds United coach Les Cocker. Finance is provided by PayPal Credit (a trading name of PayPal UK Ltd, Whittaker House, Whittaker Avenue, Richmond-Upon-Thames, Surrey, United Kingdom, TW9 1EH). In later life he lived at Newport, Shropshire until the time of his death in February 2017, aged 77. Cocker then played with Accrington Stanley, scoring 48 goals in 122 League games between 1953 and 1958. Indeed throughout the book, the FA is not seen in a good light, with the institution in one incident more concerned with looking after the FA Council members than those on the frontline.His factual works include Hunting The Hooligans (co-written), A Celebration - the Official Leeds United Centenary Book , The Leeds United Collection and Peaches, A Chronicle of The Stranglers . Leeds went onto win the 1973/74 First Division championship and with it, put Don Revie in a position as favourite to take the England job.