Everton: Don Revie and the contract he never signed have been found in a bungalow 50 years later

With Leeds heading to Hill Dickinson Stadium for the first time on Monday, it gives reason to ponder the many permutations of how things could have looked had Revie signed for the Toffees.

Leeds could head to Everton’s stadium with a statue – or even a stand – to commemorate their most famous manager.

If Revie had moved to Goodison Park, there might not have been an ill-fated appointment as England manager a year later, by which time he might have fulfilled his intention of bringing England internationals Norman Hunter and Trevor Cherry from Elland Road to Merseyside.

Could there have been an infamous 44 days for Brian Clough and the cursed United team? Or, had the board turned to the then Derby manager in 1973 after Leeds had finished runners-up in the league, FA Cup and Cup Winners’ Cup, would he have been given enough time to make the team their own?

Could Everton have won the title under Revie instead of letting it slip away in 1975? Could they have been more than just running in two more title races?

Rifi was a revolutionary figure in terms of his analysis of the opposition and his attention to detail, and it is no exaggeration to say that this would have been a major coup.

So, how close were Leeds to losing the man who eventually led them to a second league title in 1973-74 after starting the season on a 29-game unbeaten run?

Many Leeds players in Greece thought the matter had been reached. The golden Mercedes looked ready for Merseyside once again.

“Don’s gone,” says Richard Sutcliffe, author of Revie Revered and Reviled, which he researched with the help of Revie’s son Duncan and advocate Sherri.

“Trevor also told me that as they traveled to Thessaloniki, everyone knew by then, and everyone thought the matter had been settled.

“He said it was very depressing at the airport as they were walking out, because they thought this was it. They had lost a father.”

It is likely that Revie felt he was not appreciated by the current board under chairman Manny Cousins ​​and joining Everton may have meant avoiding dismantling the team he had nurtured – after he took over as Leeds manager in 1961 – while securing his future.

But he stayed.

“I never thought he would leave,” says Eddie Gray, the legendary Leeds midfielder.

“Don was very clever as a manager and (in) financial matters. His wife had been brought up in a footballing family (her uncle Johnny Duncan had managed a country team in Leicester) and knew a lot about football.”

“Between them they knew the ins and outs of how to deal with board members and board chairs. If you put a little threat in there, you get a little upside. I don’t think Don had any intention of leaving, just to put pressure on the board.”

Revie has had good form in this regard, before turning down reported bids from Sunderland, Birmingham City and Torino rivals Juventus and Torino.