“It’s almost cruel,” cried commentator Barry Davies.
If memes were a thing in 1972, then this Simpsons would almost certainly have appeared when Leeds hammered Southampton 7-0 and United players passed the ball around their helpless opponents.
“The Elland Road crowd is going around,” Davies added. “For the current second home game, Leeds United put on a brilliant show and the other team just isn’t on the park.
The other team was Manchester United, who had been beaten 5-1 by Leeds the week before.
In the closing moments against the Saints, however, chants of ‘Ole’ were heard as supporters cheered on every pass – there were 39 back-to-back at one point – in a match that saw Peter Lorimer score. a hat trick and Allan Clarke scored twice, along with Jack. Charlton and Mick Jones grab the others.
Leeds finished the season second behind champions Derby County, but won the FA Cup at the expense of Arsenal.
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Clarke has scored twice against Southampton and was the match winner when Leeds beat Arsenal in the FA Cup final this season.
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Revie no longer wanted Southampton to be humiliated given they had suffered an 8-0 defeat earlier in the season
Against Southampton it could easily have been more, but manager Don Revie got the message for his players to quit – ‘they were already dead’, as this Simpsons kid might put it.
“[Revie] called the closest player – I think it was Paul Reaney – and said: ‘Tell the players to keep possession and calm down a bit – it gets a little embarrassing,’ Lorimer recalls later in an interview, claiming that the manager believes sufficient punishment had been handed out.
“When you’ve got a boxer on the ropes, tongue hanging out and blood flowing all over the place, you have to stop.
“Reaney got the message across, ‘He doesn’t want us to score more goals.'”
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Jack Charlton was at the back and kept clear of the Southampton threat and joined the rout himself with a goal
That would explain the death, which was just as embarrassing.
“We weren’t trying to be cheeky or smart,” Lorimer added. “We were just keeping possession. Every now and then I see [Ex-Southampton forward] Micky Channon and he’s still embarrassed about it.
Southampton had been beaten 8-0 earlier in the season – sounds familiar to you? – and Revie was going easy with his counterpart and friend, Ted Bates.
Despite the beatings, Southampton survived in the Premier League.
If the score turns ridiculous again at Elland Road on Tuesday, it would be interesting to see if Marcelo Bielsa shows the same mercy.
Imagine the points that Patrick Bamford could accumulate in his fantasy football team?
