Leeds United 100: Following Don Revie and the Whites behind the Iron Curtain

Don Warters’s years as the Leeds United reporter for the Yorkshire Evening Post coincided with the greatest days the club has ever known.
Revered former YEP reporter Don Warters has recalled what it was like going behind the Iron Curtain with LeedsRevered former YEP reporter Don Warters has recalled what it was like going behind the Iron Curtain with Leeds
Revered former YEP reporter Don Warters has recalled what it was like going behind the Iron Curtain with Leeds

He went all over Europe following the Whites, visited the legendary Don Revie's office for daily briefings and travelled on the team coach to away games, befriending some of the city's all-time favourites.

For 29 years he was the man in the know when it came to Leeds United.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

In this, the second of a three-part series, he reveals what it was like travelling behind the Iron Curtain with the Whites.

I had many, many trips to Europe.

Some years ago Barry Foster, who did the Yorkshire Post, and myself counted how many countries we had been to and it was well over 20 different countries.

That in itself was an experience.

It's not easy because we didn't have the same facilities there are available now, we had to rely on landlines.

When you went to an away ground, the local freelance usually had a couple of landlines in the press box, you had to hire one.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Whenever we went behind the Iron Curtain it was difficult because there weren't many landlines into their countries, or if there were they had been blocked off.

You had to sit by the phone, the office would book the phone call a couple of days before we went and you invariably had to sit by the phone for an hour or a couple of hours before it rang.

I remember being in one country and I was being quite critical of the opposition, I was back at the hotel and had managed to get the call through and every time I was critical the phone went dead, I was cut off. I wonder why.

Back then they used to take about 12, maybe more journalists, national paper journalists, on the team plane.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

At that time the nationals had offices in Manchester as well as London and all the northern guys went on the trip.

Wherever we went, you would be in the hotel at night sat down and there would be a fella in a leather coat sat in the corner, obviously keeping an eye on the British press.

One thing about Don Revie, he absolutely hated going behind the Iron Curtain.

I don't know what it was but they used to fly in, get the game played and fly out straight after the match.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Some of the matches were afternoon kick offs because I think there was a problem with electricity in some of those countries, they couldn't have floodlights.

I remember one game, an afternoon kick-off. He came into the press box before the match and said: "Right, we're leaving this ground half an hour after the end of the game, if you're not ready we'll leave you."

He came up to the press box after the match.

"Right lads, are we ready."

"Oh well I've just got to..." and he went round the press box cutting them all off, just to get on the plane.

If you missed your slot out of one of those countries, it was very difficult to get another one.

It didn't bother me, I could write my stuff on the plane.