Turnout for Leeds United bus parade was beyond belief but Eric Cantona sentiment soon went sour

“When you know it’s going to be that busy you cannot get there too early,” Riding said.

“I knew there would be a lot of people that would turn up, I knew there would be thousands.”

Yet even Riding was left stunned as fans filled the Headrow as far as the eye could see with an estimated turnout of 150,000 people saluting their heroes on the streets of Leeds.

Huge Whites and England fan Riding formed part of the YEP’s photographic team to cover United’s celebrations on May 3, 1992, set up in his fixed position with a high vantage point on the Headrow ready to capture the madness below.

And madness was exactly what ensued as Riding captured snaps of fans completely covering every street and road with some even perched on top of bus shelters.

“The sheer scale of it was just beyond belief really,” Riding recalled.

“There were people everywhere. I was on the Headrow on a rooftop opposite the art gallery and there were people up and down the Headrow.

“It went that far that people wouldn’t have had a chance of seeing anything.

"They would have just been a part of it and they would have heard the speeches.

“There were some big hitters there but all of the players were popular – Strachan, McAllister, Batty, Speed, Cantona.

“The atmosphere was just as beautiful as it could be really.

“But it was the amount of people that staggered me – 150,000 was quoted and I wouldn’t disagree with it.

“It seemed like the entire city of Leeds and beyond had turned out because Leeds have a following beyond Leeds.

"I imagine people will have travelled from all over the country and it was just a great occasion. It’s not every day you win the league.”

Refreshing his mind to pick out any particular highlights, Riding recalled: “Cantona said to all the Leeds fans ‘I love you’. He said ‘I don’t know why but I love you’ and they all went wild.

"He was flavour of the month in May – alas that was not to last.”

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