The truth behind tarnished legend of Don Revie

Jun 27 2010 by Coreena Ford, Sunday Sun

AN AUTHOR has embarked on a literary mission to restore the reputation of a shamed England manager.

Middlesbrough-born legend Don Revie was once the darling of the beautiful game, winning silverware as a player and manager.

Yet the former Sunderland player’s reputation lay in tatters in 1977 when he walked out on the England job and went to work as coach to the United Arab Emirates.

Many claimed his decision was motivated by money, and the move brought him a long list of enemies including the FA, who banned him from managing in the UK.

Leeds-mad writer Robert Endeacott, however, is determined to lay bare the whole story of Revie’s predicament in his book Disrepute: Revie’s England, telling how he felt compelled to jump ship just as he was about to be pushed.

Robert, 44, of Leeds, said: “I think he was a fascinating character.

“I got to meet him when I was a boy, although I don’t remember much about it.

“My dad worked as a groundsman at Leeds’ Elland Road stadium for 26 years and Don would be at the Christmas parties.

“Revie was accused of being money-obsessed but I know for a fact that wasn’t the case – he was born and brought up in poverty and knew the importance of money, and that’s a very different thing.

“He jumped ship before he was pushed, basically.

“He’s always had such a bad press so I want to dispell a few myths and right a few wrongs - he’s revered in Leeds but positively reviled in the rest of the country.