The Damned Utd DAVID PEACE For Jon Riley, with love and thanks I have forsaken mine house, I have left mine heritage; I have given the dearly beloved of my soul into the hand of her enemies. Mine heritage is unto me as a lion in the forest; It crieth out against me, therefore have I hated it. Mine heritage is unto me as a speckled bird, the birds round about are against her; Come ye, assemble all the beasts of the field, come to devour. Jeremiah, Chapter 12, Verses 7–9 The Argument II Repetition. Repetition – Fields of loss and fields of hate, fields of blood and fields of war – Their sport upon the walls, their sport upon the floor. Milton! Thou shouldst be living at this hour: England hath need of thee … In her shadow time. On our terraces, in our cages, from Purgatorio, we watch, With our wings that cannot fly, our tongues that cannot speak: ‘Destroy her politics! Destroy her culture! Destroy her!’ But our wings are thick with tar, tongues heavy with her coin, On our broken backs, our broken hearts, she’ll dine again tonight. In her shadow place – We are selfish men: Oh, Blake! Orwell! Raise us up, return to us again. These civil wars of uncivil hearts, divided and now damned – The old is dying and the new cannot be born – By Elland Road, I sat down and wept; D.U.F.C. THE DAMNED UTD An English Fairy Story Wednesday 31 July – Thursday 12 September 1974 Contents Title Page Dedication THE FIRST RECKONING Day One Day Two Day Three Day Four Day Five Day Six Day Seven Day Eight Day Nine Day Ten Day Eleven Day Twelve Day Thirteen Day Fourteen Day Fifteen Day Sixteen Day Seventeen Day Eighteen THE SECOND RECKONING Day Nineteen Day Twenty Day Twenty-one Day Twenty-two THE THIRD RECKONING Day Twenty-three Day Twenty-four Day Twenty-five THE FOURTH RECKONING Day Twenty-six Day Twenty-seven Day Twenty-eight THE FIFTH RECKONING Day Twenty-nine Day Thirty Day Thirty-one Day Thirty-two THE SIXTH RECKONING Day Thirty-three Day Thirty-four Day Thirty-five Day Thirty-six Day Thirty-seven Day Thirty-eight Day Thirty-nine THE SEVENTH AND FINAL RECKONING Day Forty Day Forty-one Day Forty-two Day Forty-three Day Forty-four Sources and Acknowledgements By the Same Author About the Author Copyright THE FIRST RECKONING First Division Final Positions, 1973–74 Home Away Total P W D L F A W D L F A F A Pts 1 Leeds United 42 12 8 1 38 18 12 6 3 28 13 66 31 62 2 Liverpool 42 18 2 1 34 11 4 11 6 18 20 52 31 57 3 Derby County 42 13 7 1 40 16 4 7 10 12 26 52 42 48 4 Ipswich Town 42 10 7 4 38 21 8 4 9 29 37 67 58 47 5 Stoke City 42 13 6 2 39 15 2 10 9 15 27 54 42 46 6 Burnley 42 10 9 2 29 16 6 5 10 27 37 56 53 46 7 Everton 42 12 7 2 29 14 4 5 12 21 34 50 48 44 8 QPR 42 8 10 3 30 17 5 7 9 26 35 56 52 43 9 Leicester City 42 10 7 4 35 17 3 9 9 16 24 51 41 42 10 Arsenal 42 9 7 5 23 16 5 7 9 26 35 49 51 42 11 Tottenham H 42 9 4 8 26 27 5 10 6 19 23 45 50 42 12 Wolves 42 11 6 4 30 18 2 9 10 19 31 49 49 41 13 Sheffield Utd 42 7 7 7 25 22 7 5 9 19 27 44 49 40 14 Man. City 42 10 7 4 25 17 4 5 12 14 29 39 46 40 15 Newcastle Utd 42 9 6 6 28 21 4 6 11 21 27 49 48 38 16 Coventry City 42 10 5 6 25 18 4 5 12 18 36 43 54 38 17 Chelsea 42 9 4 8 36 29 3 9 9 20 31 56 60 37 18 West Ham Utd 42 7 7 7 36 32 4 8 9 19 28 55 60 37 19 Birmingham C 42 10 7 4 30 21 2 6 13 22 43 52 64 37 20 Southampton 42 8 10 3 30 20 3 4 14 17 48 47 68 36 21 Man. Utd 42 7 7 7 23 20 3 5 13 15 28 38 48 32 22 Norwich City 42 6 9 6 25 27 1 6 14 12 35 37 62 29 Bottom 3 clubs relegated. I am a Yorkshire Man and I am a Cunning Man – And I curse you! First with gift, then with loss – I curse you! Loss and then gift, gift and then loss – Until you lose. Until you leave – I will curse you! Day One I see it from the motorway. Through the windscreen. The kids in the back. Fallen off the top of Beeston Hill. Are we nearly there yet, they’re saying. Are we nearly there, Dad? In a heap up against the railway and the motorway banking. Asking me about Billy Bremner and Johnny Giles. The floodlights and the stands, all fingers and fists up from the sticks and the stones, the flesh and the bones. There it is, my eldest is telling my youngest. There it is. From the motorway. Through the windscreen – Hateful, hateful place; spiteful, spiteful place … Elland Road, Leeds, Leeds, Leeds. I’ve seen it before. Been here before. Played and managed here, six or seven times in six or seven years. Always a visitor, always away – Hateful, spiteful place, flecked in their phlegm … But not today; Wednesday 31 July 1974 – Arthur Seaton. Colin Smith. Arthur Machin and Joe Lampton … Today I’m no longer a visitor. No longer away – No more zombies, they
