Johnny Giles

Johnny Giles (born November 6 1940 in Cabra, Republic of Ireland) was the all-round midfield general who was at the heart of the great Leeds United team of the 1960s and 1970s.

Giles, alongside skipper Billy Bremner, formed a memorable central midfield partnership which was one of the best and toughest in club football and yielded several trophies in what was the club's finest - and most controversial - era.

It's notable that Giles began his English career with Leeds' great rivals Manchester United, joining in 1957. He was given an early first-team debut the following year after the Munich air disaster decimated the team, and was in the Republic of Ireland team by the time his 19th birthday approached.

Giles became a regular first team player over the next four years, playing alongside the likes of Bobby Charlton and Denis Law. Manchester United won the FA Cup in 1963, with Giles playing the defence-splitting pass which started the move towards a clinching goal from David Herd.

He asked for a transfer shortly after that success and was granted his request, joining Leeds for 33,000 pounds. He soon proved a bargain, as Leeds promptly won the Second Division title in his first season. In 1965, he was in the team which came close to a League championship and FA Cup "double" but missed out on both to Manchester United and Liverpool respectively.

Giles formed a glittering partnership with Billy Bremner as Leeds manager Don Revie built and nurtured a new team around them. The players had similarities in their styles and were a tremendous foil for one another. Giles was known as the creative force and Bremner as the ballwinner, but each was capable of doing the other's prime job - indeed, despite his craft, Giles was later pinned down as one of the tougher and dirtier players in what was an often uncompromising Leeds side.

Leeds won the League Cup in 1968 and the Fairs Cup the same season - the first season in which Giles was affected by injury - and the League championship a year later. In 1970 Giles again had a magnificent season as Leeds chased three trophies but lost out on all three - the League went to Everton on the last day; the FA Cup to Chelsea after a replay; and the European Cup campaign ended at the hands of Celtic in the semi finals.

1971 saw Leeds on the receiving end of one of the FA Cup's great giant-killing acts, as lowly Colchester United beat them 3-2 in the fifth round, with Giles scoring Leeds' second goal as they almost came back from 3-0 down. Leeds regained the Fairs Cup but lost the League title again on the last day, with Arsenal getting the victory they needed to earn the championship and form one half of a successful "double" bid.

Leeds won their first FA Cup and Giles his second when they defeated Arsenal 1-0 at Wembley in 1972, yet again they missed out on the League on the final day of the season after defeat to Wolves. Sunderland and AC Milan beat Leeds in the finals of the FA Cup and the European Cup Winners Cup in 1973, rendering Leeds trophyless again. Jack Charlton's retirement in 1973 also left Giles as the most senior member of the squad. In the same year he started to combine his Leeds duties with a spell as player-manager of his country.

In 1974, a superb 29-match unbeaten run at the start of the season helped Leeds coast to their second title, but then controversy reigned around Giles after Revie quit to take over the England team.

Revie recommended to the Leeds board of directors that Giles, now nearly 34 and approaching the end of his playing career, should be appointed as his successor. The board dismissed the opinion of the man who had brought them so much success and turned instead to Brian Clough, a brilliant manager but a controversial choice for Leeds as he had been publicly critical of the team in the past and was not an admirer of Revie's.

Clough and the players never got on - the players had too wanted Giles - and the board realised their error, dismissing Clough with a big pay-off after just 44 days in charge. Giles still didn't get the job though (that went to Jimmy Armfield) and concentrated on playing as Leeds chased a place in their first European Cup final.

Giles was outstanding in Leeds' European campaign but was no longer an automatic fixture in the side. After appearing in the 1975 final, which Leeds lost 2-0 to Bayern Munich, Giles accepted an offer from West Bromwich Albion to become their player manager, while still playing for and managing the Irish team. He left Leeds after 12 years, 521 appearances and 114 goals, a quantity of which came from the penalty spot.

Giles got Albion promoted from the Second Division during his two years at the helm. He quit as a player for both club and country in 1978 and moved back to Ireland to manage Shamrock Rovers until 1980, when he left both of his Ireland-based jobs and ventured across the Atlantic for spells in charge of clubs in Canada and the USA. He later returned to the British Isles and settled into a much admired career in journalism and punditry on RTÉ's The Premiership.