Leeds cauldron awaits Manchester United as old hostilities return to Premier League

by Kieran Canning

Manchester - Leeds' 18-year wait to welcome Manchester United in front of an intimidating full house in the Premier League comes to an end on Sunday in the latest chapter of a rivalry that dates back 500 years.

The Wars of the Roses between 1455 and 1487 between the House of Lancaster and the House of York was fought for control of the English throne, but set in motion a battle for superiority that has existed ever since between the counties of Lancashire and Yorkshire.

Initially inflamed by the Industrial Revolution and the formation of county cricket, the two Uniteds of Leeds and Manchester have become the truest outlet for that enmity on the football field since first clashing for honours in the 1960s.

Even one of English football's greatest families was divided as Bobby Charlton led Manchester United to win the European Cup in 1968, two years after winning the World Cup alongside his brother and Leeds great Jack.

ALSO READ: ’I call the shots,’ says Ralf Rangnick after calls for Harry Maguire sacking

Leeds' golden era came under Don Revie in the late 1960s and 1970s, winning two league titles, an FA Cup and reaching the European Cup final.

However, even then they did not have the riches of the Red Devils.

When Scottish internationals Joe Jordan and Gordon McQueen crossed the Pennines in 1978, a painful trend was set for Leeds of losing their best players to Old Trafford.

History repeated itself after Leeds' only other league title in 1991/92.

A charismatic young Frenchman Eric Cantona played a key role in the run-in to beat United to the title, but manager Howard Wilkinson quickly wrote him off as a disruptive influence in the dressing room.

United swooped with a fee of £1 million for a transfer that