Leeds United is one of the grand old names of English football, but had it not been for the financial misdemeanours of their forebearers Leeds City, not only would the Whites not exist, but Arsenal Football Club’s fortunes would have been very different.
As sliding doors moments go, the ramifications of those wrongdoings back in 1919 led to top-flight fixtures between ourselves and Leeds United for over a century, but threatened to destroy the burgeoning career of Herbert Chapman.
City’s finances had always been precarious. Formed in 1904 and elected to the Football League the following year, the club faced difficulties pulling crowds into the ramshackle Elland Road, with the lure of the more successful rugby club simply too strong.