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Champions!

1991-92 started pretty well: two wins in the first three games, then on to Old Trafford where an early Lee Chapman goal was cancelled out by a late equaliser from Bryan Robson. Leeds only league defeat before Christmas came at Crystal Palace, and much to many people's surprise, Leeds hit the top in December. Defeat in the FA Cup and League Cup at the hands of nearest rivals Manchester United was tempered with the knowledge that this meant they would have more games to play and a fixture pile-up loomed. One of the highlights of this season was Leeds' performance at Sheffield Wednesday. Live on TV, the referee awarded one of the most disgraceful penalties I've ever seen: Gordon Watson - who has recently been trying to tout sympathy and compensation for an injury suffered during a game for Bradford - produced a dive worthy of an Olympic medal. Chris Whyte was the nearest player - 2 yards away - and when both the ref and the linesman indicated that Sheffield Wednesday deserved a penalty the air turned blue. Former Leeds favorite John Sheridan scored from the spot, Leeds kicked off and proceeded to ensure that the pathetic cheating of the Wednesday players would not be rewarded. Lee Chapman bagged a hat-trick, and was denied what would have been the goal of the season by the cross-bar. Tony Dorigo, Rod Wallace and Mike Whitlow all got a goal and the only disappointment for the Leeds fans was that we didn't score 7.

February 8 saw a non-descript performance at Oldham that brought only the second defeat of the campaign. But the press were staring at the dug-out where the Howard Wilkinson's latest signing was waiting to make his debut. Eric Cantona's signing was seen as a gamble - but a cheap one, and his more spectacular goals illuminated the season - but he was rarely a player to dig in when the team needed it. But he could really turn on the power when he wanted to, and that's why the fans loved him. Leeds were quickly back on the winning trail and moved back to the top with a win at Spurs in early March. But an aberration at QPR the following Wednesday saw Leeds go down 1-4. A Chapman hat-trick against Wimbledon was followed by draws against West Ham and Arsenal. A visit to Manchester followed - to Maine Road - and again our doubts were exposed: a flat-footed, confused Leeds were beaten 0-4. A spectacular Cantona goal was one of the highlights of a 3-0 drubbing of Chelsea, but the next game was away at Anfield. There are two things I remember about this match: Chris Fairclough's superb display, man-marking John Barnes and pushing him so far back, Barnes was effectively playing at centreback by the end of the game; and then there was the result from Kenilworth Road. Manchester United could only manage a draw against relegation candidates Luton: on a day when we thought we'd be lucky to get a point, seeing Man U drop 2 points was a huge boost.

Easter Monday saw the top two in action again. At lunchtime, Nottingham Forest travelled to Old Trafford and came away 2-1 winners (thank you Scott Gemmill). At teatime Leeds took on Coventry and won 2-0 through Fairclough and McAllister - we were back on top! Two days later, Man U were away at West Ham and put the home side under relentless pressure - but Kenny Brown became another non-Leeds player to guarantee himself free drinks whenever he passes through West Yorkshire by scoring the only goal in West Ham's 1-0 win. Two games to go, and Sunday April 26 was a double derby day: Leeds went to Bramall Lane in the morning, and Man U visited Anfield in the afternoon. After the first game, I finally understood what was meant by the phrase 'emotional rollercoaster'. Alan Cork scored first, but just before half-time a goalmouth ricochet left Rod Wallace claiming the equaliser. Jon Newsome's unmarked header in the 2nd half raised our hopes, but Lee Chapman's attempts to clear a Sheffield corner made it 2-2 and we were back down to nailbiting time. With a quarter of an hour to go, the Sheffield defence made a looping backpass to Mel Rees, their keeper. Wallace and Cantona chased it, Brian Gayle and Rees completely failed to agree who was doing what and the Leeds end went crazy as Gayle's header looped over the stranded keeper and into the net. Back at Anfield, Ian Rush was an injury doubt, and only managed just half the game - but in that time he broke his scoring duck against Man U. With 2 minutes of the game to go, Mark Walters scored a second and 18 years of waiting was at an end. The final game at home to Norwich saw the trophy presented, and after six months of watching Leeds play, praying for them to hold on to a one-goal lead, listening to the other scores on the radio and hoping that a late goal wouldn't give Man U an advantage, I remembered what it was like to watch a football match and enjoy it. A Rod Wallace goal brought a final victory to the Champions and we headed off for our summer holidays looking forward to a European adventure next season.