[Lord Snooty]

November 27:

On this date in 1947, Leeds Road held it's one and only full England international match. It was against the Netherlands and England won it easily in front of a crowd of 32,435 on a Wednesday afternoon by a whopping scoreline of 8-2.

No debutants in the England team, but there were a few stars of the next decade earning caps in the early stages of their career and this is how the team, selected by new manager Walter Winterbottom, lined up:- Frank Swift (Man C), Laurie Scott (Arsenal), George Hardwick © (M'boro), Billy Wright (Wolves), Neil Franklin (Stoke), Harry Johnston (Blackpool), Tom Finney (Preston), Raich Carter (Derby), Tommy Lawton (Chelsea), Wilf Mannion (M'boro), Bob Langton (Blackburn).

The half time score was 6-1, but the first goal wasn't scored until the 24th minute by Tommy Lawton, who then added the second four minutes later. He was the First Division's leading scorer in the two seasons before the war, playing for Everton and he was one of the names I remember my dad talking about. He never mentioned going to this game though, he would've been 18 at the time. Could've been doing his national service. Don't know.

If he had been there, he would've seen Raich Carter make it 3-0 in the 30th minute. Another prolific goalscorer and this wasn't his first goal at Leeds Road. He'd guested for the Town during the war whilst serving as an auxiliary fire bobby and later in the RAF as a PT instructor. He scored a hat trick for us in the first wartime league match against Bradford PA in 1939. He'd made his name banging in goals for Sunderland but having lost such a big chunk of his football career to the war, he was now playing for Derby.

Wilf Mannion made it 4-0 four minutes later. He's the one with the statue outside the Riverside Stadium. A minute later Lawton made it five, before the Dutch pulled one back through Ko Bergman. The first half scoring was completed in the 44th minute when Tom Finney, the Preston Plumber scored to make it 6-1.

Only three goals in the second half. Carter scored his second and Lawton scored his fourth before Kick Smit, the veteran Haarlem striker scored a late consolation to end the match at England 8, Netherlands 2.

Back to the good half a season with Steve Bruce in charge now. We had won six consecutive league matches, beating Barnsley, Sheff Utd, Ipswich, Swindon, Nottingham Forest and West Brom. That had us up to 2nd in what is now called the Championship, but that run came to an end with a surprise 2-0 midweek defeat at Walsall before the game on this date in 1999, a trip to play Manchester City at Maine Road.

It was my one and only visit to Maine Road and what a win it was. Only 1-0 but we absolutely battered them in our great red n black striped Panasonic kit. The goal came from Chris Beech, one of the best headed goals I've ever seen. Just look at the leap and the power in this one......

Today's Town legend's birthday is that of David Cowling, who was born in Doncaster on this date in 1958, making him 64 today. Tom Johnston signed him from Mansfield in 1977, but it was Mick Buxton who gave him his debut a year later in a match away at Barnsley, the one where me and my dad sat behind Charlie Williams.

That was a 1-0 defeat, but Dave scored three memorable goals in 1-0 wins. In 80/81 he got the winner against them there Tykes in front of 28,901 spectators, our record crowd for a 3rd Division game. A couple of seasons later, he got the winner at Bellend Road in the League Cup that I mentioned a few days ago. And then at the end of that season, he scored the winner against Newport at home (pictured below), the one where we won promotion (and I missed  ).

Dave is in both of our top trumps tables. He's 8th in the all time appearances list with 392. And he scored 48 goals, putting him in joint 26th alongside Frank Worthington and Duncan Shearer.

After leaving us, he once again teamed up with Buxton at Scunthorpe, scoring the first ever goal at the new Glanford Park.

There are other birthdays today of players sadly no longer with us. Edwardian playboy, Welsh international goalkeeper and first world war hero Leigh Richmond Roose was born on this date in Holt in 1877. I've written quite a lot about him this year.

Tony Leighton was born in Leeds on this date in 1939. He died of motor neurone disease only 38 years later.

And the Chopper himself, Jimmy McGill was born in Partick on this date in 1946. A tough tackling midfielder, hence the nickname, he played in that first match of mine that I wrote about the other day. We got him from Arsenal for whom he played ten times at the top level, making his debut against Leeds in an end of season dead rubber that attracted a crowd at Highbury of less than 5,000. Seems incredible now that that could happen, doesn't it? Less than 5,000 to see Leeds play at Arsenal.

We eventually sold him on to Hull, but before that he was an ever present in our brilliant 69/70 2nd Division champions side.

Jimmy died in 2015, aged 68.

Chopper had played his last match for us just before Brian Clough brought his Derby County team to Huddersfield on this date in 1971. We were doing reasonably at the time, in the First Division and old big 'ead left Leeds Road with nothing as Ian Greaves and his boys won 2-1. Frank Worthington and Jimmy Lawson scored our goals. John McGovern got theirs.

The two points won took us up to 17th in the table, but sadly, still in November, that was the last win we had in the league that season. And it was against the team that would go on to win the league in May when McGovern again scored in a 1-0 win over Liverpool to give Cloughie the first of his league titles. Who did they pip to that title by one point? Leeds United.

We'd already beaten Leeds in the league. Typical Town, we beat the two teams that finished first and second, but won only another four all season.