A regional press sports writer has published a book in a bid to ‘put the record straight’ about one of the most controversial figures in the history of English football.

Don Revie built the all-conquering Leeds United team of the 1960s and 70s which has been hailed as one of the greatest of all time.

But he was later heavily criticised for leaving the England manager’s job for a lucrative role in the United Arab Emirates, while claims of match-fixing also surfaced after his death.

Now Richard Sutcliffe, chief football writer of the Yorkshire Post, has published a new biography of Revie designed to put the other side of the story.

‘Revie: Revered and Reviled,’ published yesterday by Great Northern Books, is the first authorised book about him since his autobiography in 1955, at the end of his playing days.

More recently he was portrayed as the ‘baddie’ in The Damned United, David Peace’s novel about Brian Clough’s ill-fated appointment as his successor at Elland Road.

Said Richard: “I had grown tired over years of all the references to Don Revie being negative but it was the release of The Damned United, and more specifically the film version last year that persuaded me to finally do something about it.

“The one-dimensional depiction of Don in the film as this dour, miserable figure was totally at odds with the person I had heard countless stories about over the years from those who knew him.

“As I discovered during the research for the book, there is a tremendous warmth that exists towards Don. From Joe Royle, who insists one particular half-time team-talk for England was the ‘most inspirational I ever heard’ through to the members of that great Leeds team who saw Don as a surrogate father, they all spoke in glowing terms about Don.

“It made writing the book a real labour of love.”

Richard’s book attempts for the first time to tell the full story behind Revie’s controversial departure as England manager after being offered £340,000 a year to boss the UAE.

For the first time, he reveals the existence of a faction within the FA which was plotting to replace Revie with Bobby Robson, then manager of Ipswich Town.

Richard tells how the plots culminated in Revie’s decision to ‘dump the FA before they could dump him,’ resulting in his clandestine dash overseas.

The book is available priced £16.99 from www.greatnorthernbooks.co.uk.