Jon Howe, a passionate Leeds fan and the author of ‘All White: Leeds United’s 100 Greatest Players’, is releasing his latest Leeds United book to the world.
Through fires, gypsy curses and a whole host of cherished memories ‘The Only Place For Us’ pulls together the never-been-told history of Elland Road, one of the most iconic sporting arenas in the country. Using archive research, fascinating photographs, fans’ memories and the inside knowledge of people involved, Jon Howe tells the unique story of how Elland Road fought through adversary, neglect and re-development to become one of the most feared football grounds in Europe, and a fine, modern stadium reeking with history and intrigue. The book is illustrated throughout and with some rare and unseen photographs of Elland Road’s development and unique features.
We spoke to Jon about Elland Road and how he went about writing the book:
“The book has taken the best part of three years to put together and has become a really personal mission. I’ve spoken to lots of people associated with Leeds United; fans, ex-employees/contractors, managers, directors and even mascots and have loved listening to people’s stories and memories.
I wanted the book to be a record of the ground’s history but also to acknowledge the geographical area around Elland Road. It’s a fans’ book and fans park in certain places and go to certain pubs and fish ‘n chip shops etc every match of every season, so the surrounding area is important to them and there is history all around Elland Road.
There are also some great photos in the book, some of which have been provided by the families of people who have worked at Elland Road, so I know they haven’t been seen before. There are a lot of books about Leeds United, but I think this book is unique, and completes the ‘Leeds United’ picture because it documents everything around us and tells some untold stories about what happened there.”
The book is out soon and will be available from from Amazon, Waterstones and all other good stockists.
You can see Jon Howe’s website here: http://www.jon-howe.com/index.html