‘I’ll burn down your house if you join Leeds’
PETER Jackson has revealed what really happened regarding those Leeds United rumours 16 years ago.
In 2004, Jackson was in his second spell as manager at Huddersfield Town and the hugely popular former centre-back, who made more than 150 Football League appearances for the club between 1990 and 1994, had overseen promotion back to Division Two.
Town finished fourth in their 2003/4 Division Three campaign and won promotion through the play-offs, beating Mansfield Town on penalties after goalless 120 minutes.
Jackson’s stock was high that summer and his achievements had caught the attention of Leeds.
The summer of 2004 was one of massive change for an Elland Road side in total turmoil.
Relegated from the Premier League with massive debts, Peter Reid had been sacked as manager and they needed someone to step into the breach.
There was one man they were very keen to speak to.
“The week leading up to Cardiff (play-off final) and I’m sat in my office and there’s a phone call put through on the land line, which was unusual as I had my Nokia 6310,” Jackson told the ‘And He Takes That Chance’ podcast.
“I got a phone call from David Richmond, chief executive of Leeds United, who I know from my Bradford City days. I was just thinking that he was ringing me to say good luck at Cardiff at the weekend.
“He said ‘good luck at the weekend’ and then ‘can we meet you?’
“I asked ‘what for? Are you taking me out for lunch?’ He said ‘no, we want to see if you’d be interested in taking the Leeds United job.’
“I told them I couldn’t as I was on my way to Cardiff. On the Thursday we were setting off for Cardiff and he (Richmond) had rang me on the Monday and he rang me again on the Thursday. He asked again ‘can we meet you?.’
“I told him no because if it comes out and we got beat then it would be that my mind wasn’t on it. I said ‘no, I can’t meet you.’”
There was to be no third phone call, and even if there had been the former Town boss revealed a chance meeting outside of a supermarket in Brighouse convinced him it wouldn’t have been the right move.
“It came out in the papers that afternoon that I was a target for Leeds United,” said Jackson.
“So I’m walking round Brighouse and I’d just come out of a supermarket and this kid walks past me and says ‘Jacko, I’m a Huddersfield Town fan, if you take the Leeds United job I’ll burn your house down’ and walked off. “I didn’t meet Leeds United. “We went to Cardiff and won and I think that day they (Leeds) appointed Kevin Blackwell.”