SCOTLAND V ENGLAND: A UNITED HISTORY

SCOTLAND V ENGLAND: A UNITED HISTORY

A look back at some of our Scottish connections down the years...

England take on Scotland at Celtic Park on Tuesday night in a fixture steeped in history, especially when it comes to Leeds United.

An affiliation with Scotsmen runs throughout the club’s existence thanks to the lasting impacts the likes of Billy Bremner, Bobby Collins, Eddie Gray and Peter Lorimer all made at Elland Road.

Even the current Scotland team has its United connections, with manager Gordon Strachan having earned legendary status on West Yorkshire after captaining the side to First and Second Division titles.

Can you name the seven Scotsmen pictured above all adding a touch of tartan to their United kits? (Scroll down for answer)

The club has had nine permanent Scottish captains down the years, five managers and a staggering 11 Player of the Year winners that have all come from north of the border. When the club ran an official Greatest Players poll in 2006, 19 of the top 100 were Scottish. No prizes for guessing who came out on top.

Tuesday night’s friendly at Celtic Park will only be England’s second meeting with Scotland in the last 15 years, but it used to be an annual occasion with some classic British Championships games often being fought out by Leeds United team-mates on opposite sides, particularly during the 1970s.

Bremner, Lorimer, Joe Jordan, David Harvey and Gordon McQueen could find themselves up against the likes of Allan Clarke, Paul Madeley and Norman Hunter in typically feisty encounters that alternated between Wembley and Hampden Park.

May 1974’s meeting at Hampden Park was played out in front of almost 95,000 fans and United had five players in the combined starting line-ups as Scotland won 2-0, with Jordan opening the scoring for the hosts.

A year earlier, four United players were on the pitch as England were 5-0 winners thanks to an Allan Clarke double and an uncharacteristic own goal from Lorimer. Scotland even had future United boss George Graham starting up front.

Scotland have not beaten England at home for over 29 years and the last time they did so - a 1-0 win in 1985 - they were led by former United boss Jock Stein, who had famously left Elland Road for the national team after just 44 days in charge.

Of the current United squad, only defender Liam Cooper has represented Scotland (at Under-19s level), while goalkeeping coach Neil Sullivan collected 28 caps for the Tartan Army during his playing days.

Above photo:

Top row (L-R): Joe Jordan, David Stewart, Gordon McQueen.

Bottom row (L-R): Eddie Gray, Peter Lorimer, Billy Bremner, Frank Gray.

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