Allan Clarke

Allan ‘Sniffer’ Clarke: Leeds United goalscorer and manager

Few Leeds United figures have experienced such contrasting fortunes at Elland Road as Allan Clarke. As a striker, “Sniffer” was a central figure in Don Revie’s outstanding team, scoring the winner in the 1972 FA Cup Final and helping Leeds become champions of England in 1974. As manager between October 1980 and June 1982, he faced a very different challenge, ending with relegation to the Second Division.

From Walsall to Elland Road

Born in Willenhall, Staffordshire, on 31 July 1946, Clarke made his name as a prolific young forward at Walsall, Fulham and Leicester City. His sharp movement in the penalty area and instinct for anticipating chances earned him the nickname “Sniffer”. Leeds signed him from Leicester in 1969 for a British-record transfer fee of £165,000.

Clarke arrived in a team already rich in talent. Alongside players such as Billy Bremner, Johnny Giles, Peter Lorimer and Mick Jones, he gave Revie’s side another formidable attacking weapon. His understanding with Jones became especially important: Jones’s physical presence and intelligent link-up play complemented Clarke’s speed of thought and finishing.

Wembley, 6 May 1972: the header that won the FA Cup

Clarke’s most famous moment came in the 1972 FA Cup Final against Arsenal. In the second half at Wembley, Mick Jones crossed from the left and Clarke met the ball with a magnificent diving header, beating Arsenal goalkeeper Geoff Barnett. It was the only goal of the match, giving Leeds a 1–0 victory and the club’s first FA Cup.

The goal remains one of the defining images of the Revie era: a brilliantly timed finish in a tight, hard-fought final. Leeds had come agonisingly close in earlier cup competitions, making the Wembley triumph particularly meaningful to players and supporters.

Watch: Allan Clarke’s winning goal in the 1972 FA Cup Final

Clarke’s diving header from Mick Jones’s cross settled the final against Arsenal at Wembley. Watch the famous goal below, or watch the longer 1972 FA Cup Final footage on YouTube, starting just before the goal.

League titles, European nights and England

Clarke was more than a one-goal cup-final hero. He contributed to Leeds’ 1970–71 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup success and their 1973–74 First Division championship, when Revie’s side went unbeaten through their opening 29 league matches. He also appeared in the 1975 European Cup Final against Bayern Munich, by then under Jimmy Armfield.

Across his Leeds career, Clarke scored 110 league goals and 151 goals in all competitions. His performances also brought England recognition: he won 19 senior caps and scored 10 international goals, including a penalty on his debut against Czechoslovakia at the 1970 World Cup.

Clarke’s playing career at Leeds ended in 1978. By then, the great Revie side had largely broken up, and the club was entering a more uncertain period.

Learning management at Barnsley

Clarke began his managerial career at Barnsley, where he helped secure promotion from the Fourth Division in 1978–79. That early success made him an attractive candidate when Leeds sought a new manager in the autumn of 1980.

Returning to Leeds as manager in 1980

Clarke succeeded Jimmy Adamson after a brief caretaker interval under David Merrington. He returned to Elland Road not as the celebrated finisher of Revie’s team, but as the man charged with restoring its fortunes from the dugout.

The task was formidable. Leeds were no longer genuine title contenders, resources and expectations were difficult to reconcile, and the squad had changed dramatically from Clarke’s playing days. His first season brought a ninth-place finish in 1980–81, offering some encouragement, but the improvement did not last.

Relegation in 1981–82

The 1981–82 season became one of the most painful in Leeds’ post-war history. The team struggled for goals and consistent results, and Leeds finished 20th in the First Division, suffering relegation to the Second Division for the first time since Revie had taken the club up in 1964.

Clarke’s status as a Leeds hero could not shield him from the consequences. He left the manager’s position in June 1982, and former teammate Eddie Gray took over the challenge of rebuilding in the second tier.

Two very different Leeds legacies

Clarke later returned to management elsewhere, including another spell at Barnsley. His Leeds managerial record remains inseparable from the disappointment of 1982, but it should not obscure his extraordinary achievements as a player.

For generations of supporters, the lasting image of Allan Clarke will always be that diving header at Wembley: Mick Jones’s cross, Clarke’s perfectly judged movement, and Leeds United lifting the FA Cup. His time as manager tells a harder story about how far the club had fallen from the heights he had helped it reach.