Sergeant Wilko's Defending Champions – Leeds United at the Dawn of Modern Football

A nostalgic and entertaining account of an unprecedented campaign at Leeds United in the inaugural season of the Premier League.

Featuring fresh contributions from Jon Newsome, who provides exclusive insights into the thoughts and fears inside the Leeds dressing room, this is the latest book from Rocco Dean, author of a widely acclaimed series of books about the history of Leeds United.

This book tells of a transformative time not only for English football but also in Europe, with the birth of the UEFA Champions League:

• A tribute to the great team Howard Wilkinson built, whom the author fell in love with despite their inconsistent performances
  
• Learn what went wrong for the defending champions, from the sale of Cantona to the back-pass rule and a hangover from the previous season’s success
  
• Relive the incredible Champions League campaign, the legendary comeback against Stuttgart, the dramatic rematch in the Nou Camp and the iconic ‘Battle of Britain’ against Rangers
  
• Feel the excitement as new hope springs from the club’s talented youth team, who are integrated into the first team before ending the season by lifting the FA Youth Cup
  
• Includes extracts from players and management after every match, bringing real-time analysis as Leeds’s troubles mount

In a time before the intervention of money, social media and VAR, this is a story of football fandom, told through the innocent eyes of a young supporter and first-time season-ticket holder. Published in 2026.

Size: 143mm x 223mm – 240 pages.