Norman Hunter
In interviews about his career, he would pick signing for Leeds as his highlight, because that's what gave him the chance to play all those games with all those players.
You miss Norman Hunter at Leeds, because so much of Leeds was him.
'Keep Fighting' was Don Revie's motto but it was Norman Hunter's image. His clenched fist, his clenched teeth, his intent glare towards the next opponent, the next tackle. That, and his bashful smiles in-between times, when he looked as if he couldn't believe all this — European football, Wembley, the World Cup — was happening to him. It's a feeling most of the lads who met Revie as teenagers must have shared, no matter how old or how famous they grew.
At Leeds Norman Hunter was a trainee, a player, a coach, a commentator, an ambassador. After he died the club's statement called him an icon and that was exactly right. It's not something you can say about many people, but not many people encompassed so much.
For as long as he was at Leeds, which was almost his whole life, Hunter made Revie's Leeds understandable. It was a long time ago, and there isn't a lot of footage to watch, and it's a long time since we lost Don and Billy Bremner, the architect and foreman.
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