I got a pleasant surprise through the post this week - Joe Jordan's excellent autobiography.

It was an early Christmas present which, added to recent publications from two more of my old players, Mick Channon and Alan Ball, will make good reading for anyone who loves the game.

Joe, with the help of the highly respected writer James Lawton, has put together his life story, tracking him from the early days in Scotland to when he arrived, as Johnny Giles' says in an admirable foreword, at Elland Road as "an 18 year-old, quiet, intense lad and nervous as a colt."

Then came great days under Don Revie and 44 shocking ones with dear old Brian Clough before his eventual move to his first love, Old Trafford, and from there to the San Siro in Milan and a year in Verona - a true place for one of football's gentlemen.

And then he relates how I persuaded him to join us at The Dell as opposed to Celtic, who also wanted him.

His coaching and managing career is well documented including his spell working with myself, Pat Jenning and Chris Nicholl with Northern Ireland.

Joe (pictured left) is a wonderful family man, which shines through the pages. He always had very high standards, both on and off the field, and was not only a legend in England and Italy, but in his native Scotland who he played for in three World Cup finals - scoring in each one.

I found the story of Cloughie's short reign at Leeds fascinating.

Joe reminds us how good Leeds really were. The much-maligned team were never really given the credit they deserved for, as Joe points out, between 1965 and 1975 they reached ten cup finals, winning four of them, taking two League titles and finishing runners-up five times. They were never below fourth.

As Joe says, that is something to reflect on now when a manager such as Gerard Houllier at Liverpool was able to spend £125m in five years and still have success defined as finishing fourth.

Joe was always a dual personality; a wonderful, ferocious 100 per-cent competitor on the field and a gentle giant of a family man off it.

It was always a pleasure to have him as a player or member of staff. I only wish I could have signed him about ten years earlier.