Olympic Spirit: the amateurs who played for Manchester United
These days it would normally be a term of abuse to call a Manchester United footballer ‘an amateur’, but it wasn’t always so. Sometimes it’s simply been a statement of fact, albeit applying to less...
View ArticleA Seventies favourite: Remembering Brian Greenhoff (1953-2013)
In our coarsened times there’s often a dismissive ‘show us yer medals’ mentality when assessing the contributions of former players to Manchester United, especially those that played in periods of...
View ArticlePART I: Bill Foulkes – His United beginnings to Munich
When Manchester United announced that Bill Foulkes, one of the club’s finest former players, had died at the age of 81, I was greatly saddened to hear that one of my all-time favourite footballers had...
View ArticlePART II: Bill Foulkes the Busby Babes
Part I of this tribute to Bill Foulkes looked at his early playing days. In this part of the story we’re told about Bill’s rise to the first team and being a part of the Busby Babes. Bill and the Busby...
View ArticlePART III: Bill Foulkes and the Munich aftermath
Part II of this tribute to Bill Foulkes looked at the rise of the Busby Babes and the tragedy of Munich. In this part of the story we’re told about the role Foulkes played as the club was rebuilt after...
View ArticlePART IV: Bill Foulkes and the End of the Rainbow in ’68
The Holy Grail in Europe Everyone at Old Trafford and indeed throughout football, if not the wider world, knew that Matt Busby was obsessed with winning the European Cup. He never put it into words but...
View ArticlePART V: Bill Foulkes and the Harry Gregg fall out
The hidden legacy of Munich: tensions between Bill and Harry Gregg One of the pleasures of seeing the ‘Class of ‘92’ in action is the palpable sense, even after all these years, that the likes of...
View ArticleEusebio, We Say Kiddo
Having watched Tottenham’s enthralling Premier league victory over Manchester City the other day on television, I caught sight of City’s assistant manager Brian Kidd at the end of the match. He was...
View ArticleMunich and the philosophy behind the Busby Babes
Today marks the 60th Anniversary of the Munich Air Disaster, when 23 people were killed, including eight Manchester United players. Many of those killed were then household names, such as England stars...
View ArticleThe Eyes Have it: Remembering Harry Gregg
It’s the eyes. Always the eyes. You could see it in the haunted, grief-stricken expression etched on the face of Sir Bobby Charlton at goalkeeper Harry Gregg’s funeral in Coleraine, Northern Ireland, a...
View Article
More Pages to Explore .....