Manchester United recently announced that the South Stand at Old Trafford would be renamed the Sir Bobby Charlton stand, in honour of the club’s legendary player and current all-time top goalscorer. While there is no doubt that Charlton is one of the greatest players ever to don the red shirt, it highlights a serious lack of recognition of one man who was just as important, if not more so, to the history of United. There is plenty of support on Facebook and Twitter, as well as an online petition, for K Stand to be renamed the Jimmy Murphy Stand.
Several of the club’s legendary figures have been honoured in recent years. Both Sir Alex Ferguson and Sir Matt Busby have had separate bronze statues of them erected outside the ground, and both have had a road named after them. In 2011, the North Stand was renamed after Ferguson. In addition, the statue of Sir Matt looks directly across the road to another statue of United’s “Holy Trinity” – Denis Law, George Best and Bobby Charlton. There is no doubt that all of these accolades are no more than these legends deserve.
So what of Jimmy Murphy? So far, all the club have done to honour their legendary assistant manager is to name the Young Player of the Year award after him, which started shortly after his death in 1989. This is a very significant tribute, as the majority of the Busby Babes were found by Murphy, as were many players who came through United’s academy following the 1958 Munich Air Disaster. But many people don’t realise that, without Jimmy Murphy, it’s very possible that Manchester United would not even exist today.
For those who don’t know the full story, Matt Busby recruited Murphy after hearing him give a team talk to a bunch of troops during the Second World War. He was actually Busby’s first signing for United when he took over in 1945. Murphy was the man responsible for finding and training the likes of Duncan Edwards, Bobby Charlton, Eddie Colman and the rest of the Busby Babes.
During the 1950’s United’s assistant manager was also the manager of the Welsh national team. He oversaw the campaign in which they qualified for their only World Cup in 1958, and later got them to the quarter finals. Because of this, Murphy was not on the plane that crashed in Munich, due to his duties with his country. As the plane carrying United’s first team squad from Belgrade had stopped in Munich to refuel, it crashed following a third failed take-off attempt. Seven United players were killed instantly, with Duncan Edwards dying from his injuries a fortnight later.
In those days, teams did not have two squads full of international players that they could call upon. Most had around fifteen players, and this was also true at Old Trafford. Despite donations and contributions coming in from the general public to help keep the club afloat, the board of directors took the decision to shut down Manchester United Football Club. The board’s position was that they didn’t have the money to bring in new players, especially seeing as those who had perished were not insured. But Jimmy Murphy, who had taken over as caretaker manager while Busby lay in a Munich hospital, had other ideas.
With United drawn against Sheffield Wednesday in the FA Cup, Murphy was determined that he would get eleven players onto the Old Trafford pitch. When the board said he wouldn’t be able to do it, his response was: “Don’t tell me what can’t be done. When Matt Busby brought me here, they told me we’d never make a go of it, that it couldn’t be done. That Manchester United would never make a success. Told us we couldn’t win the league, playing kids. Told us we couldn’t match the best teams in Europe. And every bloody time we proved them wrong, so with respect sir, it can be done, it will be done, I’ll make sure of it.” Murphy was true to his word. Enlisting the help of loan players, emergency signings and youth players, he put together a team on February 19th 1958, just 13 days after the crash. His patched up side beat Wednesday 3 – 0 in front of a packed Old Trafford.
Even more amazingly, despite only winning one further league game in rest of the season, United made it to the 1958 FA Cup Final against Bolton Wanderers. They lost the match 2 – 0, but as cliché as it sounds, they had won just by being there. How Jimmy Murphy managed to push aside his grief, having lost a group of boys who he thought of as family, and keep Manchester United from going under is testament to the determination of the man. But what have United done to honour it? Nothing in the last 25 years.
Were it not for Murphy, most of the players who later became the Busby Babes may have plied their trade at other clubs, but his dedication to how they conducted themselves, on and off the pitch, made the real difference. He was like a father to all of them. There is a tale that has gone around for decades, regarding a team talk he gave to the Wales team when they were due to face England. Murphy gave instructions regarding each of their opponents, bar one. When one of his players asked what he could tell them about Duncan Edwards, he replied “Just keep out of his way son, there’s nothing I could say that could ever help us.” That’s how highly Edwards was regarded, and why he is still talked about almost 60 years after his death.
It would be wrong to say that Bobby Charlton doesn’t deserve the honour of having a stand named after him. The man lives, breathes, eats and sleeps Manchester United, and has been a director on the board since 1984. He was one of the leading figures in United’s rebirth, helping them become the first English club to win the European Cup in 1968. But Murphy deserves the same recognition, especially as Arsenal and Juventus were just two of several clubs that approached him to be their manager, but he stayed loyal to the club.
The Munich Air Disaster brought United to the attention of the world, and is one of the main reasons that many consider them the biggest club in world football. They gained a huge following in many countries, as it touched so many people’s lives. But the determination of Murphy kept the club going in the dark days that followed, and had it not been for his efforts the club would have surely folded.
Manchester United haven’t exactly covered themselves in glory over the last few years. Many mistakes have been made, both in the dressing room and in the boardroom. This could be a way to at least portray themselves in a positive light, and recognise one of their true legends.
It’s a sad fact that many supporters are probably not even aware of who he was. It’s about time the club did something to change that. A Jimmy Murphy Stand would not only change that, but would be a perfect tribute.
