The Man Who Saved Manchester United

In the shadow of Old Trafford on Wednesday afternoon this week a crowd of invited guests and Manchester United fans gathered in front of the stadium’s Stretford End to witness the unveiling of a statue of Jimmy Murphy.

The Welshman served the club for a total of 43 years, from 1946, as the club’s assistant manager to Sir Matt Busby; a caretaker manager in the aftermath of the Munich air disaster when Busby clung to life in a German hospital following a plane crash that killed 23 passengers, including eight United players, and finally as a scout until his death in 1989.

The statue depicts Murphy in a tracksuit holding an old-style leather football looking over what is today a car park but used to be a cinder track where he coached several generations of United players, including Duncan Edwards, Sir Bobby Charlton and George Best.

It was Murphy who was described by Busby as “my first and greatest signing” who gave these players their football education at Old Trafford.

Busby had begun as a tracksuit manager, but over the years retreated from the training pitch, especially after Munich, and gave the responsibility to Murphy, who had more of an eye for detail and could develop players.

“There have been few better teachers of the game and I am greatly in his debt,” Charlton has said. “Alf Ramsey helped me a lot with England, and so, of course, in many ways, did Matt Busby. But Jimmy got to my guts.”

It was Murphy who welcomed a 15-year-old Charlton to Manchester in the summer of 1953, meeting him on the platform at Exchange station after he had travelled from his native north east.

“He was the man who really helped me,” Charlton told me when I interviewed him in 2005. “Every Sunday morning I met him at Old Trafford and he used to stand in the centre circle and knock balls into all four corners for me to chase. I was absolutely gasping for breath by the end, but he said in real games you wouldn’t catch your breath.”

A player for West Bromwich Albion in the 1930s, Murphy had met Busby when they were both serving in the army in Italy during the second world war. When Busby was appointed United manager in October 1945 he quickly brought Murphy with him to Old Trafford, which was then still a bomb site.

The pair formed a partnership that would drive the club to unprecedented success over the next quarter of a century, as they became the champions of England five times, and the first English club to become champions of Europe.

After winning an FA Cup in 1948 and a League title in 1952 with a group of largely older players, Busby and Murphy decided to completely reinvent the squad and scour the country for young talent.

“What we looked for was basic skill, an innate instinct which, hopefully, we could help to develop; and beyond that a genuine desire to want to play for United,” Murphy has recalled, and as he said, “Soon enough we hit the jackpot.”

This included discovering a powerfully built youngster from Dudley called Duncan Edwards, who would become, in the words of Murphy: “the diamond amongst our crown jewels.”

A prodigious talent, Edwards would make his debut for United aged only 16 years and 185 days old before then becoming the youngest England international debutant since the second world war at just 18 years and 183 days old. He would die from the injuries he sustained in the plane crash in Munich aged just 21.

“When I used to hear Muhammad Ali proclaim to the world that he was the greatest, I used to smile,” said Murphy. “You see, the greatest of them all was an English footballer named Duncan Edwards. If I shut my eyes know I can see him. Those pants hitched up, the wild leaps of boyish enthusiasm as he came running out of the tunnel, the tremendous power of his tackle, always fair but fearsome, the immense power on the ball. The number of times he was robbed of the ball once he had it at his feet could be counted on one hand. He was a players’ player. The greatest…there was only one and that was Duncan Edwards.”

Murphy and United’s network of scouts also added other talented young players from across the country including Bill Foulkes, Eddie Colman, Mark Jones, Billy Whelan, David Pegg, Jackie Blanchflower and Dennis Viollet. Of course, there was also Charlton, while Ray Wood, Johnny Berry and Tommy Taylor were all signed from other clubs for transfer fees.

These players became known as the Busby Babes, and with an average age of just 22-years-old would together win the League title in 1956, and again in 1957.

But Busby wanted to challenge his players beyond England and in 1956 United became the first English side to play in the fledgling European Cup. “This is where the future of the game lies,” he said. After reaching the semi-finals in their first season, United secured their return to the same stage of the competition with a 3-3 draw against Red Star Belgrade in the Yugoslav capital to gain a 5-4 win on aggregate.

On February 6, 1958, the plane carrying the United squad home stopped to refuel in Munich, and after three attempts to take off for Manchester crashed in the snow on the runway, scattering wreckage over an area of 150 square metres.

Busby was seriously injured, and only given a 50/50 chance of surviving, but Murphy had not made the trip with him, and instead stayed at home to take charge of Wales in a World Cup qualifier. When he was told he broke down in tears.

Two days after the crash Murphy travelled to Munich and arrived at Busby’s bed side at the Rechts de Isar hospital. “Keep the flag flying, Jimmy,” Busby said in a barely audible whisper, “Keep things going until I get back.”

Edwards clung on to life for 15 days in the same hospital, and when Murphy approached his bed that same day, he suddenly opened his eyes and said, “Oh, it’s you, Jimmy. What time is kick-off on Saturday?” Is it three o’clock? I can’t miss the Wolves match.” Murphy was startled, but told him, “Usual time, three o’clock,” before stroking his head and adding, “OK, son…don’t worry. We’re resting you Duncan. We don’t need you to beat Wolves.” Edwards mumbled, “Get stuck in” before closing his eyes.

An emotionally drained Murphy returned to Manchester to take charge of United. He had instructions from Busby, and couldn’t let his boss down. Now the leader of both a city and a club consumed by grief that would witness a never-ending procession of funerals in the coming weeks, Murphy had to find the strength to carry on.

Thirteen days after the crash on February 19, United faced Sheffield Wednesday in the fifth round of the FA Cup. Only Harry Gregg and Bill Foulkes were available from the team who had faced Red Star Belgrade, forcing Murphy to throw together a collection of youngsters and rushed new signings.

The programme for the game had been printed with eleven blank spaces for the United team, and when Murphy came to fill them in on the day of the game he broke down in tears.

Although essentially a team of strangers, United were swept to victory by the emotion of the evening. United beat Wednesday 3-0 with two goals from Shay Brennan and one from Alex Dawson.

United inevitably struggled in the league, winning only one game after the crash to finish ninth, but in the FA Cup, they miraculously reached the final with wins over West Brom and Fulham, inspired by Murphy and the hope of redeeming something from a tragic season.

Two weeks before United faced Bolton Wanderers in the final at Wembley, a frail Matt Busby travelled home overland. Still on crutches, he went down to Wembley, but didn’t lead the team out on to the pitch, believing the honour should be Jimmy Murphy’s, after he had held the club together in his absence. Busby did speak to the players in the dressing room before the game, but broke down in tears and had to be led away.

United played in specially made shirts with a badge depicting a phoenix rising from the ashes. But sheer emotion could only take United so far, and they lost 2-0 to Bolton.

This wasn’t the end of United’s season, they still had to contest the European Cup semi-final the Babes had won through to in their last game three months earlier. In the first leg at Old Trafford, United overcame AC Milan 2-1, but they could not stop the Italians winning the second leg 4-0. It was a sad, but not unexpected end to a season that had changed United forever.

From the start of the following season Busby resumed control, but Murphy had kept the club alive and led it through its darkest days.

That summer Murphy would lead Wales to the 1958 World Cup finals in Sweden, where they reached the quarter-finals before losing to the eventual champions Brazil and a 17-year-old Pele.

In the following years Murphy was approached to manage Brazil, Juventus and Arsenal, but he remained at Busby’s side at Old Trafford for another 13 years, helping to claim the European Cup in 1968 on an emotional night at Wembley when the ghosts of the fallen Busby Babes were all around them.

“My greatest delight was not winning cups and championships, but the memory of bringing up all of my youngsters,” he once said. Murphy finally stepped aside as assistant manager in 1971, and for the next 18 years served as a scout before his death at the age of 79 in November 1989.

United had already named a centre after him at their Carrington training ground and the award for their Young Player of the Year, but now this statue is the most fitting honour for a great man who served the club with such distinction.