Terrace Talk

BBC

One cold and bitter Thursday in Munich, Germany,
Seven great football stalwarts conceded victory,
Seven men will never play again who met destruction there,
The flowers of English football, the flowers of Manchester

Matt Busby’s boys were flying, returning from Belgrade,
This great United family, all masters of their trade,
The pilot of the aircraft and the skipper Captain Thain,
Three times they tried to take her up and twice turned back again.

The third time down the runaway disaster followed close,
There was ice upon the wings and the aircraft never rose,
It ran upon the marshy ground, it broke, it overturned.
And seven of the team were killed when the battered aircraft burned.

Roger Byrne and Tommy Taylor who were capped for England’s side.
And Ireland’s Billy Whelan and England’s Geoff Bent died,
Mark Jones and Eddie Colman, and David Pegg also,
Before the blazing wreckage went ploughing through the snow.

The trainer, coach and secretary, and a member of the crew,
Also eight sporting journalists who with United flew,
and one of them was Big Swifty, we never will forget,
the greatest English ‘keeper who ever graced a net.

They said that Duncan Edwards had an injury to his brain,
They said that Jackie Blanchflower would never play again,
Matt Busby he was lying there, the father of the team
Six months or more did pass before he saw another game

Oh, England’s finest football team its record truly great,
its proud successes mocked by a cruel turn of fate.
Seven men will never play again, who met destruction there,
the flowers of English football, the flowers of Manchester

The Flowers of Manchester. It leaves a lump in my throat, every time I sing it. I’m sure it’s the same for multitude of Manchester United supporters across the world. Read the rest of this entry »

The recent articles about Aaron Ramsey were pointing to United as favorites for signing him. Last week, Cardiff manager Dave Jones spoke in favor of United, saying that a transfer to United would be a perfect foundation for a bright future

“United are the major force in European football, if not the best club in the world, and with the squad of players they have that domination is set to continue for some time to come. I believe Aaron can go there and play a valuable part in that in the future.”

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50 years ago, a team comprised of a set of talented youngsters swept through the English First Division with superb play, sublime teamwork, and sheer guts that exemplified the very best of the English game. In fact, such was their level of play that their run at glory extended beyond England. During a time when British clubs struggled to make the breakthrough against continental opposition, this Manchester United squad were considered one of the strong favorites for the 1958 European Cup.

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I have been a United fan for as long as I can remember, which in footballing terms stretches back to the evening of May 21, 1977 in Malaysia, when my father sat me down in front of a small black and white screen and told me about the team in the lighter jerseys, and how they were the underdogs and the team they were playing against were going for a historical treble. Read the rest of this entry »

Though fans of Manchester United can have no major qualms with the progression of our two fresh young talents in Anderson and Nani (after witnessing their rapid development who could complain), looking back I cannot help but think of what could have been during the summer transfer window of 2007. It is a widely held belief that both these young guns will be the eventual successors of the legendary Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs, but looking back one has to wonder if the right men from Brazil and Portugal were selected for the task at hand. There were other options. Read the rest of this entry »