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Full Name
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Duncan Edwards
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Date of Birth
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1st
Oct 1936
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Place of Birth
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Dudley,
Worcestershire
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Position
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Half Back
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Height
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6ft 3
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United debut
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4/4/1953
vs Cardiff (H)
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.....
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Edwards's United Record 1952-1958
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Appearances
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Goals
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League
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151
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20
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FA Cup
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12
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1
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League Cup
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n/a
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n/a
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Europe
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12
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0
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Total
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175
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21
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Edwards's International Record
1955-1958
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18 Caps for England - 5 Goals
1st Div League
Championship 1957
1st Div League
Championship 1956
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Could he have been the greatest red ever? The prodigious
talent of Duncan Edwards was cruelly snatched away from the
footballing world in 1958 when he was killed in the Munich
air crash. However, not before he had established a
reputation as one of the greatest players of his generation.
That he is rated above the likes of Charlton, Best and Law
by many of the era is all the more amazing for he was just
21 years old when he died. Virtually anyone who saw him play
rates him as their all-time number one. Edwards had immense
physical strength coupled with superb ball control and
touch.
His passing and tackling was perfect and his shooting was
awe inspiring, in both power and accuracy. Not only that, in
when it came to aerial battles he was fantastic at winning
headers both defending and attacking. In short, Duncan
Edwards was the complete player. Not only did the big
Midlander possess the physical skills but his mental
attitude was first class as well. Duncan had a fanatical
practice regime which gave he used to maintain mastery of
his technique. He had great awareness, was brave, committed
and determined, yet always composed and sportsmanlike.
The great Bobby Charlton said "Duncan Edwards was the
only player that made me feel inferior". Sir Matt Busby is
once to have said that he believed Edwards was "the best
player in the world", but he would never tell Edwards in
case it unsettled him. He was world class when United had
the ball and their best player when the opponents had it. At
his favoured wing-half position Duncan lent steel to the
defence and given half a chance would rampage into the
attack with an unstoppable surging run. |
Matt Busby
heard of the "man-boy" playing for Wolves in 1949 and
brought him to Old Trafford. Edwards began his United career
in 1952, playing in the first team at the unheard-of age of
16 and within two years was playing for England. At 18 he
was the youngest ever to play for England (until 1998) and
managed to win 18 caps in a short space of time. Duncan
helped United win two consecutive League titles in 1956 and
1957, a great achievement in an era were teams were evenly
balanced and champions rarely regained their crown. Leading
United's charge into Europe they stood on the verge of being
the first British team to lift the European Cup and surely
would, have had it not been for the tragedy at Munich. In
his home town of Dudley he is commemorated in the
stained-glass window of St Francis's Church and in October
1999 a statue of Edwards, resplendent in his England kit,
was unveiled in the town centre.
The question will always remain, what would have happened
had Edwards not lost his life at only 21? He probably would
have went on to be the most capped England player ever. At
times a team in himself, this ultimate all-round player
would have no doubt been up there with greats such as Pele,
Beckenbauer, Cruyff and Best. The fact that he never did,
and the world was so cruelly robbed of such a talent remains
the saddest legacy of Munich. Today, in a different world to
the 1950s, Giggsy, Beckham and co are the glory boys, but
anyone who saw Duncan Edwards play will tell you, he was
better than them all, and that is saying something.
For a great website devoted to the
legend Duncan Edwards |
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All pictures in the
profiles can be enlarged by clicking on the smaller version.
Stats do not include friendlies, Charity Shield or World Club tournaments.
Number in brackets ( ) represents appearances as substitute in addition to
starting appearances.
This information is kindly taken from
McCleery's
Manchester United Zone
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