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Full Name
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Matthew Busby
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Date of Birth
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26th May 1909
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Place of Birth
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Bellshill, Glasgow
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.....
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United under Busby Record 1945-1969
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League
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P
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W
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D
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L
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924
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481
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162
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281
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FA Cup |
P |
W |
D |
L |
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98
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61
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17
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20
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Europe |
P |
W |
D |
L |
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58
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35
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11
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12
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1968 European Cup
1967 1st Div League Championship
1965 1st Div League Championship
1963 F.A. Cup
1957 1st Div League Championship
1956 1st Div League Championship
1952 1st Div League
Championship
1948 F.A. Cup
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At
the back of Old Trafford's East Stand stands a statue of Sir
Matt Busby. Many who pass by it on match-day probably do not
realise that without him they wouldn't be there. They'd be
most likely supporting some other football team. Sir Alex
Ferguson's success has made Manchester United the Goliath of
world football that it is today but it was built upon
Busby's legendary foundations. For, Busby is the man who
made Manchester United a world famous name way back in the
1950's. He established the club's footballing ideology, its
playing style and philosophy, while in the process building
two of English football's most famous ever teams.
Born at Orbiston, Lanarkshire, Busby was a legend hewn from
the same rock as those other Scottish managerial legends
Bill Shankly, Jock Stein and of course, Sir Alex Ferguson.
As a player he was a half-back who won one international cap
for Scotland in 1933 and an FA Cup Winner's medal for
Manchester City in the following year. Ironically Busby
played for United's bitter rivals Manchester City from 1929
to 1936 and for Liverpool from 1936 to 1939.
In 1945 at the young age of 36, he accepted the post as
manager of Manchester United. The club were in disarray. Old
Trafford had been heavily damaged in the blitz of World War
2 and the team was poor, having had little success in the
previous 15 years and 14th in Division One. Its fair to say,
United then, were like the present-day Sheffield Wednesday
or Man City. A big northern club with potential, but
under-achievers and not really supported or renowned outside
of their own city. Arsenal were the biggest club in England
following their four League title wins in the 1930s. |
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Busby's First great team |
Busby set about
changing that. The Scotsman believed in attacking
free-flowing football, he wanted his teams to not only be
successful but to excite the crowd as well. United played at
Maine Road for his first 3 years as Old Trafford had been
bombed out in the war. While the stadium was being rebuilt
so was the team. In 1947 a large youth policy was organised
and the scouting system was expanded and reorganised. By
skilful planning and wise buying Busby created a team that
made it to the 1948 FA Cup Final and defeated Blackpool 4-2.
Playing were the first of the pre-war United greats, Carey,
Mitten, Pearson and Rowley. From this success, after being
runners-up for years, United went on to win the League
Championship in 1952 scoring bucket-loads of goals along the
way.
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Busby the Man |
The image of Busby is
very often that of a kindly grandfather figure who preferred
his assistant, Jimmy Murphy to do the disciplining. The
truth is that Busby used this image in public but in private
he could be as ruthless as any. It would be naive to to
think someone without some degree of steel could win as much
in the cut-throat world of football. Unlike many, he was not
an advocate of improved player power with better contracts
and wages. While he tolerated the wayward genius of George
Best he punished other players harshly, such as Charlie
Mitten, for stepping out of line and undermining his
managerial authority.
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The Busby Babes and Munich |
Following the 1952
season's success Busby felt his team had lost its edge, the
fire and flair had gone. To remedy this he made a drastic
and famous decision by replacing most of his first team
players with bright exciting young players: the legendary
Busby Babes were born. A team of mainly youngsters took the
league by storm and brought a breath of optimistic fresh air
to austere post-war England. With such talents as Bobby
Charlton, Duncan Edwards, Eddie Colman, Dennis Viollet,
Tommy Taylor, Bill Foulkes and Jackie Blanchflower, they
were exciting, brilliant and devastating. Two League titles
followed in 1956, and 1957, and the visionary Busby entered
United into the European Champions Cup. The first English
club to do so, Busby rightly saw European competition as the
future of club football and defied the League's opposition.
It was a vision not shared by the narrow minded Football
authorities at the time. They gave United no help in fixture
arrangements meaning the team was frequently rushing back
from European games with little preparation.
After returning home from a Euro game against Red Star
Belgrade in 1958 tragedy struck when the team plane crashed
on a Munich airfield killing many of the aircraft's
passengers, including eight of the players and severely
injuring Busby. The team that were champions of England for
the past two season had been almost entirely wiped out. The
Busby Babes were gone and the world was robbed of players
like Edwards and Taylor forever. The tragedy had a profound
effect upon the British people. Munich became not a
Manchester United disaster but a national disaster. In this
less cynical age, a huge wave of sympathy and support welled
up for United. Fans from all over the world now knew of the
great team from Manchester that was wiped out. People who
had merely followed the results of their team felt drawn to
the club, those who had never followed them before, now had
a special place in their hearts for United.
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Busby returns to conquer Europe |
Busby, after first
doubting he could carry on, recovered form his injuries and
set about creating the third great and greatest of all
sides. The one that would do what his babes never did. Again
his youth policy was established and United uncovered the
talents of Stiles, Brennan, Kidd and the genial George Best.
Together with Munich survivor Bobby Charlton, signings
Crerand and Denis Law, United were soon back at the top
winning the FA Cup in 1963 and two League titles in 1965 and
67. Playing as the babes before, with style, genius, flair
and attacking brilliance, the 60s United of Charlton, Best
and Law captured a whole new legion of fans and the
imagination of football fans the world over.
The 1967 win gave Busby probably one last crack at his "holy
grail" and on May 29th 1968, the greatest of his three
United sides won the European Cup defeating Benfica 4-1. The
entire nation was behind United on that night, people wanted
them to win it for those lost in Munich. This was Busby's
greatest achievement, the first English side to win the
trophy, so exorcising the ghosts of Munich, now Manchester
United had become a national institution.
Busby was
knighted in 1968 and having achieved his goal, retired from
Manchester United as manager in 1969, but continued as its
general manager and in 1971 Busby was appointed to the
United board. Sadly, his successors were always working in
his shadow and could not live up to the high standards he
set. As the stars of the Sixties retired or moved on they
were not adequately replaced. The club went into sharp
decline and relegation followed in 1974. Only 6 years after
their greatest moment United were at their lowest point
since the 1930s. Eventually United got back to winning ways
but no-one could come close to Busby's achievements, that is
until 1986 when another canny Scot came south of the border,
Alex Ferguson. Busby became United's club president in 1982,
and had a high position in the Football League management
committee.
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Conclusion |
On the 20th January
1994 Busby died aged 85, but he lived long enough to see the
red empire he created in safe hands. He had taken great
pleasure in presiding over Ferguson's revival in which
United played with the style and flair he had loved in his
own teams. United were the best in the land once again and 5
years later, on his birthday in 1999 they would better his
achievement of 1968 and win the Treble of European Cup, FA
Cup and Premier League title. The legacy of Busby is that he
provided the foundation, philosophy, style and passion that
turned a once ordinary club from the grim industrial North
of England, into today the most famous, glamorous, richest
and now undoubtedly biggest team in the world. Sir Matt
Busby created the Manchester United legend and in doing so,
has himself became a legend forever in footballing history. |
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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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