AUTHOR: – Bricki

Its not been the best of times in recent months for the image of the football supporter or the game in general…

We’ve had the parcel bombs sent to Neil Lennon and other high profile Celtic fans/staff. The ongoing troubles between Rangers and Celtic, which included a potential riot between players and management. The Tottenham fans allegedly singing abusive and potentially racist songs at Emmanuel Adebayor.
Manchester United fans shaming a Youth Cup semi-final at Anfield with chants about Heysel and Hillsborough.

This is but the tip of an iceberg that has included players receiving racial abuse from fans, being abused by people hiding behind Twitter names and last night included a section of Manchester City fans refering to United fans as Munichs in songs at Blackburn Rovers.

Isn’t it time that enough was enough and we reclaim the game from these morons?

I am not here to complain about the Manchester City fans from the Blackburn game, nor the fans that regularly give abuse to United players specifically. This is a game wide issue and something that no longer can be tolerated, we rightly pointed out the issues that Russia faced with racial abuse during the World Cup campaign so we now need to put a stop to it here.

The argument that many put up is that the people who sing these songs and abuse players are in the minority. If this is the case then why do the majority not over power these people and either sing over them or even report them so they can be removed and dealt with? In recent weeks i have seen fans removed from the Stretford End for daring to stand up and then when attempting to debate the issue with stewards they have been ejected. These are fans i see every home game whos only crime is getting behind the team.

Wayne Rooney was punished for swearing into the camera after scoring against West Ham, he rightly apologised but was given a two game ban for his actions. Whether i agree with that or not it set a precedent for the behaviour of players on the pitch and you can only hope the FA continue to punish players who do step over the line of respect and dignity in the game.

But is it now up to the clubs to start clamping down on the chants and vile insults that come down from the stands?

Removal of fans chanting songs including profanity and swear words is an unwinnable situation, the game is a working mans game and the songs fans sing have in cases been sung for generations. However, when the songs become abusive or harmful in the language used then a line needs to be drawn.

Clubs now operate a scheme where if somebody hears or sees any sort of abuse take place then they can send an anonymous text message detailing the offenders Stand, Row and Seat number but how well does that work? How does somebody report a chant from several people coming from either behind or in front of them? There is no point paying lip service to a situation that has slowly escalated and is becoming an issue that cannot be ignored.

What should the clubs do? Well removal from the ground is the first step, followed by the removal of access for future games. It is the minimum responsibility of the clubs to the game in general. If the high profile clubs can lead the way there is more hope of the stance becoming commonplace through out the leagues.

In conjunction with this the FA should treat these situations as seriously as crowd violence itself. If clubs are repeatadly found to be allowing this behaviour to continue then sanctions against the club must be put in place also. These must show that the behaviour cannot be tolerated, such measures can include

• Fines
• Reduction in number of fans allowed in ground
• Closure of parts of ground
• Games played behind closed doors
• Points deductions

It needs to be dealt with in a harsh manner as we are now entering a stage where the new generation of match goers and there families did not witness Munich/Heysel and even Hillsborough but continue to sing about them. I spoke to one Manchester City fan after the Blackburn game, a very good friend and a man i know appreciates the game for what it is. He explained to me that now some fans he nows uses the term ‘Munichs’ as a reference to all Manchester United fans and doesnt have a true understanding of the event or the way it shaped football in Manchester after 1958. This is highly likely for all clubs with younger fans in the stands, events like Munich, Hillsborough, Heysel and the abuse of other fans with names like ‘Yids’ or managers like Arsene Wenger ‘Paedophile’ can be seen and then become imitated without a true understanding as to why they are sung.

As a United fan the first time i really looked into the Munich Air Crash and how it occured came when i was 15 and wrote an English Language GCSE piece about the crash. I tried to write an article about the accident as if i was a journalist based in Manchester at the time. It was only when i researched the accident i truly understood what happened and why, i also discovered for the first time that people other than the team died, including former City player Frank Swift.

It opened my eyes to what the club meant to fans and the way that football didnt just represent the community but it was the community. Even today with the vast amounts of money in the game and players who make more in a week than the majority of fans in a year, this still holds true. Go into any pub in the country and 8/10 conversations will still be football based, the content may have changed (finance, foreign owners, zonal marking) but football is still the heartbeat of the nation and what we are currently seeing in the media is akin to heart disease.

The clubs have a responsiblity to educate fans and also to police fans when in or around the grounds. The fans also have a responsiblilty to police themselves and to help eradicate the unsavoury parts of ‘support’.

To allow the behaviour we have currently seen in the stands and on social networking (the abuse of footballers on Twitter is particularly pathetic) to continue is as big a crime as the fans who are singing the chants.

The fans must stop being the silent majority and start confronting these undesirables to stop this behaviour. Fans need to be educated by clubs about things like Munich/Hillsborough/Heysel and why personal abuse of footballing figures/fans must stop.

The clubs need to start treating these incidents much more seriously and helping fans to be confident enough to point people out who are leading others in these incidents.

The FA need to show the sort of action they did in punishing Rooney for his behaviour/language by targeting clubs who allow abuse to continually happen and start to administer sanctions that fit the crime.

Maybe once the clubs and fans start to truly suffer for this behaviour might we see a reduction and better policing of the problem areas of the game.

February 6th 1958 will forever be ingrained in the history of Manchester United football club. It was to be the day that claimed the lives of 23 people, including eight United players. In a tribute to the Busby Babes, I wanted to celebrate their playing careers rather than that the tragic events of that day. We’ve teamed up with Tony Parks, a United youth historian, who has kindly answered a few questions that we put to him in the week on the players, coaching and the potential of the Busby Babes. If you are a Twitter user, you can follow Tony here.

1) Sir Bobby Charlton once said “Duncan was the only player that made me feel inferior.” – considering Sir Bobby Charlton was such a key figure in United’s revival and success in the 60s, how good a player was Duncan Edwards and how good could he have become?

I have researched Duncan’s early career. This kid was exceptional. He was playing in leagues three or four years older and got selected for England Schools U/15 when he was only 13. The only player in history to do this. He went on to play for England Schools for three years. Everyone was after him but he loved United. In his first year (so think first Academy year at 15 years old) he skipped the juniors (he was too good) and played a few games in the Colts, before being elevated to the ‘A’ team. This was the equivalent of today’s Reserves. Then in his first season he made his league debut just after turning sixteen. This was unheard of at the time but he was just that good. In fact, the season after making his debut clubs up and down the country complained in the newspapers that he shouldn’t be allowed to play in the Youth Cup because he was a First Division player and it was unfair to other kids. The fact that he was younger than most of them was deemed irrelevant.

The thing is….he could play anywhere and often when we were struggling, Jimmy Murphy moved him up front and he would just burst though the defence and score. He did this so often it was crazy. He then became the youngest player to play for England. If you think of Rooney at his best but stronger and bigger playing like Robson in midfield. Terry Venables made that comparison….Rooney/Robson. How good could he have become? Bobby Charlton reckons that Bobby Moore wouldn’t have got an England cap had Duncan lived!

2) Tommy Taylor scored 131 goals in 191 games for United (0.69 goals per game – in comparison with Law, 0.60, and Ruud VanNistelrooy 0.75), which is a superb scoring record after his £29,999 signing from Barnsley. Which modern day forward most resembles the Yorkshireman?

Wow…good question! I suppose a Kevin Davies, Alan Shearer, Andy Carroll type…..with Shearers goal scoring ability. If you think of all the plaudits that Nat Lofthouse received recently…well Tommy was a very similar player to him but kept Lofthouse out of the England team.

3) Jimmy Murphy played a key part in the development of the Busby Babes – do you think there was a similarity in the way both he and Eric Harrison coached? How would you sum up their coaching styles?

Harrison was a hard task master. He could be incredibly tough and some players wilted under his style and approach. Other players loved him. What everyone says…and I mean everyone….is that he was the best coach that they ever had. He pushed people. Murphy was very similar but also could put an arm around a player. He could cajole….and also deliver amazing motivational dressing room speeches. I think Harrison was more Fergie hair dryer.

4) Real Madrid had one of the best club sides in the late 50s, including Frenchman Raymond Kopa, Francisco Gento and of course the legendary Alfredo Di Stefano. Having lost the first leg 3-1 in Madrid, an extremely young United side stood toe to toe with the Spanish giants and drew 2-2, with Charlton and Taylor getting on the score sheet. Surely, for not the tragedy of Munich, this team would have gone on to challenge Real Madrid in future tournaments for the European title?

That is what Busby and Murphy had said. The first season in Europe they will still learning. But with an average age of 22 compared to Madrid’s 29/30…it would have only been a matter of time. It was like when Fergie brought all the kids through. Giggs, Beckham, Scholes….they all went on to have ten year careers.

5) If you had five words to describe the Busby Babes style of play, what would they be?

Incisive, powerful, clinical, quick, expansive. The forwards used to change positions all the time (most teams just stayed in the same place….so when the centre half saw Tommy Taylor on the left wing…he had no idea what to do)…the wing play was unbelievable and then you had Duncan bursting through midfield to support the attack…..he bust two balls in the same game once he hit them so hard!!!

6) How much of a problem were the FA in the 50s towards the development of club football? For example, their request for Chelsea to withdrawn from the 55/56 competition, their creation of the League Cup in response to the European Cup competition and the request for United to return home from Belgrade for the fixture against Wolves on the Saturday?

The FA were bureaucratic ponces (some things don’t change). United’s run in with the FA started in 1946 and has continued ever since. United asked for FA support with ground building of Old Trafford (after helping Arsenal in a similar situation) but were refused. Then in 1951 they banned Charlie Mitten for going to Bogata. Busby wanted him back at United after he finished in Columbia but the FA refused his registration so Busby let him go to Fulham. Meanwhile…Neil Franklin who was the Stoke and England centre-half, and also went with Mitten….wasn’t banned at all for exactly the same thing. Busby went crazy. Then you had them not wanting English clubs to enter Europe. It was a control thing. When Busby ignored them they got very pernickity with us. They refused to make any allowances or show any flexibility with rearranging matches and so on. After Munich they wrote a piece in the paper that said fundamentally that if United hadn’t ‘disobeyed’ them then Munich wouldn’t have happened and that United have only themselves to blame. An astonishing comment to make. I think the final straw between the FA and United was in the EC semi-final v Milan when they took Bobby Charlton for an England friendly on the same day as the game when he was clearly our best player. We lost 0-4 to Milan and the FA didn’t even play Charlton. Busby was vitriolic about that one. Since then there has been a catalogue of issues between the FA and United.

Basically the FA saw it as a threat to their power. Simple as that!

7) As an expert on youth football, why do you believe United have always set their foundations on producing top quality youngsters, ahead of other English Clubs?

It started with Louis Rocca in the early 1930’s. He was a scout and always on the lookout for young local talent. United had no money. When Scott Duncan was appointed as manager in the early 1930’s, he had won lot’s of things with Cowdenbeath in Scotland with fundamentally a youth policy. James Gibson liked this…and when he appointed Duncan said that they wanted to do the same thing. However, with United struggling, Duncan started buying lots of players (Scots!) and United were pretty poor during this period. However, behind the scenes the Youth Policy was ticking over and in 1934 they entered an ‘A’ team for the first time. In 1938, they started the MUJAC’s which was carried on throughout the war.

Busby and Murphy both had very bad experiences as young apprentices with big clubs (Man City and WBA) so when they arrived wanted to make things very different. When Murphy won the Central League in 1947, Busby congratulated him. Murphy responded with a thanks but no-one was good enough for the first team. So they agreed to start from scratch and develop a MUFC youth policy.

Busby then had 25 years to build on this…6 youth cup wins….championships….a Euro Cup win with Brennan Dunne, Foulkes, Stiles and the entire forward line (Best, Kidd, Charlton, Sadler and Aston) all coming from the youth team.

It was now part of our culture and fans thought it was normal…the expected and were then very critical of big buys and very supportive of the kids. Since then…it has simple been a conveyor belt…reinforced by Ferguson in the 1990’s.

MUFC have done this since the 1930’s so we really don’t know any other way…it really is a cultural thing. I also think it is reinforced by the culture of Manchester which is very open, welcoming, flamboyant, visionary etc. The style of MUFC and the culture of Manchester just clicked. Leeds and Liverpool people just don’t think like this.

Geoff Bent

Tony has also kindly put together for us an account of Geoff Bent, who was one of the players that lost their lives on February 6th 1958.

Each year as the anniversary of the Munich Air Disaster arrives, many in the sporting world remember those who lost their lives in the crash. The captain Roger Byrne who made 33 consecutive for England, Duncan Edwards who was destined to become one of the world’s greatest ever players and Tommy Taylor who had notched 16 goals in 19 appearances for his country were all certainties to be part of Walter Winterbottom’s 1958 World Cup team.

Additionally, Eddie ‘snakehips’ Colman was talked about as a future national player and David Pegg had already represented the three Lions on the left wing. Big Mark Jones had been fighting a positional battle with Jackie Blanchflower throughout his career and was the current incumbent of the Number 5 shirt when the tragedy hit while Billy Whelan had worn the green of Ireland. All first team regulars with decent careers behind them, except of course for Geoff Bent, the reserve fullback who most people know little about.

However, Geoff was a cracking player in his own right who would have walked into most first teams in the top flight. Dennis Viollet described him as a “great, great competitor and excellent defender, hard as nails”, while Ian Greaves commented that he “was always recognised within the club as probably the best player who could not get into the first team.”

Geoffrey Bent was born in Salford on the 27th September 1932 the only son of Clifford and Clara Bent. The family lived in Irlams-o’-th’-Height on the outskirts of Swinton. He attended St. John’s Junior School and was notably academic enough to win a scholarship to Tootal Road Grammar School. His father was a huge Rugby fan following Swinton RFC but Geoff always loved football. He was also a strong swimmer and actually won his first medal when he saved a young boy from drowning in the Salford Canal.

A fine footballer as a junior, Geoff played inside-left but later moved to left-half and finally left fullback. Whilst playing for his school, he also turned out for Barton Villa in the Eccles & District League. He was then selected for Salford Schoolboys and captained the team to success in the English Schools Shield in 1947 when they defeated Leicester in the final. On the route to the final he helped the Salford team defeat Crewe in the last sixteen before beating Heston in a closely contested quarter-final at the Cliff, Lower Broughton, to earn a semi-final place. In the last four against Rotherham, a crowd of 14,000 saw Geoff score the winning goal to put Salford through to it’s first final. 25,000 supporters turned up for the first leg at Filbert Street which ended 0-0. The return was played out in front of a packed Old Trafford, the first game played there since bombs were dropped in 1939. Geoff led the team to victory, ironically receiving the trophy from the famous Frank Swift who also perished at Munich.

A host of clubs were interested in signing Geoff but his mother was keen for him to go to Manchester United and he joined the Reds straight from school. He duly signed as an Amateur in 1949 and worked as a joiner during his apprenticeship, before finally professional terms in 1952.

In the 1950/51 season Geoff was turning out for the ‘A’ team either at left fullback or on the left wing, helping the team win the Manchester League. He remained in the junior sides until the 1952/53 season when he broke into the reserves, donning the Number 3 jersey for the second half of the campaign.

A tenacious tackler with good pace and excellent distribution, he had the misfortunate to play in the same position as Roger Byrne, who had won a league championship medal the season before. From 1953/54 onwards, Geoff was understudy to Byrne and was a mainstay of the second X1. Over the next four seasons he was only able to force his way into the first team when Roger was injured or away on international duty.

It was under these circumstances that Geoff was called into the first team and made his debut in the 4-2 win at Burnley on the 11th December 1954. He made one further appearance during the 1954/55 term, the 5-0 home win over Sheffield United in April. He made four further starts in 1955/56 and featured in six games during 1956/57, his last being the 0-0 draw at home to Spurs on the 6th April 1957.

Realising he was not going to get a ‘look-in’ with Byrne in such fine form, Geoff asked Matt Busby for a transfer, and with the likes of Wolves on the prowl, there was no shortage of interested clubs. However, the canny Scot convinced him by saying “there are no first team players, only first team probables!”

In a cruel twist of fate, Geoff was only taken to Belgrade as cover for Roger Bryne who had picked up a knock in the 5-4 victory at Highbury in the Busby Babes last game on English soil. Normally reserves didn’t travel, and Ronnie Cope was the usual 12th man, but with doubt over Byrne’s fitness the decision was taken to include Geoff in the squad instead. Little did he know that he would not see his wife Marion or four-month-old daughter Karen, ever again.

In the end Roger was passed fit for the European tie and Geoff watched the 3-3 draw with Red Star Belgrade from the sidelines.

Geoff didn’t like flying and not only did he get nose-bleeds but he also had to put drops in his ears. As the plane took off from Munich with the players, officials and press making the return journey home, the Elizabethan Airline crashed on the runway and Geoff was killed instantly.

A happy-go-lucky character, Geoff liked to play cards, listen to the rock ‘n’ roll music of Elvis Presley or the ballads of Shirley Bassey, and was often seen playing golf, tennis or watching cricket on TV.

He had played his last game for the Reserves in the 4-3 win over Wolves at Old Trafford on the 1st of February 1958. He sacrificed his own personal career for the good of the team and if he had survived, would have made it so much easier to rebuild after Munich.
Geoff was buried in St. John’s Church in Pendlebury, gone but never forgotten.

RIP

52 years ago today a plane carrying the Manchester United team crashed on the third attempt on the snow covered run way of the Munich airport. 23 people who were on the plane died after the crash, including eight Manchester United players. The team were returning to Manchester after a 3-3 draw with Partizan Belgrade and had stopped off in Munich. The tragedy meant that the Busby Babes would never play together again and is ingrained into the soul of the club. Today we remembered our fallen heroes – gone but never ever forgotten.

So many young players lost their lives in Munich playing for Manchester United. Below are the people who lost their lives on 52 years ago:

Geoff Bent
Roger Byrne
Eddie Colman
Duncan Edwards
Mark Jones
David Pegg
Tommy Taylor
Liam “Billy” Whelan
Walter Crickmer
Tom Curry
Bert Whalley
Alf Clarke
Donny Davies
George Follows
Tom Jackson
Archie Ledbrooke
Henry Rose
Frank Swift
Eric Thompson
Bela Miklos
Willie Satinoff

Below are the appearances and goals of each player who died:

Roger Byrne
Appearances: 280
Goals: 20

Duncan Edwards
Appearances: 177
Goals: 21

Geoff Bent
Appearances: 12
Goals: 0

Eddie Coleman
Appearances: 108
Goals: 2

Mark Jones
Appearances: 121
Goals: 1

Tommy Taylor
Appearances: 191
Goals: 131

David Pegg
Appearances: 150
Goals: 28

Liam Whelan
Appearances: 96
Goals: 52

The Flowers Of Manchester

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

The Busby Babes were flying home, returning from Belgrade,
This great United family all masters of their trade.
The pilot of the aircraft, the skipper Captain Thain,
Three times tried to take off and twice turned back again.

The third time down the runway disaster followed close,
There was slush upon that runway and the aircraft never rose.
It ploughed into the marshy ground, it broke, it overturned.
And eight of that team were killed when the blazing wreckage burned.

Roger Byrne and Tommy Taylor, who were capped for England’s side,
And Ireland’s Liam Whelan and England’s Geoff Bent died.
Mark Jones and Eddie Coleman and David Pegg also,
They all lost their lives as it ploughed on through the snow.

Big Duncan he went too, with an injury to his brain,
And Ireland’s brave Jack Blanchflower will never play again.
The great Matt Busby lay there, the father of this team,
Three long months passed by before he saw his team again.

The trainer, coach and secretary and three members of the crew,
Also eight sporting journalists who with United flew,
And one of them was Big Swifty who we will ne’er forget,
The finest English ‘keeper that ever graced a net.

England’s finest football team it’s record truly great,
It’s proud success mocked by this cruel turn of fate.
Eight men will never play again who met disaster there,
The flowers of English football, the flowers of Manchester.

On my way back from the capital earlier this week the long train journey afforded me an indulgence I don’t take too often, that being the reading of the good old fashioned printed word. Of course I keep upto date with all things football but that generally is done either online or via Sky Sports News.

There was an interesting piece in the Telegraph by Henry Winter that was invitingly titled “Premier League missed a trick with Manchester United centenary fixture “. The article is essentially referring to the 100th anniversary of United playing at Old Trafford which is due to be celebrated on the 19th February 2010.

Winter’s point is that there should be a “romantic” dispensation regarding fixtures and suggests that United hosting Liverpool on the weekend of the anniversary just as they did in the very first game. He closes with the paragraph:

“Sadly, the fixture computer does not boast a romantic button, allowing schedulers to make allowances for momentous club dates, but it should do. This is not tinkering with the present, simply honouring the past. A sport that forgets its roots forgets itself.”

It’s certainly an interesting topic. My two pence? Well, I completely disagree with the entire principle of it. The reason being is that it’s the unpredictability of such events that actually define the romance that Winter so wistfully pines for. The event such as the one illustrated in the image for this article, for example. Who could have predicted that a Manchester derby at Old Trafford would be the game straight after the 50th anniversary of the Munich disaster?

Such occasions are part of the very fabric of the football club we love. On what would have been Sir Matt Busby’s 90th birthday we won the European Cup, a competition that in entering Sir Matt was a domestic pioneer. In the 50th year after Munich the current squad vicariously fulfilled the forever unknown ambition of their predecessors. Ryan Giggs scoring the goal to clinch the title in his record equalling appearance for the club; scoring the goal that won the Champions League as he became the holder of the appearance record. Paul Scholes scoring on his 500th appearance against Liverpool. A 17 year old coming off the bench to score at the Stretford End and revive United’s flagging title hope in a campaign they could finally level Liverpool’s championship tally. A “washed up ex-Scouse free transfer” scoring an injury time winner at the Stretford End in a Manchester derby.

The beauty of all these occasions, aside from the fact they are success stories for the club? That not one of the occasions were contrived, not one of them were manipulated to add romance to the event.

It would have lent an air of romance if Liverpool were the visitors that weekend (coincidentally, we’re in the city, playing Everton), but not if it were pre-determined. While I agree with Winter’s sentiment I would say that such manipulation would not add the romance to the occasion; rather completely strip it of it.

Controversy

United fan Jake Chorley has found himself with a 3 year ban from attending football matches for invading the pitch in the Manchester derby. Chorley is 21 and reportedly has a couple of charges to his name. Craig Bellamy ran 20 yards to confront Chorley who was already restrained by 4 stewards and felt it necessary to slap the defenceless kid. Bellamy, you’ll probably already know, was let off with a “warning”.

You can draw your own conclusions but in my view there is not that much difference in principle between this and the Cantona incidents. Obviously Cantona’s outburst was more violent than Bellamy’s but the point is about the reaction rather than the action.

Still, what can you expect from an FA that has shown such staggering inconsistency with such high profile cases as the Christian Negouai/Rio Ferdinand drugs tests or the Roy Keane / Jamie Carragher (not just once, but twice) autobiographies?

Conclusion

To finish on a more positive note and to return to the earlier point. Tonight marks the 5th anniversairy (technically it was Monday, but in terms of game dates) of Rooney’s debut with a hat-trick. He’s 20/1 with William Hill to get one tonight. What do you think?

Sixty years ago today a plane carrying the Torino side back from a friendly against Benfica crashed into the hill of Superga – near Turin – killing all 31 passengers on board. Of course this has no reference to United at all, in terms of directly affecting the football club – however nine years after this tragedy – Munich happened.

Some people are unaware of the tragedy outside of Italy – which robbed Italy of one of their finest sides they had ever seen. Torino had won five Serie A titles on the trot from 1943 (45 & 46 were not contested due to the war) and was generally considered the best side in Italy – ahead of city rivals Juventus. Torino also boasted the talents of Valentino Mazzola, the father of Italian football legend Sandro Mazzola.

The similarities to our own disaster are vast – both cities were gravely effected by the loss of the team, both teams were widely considered the best in the land and would go on to achieve even more greatness and both clubs had players that would have contributed to the success of the national side in future world cups – however United were able to rebuild with the survivors of the air disaster and guidance from Jimmy Murphy through the dark days post Munich – with Busby still in hospital. Torino were never the same post 1949 as the whole side was wiped out – there were no survivors. City rivals Juventus became the most successful side in Italy and ironically won the 1950 title – something that would not have been achievable had Torino not flown that day. Torino have only won the Serie A title once since 1949 – in 1976 – and you feel that had this tragedy not occurred – the Turin club would have won a considerable amount more.

RIP all those who died in the Superga air disaster, sixty years today.

Today marks the 51st anniversary of the Munich Air Disaster and it is a time for reflection on those who died playing for our club. Captain Roger Byrne, Geoff Bent, ‘snakehips’ Eddie Colman, Tommy Taylor, David Pegg, Mark Jones, Liam ‘Billy’ Whelan and Duncan Edwards all perished due to the horrific crash on February 6th 1958. Today at around 15:03 we will all remember those people that died that day – the day after the Busby Babes played their last game together. Rest in peace lads.

For more information on the how you can remember the victims of the crash please visit – www.munich58.co.uk