From barefoot poverty
The
Aberdonian lad
Played
his way to become
“King
of the Stretford End”
Nicknamed
the “Lawman”
By
the United faithful
And
“Denis the Menace”
By
opposing supporters
He
won the Ballon d'Or 64
Along with Best
and Charlton
An Old Trafford
Legend
Born in Ashington, Northumberland
Bobby
Charlton played up front
For
Manchester United and England
One of the greatest players of all time,
Winning
the Ballon d'Or in 1966
And
finishing runner up in 67 and 68
Renowned for his attacking instincts,
Passing abilities from midfield,
And ferocious long-range shooting
From both left and right foot,
Along
with his fitness, and stamina
A
true gentleman of the game
Cautioned only twice in his career
Once against Argentina in 1966
And
against Chelsea in Division one
His first-team debut was in 1956
The
following year United became
The
First Division Champions
February
the following year
He
survived the Munich air disaster
After being rescued by Harry Gregg
He
played 606 games, scoring 199 goals
And
for England 106 games 49 goals
During
his 17 years with United
He
won three division 1 titles
A
European Cup in 1968, FA Cup in 1963
And
two Charity Shields, and a World Cup
He
left Manchester United in 1973
Charlton
was one of the United Trinity
Along
with George Best and Denis Law
Sir
Bobby is an Old Trafford Legend
Manchester born Shay Brennan
Played
355 games for United
And
was the first player to score
For
Manchester United
Post
the Munich air disaster
Scoring
a brace on his debut,
Not
a bad start for 20 year old
During
his 14 years with them
A European Cup in
1968
And two Charity
shields
Dublin born Tony Dunne
Was
a long time left back
Who
played 414 games
For
Manchester United
And
33 times for Ireland
During
his 13 years with United
He
won two division 1 titles
A
European Cup in 1968
And
the FA Cup in 1963
Seamus Anthony “Shay” Brennan (6 May 1937 – 9 June 2000)
Shay’s
first game for the Reds
Was Manchester
United's first,
After the Munich air disaster
It
was in an FA Cup match
On
the 19th of February 1958
Against Sheffield Wednesday
On an emotionally charged night
Shay
Brennan scored two goals
While
playing as an outside-left
Which
was not his natural position
But
in an odds and sods team sheet
Following the death of David Pegg
And Albert Scanlon crash injuries
He
abandoned his fullback position
And
secured a famous victory
On
the most bittersweet night
In
Old Trafford’s long history
Charles Mitten (17 January 1921 – 2 January 2002)
Rangoon
born Charles Mitten
Was
an English outside forward
Who
played 142 games for United
And
scored 50 goals in 4 years
After
leaving United he joined
Independiente
Santa Fe in Colombia
For
a large signing on fee, earning him
The
nickname of the “Bogota Bandit”
Manchester born Albert Scanlon
Played
115 games for United
Scoring
34 goals as an outside left
He was one of the “Busby Babes”
Who sustained severe injuries
Following the Munich air disaster
It was a long road to recovery
And didn’t play until the next season
But
the injuries took their toll
George Reginald Cohen MBE (22 October 1939 – 23 December 2022)
George Cohen was a one-club
player
Playing 459 games
at right back for Fulham
He will also be
forever immortalized
For winning the
World Cup with England in 1966
In which he played
in every minute
Of his country's six
games,
For which he was
inducted into
The English
Football Hall of Fame
England Manager, Sir
Alf Ramsey
Unequivocally called
Cohen
“England's
greatest right-back”,
While Manchester
United winger
George Best, claimed
he was
“The best
full-back I ever played against”.
His life was not
all glory however
He had more than
his fair share of illness and injury
And personal
tragedy in his life
But he was a true English
sporting hero
(31 December 1933 - 2 July 2024)
On hearing about
his passing
A statement from
United read:
“There were few
more perceptive
And precise
passers of a football
In England than Jeff
Whitefoot
During the
mid-1950s”
In April 1950,
Aged 16 years and
105 days,
Jeff Whitefoot debuted
as one
Of the original
Busby Babes,
A team that, in
the 1950s,
Took the First
Division by storm
Known for its youth
And exciting football
Under legendary
manager
Sir Matt Busby.
Jeff Whitefoot won
two
First Division
titles
As one of the Babes
In 1952 and 1956
He transferred to Grimsby
At the end of
1957.
Three months
before the
Munich air
disaster,
Which claimed the
lives
Of eight of his former
teammates.
HARRY GREGG OBE - (27th October 1932 – 16th February 2020)
Go now Harry
Lay down your keepers’
gloves
You’ve earned your
rest
Our tower of strength
Straight backed
Rugged and dependable
Hero of Munich
Take your place
Among your equals
And be at peace
Your strong facade
Oft betrayed
By sadness in your
eyes
The sadness of
survival
So, go now Harry
And join the Babes
The band of brothers
You’ve missed so much
And take your place
Among immortals
In the wake of tragedy
Harry Gregg arose
From the snow
And twisted wreckage
With no thought of
himself
Pulled survivors
From the burning plane
Assisted latterly
By Bill Foulkes,
Another heroic figure.
Though Harry thought
His actions
unremarkable
On that cold February
day
George best, said of
him
“Bravery is one thing,
But what Harry did
Was about more than
bravery,
It was about goodness”
Now the Hero of Munich
Has left us to mourn
his passing
As he has gone to join
the Babes
But he lives on in the
legend
It’s a Merry Christmas
If you didn’t know
Santa has delivered
An early Ho Ho Ho
We can again put on
An attacking show
Now Jose’s been given
The old heave ho
Santa’s Helpers have a cricket team
And they play when
they can
They have no problem
getting numbers
And the substitute is
twelf man
Boxing Day is very popular
For Sport of all kinds in the UK
But in our corner of the land
Trial Pursuit is order of the day
The first time I took my girlfriend home
So that my mum could
meet her
She wore a big green
shirt and huge gloves
And my mum said she
was a keeper
There may have been some doubt
As to his allegiance to the club
Denoted by replica shirt and shorts
But no such doubt existed in regard
To the authenticity of
his jock strap
As we all know what
they supports.
Are you wearing a tired expression?
There is also a hint
of depression
I recognize that look
on a man
You’re a Manchester
United fan
Anyone who actually believes
That cheats never
prosper
Have never seen
defenders
Preparing to defend a
corner
Brentford versus Watford,
Is basically me
against my cousin
The Bee’s against the
Hornet’s
I’m telling you we’re
buzzin
An affair between a Sportscaster
And my wife was my
suspicion
And when I found them,
they were
In the commentary position
