The Man Who Saved Manchester United Residents of Poynton who have lived in the village for over 30 years may remember an affable, portly figure who used to be seen out shopping along Park Lane with his wife – a man who was unarguably one of the most important figures in the history of Manchester United. I am of course referring to the late great Jimmy Murphy. Murphy is the man who is credited more than anyone else for keeping the red flag flying high over Old Trafford following the Munich air disaster in 1958. A twist of fate meant that Murphy wasn’t aboard the Airspeed Ambassador aircraft that tragically lost control on the snow-covered runway on that biting cold February afternoon 61 years ago. As well as being Matt Busby’s assistant, Murphy was also the head coach of the Welsh national team at the time, and this role meant that he missed United’s trip to Belgrade for their European Cup quarter-final against the famous Red Star outfit, as he was overseeing an important World Cup qualifying play-off against Israel in Cardiff, played on the same evening as United’s 3-3 draw in Yugoslavia (a result that saw the Reds qualify for that season’s Champions Cup semi-finals). After the horrendous crash at Munich’s Riem airport, in which United ultimately lost eight of their celebrated Busby Babes, there was some speculation that the club may have to fold, so decimated were the club’s coaching and playing resources (along with the eight
players who lost their lives, two other first-teamers never played again). But Murphy stepped in and took over temporarily while Busby recovered from his injuries and, having assembled a substitute team, managed to steer United to the 1958 FA Cup Final, where they lost out heartbreakingly to Bolton Wanderers. Barely a month later, Murphy headed off to Sweden to manage Wales at the 1958 FIFA World Cup finals. The Welsh dragons, with proud Welshman Murphy at the helm and with fire in his belly, managed to reach the quarter-finals where they lost out to eventual winners Brazil, whose goal was scored by a scrawny 17-year-old called Pelé (I wonder whatever happened to him?) Despite being approached to manage Arsenal, Juventus of Turin and even Brazil, Murphy remained as assistant manager at United until 1971. Murphy, a humble man devoted to his family (Murphy and his wife had six children), chose not to go into club management. From 1973 Murphy did scouting work for United, most notably during the managerial role of Tommy Docherty, whom he urged to sign two young wingers, Steve Coppell and Gordon Hill, from Tranmere Rovers and Millwall respectively. Both players went on to play for England. Even in retirement, Murphy was to play a role in Manchester United’s re-emergence as one of the most successful football clubs in the country. Continued over
by Stuart Bolton
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