Duncan Edwards: the Greatest Free

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There was no way, not then, that you could divide and quantify the grief in the streets that filled with mourners when it came to the burying of the brilliant young football team that perished in Munich 50 years ago today. Some said that even the sky wept for Manchester United, but really there wasn't so much demand for tragic hyperbole. You couldn't easily exaggerate the pain or the sense of loss, because the footballers known as the Busby Babes had done more than merely accumulate astonishing success in a few brief years: they had painted a future filled with promise, the idea that anything could be Duncan Edwards: The Greatest. For the city, which had sustained so many scars in its time, and for a nation Duncan Edwards: The Greatest to emerge from the rigours and insecurities of war, they represented so many things that could not be contained by the borders of a football pitch. They were youth, and colour, and beautiful accomplishment, and swaggering self-confidence. And when they are remembered tonight in an executive suite at Old Trafford, the space-age stadium which some will always swear has grown directly from the mystical impact of the lost team, and on the terraces of Wembley, where England play a friendly match against Switzerland, the sadness of many who remember 6 February will inevitably be Duncan Edwards: The Greatest personal. It will be a reminder of that first shock of mortality, of that time Duncan Edwards: The Greatest a grey afternoon when winter used to be winter, when you knew suddenly, heartbreakingly, that you, no more than your heroes, would not be allowed to live for ever. Tonight, though, the perspective of all the years since the British European Airways charter plane slewed off the end of the slush-piled runway of Munich airport and killed eight players, four of them members of the national team, along with officials, journalists Duncan Edwards: The Greatest crew members, will carry many back to the moment that they have always felt brought the Duncan Edwards: The Greatest crushing blow of all those that came in the tragic episode they will never forget. An extraordinary — and utterly impractical — hope was snuffed Duncan Edwards: The Greatest when the news came in; news that Sir Bobby Charlton, a survivor who was rehabilitating among his own people in the North-east, still describes as the worst moment of his life. The fiercely communal dream born of Duncan Edwards: The Greatest pain was that Edwards would win his battle against terrible injuries and would, soon enough, return Duncan Edwards: The Greatest the fields he had come to dominate so profoundly that some argued — and still do — that he was potentially the greatest Duncan Edwards: The Greatest who ever lived. When Charlton's mother Cissie put her hand on his shoulder and said: "Big Duncan has gone," he said they were the words he dreaded most, because as long as the big man, still just 21 years of age, was alive, it was as though the worst had not happened, could not Duncan Edwards: The Greatest. This flew in the face of the words of the German doctors, who said it was Duncan Edwards: The Greatest he had survived the first impact when the plane swept through perimeter fencing and smashed into a house — and that he should survive 13 days was evidence of a staggering will. That belief in himself, and his destiny, was still evident beneath the oxygen tent where Charlton found him when he walked up the stairs to the emergency ward. Charlton said this week: "The other day, I came upon a picture taken of the United youth team which won the FA Youth Cup, and once more I caught Duncan Edwards: The Greatest breath. Duncan was twice as big as any other player. If he survived, so might we all in our spirit and our willingness to fight on. Of course we would always grieve for the lads who had gone, great players and men we loved, but Duncan seemed to go beyond everything. You see, he was so good; when he was around you thought anything Duncan Edwards: The Greatest possible. He was a giant, and even today his loss is the hardest thing to bear. In fact, Edwards was less than 6ft tall, but everyone agrees that his aura was immense. When he joined the England team for the first time he was Duncan Edwards: The Greatest 18, but a picture taken on the training pitch makes a mockery of such tender years. It shows three players chatting jovially as they run around the pitch. One is Billy Wright, the England captain who would win caps. One was Stanley Matthews, a forward of already legendary skills. Edwards is in the middle. Duncan Edwards: The Greatest might Duncan Edwards: The Greatest chatting with teenage friends on Duncan Edwards: The Greatest way to the cinema. The England player Tom Finney recalls: "He was so strong people could only see the power, but he had a most delicate touch. Manchester United came back and prospered after the crash, but they never had better than the boys of ' It is very sad to think what he might have done if he had been allowed. Unquestionably he would have been in the very highest rank. Such was the authority and passion of Duncan Edwards on the field that it is hard to believe that his place in the game was once threatened by an interest in folk dancing, at which he excelled so much in his secondary school in Dudley, West Midlands, that he had to choose between a national competition and a trial with the England schoolboy football team. After much persuasion, he chose football — and Manchester United were so relieved that they sent their trainer Bert Whalley who also died in Munich to sign him in the small hours of the morning. In those days, financial inducements were illegal. So the legend is that Edwards signed for United, and resisted the overtures of the powerful neighbouring club Wolverhampton Wanderers, simply because he saw the promise of the Manchester club's youth policy. It thus may have been entirely coincidental that his mother, Sarah, soon owned one of the finest washing machines in England. It may, however, have been her reward for listening to the advice of onlookers when she saw her son, then nine, playing in a pitched battle of a game against much bigger boys and some men on a patch of waste ground. She walked into the fray, with the same determination with which she confronted a burglar shortly before she died at the age of 93 five years ago, and was Duncan Edwards: The Greatest to drag her son home. But she was told that no boy had ever so dramatically announced his right to play against any opponent, however large, however old. Munich meant that we will never know how good Edwards would have proved, but the adoring Charlton, for whom Edwards scoured an army camp in Shropshire for a decent mattress when he joined his older team-mate for national service, is scarcely an isolated witness. Don Revie, the star of Manchester City who would emerge as one of England's most successful managers with Leeds United, was stunned when Edwards joined him in the England team. Said Duncan Edwards: The Greatest "You don't hear many professionals talk lightly of greatness because it is so rare, but that is what I saw in Duncan Duncan Edwards: The Greatest the first time I set eyes on him. He reached the same fabulous standard at left-half, centre-half, inside-left and centre-forward. He is the kind of player managers dream about. Certainly Jimmy Murphy, the man who stood in for the badly injured Matt Busby, shared Revie's belief the moment he saw the boy easily produce his power and his control. When the tough Murphy, a wartime army instructor, was found sobbing in a back corridor of the Munich hospital, there were many reasons for his pain, but no one doubted that it was the loss of Big Duncan that had left him most stricken. When the year-old Charlton had arrived in Manchester, Murphy met him at the railway station and drove him to his digs. All the time the old football man talked of Edwards, the diamond he was polishing as though it was Duncan Edwards: The Greatest great vocation, the great gift, of Duncan Edwards: The Greatest life. Charlton recalls: "I was tempted to say, wait a minute, no one's that good. I'm glad I didn't, because Duncan was everything Jimmy Murphy said Duncan Edwards: The Greatest was. I was convinced we were going to win the trophy against Real Madrid at the second time of asking, and I believed that, with him, England would march Duncan Edwards: The Greatest to win the World Cup later that Duncan Edwards: The Greatest in Sweden. Pele stole everyone's Duncan Edwards: The Greatest in that tournament, but if Edwards had been there I swear he would have had a challenger. He had strength and character that just spilled out of him on the field. I'm absolutely sure that if his career had had a decent span he would have proved himself the greatest player we had ever seen. Yes, I know the great players — Pele, Maradona, Best, Law, Greaves and my great favourite Alfredo di Stefano — but my point was that he was better in every phase of the game. If you asked such players as Stanley Matthews and Tom Finney about Duncan Edwards: The Greatest their answers were always the same: they had seen nothing like him. If the goalkeeper kicked the ball downfield, he would be heading it, if there was a corner kick he would be knocking the ball in, Duncan Edwards: The Greatest if someone was running through he would be the one to dispossess him. So many times he made the rest of us feel like pygmies. John Giles, a young Dubliner who would later win an FA Cup with United before proving himself one of the great midfield players with Leeds United, didn't see a superstar when he encountered Edwards on his first day at Old Trafford. Rather, he saw a big and rather guileless lad. The Irishman, and another player, the late John Docherty, a brilliant Busby Babe until he was stopped by chronic knee problems, were not as sure as Charlton about the prodigy's supreme ability to play anywhere on the field. Giles believes that John Charles of Leeds, Juventus and Wales, might have had a shade more delicacy of touch at the front of the attack, and Docherty's theory was that Edwards's natural habitat was the centre of defence, where he "would probably have matured into the very best we have ever seen". Before an important youth match against Chelsea, at that time when Edwards dominated all around him, Murphy was worried that teamwork might be suffering in the shadow of one player's talent. So he said: "I want you to develop your own games; when you get the ball, don't automatically give it to Duncan. Look for a few options. At half- time, United were trailing and Murphy was contemplating a rare and unthinkable defeat. His team talk was brief: "Remember, boys, I said not to give Duncan the ball at every opportunity. Well, forget it. Give him the fucking ball whenever you can. There may be more lyrical testaments to the truncated glory of the Busby Babes. There may be wider appreciations of the team that had won two league titles on the run and were threatening the power of Real Madrid, at no more cost than a few washing machines and the odd 12in black and white television set. No, United were Duncan Edwards: The Greatest a one-man team. They had Roger Byrne, a superbly original full-back, who also captained England. They had Eddie Duncan Edwards: The Greatest Colman, who had a wonderful swivel and the swagger of his hero Frank Sinatra. They had Liam "Billy" Whelan, a Dubliner who so impressed the Brazilians in a youth tournament that they wanted to adopt him and take him home to the Maracana stadium. They had Mark Jones, a centre-half from Yorkshire, who always made a point of encouraging the emerging young star Charlton. But then, when tribute is paid to Manchester United tonight, when the intervening Duncan Edwards: The Greatest shrivel and so many are young again in the memory of that beautiful, doomed team, inevitably there will be one regret above all others. It was that we never got to see if it was really true that Duncan Edwards was the greatest player who, despite his epic fight, never got to live. Not in the fullness of his talent. Not in the haunting reach of all his possibilities. The best league in the world is back. Join The Independent for an online event, as our panel discusses the most uncertain start to a season in Premier League history. Click here to find out more and book your free ticket today. You can find our Community Guidelines in full here. Want to discuss real-world problems, be involved in the most engaging discussions and hear from the journalists? Start your Independent Premium subscription today. Independent Premium Comments can be posted by members of our membership scheme, Independent Premium. It allows our most engaged Duncan Edwards: The Greatest to debate the big issues, share their own experiences, discuss real-world solutions, and more. Our journalists will try to respond by joining the threads when they can to create a true meeting of independent Premium. The most insightful comments on all subjects will be published daily in dedicated articles. You can also choose to be emailed when someone replies to your comment. The existing Open Comments threads will continue to exist for those who do not subscribe to Independent Premium. Due to the sheer scale of this comment community, we are not able to give each post the same level of attention, but we have preserved this area in the interests of open debate. Please Duncan Edwards: The Greatest to respect all commenters and create constructive debates. 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One of the greatest players of all time, Duncan Edwards's story is one of tragic heroism, brilliantly and movingly told in Duncan Edwards: The Greatest superb biography. From a working-class Dudley upbringing, Edwards rose to great heights at Manchester United. In only five years, he helped United to win two league championships and to reach the semi-finals of the European Cup. Among the Duncan Edwards: The Greatest Babes - United's young, homegrown team - he was the player they all looked to, someone who could and did play in any position and still be the best on the pitch. Edwards made his England debut in a game against Scotland at the age of 18 years and days, becoming his country's youngest international since the Second World War - a record which stood until Michael Owen 's debut over forty years later. He went on to play 18 games for his country, including all four of the qualifying matched for the World Duncan Edwards: The Greatestin which he was expected to be a key player. Sir Bobby Charlton described him as 'the only player that made me feel inferior' and Terry Venables claimed that, had he lived, it would have been Edwards, not Bobby Moorewho would have lifted the World Cup as captain in Sadly, it was not to be, after he lost his life following the Munich Air Disaster of 6 February Page-turning and poignant, author James Leighton tells a story of a magnificent sportsman and great man - the perfect antidote to the headline-grabbing footballers of today. James Leighton lives in Cardiff. Following a legal career, he became a full-time writer. Having played football at a semi-professional level, followed by a spell coaching in America, he continues to watch sport at all levels. He is the author of several books on football, including Duncan Edwards: The Greatest. Get our latest book recommendations, author news, competitions, offers, and other information right to your inbox. I understand I can change my preference Duncan Edwards: The Greatest my account settings or unsubscribe directly from any marketing communications at any time. We will send you an email with instructions on how to redeem your free eBook, and associated terms. Tell us what you like and we'll recommend books you'll love. Sign up and get a Duncan Edwards: The Greatest eBook! Join our mailing list! By James Leighton. Duncan Edwards: The Greatest eBook. About The Book. About The Author. James Leighton. Product Details. Resources and Downloads. Get a FREE e-book by joining our mailing list today! More books from this author: James Leighton. More books in this series: MUFC. Thank you for signing up, fellow book lover! New Releases Books and The City. Teen Romance. True Crime Children's Books. See More Categories. Your First Name. Postal Code. Thank you! Duncan Edwards: The Greatest by James Leighton | Waterstones

Less than four months before his life was tragically cut short, Duncan Edwards played one of his last internationals for England against Wales at Ninian Park in Cardiff. Before the game, Murphy stood in the centre of the Welsh dressing room, going through the strengths and weaknesses of each member of the England side in great detail. Edwards inspired this kind of rare awe in all those who saw him play in the five years Duncan Edwards: The Greatest his debut and his premature death. The greatest Busby Babe of all, he has become an almost Duncan Edwards: The Greatest figure, forever young. His legend is kept alive by only a few black and white newsreels and the memories of those who shared a pitch with him. I once asked Sir Bobby Charlton Duncan Edwards: The Greatest describe how good he was, and sitting in a box overlooking Old Trafford, he turned and looked at the pitch Edwards had once bestrode. He had such presence, he dominated every game all over the pitch. Had he lived, he would have been the best player in the world. He was sensational, and it is difficult to convey that. He had become both the youngest player to appear in the first division at just 16 years and days and the youngest England international of the 20th century, aged 18 years and days, a record which stood for nearly 43 years before Michael Owen claimed it. Those pants hitched up, the wild leaps of boyish enthusiasm as he came running out of the tunnel, the tremendous power of his tackle, always fair but fearsome, the immense power on the ball. The number of times he was robbed of the ball once he had it at Duncan Edwards: The Greatest feet could be counted on one hand. The greatest…there was only one and that was Duncan Edwards. Edwards was revered for his all-round game and versatility, and how he could excel at almost every position on the pitch, whether it was centre-half, centre-forward, inside forward or half-back. However, he would make the majority of his appearances as a left-half, a hybrid between a defender and a midfielder, which was his favourite position as he was constantly involved and could use both his defensive and attacking abilities. He was brave, great in the tackle, could pass it long or short and score goals. Edwards measured 5'11", so was by no means the tallest member of this United side, but his broad torso and thick legs gave him the biggest presence. Former teammates and opponents all speak in hushed tones about his power, and how players would merely bounce off him. Edwards could muster a shot of extraordinary power. Charlton distinctly remembers a goalkeeper once ducking a shot from Edwards and conceding a goal rather than trying to save it. England could have had Duncan Edwards: The Greatest hat-trick of World Cup wins. He captained England schoolboys, England Unders, and had he lived would surely have succeeded Billy Wright as captain of the senior side. It is difficult to play the "What if? As league champions in and with Edwards in the side, United became the first Duncan Edwards: The Greatest side to play in the fledgling European Cup, and in it Edwards thrived against the finest players on the continent, helping United reach the semifinals in their first season before they lost to the eventual winners Real Madrid. In February United qualified for the semifinals of the European Cup for a second consecutive season with a draw against Red Star Belgrade. Once inside, Edwards assumed they would stay overnight Duncan Edwards: The Greatest sent a telegram to Duncan Edwards: The Greatest landlady Mrs. Dorman in Stretford: "All flights cancelled. Flying tomorrow. Edwards sustained terrible Duncan Edwards: The Greatest, including damaged kidneys, broken ribs, a collapsed lung, a broken pelvis and several fractures of his right thigh, and for 15 days he bravely clung to life. During those dark Duncan Edwards: The Greatest, Charlton recalls visiting Edwards in his bed, and seeing how much pain he was in. But on February 21 at a. Edwards finally succumbed to his injuries. He was dead at only This boy we have never seen before, he is so young, so Duncan Edwards: The Greatest brave. Ach, but he had no chance. Maybe the passage Duncan Edwards: The Greatest time has dulled the impact of this loss to English football, but imagine if Wayne Rooney or David Beckham had died at the same age. It is too dreadful to contemplate. If Edwards had survived, it was believed his injuries were so serious he would almost certainly never have played football again. The sports writer Frank Taylor, who survived the crash at Munich, and recovered in the same hospital as Edwards, wrote about his harrowing experience in his book The Day A Team Died. The doctors said, had he lived, he might have had to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair. Now I can remember him as he was, the greatest thing that has happened in British football Duncan Edwards: The Greatest years. Sanchez suffers adductor injury in Inter's Champions League draw with Gladbach. Papers: Man Utd warn Greenwood over discipline.