The Busby Babes - Forever Remembered

On 6th of February 1958 at 3.04pm, 23 people - including eight players and three members of the Manchester United’s staff - suffered fatal injuries in the Munich air crash.

Flying back from a European Cup tie against Red Star Belgrade, the team plane stopped in Germany to refuel. The first two attempts to take off from Munich airport were aborted; following a third attempt, the plane crashed.

Twenty-two of the people on board died instantly, while Duncan Edwards - one of the eight victims from the team - died 15 days later as a result of the injuries he sustained.

The tragedy is an indelible part of Manchester United’s history, as is Sir Matt Busby overcoming his injuries to build another great team which won the European Cup 10 years later.

Roger Byrne (28), Eddie Colman (21), Mark Jones (24), David Pegg (22), Tommy Taylor (26), Geoff Bent (25), Liam Whelan (22) and Duncan Edwards (21) all died, along with club secretary Walter Crickmer, trainer Tom Curry and coach Bert Whalley.

Eight journalists died - Alf Clarke, Tom Jackson, Don Davies, George Fellows, Archie Ledbrook, Eric Thompson, Henry Rose, and Frank Swift who was a former Manchester City player. Plane captain Ken Rayment perished, as did Sir Matt’s friend Willie Sanitof. Travel agent Bela Miklos and passenger Tom Cable also died.

Manchester United fans will never forget.

Who Put The Ball In The German’s Net? Ole Gunnar Solskjaer!

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer “The Baby Faced Assassin” announced his retirement from football today. He joined Manchester United in 1996 for £1.5 million (that’s not a typo - it was only one and a half million pounds!) and went on to score 126 goals in 366 appearances for the club.

ManUBlog would like to pay our own tribute to a true Man United Legend. Ole’s finest hour came in the 1999 Champions League Final, I think you can guess what happens next…..

I know Alan Green is a Liverpool supporter but his commentary describing Ole’s winning goal still puts a huge grin on my face!

Solskjaer scored important goals in big games throughout his career, often coming off the bench late in games, he earned the reputation as a super-sub. He scored an unheralded late winner against Liverpool in the FA Cup in United’s treble winning season of 1999. Another highlight was when he scored 4 goals in the last 20 minutes as a second half substitute in a 8-1 win over Nottingham Forest.

Ole has never put a foot wrong in his time at Old Trafford, showing unstinting loyalty to the team and his manager. There have been many occasions in his career where he could have felt a bit hard done to, being left on the bench when he deserved a starting place on merit. He’s a modest and unassuming man, not once did he moan or gripe to the press, he just let his feet do the talking by continuing to bang in the goals.

It’s a shame Ole has suffered so much with injury, he had shown tremendous strength of character to get himself fit and playing again last season and I hoped we would get to see him for one more season. In the eyes of United fans, Solskjaer is a true legend and his name will be sung loud at Old Trafford forever. It has been reported that Ole will stay at the club, possibly as reserve team coach and there’s sure to be a sell out testimonial in the near future.

Ole, thanks for the great memories, all of us at ManUBlog wish you every success in the future.

Will Ryan Giggs Break Appearance Record?

Ryan Giggs looks like he will get the chance to break the Manchester United all time appearance record currently held by Sir Bobby Charlton. Giggs is currently 43 behind Sir Bobby’s total of 759 games, but at 33 years of age he isn’t getting any younger and he has only 12 months left on his current contract. It is unlikely that he would be able to notch up the appearances required next season because he is sure to be rested more than in previous seasons to give the new summer signings more games.

Although United have said that there are no plans to open up any new contract negotiations with Giggs or team mate Paul Scholes, Sir Alex Ferguson has dropped some strong hints that both will be staying at the club for a long time to come, saying:

“The situation with them both is straightforward, they are both fantastic professionals who have looked after themselves properly. I don’t have any doubts about them. They are both going to be playing at a very high level well into their mid-30s, certainly next year and the year after.”

So how long can Ryan Giggs carry on? He has been a terrific player for Manchester United, a true legend and it will be great to see him beat Sir Bobby Charlton’s appearance record. He deserves a new contract to give him the opportunity to carry on playing as long as possible. What do you think?

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Ole’s Final Season?

Could this be the final season with Manchester United for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer? The legendary baby-faced assassin has had to endure more knee surgery during the summer break following some discomfort he felt during training. He expects to be fit for the start of the new season but does accept that this may turn out to be his last campaign.

Having played an important role in securing the Premiership title last term, his season was still blighted by injury. Ole admits that he may not be able to play twice a week but when he regains full fitness he hopes to build on what he achieved last year, saying:

“The knee will never be 100 per cent again, but as long as it doesn’t hurt I’ll continue to play. I don’t know how long I can continue. It might be over after this season or I might be able to play another season.”

Solskjaer is a fan’s favourite and a true United legend, cementing his place in United fokelore by scoring the last-minute winner in the European Cup final in 1999 during the Red Devils triumphant treble winning season. He has proved to be one of Sir Alex Fergusons greatest ever signings, a fantastic squad player and has shown the strength of character to overcome 2 career-threatening knee injuries which kept him out of football for two years.

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