The Deadly Duo - Dwight Yorke (left) and Andy Cole (right) lift the Champions League trophy (middle!)

Former Reds Legend, Dwight Yorke, today announced that he was calling it a day on his playing career at the age of 37.

Yorke was, of course, a key figure in Manchester United’s treble-winning team of 98/99.

I remember watching Yorke play for Aston Villa prior to us signing him and always felt he would be a great addition to our team. He wasn’t a particularly prolific goalscorer in his early Aston Villa career but in the years just before we bought him, his goals-to-games ratio was around one in two and this is surely what made Fergie decide to bring him. The lad was at his peak.

What Fergie could not have envisaged was the way he and Andy Cole hit it off to become arguably the deadliest strike-force the Premier League has ever seen. In fact, I am certain Fergie didn’t envisage it because he hardly played them together when Yorke first arrived!

But when they were finally united, it was almost guaranteed that one of them would score and some of their interchanges had people believing that there was almost some kind of telepathy going on between them!

Ruud Van Nistelrooy’s arrival in 2001 pretty much spelled the end for both Yorke and Cole as he was such an instant hit and neither Yorke nor Cole (hitting 30 at that stage) were getting any younger whilst RVN was coming into his prime.

However, Yorke left United having won three successive Premier League winners medals, a Champions League winners medal, one FA Cup winners medal and an Intercontinental Cup winners medal and it was by far the most successful period of his long career.

To this day, Dwight still speaks fondly of United and Sir Alex Ferguson:

“I’ve been blessed really. I’ve played alongside some of the greatest players the Premier League has ever seen in Roy Keane, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, David Beckham, Peter Schmeichel, and played for the greatest manager in Sir Alex Ferguson. I’ll always count myself lucky. I was a boy on a beach from a little Caribbean island that got the chance to fulfil his dream of winning trophies at the highest level and captaining his country in their first ever World Cup finals.”

I have many great memories of Yorkey but I cannot remember the guy never having a smile on his face.

He says that he would like to become a manager of an English Club and if he’s half as good at that as he was a striker, he’ll be a good ‘un.

All the best Dwight. Thanks for the memories, the goals, the trophies and for cheering me up every time I watched you play!

Sir Matt Busby - Forever Remembered

It’s no coincidence that this series of Manchester United Legends is going to be started off with Sir Matt Busby.

His name has become synonymous with Manchester United – Mr Manchester United, Sir Matt Busby Way, The Busby Babes, the attacking flair, the emphasis on youth, the bravery and the never-beaten attitude that pervades Old Trafford to this day.

Sir Matt Busby was a bit of a Busby Babe himself and started his professional playing career aged 17 for no other than… Manchester City (!) in 1928.

Manchester United did try to buy him from City in 1930 but were unable to afford the £130 transfer fee!

Sir Matt was eventually sold to …. Liverpool (!) in 1936 for a massive £8,000. Over the next few years, he became a very well-established player for Liverpool before the Second World War (1939) effectively cut short his playing career.

Sir Matt Busby - Taking Charge

However, it was AFTER the War that Sir Matt really made his name. The war officially ended on September 2nd 1945 and Sir Matt officially took charge of Manchester United as Manager on 1st October 1945.

Old Trafford had actually been bombed during the war and so Manchester United played their home games at the time at Maine Road – the ground of local rivals Manchester City – until 1949 when Old Trafford was re-opened.

After finishing runners-up on four occasions, Sir Matt eventually won the league title in 1952 but at this point, it was clear that the team was starting to get a bit long in the tooth and so the introduction of youngsters – some as young as 16 or 17 – started.

Some of the names you might recognise – Bill Foulkes, Mark Jones, Jackie Blanchflower, Albert Scanlon, David Pegg, Liam Whelan and Duncan Edwards.

This young team won the league in 1956 and 1957 and were so good that United only made two major signings (Harry Gregg and Tommy Taylor) in a four year period.

The team was hotly tipped to clean up during the 1957/58 season with the League, the FA Cup and the European Cup treble but on 6th February 1958 disaster struck and the plane in which Sir Matt and his players were travelling crashed on the runway at Munich Airport.

John Berry, Sir Matt Busby, Duncan Edwards

Seven of the young players were killed at the scene, Duncan Edwards died two weeks later from his injuries and two other players were so badly injured, they would never play again.

Sir Matt himself was so close to death’s door that he was twice given the last rites.

I don’t know if there’s a guy upstairs in charge of all this stuff but if there is, he hadn’t reckoned on the strength that this man from Bellshill, Scotland possessed because he pulled through against all the odds and was back watching a new look side within three months.

Just as he had had to do following the War, Sir Matt found himself with an immense task on his hands – that of rebuilding a club on its knees.

It was to take him a full five years but in 1963, Manchester United won the FA Cup and were League champions in 1965 and 1967.

These were the days of Law, Charlton and Best – the Holy Trinity!

Paddy Crerand, Sir Matt Busby, George Best and The European Cup

In 1968 – just over ten years since that tragic day in Munich, Sir Matt led Manchester United to the European Cup.

At almost 60 years of age, this seemed to put a lid on things for Sir Matt, he had achieved everything a manager could achieve and had lived through things a manager should not have to but had come out the other side as one of the most respected and revered men in football.

He retired in 1969 (although did return as manager on a temporary basis in 1970) and such was his status at Manchester United, he was made a Director of the club. In 1982, he was given the title of President.

Four years later, a certain Alex Ferguson was appointed as manager.

A Worthy Successor Had Finally Been Found - One Legend Bows Out - A New One Begins...

In 1993, Manchester United eventually won the League title again – the first time since Sir Matt had won it in 1967. Sir Matt was there to witness the occasion.

Less than twelve months later, Sir Matt Busby passed away, aged 84.

Looking back through his life, however, I get the impression that if Sir Alex had taken a few more years, Sir Matt would still have stuck around to see it.

Sir Matt Busby Playing Honours:-

Manchester City

• FA Cup Winner 1933-34

Sir Matt Busby Managerial Honours:-

Manchester United

• First Division (5): 1951–52, 1955–56, 1956–57, 1964–65, 1966–67
• FA Charity Shield (5): 1952, 1956, 1957, 1965, 1967
• FA Cup (2): 1947–48, 1962–63
• European Cup (1): 1967–68