Sir Matt Busby

Sir Alexander Matthew "Matt" Busby, CBE, KCSG (1909 – 1994) was a Scottish football player and manager, who managed Manchester United between 1945 and 1969 and again for the second half of the 1970–71 season. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time. His managerial records and longevity at the helm of Manchester United are surpassed only by Sir Alex Ferguson.

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When he left school Busby became a miner. In 1927, his mother applied to emigrate to the USA, and Busby intended to go with her. While her application was being processed, however, he started playing part time football for Denny Hibernians, and within a few games had been signed as a professional by Manchester City.

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Busby made 12 appearances for Manchester City in the 1929/30 season, and by the following year was a fixture in the team. During his time with Manchester City he played in, and lost, three FA Cup Finals. In March 1936, after making over 200 appearances for Manchester City, Busby signed for Liverpool for a transfer fee of £8,000. He quickly established himself in the team at Anfield, but his professional playing career

came to an end when he signed up for the King's Liverpool

Regiment at the start of the Second World War. He spent much of

the war as a football coach in the Army's Physical Training Corps,

and was able to play some football, appearing for sides as diverse as Chelsea, Brentford and Hibernian. He also played for Scotland seven times against England during the war, these unofficial caps adding to

the one "official" international in which he played, against Wales in 1933.

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In February 1945, still in uniform, Busby discussed the Manchester

United managers job with chairman James W. Gibson's. Busby requested that he be directly involved in training, pick the team on match days and even choose the players to be bought and sold without interference from the club directors, who, he believed, did not know the game as well as he did. Such a level of control over the team was unprecedented in the English game, but the United chairman was in no position to argue. Busby was originally offered a three year contract, but managed to secure himself a five year deal after explaining that it would take at least that long for his revolution to have a tangible effect.

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During this period, the team picked up the affectionate nickname "the Busby Babes", because of the youthfulness of many of the players he fielded. They won the league in both 1956 and 1957, and were runners-up to Aston Villa in the 1957 FA Cup Final. The young side was so successful that centre forward Tommy Taylor and goalkeeper Harry Gregg were United's only major signings over a spell of almost five years.

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The low point of his career came on 6 February 1958, when the aircraft carrying the Manchester United team crashed at Munich Airport. Eight players and three club officials were among the 24 who died as a result, and two other players were so badly injured they never played again. Busby himself was expected to die as a result of his injuries, but left hospital after two months.

Busby was

popular with the fans.

The statue of Matt Busby outside Old Trafford

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