Читать книгу Glory, Glory Man Utd - Harry Harris - Страница 13

“He was the Stanley Matthews, David Beckham of his day. He favoured a toothpick which he chewed during matches and he became an inspiration when he won the Cup for United and went on to win the League. He was the icon of his age, a fantastic player, first for Manchester City and later United... and when he became a star he would still write about the shift down the mines in the early hours of Sunday morning...”

GORDON TAYLOR

ERNEST MANGNALL, Sir Matt Busby and Sir Alex Ferguson, between them, have won all 20 of the clubʼs league titles. While Mangnall was the Sir Alex of the start of the Manchester United odyssey, the catalyst for Unitedʼs on field success was Welsh winger wizard Billy Meredith, renowned for his union principles. Meredithʼs long running career puts Ryan Giggsʼ into perspective as Meredith was still turning out for Manchester City in the FA Cup in his 50th year.

When United won their first title they did so finishing an astounding nine points clear of runners – up Aston Villa and Manchester City. Memorably, their season included a 4 – 0 thrashing of rivals Liverpool.

Gordon Taylor, the Mancunian born boss of the players union, paid tribute to Billy Meredith in an interview for ʼ20|13ʼ. Taylor, the PFAʼs long standing chief executive, says, “Billy Meredith was the Stanley Matthews, David Beckham of his day. He favoured a toothpick which he chewed during matches, and he became an inspiration when he won the Cup for United and went on to win the League. He was the icon of his age, a fantastic player, first for Manchester City and later United. He took the bus from North Wales where he lived and when he became a star he would still talk about the shift down the mines in the early hours of Sunday morning after making an arduous journey to play football in places as far away as Newcastle.

“He was a fiercely proud union man from Wales and he campaigned for footballers who didnʼt even have a union, who were not professionally recognised, at a time when playersʼ couldnʼt even claim for industrial injuries, under the law of the land. Meredith chaired the first meeting of the playersʼ union as it is today on 2 December 1907, at the Imperial Hotel, Manchester, with players from the north west, mainly from United and City. He would attend PFA AGMs into the 1950s and he would greet everybody at the door.

“The 1909 season didnʼt start on time because of the actions of the players who, led by Meredith, wanted to be recognised by the Football Association and wished to join the TUC. The FA wanted to ban any player who was in the union. There was a picture of these players looking to try and train privately and they came up with the idea of being typecast as The Outcasts. The name stuck and gave them much media prominence. While the 1909 season was delayed, eventually the FA caved in and recognised the playersʼ union, which was a great victory for The Outcasts.

“In our Centenary year in 2007 we invited Bill Meredithʼs grandchildren to our celebration dinner. In our offices we have one of his caps, and one of his jerseys. He had the playersʼ union printed on the shirt, which also had a playersʼ union armband. In his last days, he called my predecessor at the PFA, Cliff Lloyd, to his home, and asked him to get for him an old battered suitcase from under his bed. When Cliff opened it up, it was packed full of international caps and medals. He told Cliff, ʼRemind all your members, that those caps did not look after me in my old age!ʼ“

It was a hard struggle to land the first title. Formed in 1878, originally as Newton Heath, the club was not considered good enough to join the inaugural Football League and had to wait until 1892 to join as a Division Two team. The start of the Manchester United story didnʼt really begin until John Henry Davies, a brewery owner, took control of Newton Heath in 1902. He cleared the clubʼs massive debts and changed their name and retained an interest in the club until his death.

This led to a change of name and, after several alternatives including Manchester Central and Manchester Celtic were rejected, Manchester United was born in April/May 1902. Manchester United made the significant appointment of Ernest Mangnall, a manager from Second Division rivals, Burnley, as successor to James West, in October 1903. Mangnall was appointed secretary in September 1903 but is widely acknowledged as being the clubʼs first manager.

Mangnall, the son of a joiner, was born in Bolton in 1866. He was educated at Bolton Grammar School where he played inside right for the school football team. Later he was selected for Lancashire County. A keen supporter of Bolton Wanderers, he eventually became a director of the club. He also served as the club secretary but had little success and the Trotters were relegated in the 1898 – 99 season. Mangnall joined Burnley as their secretary/manager but they were also relegated in the 1899 – 1900 season – hardly an auspicious start in management.

More serious than these failures, Mangnallʼs integrity was brought into question when Burnleyʼs goalkeeper, Jack Hillman, was found guilty of trying to bribe Nottingham Forest players to lose the last game of the season in order to avoid relegation into the Second Division. Hillman was found guilty and banned for a year.

At the end of the 1902 – 03 season James West and Harry Stafford of Manchester United were suspended by the Football Association for making illegal payments to players. Mangnall, who had failed to get Burnley promoted to the First Division, was appointed as Unitedʼs new manager. This decision shocked the fans as he had achieved little success at his former clubs. Nor did he have a reputation for getting his teams to play good football. As the authors of ʼThe Essential History of Manchester Unitedʼ point out: “Mangnall... preached a gospel of physical fitness and team spirit while maintaining that players should be given a ball only once a week”.

John Henry Davies, the new owner of Manchester United, was a rich businessman and was willing to provide Mangnall with the funds to build a good team. Mangnall made several new signings. Probably the most significant was Charlie Roberts, who cost a record fee of £600. Other important signings included Charlie Sagar, George Wall, John Peddie, John Picken, Thomas Blackstock and Alex Bell. His side, including new signings like goalkeeper Harry Moger and forward Charlie Sagar, finished third in the Second Division in 1903/04 and again in 1904/05.

Season 1905/06 was to prove one of the greatest in the early life of Manchester United. The half – back line of Dick Duckworth, Alec Bell and captain Charlie Roberts were instrumental in the side which reached the quarter – finals of the FA Cup, but more importantly finished as runners – up in the Second Division behind Bristol City. Twelve years after being relegated, United reclaimed their place in the top-flight. The club scored 90 goals in 38 games the top scorers being John Picken (20), John Peddie (18) and Charlie Sagar (16). Manchester Unitedʼs defence was also impressive and only let in 28 goals all season. Charlie Roberts played at centre half and he was flanked by two outstanding wing halves, Dick Duckworth and Alec Bell.

Manchester City, who were playing in the First Division, also did well that season. City needed to beat Aston Villa on the final day of the season to win the championship. Villa won the game 3 – 1 and City finished third, two points behind Newcastle United. After the game Alec Leake, the captain of Aston Villa, claimed that Meredith had offered him £10 to throw the game. Meredith was found guilty of this offence by the Football Association and was fined and suspended from playing football for a year. Manchester City refused to provide financial help for Meredith and so he decided to go public about what really was going on at the club: “What was the secret of the success of the Manchester City team? In my opinion, the fact that the club put aside the rule that no player should receive more than four pounds a week... The team delivered the goods, the club paid for the goods delivered and both sides were satisfied.” This statement created a sensation as the FA had imposed a £4 a week maximum wage on all clubs in 1901.

In 1904 Manchester City had been the main force, winning the FA Cup that season, but they had aroused suspicion from the FA and an investigation found that the club had breached strict rules on the maximum wage – offering their cup winners a massive £7 in bonuses for their success. Each member of the City board was banned from the game for five years, Tom Maley was suspended from football for life and the club was fined £250. Seventeen players were fined and suspended until January 1907. As a consequence City arranged an auction for their star players, inviting rival club directors to Manchesterʼs Queens Hotel to what can only be described as a fire sale. However many turned up realising they were too late, Mangnall had already bagged Welsh winger William Henry Meredith, for a mere £500, Herbert Burgess, Jimmy Bannister and Sandy Turnbull also crossed the city on free transfers. Once their bans were lifted, they were all free to play for Manchester United.

One of Mangnallʼs most controversial signings was John Peddie from Newcastle United. As Paul Joannou points out in his book, ʼThe Black ʼnʼ White Alphabetʼ, “Peddie... was often in trouble with the clubʼs hierarchy for a number of misdemeanours; refusing to play, being absent from training and ultimately being suspended sine die in 1900 (later lifted).”

Over a four-year period Peddie scored 73 goals in 125 matches. However, a local newspaper report pointed out that the fans had mixed views on his abilities: “Peddie is the most highly praised and roundly abused man on the clubʼs books. A player of moods... his nonchalant ways and easy-going methods are less inspiring than his shooting.”

The key signing, though, was winger Billy Meredith, the superstar of this generation, a tobacco – chewing miner from Chirk, Wrexham, footballʼs first superstar, the Ryan Giggs of his age, his career lasting for a remarkable 30 years – even Ryan has some way to go to match that. ʼOld Skinnyʼ, as he was nicknamed, had a trademark toothpick in his mouth while he played to aid concentration, and was found guilty of matchfixing during his time with Manchester City prior to joining the Reds in 1906, which he strenuously denied until the day he died. In his early playing days he chewed tobacco, until the cleaners refused to wash the spit off his shirts.

Born in 1874, Meredith began his career playing part – time for local teams while working at Black Colliery. In 1894 he signed for City as a professional, where he enjoyed a successful career for more than a decade until he was embroiled in a bribery scandal. Meredith, who had joined the Reds in 1906, was the inspiration behind Unitedʼs first major honour, the Football League Division One title – the first of Unitedʼs record 20 league title wins.

United started off the 1907 – 08 season with three straight wins. They were then beaten 2 – 1 by Middlesbrough. However, this was followed by another ten wins and United quickly built up a good advantage over the rest of the First Division. United won 10 games on the bounce for the first time. This season also saw the first recorded crowd trouble at Bradford and Sheffield. In the autumn of 1907 United were top of the league with 14 victories in their first 16 matches. Losses to Middlesbrough and Sheffield Wednesday prevented them from a perfect run up to the end of November. Since that point United never relinquished top spot and their maiden League Championship had been achieved.

Although Liverpool beat United 7 – 4 on 25 March 1908, Manchester United went on to win the title by nine points. Top scorers were Sandy Turnbull (25), George Wall (19), Jimmy Turnbull (10) and Meredith (10).

Mangnall had created an impressive team that was solid in defence and exciting in attack. The former Southampton player, Harry Moger, was a reliable goalkeeper who played in 38 league games that season. Dick Holden (26) or George Stacey (18) competed for the right back position whereas Herbert Burgess (27) was the left back. It has been argued that the halfback line of Duckworth (35), Roberts (32) and Bell (35) was the heart – beat of the side. Meredith (37) and George Wall (36) were probably the best wingers playing in the Football League at the time and provided plenty of service for the inside trio of Sandy Turnbull (30), Jimmy Turnbull (26) and Jimmy Bannister (36).

The championship winning team included four players purchased from Manchester City at the Queenʼs Hotel auction in October 1906. Sandy Turnbull finished the season with 25 league goals in just 30 matches as United finished on 52 points. They had secured 23 victories, six draws and nine losses, finishing nine points ahead of second and third placed Aston Villa and Manchester City respectively.

Unitedʼs website describes Meredith as the clubʼs “first footballing legend”. In a glowing tribute to the player, it adds: “They donʼt make them like this anymore – but they didnʼt make many like this then, either.”

Meredith was a spindly Welshman, wizard of the dribble, champion of playersʼ rights and the gameʼs first household name, who ruled the left flank in Unitedʼs first title triumphs of 1908 and 1911, and the inaugural FA Charity Shield in 1908, as well as the 1909 FA Cup. Meredith was allowed to take the FA Cup to Chirk after Unitedʼs victory. United beat Bristol City 1 – 0 in the final at Crystal Palace, with the winning goal scored by Sandy Turnbull.

In a fascinating article by Brendon Williams, from the BBC Wales News website, Nigel Roberts, author of The History of Chirk FC 1876 – 2002, states that Meredith remains a legend in his hometown, where two commemorative plaques bear his name. He said: “The people of Chirk are to this day extremely proud that the one – time mining village played such an important role in the life of legendary Billy Meredith. His memory, even after a century, lives on in Chirk and even the younger generation are aware of the history of both Chirk FC and Billy Meredith. During the research for my book, the Billy Meredith era was probably the most interesting period as football moved from amateur status into professionalism and of course all the controversies that came with it.”

Meredithʼs talents, and popularity among both sets of Manchester fans, saw him living the life of a ʼʼhero to the Edwardian working class,” according to the National Football Museum. The museumʼs website says Meredith was, “celebrated and often caricatured in popular cartoons, Meredith gained popularity akin to that enjoyed by music hall stars. Like them, he revelled in entertaining the public and often chatted to spectators when play shifted away from his wing.”

Mark Wylie, curator of Manchester Unitedʼs museum, said Meredith was a man who “knew his own worth”. Meredith believed his worth to be more than the £4-a-week wage ceiling for professional footballers in the early 20th Century. According to Mr Wylie, Meredithʼs match – fixing allegations led to Manchester City being punished for paying their players too much. As a result, key players had to be sold, and Meredith was among those who signed for United.

It was the start of a campaign by Meredith to gain better terms for footballers, and he was instrumental in re – founding the playersʼ union. Such was his passion for the cause, he even went on strike during his playing days at United. Mr Wylie said: “It caused a huge furore. The Football League were saying they shouldnʼt wear Playersʼ Union badges. Eventually the League came to recognise that a union should exist. Today, that union is the Professional Footballersʼ Association. He was an inspiration to other players to join the union, when they saw one of the best players of the day was a member.”

Kenneth Allanson, a relative by marriage, agrees Meredith was a man who knew his worth, “He was a very direct man, very opinionated. He knew he was the best and heʼd say so. I remember asking him his thoughts on Stanley Matthews in his prime. He said: ʼOh, Matthews, heʼs no good – how many goals did he score? Do you know how many I scoredʼ?”

Recalling his only meeting with Meredith, Mr Allanson said: “Billy Meredith was my father-in-lawʼs uncle. I do recall my father – in – law saying he used to train with Billy Meredith as a youth, and it was his job to put a handkerchief in the box so Billy could practice his corner kicks. He would get it there every time. It would have been some time in the 1950s when I met him. I was 20 – something and I suppose Billy Meredith must have been about 80.” Mr Allanson said Meredith was a “likeable chap” adding, “I remember him saying that if people think itʼs a dirty game now, they should have seen it in his day.”

In celebration of their first League title, John Davies paid for the team to go on a tour of Hungary. After beating Ferencvaros 7 – 0 United were attacked by local fans, with the police having to get involved. Mangnall vowed that United would never return back there – and they didnʼt until September 1993 when a European tie saw them travel to face Kispest Honved.

As champions, United played in the first – ever Charity Shield in 1908. They duly won the trophy, beating Southern League champions QPR 4 – 0 thanks to a hat – trick from Sandyʼs namesake, Jimmy Turnbull.

According to the National Football Museum, Meredith fell out with management at Old Trafford by 1921, “leading to his transfer to Manchester City, whose supporters revelled in the return of their former idol. Now in his 40s, Meredith was still an automatic choice for Wales, as he had been for two decades. In total, Meredith won a record 48 caps for his country, culminating in a famous victory over England in his last match in the red of Wales”.