I don't think there are many footballers deserving of their own thread, but having watched "United" and a documentary about him over the past few days, I reckon Sir Bobby is an exception.

Undoubtedly one of the greatest players ever to grace a football pitch.

Show your respect here!:cool:

 

 

Sir Bobby Charlton Discuss this!

 

Full name Sir Bobby Charlton CBE

Date of birth 11/10/1937

Place of birth Ashington, England

 

• Biography
  
• Retirement
  
• Statistics
  
• Clubs
  
• They said
  
• He said
  
• Individual Awards and Honours
  
• Watch online
  

Introduction

 

Bobby Charlton was perhaps the most famous Englishman of his age. He survived the Munich Air Disaster of 1958 to become the most recognizable face of legendary Manchester United and England squads, including the England team that won the World Cup in 1966. Now knighted, Sir Bobby Charlton remains known today as a technically superb player and a true gentleman.

Biography

 

Robert Charlton was born in Ashington, Northumberland in 1937. His four uncles Stan, Jack, George and Jimmy, his mother’s cousin, Jackie Milburn, and his brother Jack were all professional football players, so it was little surprise that Bobby became a footballer himself. He was scouted and played for England schoolboys and Manchester United’s youth team at the age of 15, and played his first match for the senior team in 1956, after spells training as an engineer and doing National Service in nearby Shrewsbury.

Charlton joined a rolling squad known as the Busby Babes, on account of their being an unusually youthful and prodigiously talented squad under legendary manager Matt Busby. However, in 1958, after two seasons securing his position in the team, Charlton’s life was to be dramatically affected by the events succeeding a European Cup match against Red Star Belgrade. On February 6, the team was due to fly back from Munich in order to reach England in time to fulfill their league games. The weather was horrendous and the plane had difficulty taking off, but after a number of checks were carried out, the team got back on board. The plane had barely taken off when the wing and tail caught fire after hitting some obstacles on the ascent, and it crash-landed. 23 of the 44 footballers, journalists and crew members on board were killed, including Tommy Taylor and David Pegg, with whom Charlton and his team mate Dennis Viollet had swapped seats.

Charlton suffered cuts to his head and severe shock. He was the first to leave hospital and became, at the age of 20, something of a veteran of United’s decimated team. Unsurprisingly, United failed to do very well that season, but Busby built up another team with new players including George Best, with Charlton a stalwart. The psychological repercussions were harder to gauge and repair, and the crash remains one of the defining events of Charlton’s life according to the man himself.

However, his career continued to flourish and Bobby would eventually join his brother Jack in England's squad for the 1966 World Cup, reaching and competing in the final against West Germany. Although neither Charlton scored, England won 4-2 in the tense, uneven match, and Bobby had taken part in English football’s greatest triumph to date.

The culmination of his club career came in 1968, when Charlton and United went on to win the European Cup that had destroyed the Busby Babes. In 1969 he was awarded the OBE and in 1970, after earning his 100th cap for England, he was selected for the World Cup squad, where he played his last game for the national side. Sadly, Charlton’s later years at club level were marred by long-running feuds with his United teammates. Finally, he retired in 1973.

Charlton met his wife Norma at a dry cleaners in Manchester and they married in 1961. They have two daughters, Suzanne and Andrea. He has avoided the controversial love life that dogged many footballers of his generation, but tabloids speculated instead on cracks in his relationship with his brother Jack. Bobby has admitted that their relationship is strained, citing the conflict between his loyalties to his wife and his mother as key.

Retirement

 

Like many footballers, Charlton has become something of a polymath in his retirement. Initially taking semi-retirement as a player-manager at Preston, he went on to manage Wigan Athletic. However, today’s football fans recognize him largely as a sometime BBC pundit and as a member of Manchester United’s board of directors. He has also made money from advertising, from international footballing schools and DVDs and other enterprises.

Bobby Charlton was awarded the CBE in 1973 and was knighted in 1994. He continues to be an active member of the footballing community on a number of boards, helping promote sport at home and abroad, and as a commentator figure in the media.

Statistics

 

 

• England Caps:106
  
• Goals Scored for England: 49
  

 

• Appearances for Manchester United: 754 (239 goals)
  
• Appearances for Preston North End: 38 (12 goals)
  

Clubs

 

 

• Manchester United (Youth) - 1953 - 1954
  
• Manchester United - 1954 - 1973
  
• Preston North End - 1973 - 1974
  
• Waterford United - 1975
  

 

• England - 1958 - 1970
  

As a manager

 

• Preston North End - 1973-74 (player manager)
  
• Wigan Athletic - 1976
  

They said

 

‘His story is the best in English football’ - John Giles, former team-mate

‘The greatest thing for a manager is to trust the talent. Bobby Charlton never betrayed that trust. It was a privilege to have him play for you.’ - Sir Matt Busby, former manager

‘Bobby Charlton’s career was miraculous’ - Sir Alex Ferguson

He said

 

‘Some people tell me that we professional players are soccer slaves. Well, if this is slavery, give me a life sentence.’

‘It would be possible to list a thousand good things that have happened to me before I deal with the moment I regained consciousness and faced that scene at the airfield. But I know I couldn't begin to define my life before going back there.’

‘Now, when I look back on my life and remember all that I wanted from it as a young boy in the North East, I see more clearly than ever it is a miracle. I see one privilege heaped upon another. I wonder all over again how so much could come to one man simply because he was able to do something which for him was so natural and easy, and which he knew from the start he loved to do more than anything else.’

Senior Club Years Club Appearances Goals 1954-1973 Manchester United 606 199 1973-1974 Preston North End 38 8 1975 Waterford United 31 18 National Club Years Club Appearances Goals 1958-1970 England 106 49 Individual Awards and Honours

 

 

• 1966 European Player of the Year
  
• 1966 Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year
  
• 1974 Professional Footballers' Association Merit Award
  
• 1974 Awarded CBE
  
• 1984 Appointed director, Manchester United
  
• 1994 Awarded knighthood
  

I loved that documentary... very moving.

My dad told me that he'd met his father before in a local pub and that he used to play for Leeds.

I also found the documentary extremely moving (I've just watched it), and I thought "United" was very emotional too (particularly the scene when Bobby said goodbye to Duncan Edwards in hospital).

I was also fortunate enough to meet Sir Bobby at a very young age, and have his autograph somewhere.;)

I do kind of wish that there was a bit more about the other players who were killed but I guess the writer just wanted to focus mainly on Bobby and hi relationship with the coach and Duncan Edwards.

I do kind of wish that there was a bit more about the other players who were killed but I guess the writer just wanted to focus mainly on Bobby and hi relationship with the coach and Duncan Edwards.

 

You do have a point, but they had to fit everything into 90 mins, which isn't so easy, so they had to focus on somebody.

Jimmy Phillips was the real focal point of the story, anyway.

 

Anyway, what I found particularly touching about the documentary was that Sir Bobby still gets choked up when he talks about the ones who died, even after all these years.

It's incredible what he came through, and what he went on to achieve afterwards.

Would have been better with 3 60 minute episodes shown or something

Wish there was someplace where i could watch the documentary.

It's on iplayer I think but I'm not sure about what countries can see it via there :thinking:

Wish there was someplace where i could watch the documentary.

 

Maybe someone will be able to locate it for you. Here is a review of it:

 

Sir Bobby Charlton – Football Icon Review

 

April 29, 2011 by OntheBox

 

SIR BOBBY CHARLTON – FOOTBALL ICON: Thursday 28th April, BBC2, 9pm

Footballing genius, hairstyle novice and Manchester United legend – there can be no doubts that Sir Bobby Charlton was one of England’s greatest ever players. In the opening exchanges Alex Ferguson goes as far as claiming that he was “unquestionably the greatest player of all time..” Anyone who’s lost whole evenings down the pub debating such questions may have their own opinions, but after watching this sumptuous documentary it feels almost rude to question Fergie’s assessment.

The first half is a rather sombre affair as Bobby recounts the story of the air disaster that ripped apart one of the best teams England had ever seen in 1958. Watching Charlton come close to tears as he describes his sadness at losing so many of his ‘best mates’, including the tragic Duncan Edwards is a one of many touching moments. Ferguson may think the man with with the most iconic comb-over ever was the greatest, but Bobby explains how he looked up to Edwards during the pair’s early days at Old Trafford.

Once you get to know the man a bit, such a statement is hardly surprising. Charlton’s humility is one of the attributes that makes him not only a United legend, but a genuine gentleman of the game. “I shouldn’t be talking about my own goals..” he says before reluctantly re-living one of his favourites in front of the Stretford End. Indeed it’s fortunate that so many people from the footballing community were happy to come forward with their anecdotes, because you get the feeling that Bobby would be the last person in the world to blow his own trumpet. “I could knock one in now and again..” he says, which judging by the amount of archive footage on display, is a bit of an understatement.

not many programmes dragged me away from the snooker over the last two weeks but that was one of them

I can't stand watching snooker :P

The word legend is overused these days but he is one. Without doubt the finest English footballer of all time.

True.

What I liked about it most was it showed how different it was back then and they were all so skint unlike today's footballers.

The word legend is overused these days but he is one. Without doubt the finest English footballer of all time.

 

And none other than Sir Alex agrees!:D

Wish there was someplace where i could watch the documentary.

I'm not sure I'm allowed, but it's avaliable on The Pirate Bay.

The Pirate Bay[/url].

 

Is that still going? Weren't they all sent to prison?:confused:

This was really moving. !

Is that still going? Weren't they all sent to prison?:confused:

They were sentenced to one year in jail and about 30 million dollars in fines and damages. But TPB has servers on Belgium and Russia, besides Sweden. They just can't be shut down.

They were sentenced to one year in jail and about 30 million dollars in fines and damages. But TPB has servers on Belgium and Russia, besides Sweden. They just can't be shut down.

 

Good point. If they've got servers in Russia, they'll never be stopped!:P

Munich air tragedy remembered in TV drama

 

By Neil Smith Entertainment reporter, BBC News David Tennant (far left) and Dougray Scott (far right) head up the United cast

Continue reading the main story Related Stories

 

 

• Tennant lands Busby Babes drama
  

 

The true story of Manchester United's famous 'Busby Babes' and the 1958 plane crash in Munich that claimed eight of their lives is recreated in new BBC film United.

We report from the set of the TV drama, in which Dougray Scott appears as manager Matt Busby and David Tennant plays coach Jimmy Murphy.

On a park in east London, a group of young men are spending a very chilly Monday morning playing football.

It might be any friendly kickabout, were it not for the heavy leather ball, their old-fashioned kits and the cameras filming them do it.

"The ball is not yours, it's the team's!" exhorts a tall onlooker in a blue tracksuit. "The ball is round to go around!"

The accent might sound Welsh but the features are unmistakably Gallifreyan, belonging as they do to former Doctor Who star David Tennant.

Scott plays Matt Busby to Tennant's Jimmy Murphy in the drama

On the touchline stands another figure in a grey Trilby and tan overcoat. On closer inspection, he is revealed to be the Scottish actor Dougray Scott.

For the purposes of today, though, he is Matt Busby - the legendary Manchester United manager who will be forever synonymous with the players who perished in the Munich air disaster of February 1958.

At the time of the accident his team were on their way home from a European Cup match against Red Star Belgrade.

After a stop-off in Munich to refuel, the Ambassador prop-plane skidded off the runway on its third attempt to get airborne for the onward flight.

The crash, which resulted in 23 fatalities, remains the most tragic and emotive episode in the club's history.

Small wonder, then, that the makers of United insist they took pains to depict the event both tactfully and sensitively in their 90-minute drama.

"We've made every endeavour to be as accurate and truthful as possible in spirit and intention," says director James Strong.

'Respectful'

"We want this to be a fitting and appropriate memory of these amazing players, this amazing team and this amazing story that a lot of people are aware of."

"It's a fascinating period of Manchester United's history and a fascinating period of football in general," Scott agrees.

"It's an interesting and important story. The film-makers want to pay homage to that and be respectful to all the people involved."

Bad weather in the north of England necessitated an extra day of shooting in London

Among those people is Bobby Charlton, who walked away from a disaster in which seven of his team-mates died.

United staff, sports journalists and crew members were also killed. An eighth player, Duncan Edwards, survived the crash but died in hospital later.

United stops just short of recreating the crash, limiting itself to dramatising events immediately preceding and following it.

Yet its scenes of burning debris, dead bodies and wounded victims makes it a harrowing watch every Manchester United fan is sure to have an opinion about.

The drama goes on to show Murphy, who was not involved in the accident, rebuilding the decimated team as Busby recovers from his injuries and Charlton grapples with his grief.

For all the tragedy, though, United is not without humour, scenes in which alcohol is swigged before matches and pipes are puffed in the changing room offering a light-hearted commentary on how the beautiful game has changed over the years.

'Long overdue'

"On a very basic level it's a true story," says Tennant. "But it also looks at the arbitrary nature of fate, the capriciousness of life and the triumph of the human spirit.

"It's extraordinary that the story hasn't been dramatised before. There's never been a straightforward film or TV drama about this extraordinary dramatic story and it's long overdue."

Bobby Charlton (Jack O'Connell, held aloft) is a key figure in the story

Most of United was shot before Christmas in and around the North East of England. Because of heavy snow, though, Strong was unable to get footage of his players actually playing.

"Unfortunately we picked the worst winter in living memory so we didn't manage to shoot any football stuff," he explains. "There was literally snow on every single pitch."

"It's a bit tricky when you're making a film about football which, inevitably, has to be shot outside now and again," says Tennant.

"There were a few scenes that had to hang over so we could find a patch of grass to shoot them on."

The scenes in question feature in a training montage that shows Murphy putting his charges through their paces.

The footage is also included in a cinema newsreel about Busby's fresh-faced team shown prior to their European trip - the calm before a storm that to some is as raw today as it was more than five decades ago.

Yet if there is any pressure on Scott's shoulders, the 45-year-old is wearing it well as we take refuge from the cold in his well-heated trailer.

"The only responsibility I feel is to portray Matt Busby as truthfully as possible with all the tools I have available to me," he says in his low Scottish burr.

"I'm not the writer; I'm just an actor. My job as an actor is to try and bring this character to life."

Just watched it, really well put together.

Just watched it, really well put together.

 

Congrats! Glad you enjoyed it!:cool: