Last Busby Babe , livre ebook

Pitch Publishing Ltd - Sammy McIlroy

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227 pages

English

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Sammy McIlroy experienced one of the most memorable careers in football. After all, who else can say they played with George Best, Denis Law and Bobby Charlton, experienced relegation, won trophies and played under six different managers at Manchester United? With more than 400 appearances, McIlroy - the last player signed by the legendary Sir Matt Busby - is a bona fide Old Trafford legend, and is an intrinsic part of the fabric of its illustrious history. One of the few footballers to have played in two international tournaments for Northern Ireland (and been captain in one), 'Super' Sam went on to manage his country after a successful spell in charge of Macclesfield Town. He tells his extraordinary story with remarkable candour and emotion, pulling no punches. From the anxiety of his homesickness to the exhilaration of his club debut, from the lows of his heartbreaking exit from United to the highs of leading his country out in a World Cup, The Last Busby Babe finally puts on record one of the greatest careers in football history.

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Publié par	Pitch Publishing Ltd
Date de parution	28 mars 2022
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781801502405
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	1 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0500€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

First published by Pitch Publishing, 2022
Pitch Publishing
A2 Yeoman Gate
Yeoman Way
Durrington
BN13 3QZ
www.pitchpublishing.co.uk
Wayne Barton, 2022
Every effort has been made to trace the copyright.
Any oversight will be rectified in future editions at the earliest opportunity by the publisher.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the Publisher.
A CIP catalogue record is available for this book from the British Library
Print ISBN 9781801500746
eBook ISBN 9781801502405
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Contents
Acknowledgements
Foreword by Alex Stepney
Introduction by Norman Whiteside
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Photos
Acknowledgements
I HAVE been asked numerous times over the years to write my memoirs - not least by Wayne Barton, who helped me. When I made the decision that now was the right time, I talked to Paddy Barclay, who recommended Wayne. I half-expected that he would be too busy, as he often is, but I was delighted when he agreed and I have to first thank him for his work and also for his professionalism during a difficult time for us all in the country. I wondered if, due to Wayne s existing volume of work on the time I played for Manchester United, he may be too deferential - I needn t have worried. He challenged me and questioned me - it made the experience even more enjoyable, and hopefully has resulted in a very honest account of my life. Most of this book was written in coffee shops - we built up quite a loyalty card collection. I wish to also thank his wife Stacey for her patience and assistance.
My life in football has given me everything I ever dreamed of and beyond. I am so thankful to Bob Bishop for his belief in me, his loyalty through my formative years and his unwavering dedication to send me to Manchester United. He took me to watch my hero play at Windsor Park and then sent me to Manchester to play with him.
I can remember my first meeting with Sir Matt Busby. He presented himself immaculately and on some subconscious level I was immediately made aware of the obligation of representing his wonderful club in the same manner - to always be the best of yourself. It is a privilege to have been signed by him and to have been deemed worthy of playing football the way he wanted it to be played. The same goes for Jimmy Murphy, Joe Armstrong, John Aston Senior, Wilf McGuinness and the rest of the backroom staff that did just as much in upholding the club s standards. I ll never forget the way they welcomed my parents and assured them their son would be looked after. I owe all these men a tremendous amount. I only hope they knew how much I appreciated their help.
I feel fortunate to have two very special periods in my United career. The first was the very early accomplishment of a dream. To line up with Bobby Charlton, Denis Law and of course George Best. Frank O Farrell gave me that chance and I cherish the memories. I also look back fondly on my time working with Dave Sexton, who was a very fine man. My best days as a player undoubtedly came in the period between 1974 and 1977. Alex Stepney. Stuart Pearson. Gerry Daly. Arthur Albiston. Jimmy Greenhoff. Jimmy Nicholl, Alex Forsyth, Lou Macari. Gordon Hill. Steve Coppell. Dee McCreery. Stewart Houston. Martin Buchan. Brian Greenhoff. Thank you to each of those men for being a joy to play with. And thank you to the man who put us all together, Tommy Docherty, for being a fantastic manager, but also for being there when I needed him on a personal level.
Representing my country was another dream. Terry Neill gave me my first opportunity and Dave Clements also picked me. It was a special privilege to play under Danny Blanchflower, one of Northern Ireland s greatest football men. The best days, of course, came under Billy Bingham. I ll never forget the incredible honour of playing for my country in two World Cups - and captaining them in one.
After moving into management I can honestly say I could count the difficulties I had with players on one hand and still have fingers left over. The consequence of that is that there are simply too many wonderful players to mention, who all gave everything I could have asked. I hope that I have mentioned you all in the main body of this book.
There are a number of people whose assistance and support throughout my managerial career was so valuable. The late Gordon Clayton and Arthur Jones. Gil Prescott. Peter Davenport and Mark Lillis. And I could not forget David Bowen, who I only wish I had listened to more. On that point, I would also like to thank Sir Alex Ferguson. Throughout this book I have expressed my regret that I didn t contact him more at times when I felt I should. I can only repeat that here because he is, without question, a man of class and integrity.
I was born into football and involved in the professional game from being a young teenager at the biggest club in the world. It has been a privilege and a responsibility for me, and one shared by my family. My children are not young enough to have witnessed my best days at United but I was fortunate that they were old enough to appreciate everything that happened during my management career and the pride I have that they could see me manage my country is a wonderful feeling.
It softens the blow of not being able to share that with my mum and dad. I dearly wish I could have done. I wish I could thank them for their unconditional love. That I could speak to them now, at the age I am, to tell them I understand and appreciate, in all clarity, everything they did for me. They gave me everything they could, and more, to make every dream I ever had come true.
Foreword by Alex Stepney
EVERY YEAR at Manchester United the established professionals would keep an eye out for the new arrivals at junior level. We knew that the pick of the crop from the local countries would be arriving and we were curious to see who would be next. Players don t always stand out but Sammy did - his energy, skill and determination was on show from day one. Those things seemed to come naturally to him - but he was also close to his idol George Best, and cleaned the boots of a European Player of the Year in Denis Law and a World Cup winner in Nobby Stiles, so he had all the incentive he needed. Sammy was given his chance at just 17 and looked like a natural first-teamer from the start. That chance was given to him by Frank O Farrell - but then Tommy Docherty came in, and Sammy suffered horrendous injuries in a car accident. We were a family at United. We were hurt when Sammy had his car crash. As players you try and help your colleagues using your experience. But when you go through something like that you wonder if a player will be able to continue. We d already seen Bobby Noble, a very promising defender, lose his career to a similar accident. Sammy was lucky to survive and lucky to have a career but he lived for football and gave it everything - typical of an Irishman to be so stubborn!
Once he was back in the team and found his feet he just seemed to improve all the time. As the team got better, so did he, and his box-to-box play within our system was just remarkable. He made goals and scored goals - a part of the engine room to keep us ticking over. He did that to the best of his ability and when people speak about what an entertaining side that was, you have to credit Sammy s contribution.
He enjoyed being a professional footballer. To some players it s a job. To others they just love the limelight. You couldn t say Sammy fitted into either of those categories - he just loved being a footballer, he loved Manchester United, he loved the game and he loved being with his team-mates. He was an ideal team-mate and professional. I think the fact that Sammy came into the team so young and was able to play with the likes of George, Denis and Bobby is evidence enough that at his peak he would have been good enough to play in our European Cup-winning side. Don t ask me to say who I d take out - and even so, I think it s fair to say that Sammy belongs in the minds and hearts of everyone who loved that Tommy Docherty team. The club suffered a dip in the 1970s but Sammy never did and it was thanks to that kind of contribution that we came back as strong as we did. That s what made him a great player and he rightly achieved his dreams of playing hundreds of times for United and almost a hundred times for his country.
He was a Tommy Docherty player, but he was a Manchester United player first and foremost. He was the lungs and the heartbeat of one of the most breathlessly entertaining teams in the club s history.
Introduction by Norman Whiteside
I FIRST arrived at Old Trafford as a young teenager and Sammy, due to his experience, already held a very senior role in the dressing room. He seemed to make it a particular responsibility of his to take an interest in the young lads, like me, who were coming over from Northern Ireland, and did his best to make us feel welcome and part of the club.
There are a few examples of this with me in particular. When I was first coming over United s kit was still made by Admiral and they had this vivid red tracksuit with tw