06
DENIS LAW
1962–1973Law was born in Aberdeen and grew up in
poverty in a council house where shoes
were considered a luxury. His talent for
football was a way out, and he seized the
opportunity with both hands, first with
Huddersfield Town and Manchester City,
then with Torino in Italy and back to
Manchester, this time with United, for
who he debuted on 18 August 1962.
Law’s time at the club largely coincided
with a fallow, post-Munich period, so his
honours of two league titles and an FA
Cup – though he was famously injured08
PETER SCHMEICHEL
1991–1999How many clubs would have a goalkeeper in their top ten players of
all time? The answer to that is probably ‘any club for which Peter
Schmeichel played’. The great Dane enjoyed success at Brøndby
before being picked up by United in August 1991 for £505,000, a price
described at the end of his time at the club as the “bargain of the
century” by Ferguson. Schmeichel was tall but not exceptional for a
modern goalie, but his ability to spread himself and ‘make himself
big’ in the face of an onrushing forward often created a barrier that
was impossible to breach. In particular, Schmeichel would perform
‘star jump’ saves where his arms and legs would all be spread as wide
as possible to fill any gaps. Schmeichel was also mentally strong
and could come up with important saves in a game where he had
spent the majority of the time as a spectator. His distribution was
also excellent, and he could turn defence into attack with one throw.07
DUNCAN EDWARDS
1953–1958It’s hard to assess just how good Edwards
was, as he was only 21 when he died at
Munich, and unfortunately very little
footage of him remains. But we should
listen to what his contemporaries said of
him, including Busby, who described him as
“the most complete player in Britain, and
possibly the world,” and Charlton, who said
he was “the best player I have ever seen.
The best player I played with, for United or
England.” Edwards was equally adept with
either foot, strong, powerful in the air and
physically dynamic, with a range of passing
few have ever equalled. At the time of his
tragic death, Edwards had already played
177 times for United, scoring 21 goals,
having joined as a teenager and making his
first-team debut at 17. He’d already played
18 games for England. At his funeral it was
said that “talent, even genius, we will see
again. But there will only ever be one
Duncan Edwards.”for the European Cup final – vastly
understate both his importance and his
ability. But as a goal-scorer, Law was ‘The
King’, notching 237 of them in 404 games,
including 34 in 46 FA Cup games and 28 in
33 in Europe. With 30 goals in 55 games, he
is the joint top all-time scorer for Scotland,
matching Kenny Dalglish, who took 102 caps
to notch the same total.“HE IS THE JOInT
TOP ALL-TIME SCORER
FOR SCOTLAnD”
“HIS ABILITY TO SPREAD
HIMSELF AnD ‘MAKE HIMSELF
BIG’ In THE FACE OF An
OnRUSHInG FORWARD OFTEn
CREATED A BARRIER THAT
WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO BREACH”
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