Manchester United
1957–58 season
The Manchester United season squad prior to the Munich air disaster
ChairmanHarold Hardman
ManagerMatt Busby
(on convalescent leave from 7 February)
Jimmy Murphy
(acting manager from 7 February)
First Division9th
FA CupRunners-up
European CupSemi-finals
Charity ShieldWinners
Top goalscorerLeague:
Dennis Viollet (16)
Tommy Taylor (16)
All:
Dennis Viollet (23)
Highest home attendance66,124 vs Nottingham Forest (22 February 1958)
Lowest home attendance27,293 vs Aston Villa (22 October 1957)
Average home league attendance46,866

The 1957–58 season was Manchester United's 56th in the Football League, and their 13th consecutive season in the top division of English football.[1]

The season marked the biggest tragedy in the club's history as eight players, three club officials and ten other passengers died as a result of their injuries in the Munich air disaster on 6 February 1958 on their way back from a European Cup quarter-final away to Red Star Belgrade. Centre-half Mark Jones, captain Roger Byrne, full-back Geoff Bent, winger David Pegg, right-half Eddie Colman, inside-right Bill Whelan and centre-forward Tommy Taylor were all killed instantly. Left-half Duncan Edwards was in hospital for two weeks before he too died on 21 February.

Winger Johnny Berry and centre-half Jackie Blanchflower were both injured to such an extent that they never played again, while several of the surviving players were unavailable for a considerable amount of time as they recovered from their injuries.

Manager Matt Busby was badly injured, and his assistant Jimmy Murphy (who was not on that fateful flight) took charge of the first team until the end of the season as Busby recovered from his injuries. Club secretary Walter Crickmer and coaches Tom Curry and Bert Whalley were all killed in the crash, which claimed a total of 23 lives.

Despite the decimation of their squad, a makeshift United side still managed to reach the FA Cup final that season, where they lost to Bolton Wanderers. They also reached the semi-finals of the European Cup. However, their league form suffered after the crash and their title challenge faded as they finished ninth in the final table.

With the United squad decimated by death and injuries in the aftermath of the Munich tragedy, a number of younger players broke through into the first team. These included winger Shay Brennan[2] and forward Mark Pearson.[3] Another notable new member of the side was goalkeeper Harry Gregg, signed in December 1957 a few weeks before the Munich crash, and who was hailed a hero for his rescue efforts in the crash.[4]

United's top scorer for the season was Dennis Viollet, who found the net 23 times in all competitions and 16 times in the league despite being out of action for some two months as he recovered from injuries sustained in the Munich crash.

FA Charity Shield

Date Opponents H / A Result
F–A		 Scorers Attendance
22 October 1957 Aston Villa H 4–0 T. Taylor (3), Berry 27,293

First Division

Date Opponents H / A Result
F–A		 Scorers Attendance
24 August 1957 Leicester City A 3–0 Whelan (3) 40,214
28 August 1957 Everton H 3–0 T. Taylor, Viollet, own goal 59,103
31 August 1957 Manchester City H 4–1 Berry, Edwards, T. Taylor, Viollet 63,347
4 September 1957 Everton A 3–3 Berry, Viollet, Whelan 72,077
7 September 1957 Leeds United H 5–0 Berry (2), T. Taylor (2), Viollet 50,842
9 September 1957 Blackpool A 4–1 Viollet (2), Whelan (2) 34,181
14 September 1957 Bolton Wanderers A 0–4 48,003
18 September 1957 Blackpool H 1–2 Edwards 40,763
21 September 1957 Arsenal H 4–2 Whelan (2), Pegg, T. Taylor 47,142
28 September 1957 Wolverhampton Wanderers A 1–3 Doherty 48,825
5 October 1957 Aston Villa H 4–1 T. Taylor (2), Pegg, own goal 43,102
12 October 1957 Nottingham Forest A 2–1 Viollet, Whelan 47,654
19 October 1957 Portsmouth H 0–3 38,253
26 October 1957 West Bromwich Albion A 3–4 T. Taylor (2), Whelan 52,160
2 November 1957 Burnley H 1–0 T. Taylor 49,449
9 November 1957 Preston North End A 1–1 Whelan 39,063
16 November 1957 Sheffield Wednesday H 2–1 Webster (2) 40,366
23 November 1957 Newcastle United A 2–1 Edwards, T. Taylor 53,890
30 November 1957 Tottenham Hotspur H 3–4 Pegg (2), Whelan 43,077
7 December 1957 Birmingham City H 3–3 Viollet (2), T. Taylor 35,791
14 December 1957 Chelsea H 0–1 36,853
21 December 1957 Leicester City H 4–0 Viollet (2), Charlton, Scanlon 41,631
25 December 1957 Luton Town H 3–0 Charlton, Edwards, T. Taylor 39,444
26 December 1957 Luton Town A 2–2 Scanlon, T. Taylor 26,458
28 December 1957 Manchester City A 2–2 Charlton, Viollet 70,483
11 January 1958 Leeds United A 1–1 Viollet 39,401
18 January 1958 Bolton Wanderers H 7–2 Charlton (3), Viollet (2), Edwards, Scanlon 41,141
1 February 1958 Arsenal A 5–4 T. Taylor (2), Charlton, Edwards, Viollet 63,578
22 February 1958 Nottingham Forest H 1–1 Dawson 66,124
8 March 1958 West Bromwich Albion H 0–4 63,278
15 March 1958 Burnley A 0–3 37,247
29 March 1958 Sheffield Wednesday A 0–1 35,608
31 March 1958 Aston Villa A 2–3 Dawson, Webster 16,631
4 April 1958 Sunderland H 2–2 Charlton, Dawson 47,421
5 April 1958 Preston North End H 0–0 47,816
7 April 1958 Sunderland A 2–1 Webster (2) 51,302
12 April 1958 Tottenham Hotspur A 0–1 59,836
16 April 1958 Portsmouth A 3–3 Dawson, E. Taylor, Webster 39,975
19 April 1958 Birmingham City H 0–2 38,991
21 April 1958 Wolverhampton Wanderers H 0–4 33,267
23 April 1958 Newcastle United H 1–1 Dawson 28,393
26 April 1958 Chelsea A 1–2 E. Taylor 45,011

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts Qualification or relegation
7 Blackpool 42 19 6 17 80 67 1.194 44
8 Luton Town 42 19 6 17 69 63 1.095 44
9 Manchester United 42 16 11 15 85 75 1.133 43
10 Nottingham Forest 42 16 10 16 69 63 1.095 42 Qualification for the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup first round
11 Chelsea 42 15 12 15 83 79 1.051 42
Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored

FA Cup

Date Round Opponents H / A Result
F–A		 Scorers Attendance
4 January 1958 Round 3 Workington A 3–1 Viollet (3) 21,000
25 January 1958 Round 4 Ipswich Town H 2–0 Charlton (2) 53,550
19 February 1958 Round 5 Sheffield Wednesday H 3–0 Brennan (2), Dawson 59,848
1 March 1958 Round 6 West Bromwich Albion A 2–2 Dawson, E. Taylor 58,250
5 March 1958 Round 6
Replay		 West Bromwich Albion H 1–0 Webster 60,000
22 March 1958 Semi-final Fulham N 2–2 Charlton (2) 69,745
26 March 1958 Semi-final
Replay		 Fulham N 5–3 Dawson (3), Brennan, Charlton 38,000
3 May 1958 Final Bolton Wanderers N 0–2 100,000

European Cup

Date Round Opponents H / A Result
F–A		 Scorers Attendance
25 September 1957 Preliminary round
First leg		 Shamrock Rovers A 6–0 T. Taylor (2), Whelan (2), Berry, Pegg 45,000
2 October 1957 Preliminary round
Second leg		 Shamrock Rovers H 3–2 Viollet (2), Pegg 33,754
20 November 1957 First round
First leg		 Dukla Prague H 3–0 Pegg, T. Taylor, Webster 60,000
4 December 1957 First round
Second leg		 Dukla Prague A 0–1 35,000
14 January 1958 Quarter-final
First leg		 Red Star Belgrade H 2–1 Charlton, Colman 60,000
5 February 1958 Quarter-final
Second leg		 Red Star Belgrade A 3–3 Charlton (2), Viollet 55,000
8 May 1958 Semi-final
First leg		 Milan H 2–1 E. Taylor, Viollet 44,880
14 May 1958 Semi-final
Second leg		 Milan A 0–4 80,000

Squad statistics

Pos. Name League FA Cup European Cup Other Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
GKEngland David Gaskell 3000000030
GKNorthern Ireland Harry Gregg 190804010310
GKEngland Ray Wood 200004010250
FBRepublic of Ireland Shay Brennan 5023000073
FBEngland Roger Byrne 260206010350
FBEngland Bill Foulkes 420808010590
FBEngland Ian Greaves 120602000200
FBEngland Bobby Harrop 5010000060
FBScotland Tommy Heron 1000000010
FBEngland Peter Jones 1000000010
HBNorthern Ireland Jackie Blanchflower 180002010210
HBEngland Eddie Colman 240205100311
HBEngland Ronnie Cope 130602000210
HBEngland Stan Crowther 110502000180
HBEngland Duncan Edwards 266205010346
HBEngland Freddie Goodwin 160603010260
HBEngland Mark Jones 100204000160
HBEngland Wilf McGuinness 7000100080
FWEngland Johnny Berry 204003111246
FWEngland Bobby Charlton 2187523003016
FWScotland Alex Dawson 1256500001810
FWEngland John Doherty 1100000011
FWWales Kenny Morgans 130204000190
FWEngland Mark Pearson 80402000140
FWEngland David Pegg 214004310267
FWEngland Albert Scanlon 93203000143
FWEngland Ernie Taylor 112612100194
FWEngland Tommy Taylor 25162063133422
FWEngland Dennis Viollet 22163364103223
FWWales Colin Webster 206615100318
FWRepublic of Ireland Billy Whelan 20120032102414

Munich air disaster

On 5 February 1958, United played Red Star Belgrade in Yugoslavia, in the second leg of the European Cup quarter finals. The match ended in a 3–3 draw, but as United had already won the home leg 2–1, they won the tie 5–4 on aggregate and reached the semi-finals for the second year in succession.

A stone tablet, inscribed with the image of a football pitch and several names. It is surrounded by a stone border in the shape of a football stadium. Above the tablet is a wooden carving of two men holding a large wreath.
A plaque at Old Trafford in honour of the players who died in the Munich air disaster

The team's chartered plane, an Airspeed Ambassador owned by British European Airways, left Belgrade on 6 February and stopped at Munich to refuel. Takeoff had to be aborted twice because of boost surging, a common problem in the "Elizabethan". The problem was caused by the fuel mixture being too rich, which caused the engines to over-accelerate: this problem was exacerbated by the altitude of the Munich airport.

The pilots were able to control the surging on the third takeoff attempt, but as they reached the V1 "decision speed" (after which it is unsafe to abort takeoff), the airspeed suddenly dropped. The aircraft left the runway, crashed through a fence and into a house. The left wing and the tail were ripped off, while the starboard side of the fuselage hit a fuel tank and exploded. Officially, the cause of the accident was build-up of slush on the runway, which caused the aircraft to lose speed, preventing it from achieving takeoff.

Mark Jones, David Pegg, Roger Byrne (United's captain since 1953), Geoff Bent, Eddie Colman, Liam Whelan, and Tommy Taylor were killed outright, in addition to club secretary Walter Crickmer, and coaches Tom Curry and Bert Whalley. Duncan Edwards, Matt Busby, and Johnny Berry were critically injured; Edwards died fifteen days later. Berry and Jackie Blanchflower survived but never played again. Byrne, Taylor and Edwards were all regular members of the England team, with 70 caps and 21 goals between them, while Pegg, Whelan, Berry and Blanchflower had all received full international recognition for England, the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland.

A total of 23 people died as a result of their injuries; among them were four other passengers and two of the crew, as were eight sportswriters including former Manchester City and England goalkeeper Frank Swift. Among the survivors were goalkeeper Harry Gregg, who had only just joined the club from Doncaster Rovers, full-back Bill Foulkes and forward Bobby Charlton.

References

  1. ↑ "Manchester United Season 1957/58". StretfordEnd.co.uk. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
  2. ↑ "Legends – Shay Brennan". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Archived from the original on 2 January 2012. Retrieved 9 March 2012.
  3. ↑ "Players – Mark Pearson". AboutManUtd.com. About ManUtd. Archived from the original on 22 January 2012. Retrieved 9 March 2012.
  4. ↑ "Legends – Harry Gregg". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Archived from the original on 23 August 2012. Retrieved 9 March 2012.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.