Babes and Lions - Legends

WITH all this week's nonsense about Hell Classico, UEFA bans and Prince Charles's ears impressions, I had overlooked something I had meant to comment on - last Sunday's BBC docu-drama 'Munich'.

No two teams have ever been granted mythological status to the extent of the Busby Babes and the Lisbon Lions, so it was good to see a drama about one of them.

Sport is a hard subject to dramatise, perhaps because the actual drama of a major sporting occasion is itself pure theatre, and by avoiding asking the actors playing the Manchester United players to actually kick a ball, the producers got round that one. That said, the shot of "Mark Jones" puffing on his pipe in the tunnel grated. Also, I'm not sure that goalkeepers, even in the English First Division, wore the number one in 1958; the final shot of the two teams, allegedly walking up that slope of the old Webley tunnel also grated - Bolton's shirts didn't have red collars and number nine Nat Lofthouse was captain and would have been first out.

There were one or two other wee niggles - and I felt David Tennent played Jimmy Murphy as a Welsh Brian Clough, but the niggles didn't take too-much away from a fine piece of drama.

I have on occasions been abused by English colleagues for a lack of reverence towards Bobby Moore. I admit Moore was a fine defender, but, if I had to have a second centre half in my side, I'd maybe go for Willie Miller, who was, I feel, the better last-ditch defender. Also, in my all-time Great Britain XI, the two centre backs are Willie Woodburn and John Charles.

But my main beef with Moore is, he was so lucky that Duncan Edwards was killed at Munich. I saw Edwards play, but admit I was only a boy at the time. He looked huge, he had thigh muscles the likes of which I didn't see again until Jonah Lomu came along more than 30 years later, and he could play.

The great Doug Baillie, now in his 70s and retired to his Hamilton lair was centre half in the first Scotland Under-23 team, which played England at Shawfield in 1955. The match was tight at half time, when England switched Edwards from left half to centre forward, directly against Baillie.

The Manchester United man proceeded to score three of England's six goals as they slaughtered us and Baillie will still tell you - Edwards was the hardest opponent he ever had to face.

Edwards was 21 when he died and had been in the England team since he was 18. Billy Wright retired the following year, 1959; United captain Roger Byrne, had he survived Munich, would surely have taken-over the England captaincy and in turn Edwards would have succeeded him.

We have to assume Edwards would therefore have been, at 29, captain in 1966 and he and not Moore would be the divinity among English players. Moore might well still have played, but Edwards would have been THE MAN.

My Best of British team in 4-4-2 formation: Gordon Banks (England); Danny McGrain (Scotland), John Charles (Wales), Willie Woodburn, Eric Caldow (both S); Tom Finney, Duncan Edwards (both E), Jim Baxter (S), George Best (Northern Ireland); Jimmy Greaves (E), Denis Law (S).