In february 1953, he was spotted playing for his school by United scout Joe Armstrong. He subsequently signed for United. He signed with them on the 1st January 1954. Charlton became one of the famed Busby Babes, the collection of talented footballers who emerged as Matt Busby set about a plan of rebuilding the club after the Second World War. He scored regularly for the youth and reserve sides.
He made his professional debut in october 1956, against Charlton athletic (who else??!) He scored twice on his debut. United won the league, but were denied the 1957 FA cup by Aston Villa. Charlton had a great season, including a hat trick against Charlton athletic in the february. He scored a total of 12 goals in all competitions.
Charlton was an established player by the the next season was underway, which saw United, as current League champions, become the first English team to compete in the European Cup the semi-finals where they lost to holders Real Madrid. Their reputation was further enhanced the next season as they reached the quarter finals to play Red Star Belgrade. The score on aggregate was 6-3 , and the players were in a jubilant mood on the flight home from Yugoslavia.The Munich Air disaster of february 1958 is an event that will be in the heart of fans forever.
The plane in which they were flying home, a British European Airways Elizabethan, had stopped at Munich to refuel. There was slush on the runway as it took off. The Elizabethan never made it off the ground. Just 54 seconds after the pilot opened the throttle, the plane hit the airport's perimeter fence, slithered 200 yards across a frozen field and burst into flames. A wing had been torn off and the tail section had broken away, scattering bodies into the snow. Twenty-one people died, including 7 of the Busby Babes. Charlton, just 20, had been thrown 40 yards clear of the wreckage and escaped with a cut head. Busby came home and with his assistant Jimmy Murphy, who had not been on the flight, and set about rebuilding his shattered team. Charlton was to be the player central to his plans.
The team managed to complete the season. Busby's assistant stepped in as manager. A team largely made up of reserve and youth team players beat Sheffield Wednesday 3–0 in the first match after the disaster. The programme for that match showed simply a blank space where each United player's name should have been.
United only won one league game after the crash, causing their title challenge to collapse and they fell to ninth place in the league. They did manage to reach the final of the FA Cup, however, losing 2–0 to Bolton Wanderers,and even managed to beat Milan at Old Trafford in the semi-finals of the European Cup, only to lose 4–0 at the San Siro.
Busby resumed his managerial post the next season. Man Utd's next sucess was in the FA cup of 1963, in which Charlton was a key player. He went on to win a world cup winners medal with England in 1966, England's only success in this competition.
He gained 106 caps for England, and remains to this day, their top goal scorer with 49 goals.
In 1967, he was one of the key players that won the league title, enabling to play in the following season's european cup. He enjoyed a huge success with united in 1968, when they became the first english team to win the european cup. United beat Benfica 4-1 in the final, played at Wembley. Charlton was one of the goalscorers on the night.
Charlton was one of the best footballers in europe at this time, and won numerous awards. While united's fortunes took a turn for the worst after the european cup win, Charlton was a top performer.
He retired in 1973, having appeared 758 times in the red shirt and scored 249 goals. He recieved a knoghthood in 1994 for his services to football, and remains involved with Man Utd today as a director of the club.
Charlton is seen as one of the finest role models to ever play the game. He had exquisite skill, but never argued with referees and showed honesty and respect. He truly is a Man Utd legend.
Ashington is located in the northeast of England, in Northumberland. It grew from a few farms in the early 19th century to a large coal mining village when the coal mine opened in 1867
The first evidence of mining is from bell-shaped pits and monastic mine workings discovered in the 20th century during tunnelling. Ashington developed from a small village in the 1840s, as the Duke of Portland built housing to encourage people escaping the Irish potato famine to come and work at his nearby collieries. As in many other parts of Britain, "deep pit" coal mining in the area declined during the 1980s and 1990s In 2006 plans for an opencast mine on the outskirts of the town were put forward, although many people objected to it. During the heyday of coal-mining, Ashington was considered to be the "world's largest coal-mining village". There is now a debate about whether Ashington should be referred to as a town or a village; if considered as a village it would be one of the largest villages in England. Growth of the towns coal mining expanded, more people left the countryside and settled in Ashington.
The mines closed in 1988, but Ashington is proud of its history which is remembered at the nearby Woodhorn Museum.
The physical geography of Northumberland is diverse. It is low and flat near the North Sea coast and increasingly mountainous toward the northwest. Lying off the coast of Northumberland are the Farne Islands, another dolerite outcrop, famous for their bird life. Being in the far north of England, and having many areas of high land, Northumberland is one of the coldest areas of the country. It has an average annual temperature of 7.1 to 9.3 °C, with the coldest temperatures inland. However, the county lies on the east coast, and has relatively low rainfall.
No comments:
Post a Comment