Unthinkable? Unsinkable? The day Man United were NOT too good to go down
YOU THINK YOU’VE GOT PROBLEMS JOSE? APRIL 1974.. BEST WAS IN TURMOIL AND THEN LAW’S BACK-HEEL GOAL THAT HE REFUSED TO CELEBRATE WAS THE FINAL INDIGNITY AS THEY CRASHED INTO DIVISION TWO
AFTER Manchester United’s derby defeat, Jose Mourinho used sarcasm to put their troubled season into perspective.
“I think we’re not going to be relegated,” was Mourinho’s mocking reply when told United were as close to 18th-placed Cardiff as leaders Manchester City, separated from both clubs by 12 points.
His side may be struggling, but Mourinho was right. The prospect of the modern-day United, currently the most valuable football club in the world with an estimated value of £3.1billion, going down is as laughable as it is unthinkable. But it was a different story in 1974, when the Reds – who had won the European Cup under Sir Matt Busby six years earlier – suffered one of the lowest points in their illustrious history when they were relegated after 29 consecutive years in the top flight.
A new film titled Too Good To Go Down, examines that seismic moment in United’s history and looks at how they had to hit rock bottom in order to make their way back to the top flight and taste success again, returning at the first attempt.
After Sir Matt’s retirement in 1969, United went into decline. An ageing
squad, tensions in the dressing room and the loss of such an inspirational boss, who created the Busby Babes and gave the club its cavalier attacking identity, all conspired to send United into freefall.
Wilf McGuinness and Frank O’Farrell both came up short in the wake of Sir Matt’s departure, with Tommy Docherty appointed in December 1972 to try to bring the glory days back to Old Trafford.
United narrowly avoided relegation that season, finishing 18th, but ‘The Doc’ was unable to save them the following campaign, with the Reds declining further and ending in 21st place.
The ‘Holy Trinity’ of George Best, Denis Law and Sir Bobby Charlton were on the wane and would all leave United within a year of each other, as Old Trafford’s glory years were replaced by a grim period of regression and recrimination.
Charlton ended his distinguished playing career with United in April 1973, Law joined local rivals City that summer, while Best, beset by drinking problems and indiscipline, played his last game for United on New Year’s Day in 1974.
Former team-mate Paddy Crerand, now a pundit for MUTV, was close to Best and said the winger, as iconic off the pitch as on it, was simply unable to handle the pressure superstardom brought.
“One of the problems
I thought about George is that if he had been ugly, it could have been different, but he was quite a handsome lad,” recalled Crerand (right, with Docherty).
“He was a great kid, honestly. You could never have met a nicer lad, but he just couldn’t handle it. We tried to get him back on the straight and narrow again, but it was too late.”
Law’s famous back-heeled winner for City secured a 1-0 win against his former club in their final home game of that fateful season for the Reds. That late goal sparked a pitch invasion (above) and the referee took the players off and they did not return. Results elsewhere meant United were doomed anyway.
Law recalled how tough it was for those who followed Sir Matt, in much the same way it has been for those in the shadow of Sir Alex Ferguson. “Very difficult,” said Law. “It was very difficult to take over from a manager when the previous manager’s been Sir Matt Busby. It’s very difficult for whoever it is. “They’ve got to be in that category to carry on, because no matter who the manager is after that, they’ll always be saying ‘Well, he wouldn’t do that on that days or whatever’, so it’s a difficult period.” Former United forward Willie Morgan said McGuinness was the wrong man to succeed Busby and claimed the job should have gone to Charlton, who left for Preston in 1973.
“At the time it was revolutionary to appoint from within a club, it was just that Wilf was the wrong man,” said Morgan.
“It should have been Bobby.
“Bobby would have been great. Wilf just wasn’t the right person and that was the start of the downfall. I mean, he tried to change it drastically.
“He dropped Bobby, he dropped me, he dropped George Best, he dropped Denis and started bringing in a lot of youth players.
“Nothing wrong with that in itself – but they just weren’t good enough at the time and that’s how we got into so much trouble. But it wasn’t overnight, it was a slow decline.”