Man Utd to unveil new statue outside Old Trafford to honour club legend

A statue of a Manchester United legend will be unveiled outside Old Trafford’s Stretford End next month.

Regular visitors of Old Trafford will be aware of the three statues outside the ground, honouring the club's greatest legends.

Sir Bobby Charlton, George Best and Denis Law, who scored 665 United goals between them, are all immortalised outside the stadium they made their names.

Of course the trio were some of the most high-profile footballers of their era, each winning the coveted European Footballer of the Year award between 1964 and 1968.

However the latest statue to be unveiled is of someone who never donned the United colours as a player. Instead it will honour the club's legendary coach - Jimmy Murphy.

The unveiling will take place on Wednesday, May 3, 65 years to the day Murphy led United to the FA Cup final at Wembley.

The ceremony, which will be open to the public, will take place between 17:00 and 17:30 UK time.

Murphy played a crucial role as a coach and assistant manager to Sir Matt Busby between 1946 and 1971.

In particular, the Welshman, who died in 1989, was integral to the development of United’s famous Busby Babes.

Indeed, he played a critical part in the early career of Charlton and Duncan Edwards, while he was crucial in the club’s recovery after the Munich Air Disaster.

United announced back in May 2021 that it was planning a statue to celebrate Murphy's contribution at Old Trafford, after a discussion with the the club legend's family and a coalition of supporters.

Award-winning sculptor Alan Herriot was subsequently appointed to design and develop the statue.

Various locations for the statue were suggested, but it was agreed the the tribute would be situated outside the Stretford End - an area close to a training pitch where Murphy use to coach the Busby Babes.

Murphy at Man Utd

Murphy had the role of “chief coach” at United from 1946 to 1955, before becoming assistant manager after United won their third FA Youth Cup in succession.

It was his responsibility to train the club’s young footballers, who eventually went on to become the generation dubbed the Busby Babes.

After the Munich air disaster on February 6 1958, Murphy temporarily took the reins as manager while Busby recovered from his injuries. The Welshman had not been on the fatal flight because he had been away managing his national team for a World Cup qualifying game.

Assembling a substitute team, Murphy subsequently steered United to the 1958 FA Cup final, where they lost to Bolton 2-0.

Despite having been approached to manage the likes of Brazil, Juventus and Arsenal, Murphy remained as assistant manager at United until 1971.