Manchester United’s greatest players: No 23: Bill Foulkes

Who are the greatest players in Manchester United’s history? The Athletic gave Andy Mitten the task of compiling his top 25 and we are counting them down over this summer, in reverse order. He explains his thought process here.

“We were a group of kids travelling around Europe thinking we could beat anybody,” Bill Foulkes told me in 2005. “Despite them being European champions, we knew little about Real Madrid. Matt Busby, however, told us they were a great team, the most fantastic team he had ever seen. I had to mark the great winger (Paco) Gento. He caught me out a few times but I didn’t try to tackle him because he would have beaten me.”

The crowd for that European Cup game in April 1957 was 135,000, still the biggest United have played in front of. Madrid won 3-1, “but our defence was superb and our trainer Tom Curry said we deserved gold medals as big as frying pans”.

Then the Munich Air Disaster happened. Foulkes, who worked as a coal miner until he was established in the United team, was on the flight. The plane broke up in the row in front of his seat. He ran from the wreck, then turned and ran back to see the bodies of his team-mates. He and goalkeeper Harry Gregg did what they could to help. He felt lucky to have survived, not guilty that he did.

Players like Lancashire lad Foulkes lost most of their mates and weren’t fit to compete with the best in Europe for a long time, but United would rise again and the central defender who went on to make 688 United appearances between 1952 and 1970 (the fourth highest in United’s history) would be there for the journey.

Bill Foulkes shakes hands with the Duke of Edinburgh at the 1958 FA Cup final (Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images).

In May 1968, United went back to the Bernabeu, again in the semi-final second leg of the European Cup. United had won 1-0 in the first leg, but Madrid were clear favourites, which they justified by going two goals in front. A Madrid own goal made it 2-1 before an Amancio volley left it 3-1 at half-time.

Real Madrid were going to the European Cup final to win a trophy they as good as considered their own, yet it was only 3-2 on aggregate. Busby was desperate, yet calm.

“Well, lads,” he said, as detailed in midfielder Paddy Crerand’s autobiography. “We’ve been playing a defensive game… and we don’t play it very well, do we? So let’s go out and attack and we should be all right.”

Busby just told his team to take the game to Real Madrid. Away.

“We’re Manchester United; let’s have a go at them,” he repeated.

“Matt said that it was now or never for him and for one or two other lads who were over the hill, including me,” said Foulkes in his autobiography. “That lifted us. We went at Madrid and they made the mistake of showboating, thinking they had won the tie.”

The next 45 minutes was one of the greatest in United’s history. Central defenders David Sadler and Foulkes moved up for set pieces. It worked, Foulkes heading on a 73rd-minute free kick for Sadler to knock in. United were level and elated.

“Real Madrid died,” recalled Crerand in his autobiography. “Three minutes later I took a long throw for George Best down the line. George beat both Sanchez and Zocco. They watched bewildered as he ran towards the byline and pulled the ball back for Bill Foulkes. Can you believe it? Our centre-half was playing like a centre-forward. My first reaction was, ‘What’s that idiot doing there?’ But Bill knew best this time. Sixteen years a United player and a Munich survivor, he struck the ball brilliantly into the goal. 3-3 and 4-3 to United on aggregate.”

Foulkes described it this way: “Unusually, I jogged down the middle of the field and nobody picked me up. One of their players saw me and left George (Best) to mark me. George got the ball, beat about six players as George did, then looked up to make the cross. I knew what he was going to do and he cut a beautiful pass back, which I side-footed in. But for a few away fans lost in the huge crowd, there was near silence. It was so quiet that my first thought was that it wasn’t a goal — then all I could hear was the screams of the other lads who came running over and jumped on me. I scored nine goals in nearly 700 games so I was hardly prolific, but that was the most important one by a long way.”

A tough leader, afforded protection by Nobby Stiles and Crerand in front, Foulkes was never sent off. He wasn’t the most well-liked player at the club and his nickname ‘Mr Popular’ was ironic. Team-mates said he could be a selfish player who marked the No 9 and saw it as a success if that player didn’t score, regardless of the result. He could be a bit arrogant, but was self-assured and forwards hated playing against him because he was a fine tackler and would usually win everything in the air. And he only played for one team, Manchester United.