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  2. A complete gentleman. He opened our new Manchester office I guess around 1994 – I got his autograph for my son but it didn’t mean much to him – he was 5 years old.
    He seemed to have great dignity and was pretty humble about his career. We don’t often see the likes of him in the modern footballer.

  3. Terrible news. Only Geoff H left from that fabulous team now

    Was fortunate enough to see BC, Dennis L, George B and the rest of that fantastic Man U team of the mid- to late-60s many times at Highfield Road – once when Cov beat them a matter of weeks before they thrashed Benfica in the European Cup.

    As everyone else has said, a fine footballer and a true gentleman

  6. In an early 70s football book, there was this magnificent photo of Sir Bobby, on the ball, in his prime, thousands of fans watching in the background. His posture, athleticism and focus all captured in one moment.

    The caption was “Ping! goes the heartstrings of another hapless goalie, as Chartlon prepares to shoot.” RIP.

  7. What can be said about Bobby Charlton that hasn’t already been expressed?
    There aren’t many players that utterly transcend any notion of club associations, but he was certainly one – I saw his final game for Man Utd at Stamford Bridge with my late Dad in ‘73 – the whole of the Shed roared ‘Bobby, Ooh Ooh, Bobby Charlton!’ before & after the game, something I’ve never seen for any other opposition player there. He was loved & respected like no other player I can think of other than Pele.
    Obviously, being human, he had to go at some stage, but I can’t escape a sense of disbelief that this titan that towered over the imagination of generations of football lovers actually was a mere mortal after all.
    What a player, what a man. RIP.

  8. “Legend” is an overused term, but applies for Sir Bobby.
    Of the many sobering thoughts at this moment, only Sir Geoffrey remains from the 66 team.
    What was Sir Bobby’s position?
    Left wing
    Right wing
    centre Forward
    Midfield
    all of the above

      • Of all the survivors, only BC and Harry Gregg can really be said to have had made any kind of recovery.

        The way Man U treated the other survivors of the crash as they aged and died was disgraceful

        Edit:

        Terrific book about the aftermath of Munich here

  10. My dad loved his football and Manchester Utd. He travelled all across the world for work in the 70s and 80s. BEA and BA cargo conferences since you ask. He always told me wherever he was he only had to say Bobby Charlton to someone and he could strike up a conversation. His legend was already very much in place. Survivor, footballer, World Cup winner. Very sad news.

  11. I am old enough to remember the 1966 World Cup campaign (I was 16), and he was absolutely integral to that team. I guess he was an inside forward in old money, but Alf Ramsey adopted a 4-4-2 system during the finals, and he was a fantastic attacking midfielder in modern parlance. The goals he scored in the semi final were pivotal.

  12. I was a regular at Old Trafford from 1963 onwards I was 13 then. Watching Bobby on the pitch exhibiting always excellent behaviour and sportsmanship was wonderful. On top of this we were able to watch his skill and leadership whenever he played. Then there were the goals, oh my what goals! For club and country Sir Bobby never let us down.
    They definitely threw the mould away when Bobby was created, we haven’t seen his like since and most likely never will.
    Sir Bobby Charlton an inspiration to everyone R.I.P.

  13. What a legend. Aged 10, bouncing with nerves on my Moroccan leather pouffe, sat in the front room with my dad, watching the Portugal semi-final. Bobby, from some distance, hammers an unstoppable one into the top corner of their net, and we are on our way to the big final. I nearly wet myself with joy. The English Electric Lightning of long-range strikers. Salute.

  14. Lovely quote in an appreciation piece from today’s Sunset Times about BC’s self-effacement after being informed that a jours had described him as being “the greatest ever English footballer”:

    “Well, he’s entitled to his opinion”

    Didn’t realize until today that BC had been booked in the ill-tempered QF against Argentina in 1966 – one of only two (the other was apparently against Chelsea) he received in his long career

    • I’ll venture that getting a booking playing against that particular QF line-up would have been seen by Alf as having been received under seriously mitigating circumstances. That’s the bunch that Mr. Ramsay notably described as ‘Animals’, isn’t it?

    • I believe that Charlton’s only booking in club football (the one against Chelsea mentioned by Jaygee above) was not for a foul, but for not getting back 10 yards when the opponents had a free-kick.

  15. Some lovely words above. A sad day for any sport lover, as has been said, he belongs in that echelon of sports people where his name alone was enough.

    It’s hard to imagine this kind of thing being written about many current players in 60 years time.

    Thanks, Sir Bobby.

    Touching on the Munich tragedy, my dad was a huge football fan, he always said that Duncan Edwards was the victim whose death he felt the most. He always said that Edwards was one of the best footballers he’d ever seen, with virtually his whole career in front of him.

  16. I read that as a kid Bobby would bang the ball against the side of the house, first with right foot then with left, for hours on end in order to ensure he was as two-footed as possible. One morning I tried to emulate him before Mum came out and said “Do that one more time and you’re for it.” Might explain why I never got to play for Scotland.
    My fondest memory involving him is a midweek game, Chelsea v Utd. George Best sent off then Bobby once again (did anyone ever score such screamers?) lashes the ball into the top corner from 35 yards. I jump up and down with delight before remembering that I’m in the middle of Chelsea supporters. I get ready for a kicking and then one lad says “Some goal that, eh? Some player that, eh?” His mates nod in agreement.

    • That’s lovely.

      I’m not a big follower of football, but I’m genuinely curious: are there any players today that would get that sort of universal admiration?

      From what little I’ve read, Mo Salah sounds like a decent cove (lots of charity work, for example), but is there anybody playing now who is respected the way BC so obviously was? Or, in the 35 or so years since I last went to a top-flight game, have attitudes become more “us” vs “them”?

      • It’s not really people’s attitudes to footballers that have changed, it’s the fact that footballers now get paid so much they no longer inhabit the same reality as the rest of us

        Beckham’s desperate attempts to get a knighthood he obviously feels should be his by right is a classic example of latter day footballers’ colossal sense of entitlement

      • I can’t think of an example today, if I’m honest, though if England were to do the unthinkable & actually win a tournament the heroes could receive a measure of respect & affection afforded to the immortals.
        After the 1990 World Cup, an early fixture of the next season was Chelsea V Derby County who included Shilton & Mark Wright. An appreciative chorus of ‘Eng-ger-land, Eng-ger-land’ rang out as the teams lined up , which was met by a quick wave from both players, & then it was back down to business. It was a nice touch from a notoriously partisan crowd, & I think I’ve remembered it because it was so atypical.
        The true future test would be if a Spurs or Liverpool player scored the winner in a World Cup Final. I like to think they’d get the accolade they deserved.

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