RIP Sir Bobby Charlton…
Many great players have donned the Hoops in years gone by, some who only done so, one of the greatest being the one and only Chic Charnley! But one name who was bigger and more talented (I’m sure Chic won’t mind me saying that!) was Manchester United and England legend Sir Bobby Charlton.
Yes a magnificently talented footballer, and by all accounts just like his late brother Jack, he was also wonderful man.
Bobby donned the Hoops in a one off game against Man United’s bitter rivals Liverpool in 1974 as the club provided the opposition in Ron Yeats testimonial. Bobby at 36 was past the peak of his powers and was player manager of Preston North End, but he still had some of that magic and scored along with Vic Davidson, Bobby Lennox and Harry Hood as the hoops crushed the English side 4-1.
It set up a quiz question still used to this day. Who was the England international and World Cup winner, European cup winner and ballon d’Or winner who played for Celtic? It was of course Sir Bobby. Even if it was only a technicality, but it’s still a fun fact!
Bobby like a lot of respected figures in those days had an admiration for Celtic, in particular Bobby Lennox. Sir Bobby was an admirer of the Lisbon Lion and was quoted as saying “ if I’d had Lennox in my team, I could have played for ever” high praise indeed for Bobby Lennox.
Bobby Charlton was a wonderful player, one of the best ever. He fought back from the tragedy of surviving a tragic plane crash which claimed the lives of several team mates to become a World Cup winner and European champion. He will forever be remembered as a legend of the game. RIP Bobby.
Just an Ordinary Bhoy
He is on film saying how highly he rated our own Bobby Lennox and would have loved to have played with him. A true statesman of the game on and off the field.