IN A largely forgettable season for Manchester United, April 2 at least will provide some joy for Red Devils fans with the club to officially rename the South Stand at Old Trafford after United legend Bobby Charlton.
Directly facing the Sir Alex Ferguson Stand, it will serve as a permanent tribute to one of England and United’s finest servants.
Charlton joined the Red Devils as an apprentice in 1953 and, having survived the Munich air crash five years later, went on to make 758 appearances – a record only surpassed a few years ago by Ryan Giggs – scoring a record 249 goals.
He also played a key role in England’s World Cup win in 1966 and was his country’s top scorer before being surpassed in September 2015 by current United captain Wayne Rooney.
As FourFourTwo reports:
Manchester United are to name one of the stands at Old Trafford after club great Bobby Charlton. United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward said: “Bobby is, quite simply, the most iconic figure in English football history. A player, a diplomat, a gentleman and a tireless worker for charity, he represents everything that is good about football and Manchester United.”
No arguments there whatsoever, the only question you’d have to ask is ‘why so long?’, while the timing is also questionable.
Charlton made his last appearance as a United player in 1973, he is now 78 years old. Ferguson’s stand was unveiled while he was still serving as the club’s manager.
A section of United fans believe the announcement, while welcomed, may be something of a smokescreen:
Fantastic news the renaming of the South Stand as the Sir Bobby Charlton Stand. Cynical timing though to deflect LVG pressure #MUFC
— The United Stand (@UnitedStandMUFC) February 15, 2016
We’re not quite sure that’s the case – it would take a lot more than that to take the spotlight off van Gaal but it would be rather ironic and a touch embarrassing if Rooney were to overtake Charlton as United’s greatest goalscorer on the day the stand was unveiled. It’s certainly possible given he’s only five goals behind Charlton at the moment.
Why not wait until the end of the season? What’s the significance of unveiling the stand on April 2 – and against Everton? Would it not have been more appropriate to have it coincide with one of the many more poignant moments in United’s rich history – the anniversary of Charlton leading the Red Devils to become the first English team to win the European Cup for one?
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