In commenting on Wayne Rooney’s latest misdemeanour, Harry Redknapp remarked that you never saw Bobby Charlton behave so stupidly after he scored one of his wonder goals.
Harry and I were privileged to have seen this star that shone for England and Manchester United.
Regrettably, age has denied this pleasure and privilege to Wayne Rooney and all his contemporaries.
Over 60 years of following the greatest game, I have not seen a better player. Bobby was always in space to receive a pass, his distribution of the ball was immaculate, on his sinuous runs opponents didn’t get within tackling range, and he scored goals.
Wonderful goals hit with both feet and occasionally, very occasionally, his head. In his time, a football unprotected by plastic could be sodden and heavy. Yet he struck it better than any of his contemporaries or successors.
Charlton played before yellow and read cards were introduced. In his days you had “your name taken” and were punished finally by “being sent off” It is my recollection that over this long career not once did he suffer either ignominy.
Because he was seldom dispossessed, the crunching tackle never being his forte and of course some good fortune, he didn’t suffer any serious injury and unlike players today he always played the full 90 minutes.
Football administrators who despair about player behaviour and disrespect for authority should produce a DVD of Charlton’s career and insist that all their professionals watch and learn. Hopefully we might then find one or more of them who could grace their game almost as well as did Sir Bobby.
No one of them will ever match him, not through my eyes at least.
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