tomclare
9th October 2004, 14:42
Fifty nine years ago, a great Scotsman, in whose shadow this great Club of ours stands, became the Manager. That momentous moment harboured the beginning of a love affair with Manchester United, for hundreds, and thousands of fans, over the next six decades, and still carries on today. And the reason that these fans fell, and still fall in love with the Club, is because of the foundations that this simple miner's son, from Orbiston, in Lanarkshire, laid down and cemented, to support the structure that he had built. He was a soft spoken man, never to be heard raising his voice or blowing his own trumpet. He was a man of great warmth, a man of principle, a man of honour, a visionary, a man who certainly had great style, but most of all, he was a people's man. He was a man that everybody could relate to. We were all blessed from the moment he entered our lives, and even today, ten years after he left us, we are still blessed. What he built, and the principles upon which he built it, ultimately left us with hislegacy. In the history of this great game of football, I cannot
think of any other person who was so loved, so admired, and so respected.
During his time, he took a Club that was down, and out, from the depths of its nadir, to the dizziest heights that it could achieve. Along the way he suffered setbacks, and disappointments, and also great tragedy. But each time, when the vine was cut down, he replanted the seeds, nurtured them, watched then grow, and eventually, reaped the harvest from them. He gave us so much joy, so much pride, so much passion, but most of all, he nurtured in us all the love that we have for Manchester United today. Sadly, this Master Builder grew tired from injury, and age, and in 1969, retired. The fire was briefly rekindled in 1970, but in 1971, he retired permanently.
In the years that followed, the club suffered long periods of mediocrity. There was a few disastrous years under an Irish pretender to the Master Builder's crown - he came, but failed so miserably. Then came the brief spark from a Scotsman, which lit the candle all too briefly, until he extinguished the flame himself. After him, it was the turn of the aristocratic Architect, who knew how to draw the blueprint, but could not put the building blocks together as the Master Builder had done when he laid the foundations. In 1980 came the extrovert who could talk the talk, produce the flamboyance and image, who promised much, delivered a little, and whose building blocks eventually imploded upon him. Unlike the Master Builder, he could not distinguish between the good bricks, and the flawed bricks, and in his efforts to do this, became so short sighted, that he became unable to see what was going on around him as his bricks tumbled.
And all through these years, the Master Builder would visit the building site, cast his wise old eyes over the ruins, puff on his pipe, shake his head, and sadly leave the site to his successors.
In the early 80's, a builder's apprentice was doing great things at a small Club on the north east coast of Scotland. He too, hailed from the same area as the Master Builder, and he also was a man of principle, a man with great style, and a man of the people. The Master Builder let it be known that this young apprentice had the right credentials and the knowledge to put the building back together again. In 1986, the apprentice answered the call. Upon his arrival at the building site, he consulted briefly with the retired Master Builder, and then set about reading the blueprint and putting the bricks back together. He needed time, because he realised that to succeed, he would have to raise to the ground what was left of the
ruins, go out and find a new type of brick, and then build upon the
blueprint that was left behind by the Master Builder. At first, it was hard going. He had to build against impatience, intolerance, and at times with one hand behind his back. But slowly, as the old Master Builder looked on admiringly, he began to find the new bricks that were required to rest upon the old foundations. This young apprentice had the courage, the tenacity, the stamina, and the desire and will, to build his bricks into a rock solid building that would not falter when the storms and the tempests raged against it. He made his mistakes as he built, but like the old Master Builder before him, he learned from those mistakes. In 1990, he placed the first brick on the apex of the building, another one in 1991, and another one in 1992. Then finally, in 1993, he laid the golden brick upon which he would graduate from apprentice, to Master Builder. And all the time,the old retired Master Builder looked on, lovingly, and approvingly.
In 1994, the old man passed away, and the new Master Builder was left
alone to get on with the job of keeping the building, solid, and steadfast. This he has done, and like his mentor before him, has built buildings of style and great eye catching beauty. Times have changed drastically since his mentor was the Master Builder, and he has had to face a number of storms along the way. He has ridden out the storms and repaired any damage that was done to the effect that his building has always become much stronger. He too is loved and revered by the people. Just as the old Master Builder did, he too has delivered a building of great style, built upon the foundations that were laid down before him.
The legacy that Sir Matt left us, and the legacy that Sir Alex will leave us, must never be allowed to be threatened. For most of us, it's because of what these two great men have built for us, that we love the Club with so much passion and fervour. It's not the plc nor the Board that we love, it's the very foundation of what is Manchester United Football Club. The whole structure of what we love so much is now under threat, from people who have total disregard for what it stands for, and what it means to us as fans. Money cannot buy our history, our proud traditions. Money can never buy what we experience as fans of the greatest football Club in the World - "Our Family." I say it so many times, we can argue with each other, we can fight with each other, but the one thing that will always unite us is the overwhelming factor of our love for Manchester United. That love is not a fair weather thing, once the seed is planted, it's there for life! We must never allow these people to succeed, and must never allow them to gain ownership of "Our Club". The next few weeks may prove to be challenging for all of us concerned about the well being of our great club. It's up to us as fans to take part in the lobbys, petitions, protests, etc that are inevitably going to happen. And for those of us that can afford it,
if they haven't done so already, they should join the Shareholders United scheme. Every little helps, and believe me, ultimately, the voice and strength of us, the genuine United fans will prevail. We shall not be moved and Mr. Malcolm Glazer, and anybody else with designs on Manchester United Football Club had better take this on board.
think of any other person who was so loved, so admired, and so respected.
During his time, he took a Club that was down, and out, from the depths of its nadir, to the dizziest heights that it could achieve. Along the way he suffered setbacks, and disappointments, and also great tragedy. But each time, when the vine was cut down, he replanted the seeds, nurtured them, watched then grow, and eventually, reaped the harvest from them. He gave us so much joy, so much pride, so much passion, but most of all, he nurtured in us all the love that we have for Manchester United today. Sadly, this Master Builder grew tired from injury, and age, and in 1969, retired. The fire was briefly rekindled in 1970, but in 1971, he retired permanently.
In the years that followed, the club suffered long periods of mediocrity. There was a few disastrous years under an Irish pretender to the Master Builder's crown - he came, but failed so miserably. Then came the brief spark from a Scotsman, which lit the candle all too briefly, until he extinguished the flame himself. After him, it was the turn of the aristocratic Architect, who knew how to draw the blueprint, but could not put the building blocks together as the Master Builder had done when he laid the foundations. In 1980 came the extrovert who could talk the talk, produce the flamboyance and image, who promised much, delivered a little, and whose building blocks eventually imploded upon him. Unlike the Master Builder, he could not distinguish between the good bricks, and the flawed bricks, and in his efforts to do this, became so short sighted, that he became unable to see what was going on around him as his bricks tumbled.
And all through these years, the Master Builder would visit the building site, cast his wise old eyes over the ruins, puff on his pipe, shake his head, and sadly leave the site to his successors.
In the early 80's, a builder's apprentice was doing great things at a small Club on the north east coast of Scotland. He too, hailed from the same area as the Master Builder, and he also was a man of principle, a man with great style, and a man of the people. The Master Builder let it be known that this young apprentice had the right credentials and the knowledge to put the building back together again. In 1986, the apprentice answered the call. Upon his arrival at the building site, he consulted briefly with the retired Master Builder, and then set about reading the blueprint and putting the bricks back together. He needed time, because he realised that to succeed, he would have to raise to the ground what was left of the
ruins, go out and find a new type of brick, and then build upon the
blueprint that was left behind by the Master Builder. At first, it was hard going. He had to build against impatience, intolerance, and at times with one hand behind his back. But slowly, as the old Master Builder looked on admiringly, he began to find the new bricks that were required to rest upon the old foundations. This young apprentice had the courage, the tenacity, the stamina, and the desire and will, to build his bricks into a rock solid building that would not falter when the storms and the tempests raged against it. He made his mistakes as he built, but like the old Master Builder before him, he learned from those mistakes. In 1990, he placed the first brick on the apex of the building, another one in 1991, and another one in 1992. Then finally, in 1993, he laid the golden brick upon which he would graduate from apprentice, to Master Builder. And all the time,the old retired Master Builder looked on, lovingly, and approvingly.
In 1994, the old man passed away, and the new Master Builder was left
alone to get on with the job of keeping the building, solid, and steadfast. This he has done, and like his mentor before him, has built buildings of style and great eye catching beauty. Times have changed drastically since his mentor was the Master Builder, and he has had to face a number of storms along the way. He has ridden out the storms and repaired any damage that was done to the effect that his building has always become much stronger. He too is loved and revered by the people. Just as the old Master Builder did, he too has delivered a building of great style, built upon the foundations that were laid down before him.
The legacy that Sir Matt left us, and the legacy that Sir Alex will leave us, must never be allowed to be threatened. For most of us, it's because of what these two great men have built for us, that we love the Club with so much passion and fervour. It's not the plc nor the Board that we love, it's the very foundation of what is Manchester United Football Club. The whole structure of what we love so much is now under threat, from people who have total disregard for what it stands for, and what it means to us as fans. Money cannot buy our history, our proud traditions. Money can never buy what we experience as fans of the greatest football Club in the World - "Our Family." I say it so many times, we can argue with each other, we can fight with each other, but the one thing that will always unite us is the overwhelming factor of our love for Manchester United. That love is not a fair weather thing, once the seed is planted, it's there for life! We must never allow these people to succeed, and must never allow them to gain ownership of "Our Club". The next few weeks may prove to be challenging for all of us concerned about the well being of our great club. It's up to us as fans to take part in the lobbys, petitions, protests, etc that are inevitably going to happen. And for those of us that can afford it,
if they haven't done so already, they should join the Shareholders United scheme. Every little helps, and believe me, ultimately, the voice and strength of us, the genuine United fans will prevail. We shall not be moved and Mr. Malcolm Glazer, and anybody else with designs on Manchester United Football Club had better take this on board.