The name Jimmy Murphy can be found all around Manchester United. The youth building at United’s Carrington training ground is named in his honour, as is the club’s young player of the year award. Now a statue is being unveiled outside Old Trafford, close to the Stratford End, to commemorate his legacy: it is no exaggeration to say that there might not be a Manchester United were it not for Murphy.
The Welshman was Sir Matt Busby’s loyal assistant and the duo developed a formidable partnership, taking the club to back-to-back league titles in 1956 and 1957. The pair met during the Second World War while deployed in Italy, where Busby was impressed by a speech his fellow footballer Murphy gave to some troops, and after the conflict Busby hired Murphy and charged him primarily with coaching the club’s young players, many of whom formed the Busby Babes.
