Football's Pioneers: Duncan Edwards
Even before Edwards (1936-1958) had kicked a ball for Manchester United’s first team, the superlatives were being heaped on him. Shortly before his senior debut, the News Chronicle informed readers that: "When he heads the ball, it is not a flabby flirtation with fortune, it is bold and decisive. When he tackles, it is with a man-trap bite."
This 16-year-old was set to have an immediate impact on the First Division. Edwards’ move to the senior team in 1953 came less than a year after signing for Manchester United.
He was already literally and figuratively head and shoulders above the youth team players, possessing a maturity on the pitch far beyond his years. Primarily a defensive midfielder, he was nevertheless capable of playing in any position.
His ability to read the game and demonstrate his authority on the pitch was coupled with grace and skill. His manager Matt Busby remarked: "Duncan was never a boy, he was a man even when we signed him. We used to look at players in training to see if we might have to get them to concentrate more on something. We looked at Duncan, and gave up trying to spot flaws in his game."
Edward’s physicality was clear for all to see. One journalist suggested that his goal was 'to smite the ball so hard that it either bursts in transit or defies the efforts of any goalkeeper to intercept it'.
In 1955, Edwards made his debut for England, aged just 18 years and 183 days. There was never any suggestion that this game had come too soon in his career, despite the fact that Edwards was also playing for Manchester United’s youth team at the same time.
He was an immediate favourite with the crowd. Though Edwards admitted to nerves before arriving at Wembley, the Daily Express described the teenager as a 'young colossus'. Billy Wright, England’s captain, declared he 'played with such assurance and confidence that you would have thought he was a veteran'.
Edwards was subsequently selected for England’s next three games in France, Portugal and Spain, beginning his two years of National Service on this return. He played almost 100 matches for the army while also being granted leave at the weekends to play for Manchester United.
He won the First Division in 1956 and 1957, competed in the European Cup, and played in England’s four qualifying matches for the 1958 World Cup.
It was abundantly clear to those playing alongside or watching him that Edwards was destined for a long and successful career for both club and country. In 1955, one journalist suggested that 'if it ever comes to pass that clubs can pay their players on box-office value, count Duncan Edwards in the £100-a-week class'.
Bobby Charlton thought that 'when he was around you thought anything was possible'. Charlton was sure that had Edwards not tragically died in Munich in 1958, returning from the European Cup Semi-Final in Belgrade, 'he would have proved himself the greatest player we had ever seen'.