Man Utd ignore Jimmy Murphy statue proposal for Old Trafford – seven months, no reply

Manchester United’s old boys association have hit a stumbling block in their attempts to honour club legend and visionary, Jimmy Murphy, with a statue outside Old Trafford.

There were plans to place the proposed statue of Murphy outside the Stretford End.

A report from Steve Bates of The Mirror claims the Association of Former Manchester United players (AFMUP) wrote to the club in June of last year outlining the case for Murphy to be honoured outside the ground.

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However, the club has yet to reply and it’s been seven months!

Murphy was Sir Matt Busby’s assistant manager and took over as caretaker manager for a short period after the Munich Air Disaster while the boss recovered from the crash.

The coach was credited with keeping United going despite eight players losing their lives in crash, with a total of 23 people dying instantly or in the aftermath.

Murphy missed the trip to Belgrade because he was Wales manager at the time and they had a World Cup qualifier. After the disaster, he took United to the 1958 FA Cup Final.

It goes without saying that Murphy deserves a statue somewhere at Old Trafford. There’s one of Busby and Sir Alex Ferguson, as well as he holy trinity of George Best, Denis Law and Bobby Charlton. He belongs to that iconic list.

Murphy is arguably the most important figure in the club’s history. Without his hard work everything could have went downwards after Munich, but he kept the engine going with dedication for the club and sport.

A United spokesman told The Mirror the following: “Jimmy Murphy holds a unique and special place in Manchester United’s history, which we recognised through the naming of the Jimmy Murphy Centre at the Aon Training Complex as a tribute to him in 2012.

 “Whilst we have no immediate plans to extend the range of statues at Old Trafford, we are hugely respectful of the immense contribution he has made to the club.”

So, while there’s some sort of response from the club, probably on the back of hard journalistic work, Manchester United have still not replied in writing.

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