Denis Law - Manchester United

by Steve Drabble

Denis Law joined Manchester United in August 1962 at the age of 22. He was brought to Old Trafford by Sir Matt Busby, the man who had given him his Scotland debut nearly four years earlier. United paid a then British record transfer fee of £115, 000 for his services from Torino, the third occasion on which he had held that accolade, having become the first £100, 000 player in 1961 when joining the Italians from Manchester City. A slim man of average height, Law was renowned for his nose for goal and soon showed this great ability to the Old Trafford faithful. He made his debut in the opening fixture of the 1962/63 season against West Bromwich Albion when he scored United's first goal in a 2-2 draw. He also scored the opener in a 3-1 FA Cup Final victory over Leicester City later that year, a suprising result given United's struggles in the league that season (they finished 19th whilst Leicester were 4th). That terrific first campaign at Old Trafford had quickly established Denis as a crowd favourite and the following season would see Law further endear himself to the United fans with the remarkable return of 46 goals from only 42 appearances in all competitions. His goalscoring exploits saw United improve dramatically in the league compared to the previous season and they managed a runners-up spot, four points behind champions Liverpool. His performances the following season took United to the 1st Division Championship and in the process earned the Scotsman the 1964 European Footballer of the Year vote. Though they lost the final game of the season to Aston Villa, United finished level on points with Leeds United and won the league by goal difference.

His contribution of 30 goals in 37 games helping to tip the balance in United's favour. 1965/66 proved to be a year of near misses for United with semi-final defeats in both FA and European Cups and 4th place in the League. A further League title followed in 1966/67, as United remained unbeaten throughout the second half of the campaign. In his first five full seasons as a Manchester United player Denis' strike rate was phenomenal, scoring an incredible 160 goals in only 222 games.
By 1967, the names of Best, Law and Charlton were synonymous with the success sweeping through Old Trafford. Though they finished runners-up in the League campaign that season, Denis helped United to the1968 European Cup Final. However, a knee injury kept him out of the final, which he was forced to watch in hospital on TV as a result. The day after a 4-1 victory against Benfica Matt Busby took the trophy to Law's bedside as a tribute to the man who had contributed so much. He scored seven goals in the two-leg tie against Waterford, which began United's European Cup defence in style the following season. However, defeat in the semi-final against AC Milan signalled the end of their hopes of retaining the trophy. European distractions caused United to finish 11th in the League and the legendary Busby retired as Manager at the end of the season. No further honours came his way over the final four seasons of Law's United career as the club struggled to overcome the departure of Busby. Despite the teams failure, Law's wily skills continued to entertain Old Trafford throughout his career and, at a time of true legends at the Theatre of Dreams, Denis Law was simply known as 'The King'.

With a remarkable total of 236 goals in 409 appearances, he is United's second all-time goalscorer behind Bobby Charlton. He was controversially sold on a free transfer to Manchester City at the end of the 1972/73 season following Tommy Docherty's arrival and his final goal for United came in a 3-1 win over Bari in the Anglo-Italian Tournament. He remains United's FA Cup record scorer and was only eclipsed as European top scorer in 2000 by Andrew Cole. Denis will be remembered as more than just a goalscorer with his abilities to create a chance for a colleague equally memorable.