by Alex Gordon
Years later Gemmell told me, ‘The bugger deserved it. He had fouled me only moments earlier when I was racing through. I was just about at the edge of the penalty area and was preparing to shoot. It was my favourite distance and I was in full flight. Suddenly, though, I was checked, clipped from behind by Haller. It was a definite foul and the referee, only yards away, waved play on to everyone’s astonishment. I just blew a gasket. I sent the German up in the air and I knew what was coming next. I was furious, absolutely raging. It was a terrible end to what had been a real hard-fought match. It was also one of the most frustrating games of my career. We deserved at least a draw in Hamburg and I’m convinced our players would have made an impact in Mexico. For a start, we would have had a fully-fit Denis Law in attack and the Lawman would have made a difference. He would have been in his element. We got two against West Germany, but we could have had more. There were a few occasions when the ball was bouncing around their penalty area crying out for someone with Denis’s reflexes and guile to steer it towards the net.’
By the time the game against Austria had come around at the Prater Stadium in Vienna on 5 November, Hugh Curran had sufficiently recovered from his bout of flu. At last, he was ready ‘to go where the brave go’. For him, that was up the tunnel in the 54th minute after being substituted. The Wolves forward hardly had a kick and was hooked immediately by Bobby Brown after Austria’s second goal from Helmut Reidl, his second of the night after opening the scoring in the 14th minute. Curran would only play four more games for Scotland, scoring one goal, before his international career was plunged into oblivion.
The World Cup Finals of 1970 would go ahead without the presence of the Scots. And Denis Law. There was always West Germany in 1974 to aim at. By then, Law would be 34 years old. Was it too much to hope that he would at last get a chance to play on the world’s greatest stage?
Chapter Sixteen
THE WILDERNESS YEARS
England, Bobby Charlton, Nobby Stiles et al, were preparing for the defence of their World Cup in Mexico in 1970. Scotland, and Denis Law, were nowhere to be seen; the passports put away for at least another four years.
Law played in the 1-1 draw with West Germany at Hampden on 16 April 1969 and then dropped into a World Cup void, only to re-emerge five years later against Zaire in the opening game of Scotland’s 1974 finals campaign. After the West German encounter, he played only one of the next 20 international games, a drab 1-1 draw with Northern Ireland in Glasgow on 6 May 1969 when a paltry 7,483 bothered to attend in atrocious, rain-lashed conditions for an encounter that meant zilch apart from pride. That was enough for Law, of course, to look out the boots and drive north to get stripped and ready.
In his absence, Colin Stein (Rangers), Alan Gilzean (Spurs), John O’Hare (Derby County), Jim McCalliog (Sheffield Wednesday) and even journeymen such as Hugh Curran (Wolves) and Aberdeen double-act Davie Robb and Drew Jarvie had shouldered the burden of scoring goals for their country. They weren’t too successful. In the 19 outings Law missed, Scotland managed a meagre 21 goals and that included eight in a World Cup qualifier against Cyprus. Take that rout out of the equation and the Scottish fans had only 13 goals to cheer in the other 18 games. The forwards fired blanks on eight occasions. The highest goalscorer during that spell was Stein with six, and four of them came against the Cypriots. Bobby Brown, the boss who had achieved the astonishing 3-2 win over world champions England at Wembley in 1967 on his international managerial debut, paid a heavy price for such a lengthy spell in the wilderness. He lost his job.
Law returned in typical triumphal fashion at Hampden on 26 April 1972 and netted in a 2-0 victory over Peru. The King had been in exile; three years and ten days, to be precise. Those were dark and lonely days for Denis.
Back in season 1969-70, Law turned out only 11 times for Manchester United. He scored two goals. Wilf McGuinness was toiling during his one-year stint as manager of the Old Trafford side after replacing the legendary Sir Matt Busby. Law was up for sale at £60,000, almost half the fee he commanded when he joined United from Torino in 1962. The lack of interest in the player was reflected in an abrasive comment from Rangers boss Willie Waddell. When told about Law’s availability, he said, ‘The news does not excite me.’ Hamilton Accies, managed by Andy Paton, asked to be kept in touch with developments.
David Meek, a well-respected sports journalist who worked for the Manchester Evening News, was often invited into the Old Trafford inner sanctum and was obviously trusted, a rare phenomenon for any journalist at a football club. He posed this question in the renowned Charles Buchan’s Football Monthly, the soccer bible at the time, ‘Are we seeing the end of the reign of Denis Law? This is what thousands of Manchester United fans have been asking.’
He continued, ‘No player in modern times has been given such adulation from the home fans as Denis Law. The Stretford End, the vocal part of Old Trafford, made Law their king years ago and even though George Best of the long hair has since burst devastatingly on the scene, it’s Law who really still sits on the throne.
‘For Best is very much the hero of the girls and if you took away the screaming teenage females, Law would still win the loyalty of the boys and youths who make up the bulk of the Stretford End support. Perhaps it is the streak of villainy that ran through Law’s early days that appeals to the mob instinct of Stretford Enders. Certainly, Law only has to score a goal to re-awaken the crowd’s fanatical passion for this controversial, puzzling Scot.
‘Players such as Best and Bobby Charlton are popular, of course, especially when they score. But Charlton, sportsman supreme and classical player, and Best, who looks more like a pop singer than a footballer, have never really commanded the following of Law, at least from the thousands of male youngsters who swell United’s attendances to record levels.
‘The basic reason, of course, is goals and, in that respect, Law stands head and shoulders above everyone else at Old Trafford. Charlton, for instance, is renowned for his cannonball shot and has scored more goals than any contemporary player at the club. He kicked off this season with a total of 167 league goals, but it has taken him 448 games to score them.
‘Compare this return with Best and Law. Best, at the end of last season, had scored 79 times in 213 league appearances, but Law has the incredible tally of 140 goals from 226 games. And in Cup football there just isn’t anyone to compare with the Lawman. Three years ago he scored his 31st goal in the FA Cup to go in front of Stan Mortensen, Ronnie Allen and John Atyeo as the top marksman in post-war Cup football.
‘Those goals were scored for Huddersfield Town, Manchester City and, of course, Manchester United. Since then, he has scored more goals in a season and beaten Jack Rowley’s club record which stood at 28 goals. For United, Law has a goal-a-game average of 34 from 34 ties, a fantastic record. In the European Cup, he has scored 14 goals for United, one more than Dennis Viollet and another record.
‘As Law banged in a hat-trick in the first leg against Waterford, the League of Ireland champions, last season and then scored four in the second leg there was no doubt who was still king at Old Trafford. Overall, though, Law did not have a good 1968-69 season, at least compared with his best years. Yet he still managed to finish as the club’s top scorer. Best was leading marksman in the league with 19 goals, Law next on 14. But, whereas Best only scored once in the FA Cup and twice in the European Cup, Law netted seven in the FA Cup and nine in Europe.
‘The Law of old we shall never see again. In some respects, that is a good thing. The Scot did little to enhance the club’s sporting image with two month-long suspensions and one for six weeks – one for kicking an opponent, one for swearing at the referee and one for fighting with fellow-Scottish international Ian Ure, now a teammate at United! It was his volatile, razor-sharp temperament and it had to be curbed. Law succeeded and has not been in any kind of trouble since his brush with Ure two years ago.
‘At the same time, Law has undoubtedly lost some of the fire and deadly reflexes
that made him such a supreme striker. He was still getting goals last season, but they tended to come in comparatively easy matches and not, as in the old days, when the chips were down, the game was in deadlock and only master footballers could get a goal.
‘Law, of course, has also had a fearful battle with injury. He was plagued for a year with a mysterious knee complaint that put him into hospital for an operation when United were winning the European Cup in May 1968. His fans hoped that after feeling his way back to the top of the goal charts last season, he would really become his old formidable self this winter.
‘But it is clearly not going to be easy. After playing in the first three league games this season, he experienced the indignity, along with Charlton, of being dropped – the first time he had been left out of the side in his career, by the way. He came back after one game only to suffer a further injury to his groin. At the time of writing he has made only 10 appearances, scoring two goals, one in the League Cup semi-final against Manchester City.
‘Clearly, The King is not going to be allowed to reign by his reputation alone. Wilf McGuinness means business as he hurries along the footsteps of Sir Matt Busby as team boss. Manchester United managed to snap out of their worst-ever start to a season without Law’s help and, though there is clearly a place for him in the Old Trafford team, he will have to deliver the goods if he is to stay on the throne his fans love so much.
‘This is Denis Law’s testing time.’
Washed up? Written off? On the scrapheap at 30? While the news of the player’s availability at a knockdown price didn’t ‘excite’ Willie Waddell, others toyed with the idea of taking a look. Blackpool, then fighting relegation in Division Two, were said to be sniffing around. That prospect surely wouldn’t excite Denis Law, either. A story spread in 1970 that Law had actually signed for the Bloomfield Road club. Hearts, I was informed, were also showing a genuine interest. I quizzed Denis on this possibility years later. ‘Naw, no truth in that,’ he said, ‘none at all. Aberdeen are my team. If I was going to Scotland it would have been to Aberdeen – no-one else.’
Hearts manager Bobby Seith told journalist Fraser Elder that the Edinburgh team did, in fact, make a move for Law – three years later in 1973. Seith informed my good friend and colleague, in an article published in the News of the World, ‘Our season was going nowhere after being dumped out of the Scottish Cup. We were eighth in the league and felt we could really revive interest with a big personality signing. The club’s biggest deal had been £20,000 to Wolves eight years earlier for George Miller and we knew signing Denis would break all records. The record Scottish deal had been Hibs selling Colin Stein to Rangers for £100,000 in 1968. I had played against Denis during a Cup-tie while I was at Burnley and he was at Huddersfield Town. I knew he was an exceptional player. Denis considered our initial idea of a loan deal with perhaps a permanent move later, but he said he wanted to end his career at Old Trafford.’
Apparently, Tommy Docherty, by then the Manchester United manager, had granted the go-ahead for Seith to make his move for Law. At the end of the season, the player was shocked to hear the news he was being freed by United. Manchester City took him back to Maine Road after an absence of 12 years. Curiously, and maybe fate was lending a hand, Law did, in fact, end his playing days at Old Trafford. The goal he scored to confirm the relegation of his beloved Manchester United in April 1973 was his last kick of the ball in club football.
It was extremely difficult to believe that before his move across Manchester, some of the Stretford End fans, who had acclaimed him as The King through so many dynamic and dazzling displays over so many years, were beginning to turn on their hero. English international striker Allan Clarke admitted he had idolised Law when he was starting out at Walsall before moving through the ranks at Fulham and Leicester City and ending up at Don Revie’s Leeds United. He said, ‘It was pathetic to hear some of the United crowd getting on to Denis after all he had done there. If only they’d realised how hard he was trying at half fitness. If he turned or twisted he was obviously in agony. It took a lot of guts even to make an effort to play at First Division level.’
One manager who would have been delighted to have snapped him up was his former United colleague Harry Gregg, the goalkeeping icon who had been appointed manager of Shrewsbury. He recalled, ‘Before his departure for Maine Road, I actually attempted to sign him for Shrewsbury Town. A player called Alf Wood held the key. I had moved him from centre-half to centre-forward where he scored a club record 42 goals in one season. I’d also gambled, at least in the eyes of the board, on bringing in the unproven Jim Holton to replace Alf at the back. Jim, of course, went on to become a Scotland international and was a team-mate of Denis in the 1974 World Cup Finals in West Germany.
‘Back then, though, Alf’s exploits in front of goal were attracting considerable attention from other clubs, Liverpool among them. Bill Shankly phoned me and asked me what we wanted for him. I told him £75,000. The following day I had a telegram from Wolves manager Bill McGarry, who was in New York, asking me to do nothing until he returned. Behind the scenes, Ted Fenton, of Millwall, was also chasing Alf and the Shrewsbury board, fearing that their player might be a one-season wonder, decided to sell. I can tell you Bill Shankly was not a happy man when he found out.
‘He offered to pay the £75,000 price I had first stated, more than the board had settled on from Millwall, but the Shrewsbury board refused to go back on their word and the deal stood. The transfer did provide me with some money to spend. So I decided I would make some enquiries about Denis. I asked the board how much I had to play with. They told me £20,000. I then enquired as to whether they objected to the money going to a player, as opposed to a club. They gave me carte blanche to spend it as I saw fit. Frank O’Farrell was in charge at Old Trafford and Denis found himself out of the team. I was assured by old friends of Denis that he was not a happy chappie. A circular came around stating that United had players in all positions available for transfer.
‘I rang up Frank and we chatted. He spoke about players in the “A” team, “B” team and reserves, but I told him there was nothing there that I wanted. I told Frank I would take Charlton, Law and Best. He replied, “You’re very funny.” Nothing came of our discussion, but on the Sunday night I phoned Denis. His wife Diana answered and told me to call back because Denis was in the bath. It was a difficult few minutes because this was a call I didn’t particularly want to make. I was not Harry Gregg, friend and former teammate; I was Harry Gregg, manager of Shrewsbury Town. I was going to ask one of the greatest-ever players to don the red shirt to drop out of the top flight and move to the modest surroundings of Gay Meadow. I eventually spoke to Denis and, after a bit of banter, I told him I had £20,000 to spend and I asked him if he fancied a move. Denis replied, “Give me the name of the pub you’re in for that must be strong ale!” Unfortunately, that was as close as I got to signing Denis. Within a few days, Frank O’Farrell was gone. Tommy Docherty took over and Denis was back in the team – for the time being, at least.’
Denis Law wasn’t quite ready to throw in the towel. He admitted in an interview for Book of Football in 1980, ‘I trained like a lunatic for almost four months.’ He also revealed that Brazilian great Pele’s performances in the 1970 World Cup Finals were a source of inspiration. ‘I was moping about the house all day feeling sorry for myself. Pele played brilliantly, despite taking a lot of punishment. I realised, like me, he’d been taking it for years, was still going well after some setbacks and I needed to pull myself together.’
An editorial in the Charles Buchan Football Monthly magazine in 1972 stated, ‘Any doubts Denis Law had about his future, at Old Trafford or anywhere else, he kept to himself. Nagged by injury, he didn’t make a song and dance about it. We might have been seeing less of that Law trademark – the raised clenched fist salute to the crowd when he scored. But he was making no excuses. He never looked for a wailing wall. His critics could never accuse him of whining or being a quitte
r.
‘Yet, even for a player who has made the critics eat their words before, Law’s comeback this season has been quite fantastic. His game has mellowed. Still razor-sharp at picking up the chances, there is a subtle difference in his style. The old flashing arrogance has been replaced by a quieter, more thoughtful approach. He turns aside any suggestion that he went about his fightback in an “I’ll show ’em” mood.
‘Instead, he says, “If there was anything to prove it was to myself. You could say that pride comes into it. Apart from anything else, it was far too early for me to talk about going out of the game. The whole thing stemmed from a knee injury in 1968 when they found this bit of cartilage floating about. The next season the leg was a bit weak. People may have thought I was finished, but it all boiled down to fitness. I suppose it was partly in the mind as well as physical. But I made the decision to train right through the close season and it was the best thing that happened for me. United went to the States and they didn’t take me. I trained solidly. I trained all the way through the last close season, too, and, mentally, I felt marvellous. My confidence was back.”’
Did the transfer-listing by United shake him?
He replied, ‘I think I felt a sense of shock about it later on. At the time I was surprised, but business is business in football as in anything else. I went through a bad two-year spell in my career and I suppose I was taking my nerves on the field a bit. I still get nervous before every match. I don’t sleep too much on Friday nights. But now, once I’m on the pitch, the nerves vanish. I weigh up situations more these days and realise there is no point dashing in if the end product isn’t going to be there.’
