Bobby Charlton: the courteous football genius

The deaths of Bobby Charlton and Franny Lee this October has brought back many memories from the 1960s of standing in the Stretford End at Old Trafford; cheering on Bobby with his thunderous shot and graceful movement and jeering Franny because he played in Sky Blue not Red.

Both are football immortals, leaving unforgettable impressions on any spectator’s mind who was lucky enough to have seen them in their pomp. I was lucky enough not only to have seen them on many occasions but to have spent a great deal of time in their company both socially but more professionally seeking to bring international sporting events to Manchester.

Having been blessed with such good fortune, I thought I would share a few memories with Manchester Confidential readers.

He unintentionally caused havoc in restaurants as waiters vied with each other to the point of fighting as to who would serve the famous footballer

Bobby Charlton was unfailingly polite and courteous. I was sat next to him as his guest at Old Trafford watching what turned out to be Eric Cantona’s last game for Leeds United. Eric was not having a good game and I made a disparaging remark about his footballing ability. Instead of saying “don't give up your day job’ he actually said, ‘the lad can play’.

I travelled all over the world, as Council Leader, with Bobby in pursuit of Manchester’s bid to host the Olympic and Commonwealth Games in the early 1990s. He could open doors that would otherwise remain shut. He was one of the most recognisable people on the planet and although there was a perpetual stream of autograph hunters, I never saw him refuse to sign or get irritated, even during meals when waiters would come up to him and declare ‘you are Bobby Charlton!’ and then ask for a menu to be signed. He unintentionally caused havoc in the kitchens of many hotel restaurants as waiters vied with each other to the point of fighting as to who would serve the famous footballer.

2023 10 24 Charlton And Lee — **'The Trinity': from left to right, Charlton, Law, Best** Image: Jonathan Schofield

I only ever met one person who was completely oblivious to Bobby’s celebrity this was Kim Yu-Sun the North Korean Member of the International Olympic Committee. He had been instructed by the North Korean Government not to make himself available to the delegations, including Manchester, bidding for the 2000 Olympic Games. Glyn Ford, then an MEP for Greater Manchester, managed to get the instruction changed and Bobby, Glyn and I took Kim for a meal in Monte Carlo. Although Kim was an international footballer himself, he had no idea that he was in the company of greatness. The conversation was stilted to non-existent, and Bobby ended up producing a pack of cards and doing card tricks. At the end Kim thanked us all for the meal and in particular for bringing the ‘magician’.

2023 10 24 Charlton Magician — **Card skills and football skills: Bobby Charlton** Image: Wikimedia

Travelling around the world obviously required a lot of flying. For Bobby this required a special degree of bravery as a survivor of the Munich Air Disaster. He never complained but you could tell when the plane hit turbulence that he was deeply uncomfortable.

However polite and good-mannered Bobby was you don’t get to be probably England's greatest ever footballer by not having a fiercely competitive spirit. During the Albertville Winter Olympics Bobby took the opportunity to learn how to ski (because of the chance of breaking limbs professional footballers are prohibited from skiing) not to put too fine a point on it he didn’t take to skiing like a duck to water but Norma his wife did.

He clearly couldn’t believe, although he didn’t say anything, that he an international footballer was not as good as his wife but like the professional sportsman he was, he practised and practised and by the end of the week he was more than a competent skier.

2023 10 24 Charlton And Lee And Stringer — **Bobby Charlton in front of his beloved Stretford End** Image: BBC

After a heavy day lobbying in Courchevel, at the same Winter Olympics, we were relaxing over a beer when the news came through that United had been knocked out of the FA Cup. There was no swearing or criticism Bobby just took himself quietly off to bed. Many professional footballers when they retire become dispassionate about their former clubs. Not Bobby, he cared deeply about every United match while keeping any critical thoughts to himself.

2023 10 24 Charlton And Lee And England — **Bobby Charlton and Francis Lee with England** Wales Online

Francis Lee: supreme footballer with real grit

I like other football supporters had often wondered whether or not footballers heard the chants and abuse and whether it affected them. Franny Lee left me in no doubt that they certainly heard the chants but whether it motivates or demotivates is an open question. Franny used to regularly and mischievously demand to know whether if during my Stretford End days, I had chanted “Franny Lee has got VD” (similarly, Mike Summerbee also wanted to know if I had sang to the tune of Al Jolson’s Mammy “I’d walk a million miles to the end of your nose, Mike Summerbee”). This always led to a lot of good-natured teasing often while consuming a bottle or two of good white Burgundy.

City Celebrating At Manchester Town Hall With Malcolm Allison Francis Lee And Others — **City celebrating at Manchester Town Hall with Malcolm Allison, Francis Lee and others** Image: Wikimedia

White Burgundy and red Bordeaux once got Franny into trouble. We had been out for lunch with his son Gary at a restaurant near his home and I would be lying if I said I could remember how many bottles were consumed by the three of us, but I’m guessing it was north of six.

Franny offered to get his driver to take me back into Manchester, so we staggered across the road to be greeted by Gill his wife who was not best pleased as his first grandchild had just been born. Franny was oblivious and decided we should indulge ourselves in a bottle of champagne. He then went on to the hospital and got himself further into trouble by going to the toilet falling over and breaking his arm.

I often wondered whether or not footballers heard the chants and whether it affected them

Franny offered to get his driver to take me back into Manchester, so we staggered across the road to be greeted by Gill his wife who was not best pleased as his first grandchild had just been born. Franny was oblivious and decided we should indulge ourselves in a bottle of champagne. He then went on to the hospital and got himself further into trouble by going to the toilet falling over and breaking his arm.

**Maine Road, Francis Lee's home ground, shortly before demolition and the move to the Etihad** Image: Wikimedia

For a great footballer Franny is often remembered as much for his pugilistic skills as his great footballing ability. His scrap with Norman ‘Bites yer Legs’ Hunter has been watched by hundreds of thousands if not millions of people on YouTube, I always thought given another 30 seconds he would have got the better of Hunter.

Bobby’s brother Jack was famous for having a little black book of footballers he would like to ‘take out’. I don’t know if Franny had a little black book but from what he told me if he did Ron ‘Chopper’ Harris would have been his number one target. He said that most of the forwards in the league wanted revenge against Chopper, but he wanted to be first to get him.

Bobby and Franny had different personalities and a different way of focusing their competitiveness, both were great footballers and Manchester was lucky to have been blessed with their presence at the height of their powers.

Graham Stringer is an occasional columnist for Manchester Confidential. He is the Labour Member of Parliament for Blackley and Broughton with a majority of 14,402 after the 2019 General Election. He was elected to Parliament in 1997. Until 1999 he was on the Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs select committee, then was a Labour Government whip and subsequently a member of the Transport Select Committee in the last years of Labour Government. Prior to parliament he was the Leader of Manchester City Council from 1984-1996. He is credited for being a principal agent in the return of city confidence and Manchester's regeneration.

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