Manchester United's 6 Greatest Captains

Manchester United have gotten their Premier League campaign off to one of the most sluggish starts in recent memory. A week before Christmas, United have just about managed to keep themselves in the top half of the table.

With the title all but out of their reach, they face an uphill task for the remainder of the season to get themselves an invaluable Champions League spot.

In testing, transitional times such as these, what a club needs is a driving force that galvanizes the players and pushes them to reach beyond their limits. Having a new manager after 26 years has also played its part as the entire setup gets acclimatized to David Moyes and vice versa. And even if Moyes is a motivating figure, there's only so much he can do off the pitch.

Point being, the onus lies on the captain of the team to carry the team forward and play the role of a mentor, motivator and role model, especially to the younger players. You need a strong character—someone who leads the team from the front and influences players the right way, not merely being a mannequin with the captain's armband.

Modern day football has seen such, almost messiah-like, captains diminish. The Roy Keanes, John Terrys and the Patrick Vieiras of yore have either left the field of play, or are close to. Taking United as an example, not since the retirement of Gary Neville a couple of years ago have we seen such a figure operate at Old Trafford.

Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra have taken over the armband, but are they any match to some of the great United captains who inspired not only the players, but the fans as well? Hardly.

So, while United prepare themselves for the end-of-the-year onslaught, let us go into rewind mode and revisit some of the greatest captains to have served Manchester United. Here is a list of six such giants of the club, who inspired millions.

NB: The list is ordered chronologically, since it would be grotesquely unfair to rank players from different eras and circumstances.

Johnny Carey

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“A magnificent footballer, he was a man of exceptional character,” wrote Eamon Dunphy of Johnny Carey in The Rocky Road. And with good reason.

Carey was quite unlike some of the more contemporary United captains, in that he was a calm and tranquil lad. When you think of a captain, you visualize a lively and energetic character—always on the talk and spitting instructions on the field. But old Johnny was far from that. In fact, such was his unruffled nature that he earned himself the epithet "Gentle John."  

Carey, a full-back in trade, was United's first post-war captain and was put at the helm by Matt Busby at a time when the game was rather unsettled. Busby recognized Carey's soothing qualities and made no hesitation in naming the Irishman skipper.

What was also great about Carey was that even if he was a full-back, he literally played in every available position for United other than outside-left; yes, he even filled in as the goalkeeper.

Such versatility was hard to find and Carey was a true gem. His supreme ball control, clever passing, measured tackling and astute positional play made him an invaluable member of the team.

He was often the man behind the curtains, while the more attacking players such as Charlie Mitten, Stan Pearson and Jack Rowley grabbed the spotlight.

Perhaps, though, the firm accent on offence left a little to be desired at the back and United Under Carey came inches close to the title for five seasons starting with 1946-47, before eventually clinching it in 1951-52. United also won the FA Cup in 1948, beating Blackpool 4-2 in the final after being 1-2 down at half-time.

A true great, it is shameful that Carey's name is often excluded or forgotten from a list of United stalwarts. However, such was his nature, that is exactly how he would have wanted it.

Bobby Charlton

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What does one write about Bobby Charlton that hasn't already been written? No player has embodied the spirit of Manchester United more than Sir Bobby Charlton. The younger generation of United supporters may give the title to Ryan Giggs, but Charlton is the original and evergreen Mr. Manchester United.

One of the Busby Babes, Charlton was a survivor of the Munich disaster in 1958 and was an integral part of the club's astonishing resurrection that followed, which culminated in the European Cup triumph a decade after the calamitous disaster.

Charlton was the leader of the pack in the years following Munich. United tried a range of captains until 1967, before eventually handing over the reins to Charlton. And in his very first season as skipper, United won their first ever European Cup.

Charlton, a talismanic attacking player, captained United for six years between 1967 and 1973. As you may well know, he holds the club record of goals scored (249) and appearances (758) by an individual player. He was voted the Football Writers' Player of the Year and European Footballer of the Year in 1966. Charlton remained captain until the end of the 1972-73 season, when he retired.

Apart from the fact that Charlton held United together in the club’s most darkest periods, he maneuvered the club as it tried and tested four different managers following Busby’s retirement—Jimmy Murphy, Wilf McGuinness, Frank O’Farrell and Tommy Docherty. He was the only constant throughout that phase and held the club’s flag high right until his last second on the football pitch.

Even after his retirement, you could never take Sir Bobby Charlton away from Manchester United. He became a director of the club in 1984 and remains one till date. 

Roger Byrne

The strappy Roger Byrne was akin to a father figure to the famous Busby Babes. Barely 24 when he was entrusted, quite unwillingly, with the responsibility of being Manchester United captain following Carey’s retirement, Byrne was a natural leader and took the club to unprecedented heights.

Often included in the elite list of the greatest defenders to ever play for United, Byrne was a master technician who thrived to control the course of play. While his primary trade was that of a full-back, he was a very strong attacker and tackler, apart from being an excellent exponent of positional play.

He was a defender’s nightmare down the wing; he was robust and swift in the air and an effective penalty taker. Oh, and he had an explosive temper and never thought twice before voicing his opinion, even if it was to Busby himself.

Max Arthur wrote of Byrne in The Busby Babes: Men of Magic:

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“He was a very responsible captain, at the same time being firm with the younger players but always a source of encouragement. At 28, he was the ‘father’ of United’s Busby Babes but understood very well the frustrations of youthful players, for in his early days he himself had an explosive temperament, being almost sent home early from a tour of South America.”

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In 1956, Byrne led United to the First Division championship with a completely overhauled young team. The following year, the Busby Babes defended their championship, reached the semi-final of the European Cup and the final of the FA Cup. “Never mind, we’ll be back next year,” Byrne is reported to have said.

Tragically and rather cruelly, even as United returned to Wembley the following year, Byrne never did. He was among the eight United players who perished in the Munich air disaster the following year.

Bryan Robson

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Widely regarded as Manchester United’s best ever captain, Bryan Robson was a talismanic midfielder who played in 461 matches for the Reds and fell one short of a century of goals.

Snapped up by new boss Ron Atkinson from former club West Brom in 1981 after he arrived at Old Trafford, Robson came at a British transfer record fee of £1.5 million—a figure that Sir Matt Busby found so outrageous that he resigned from the board of directors over it. Atkinson was under considerable pressure following the deal and so was club chairman Martin Edwards for sanctioning the sum. However, Atkinson was confident that it was a bargain, as he revealed in his autobiography Big Ron: A Different Ball Game:

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“I grabbed Martin Edwards by the arm, knowing he had just committed himself to the British record signing fee, and said: 'Don't worry a second about this one, Chairman, this one is solid gold.'”

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Atkinson even made Robson the skipper, replacing Ray Wilkins. Robson repaid the gaffer’s faith in him in quick time as he grew in stature and mesmerised the Old Trafford faithful with a dazzling display of industriousness, creativity, pace, aggression and offense.

He held a relatively average United team of the 80s together, in an era dominated by arch rivals Liverpool. Almost single-handedly, Robbo drove United into cup finals. Soon, he shepherded United to three FA Cup victories in 1983, 1985 and 1990, scoring twice in the first one.

Captain Marvel, as he later came to be known as, had a drive and passion for the club’s success that was unparalleled. He was the club’s favourite son in his hey days and by the time he left the club in 1991, he was United’s longest serving captain. Atkinson continues about his protégé:

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“Everybody now talks about Eric Cantona being the catalyst of United's latter-day glories. But without Robson, I maintain, United might not have had the same stature when Eric first arrived. To coin a phrase, they might not have got where they are today without Captain Marvel. During his time, he epitomized the team; Robson was the essence of United.”

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Steve Bruce

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At £825,000 in 1987, Steve Bruce has to be Manchester United’s best deal in the transfer window before Sir Alex Ferguson snapped up Peter Schmeichel (£505,000 in 1991). A born leader, Brucey was a typical Geordie and one of the most lovable characters in the dressing room. He was inspirational in his leadership and was always dependable. Playing at centre-back, he wasn’t the most talented footballer to play for United but was courageous and determined to succeed.

Bruce was good in the air, a brilliant tackler and formed one half of arguably United’s most celebrated centre-back pairing alongside Gary Pallister—known as Dolly and Daisy. Bruce took over from Robson as skipper and captained the side to the historic "double double" of Premier League and FA Cup victories in 1993-1994 and 1995-1996.

Bruce’s most iconic moment as United player is, of course, the two last gasp goals he scored against Sheffield Wednesday in the 1992-93 that helped the team clinch their first league title in 26 years. Apart from this, Bruce had a winner’s medal in the European Cup Winner’s Cup (1991) and the League Cup (1992).

You could say that under Bruce’s leadership, United took their first steps towards dominance of the English game through the '90s. Ferguson, understandably, reserved a lot of praise for Brucey in his first autobiography Managing My Life:

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“The big Geordie was a banker, one of the dourest and most dependable defenders ever to play for me. His resolution was mingled with warmth and modesty, so that he commanded respect and affection in equal measure. He led by example and fully deserved the honour of going on (after Robson bowed out) to become the most successful captain in United’s history.”

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Roy Keane

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However much Sir Alex Ferguson savaged Roy Keane in his latest autobiography, even he couldn’t help but label his former skipper as one of the most influential Manchester United players during his time. Whatever the controversies surrounding his career, United fans will always regard Keane in high esteem for his undying passion towards the club from Day One till the end.

Keane embodied the never-say-die attitude that the club drives on; he epitomized the unwavering spirit and desire to succeed that Manchester United stands for. He was a player who would not think twice before giving body, heart and soul to the club.

Following Robson’s retirement, Keane was the perfect replacement in the midfield. A box-to-box player who operated at the centre of the midfield, Keane would surge forward in attacking mode during his younger days.

He was equally adept in defence and was like a cement wall to the opposition. A deadly tackler, Keane’s infamous temper would often get him on the wrong side of the law on the pitch, but he made up for it with his superb distribution and ability to alter the tempo of the game.

Never afraid to call a spade a spade, Keane took over the armband following Eric Cantona’s retirement in 1997 and carried forward his predecessor’s aggressive swagger. He was never over-awed by the opposition, as Patrick Vieira would attest for, and would always expect his teammates to match his drive and determination.

Keane led United to an unprecedented treble in the 1998-1999 season. In 13 seasons as a Reds player, Keane made 480 appearances and scored 51 goals. It was, thus, no surprise that around 70,000 United and Celtic fans paid their tributes to him at his testimonial before he retired in 2006.