Sir Bobby and the Pressure of…No Pressure!
Manchester United legend Sir Bobby Charlton this week urged United’s current crop of players not to be weighed down by history but instead create their own place in the record books. This coming after he had actually spoken to the United side back in February, during the 50th anniversary commemorations for the Munich air disaster, to, as it was so aptly put at the time, educate the current stars as to what has passed before them. No pressure then there, Sir Bobby?!
Charlton, who was incidentally a European Cup winner himself with United back in 1968, told the players that to actually win the Champions League would enable them to write their own names in the annals of history. At the same time he was quick to pay tribute to those players that so sadly died on that snowy afternoon in Munich, but also reiterated that next Wednesdays (21st May) final in Moscow will essentially be all about doing it for themselves.
He also mentioned that it wouldn’t be fair to tell them that they had to win the Champions League to help mark the 50th anniversary of the tragedy. No pressure there either, then! He went on to say how they will be able to make their own mark but knew that with a triumph in Moscow they will write their own history.
Remarkably, the strange lecture carried on. He said that the final is all about them and nothing else and that he had no misgivings at all about saying what he did to the players (back in February, one presumes!).
He then came up with the best part of the whole tirade by saying that what he told the players wasn’t pressure and that he would never put pressure like that on them….! He then topped things off nicely by claiming that if United beat Chelsea next week there would be great satisfaction amid everybody connected with the Munich disaster.
With statements like this appearing less than a week before the big game, how will the players not feel the pressure? Mind games should be aimed at the opposition, something which United’s manager, Sir Alex Ferguson is pretty good at himself. There is no doubting though that he will not be best pleased with one of United’s most famous stalwart’s efforts….
Until the next time then.
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