The Best Goal I Saw Denis Law Score…

Carrying on from The First Time I Saw Denis Law Play, Giles Oakley reflects on Law’s best goal.

On the eve of United’s Champions League Final against Barcelona, this is a good moment to remember Denis Law, the greatest Red to miss out on a final at such a level. No-one deserved a European Cup winner’s medal more than the King of the Stretford End but tragically he was stuck in a hospital bed after surgery for a recurrent knee injury the night that United beat Benfica 4-1 at Wembley in May 1968. No-one could have known it on that night of triumph, but that was the last trophy United were to win in Denis’ time at Old Trafford, something which has always grieved me on his behalf, as the greatest goal-scorer I have ever seen, bar none, and one of the most exciting players ever to grace the shirt.

In my earlier account of the first time I saw Denis Law play for United, I promised to describe the greatest goal I ever saw him score, but I fear I have rashly set myself a seriously difficult task, and not just for the obvious reason that he scored so many great goals. That’s true of course, as Denis scored 237 goals in his 400-plus appearances for United, a good few of which I saw either on TV or in the flesh, but no, my problem is rather different. I’m not sure I can actually describe the one I regard as Denis’ greatest goal because I don’t know exactly what happened. All I can say with certainty was that the ball hit the back of the net with astonishing ferocity. But I’m getting ahead of myself, and I will have to return to that goal later, by which time I may have been able to work out what really happened.

First, let’s take a look at some of the other great goals I saw him score, just to give some sense of the phenomenal range of his goal-scoring exploits, and celebrate the great man’s contribution to United. Of course I should hasten to add that all these goals just happen to be ones I saw in person, or in one case on TV, so there may be many more which were better, either in Denis’ eyes, or other people’s. I certainly saw plenty of other crackers on television over a ten year period.

Of course the goal that first put United back on the glory road was Denis’ opening goal in the FA Cup final victory against Leicester City in 1963. This is the one on my list which I did see on TV. What I remember about it was how Paddy Crerand, only recently signed from Celtic (with symbolic nicety on the 5th anniversary of the Munich disaster) suddenly found himself in space with time to pass square across the Leicester box straight to Law who allowed the ball to run across him before wheeling around all in one electrifying movement to thwack the ball emphatically wide of Gordon Banks. In that one moment, one sensed that the true revival of Manchester United had begun at long last. Here were two great players improvising together intuitively to create a sudden opening, and bang, it’s in the net. For me, after 5 years of supporting United, it felt like some sort of loyalty reward for the thin times. United went on to win the cup 3-1, of course, with 2 goals from Denis’ Scottish pal David Herd.

The other goals I happen to remember in a somewhat random way, are not necessarily ones with similar trophy-winning consequences. But to me they were all filled with magic. One of the earliest was at Fulham in the spring of 1964, near the end of a season full of promise which ended somewhat disappointingly. Not so this goal. I was at the Riverside end at Craven Cottage, halfway up on the terraces, repeatedly abused and threatened by an obnoxious Fulham fan with industrial-strength pebble-lens glasses which only partially hid his unhealthily florid and pock-marked face. Fulham fans are not normally like this geezer, then or now, but he made me and my United pals very nervous. We moved rapidly away after Denis’s goal. The clouds had briefly parted and the sun illuminated the whole stadium just as Denis was suddenly put through a square defence by Bobby Charlton, all alone to face the keeper Tony Macedo. He shimmied and he snaked, he sent Macedo one way, and then calmly strolled round the other to ping the ball away.Classic simplicity. Final score, 2-2.

Over the years I have probably seen United against Tottenham more than any other team, partly because my brother supports them. I saw Denis score at least 3 goals against them, in 1966, ’68 and ’70. Trouble is, I now can’t recall which goal was which. One I know was a classic over-head volley, but which was it? Another was an explosive close range shot after Georgie did his Best to exasperate all his team mates. Bobby had put him clear out wide on the left with a raking cross-field ball, while Denis moved to the far corner to receive the ‘inevitable’ cross, only to see Besty dribble all the way across the penalty area towards him, forcing Denis to move the other way, then dribble all the way back again in the other direction, obliging Denis do to the reverse all over again. Just as he almost expired with frustration, Best suddenly cut lethal, flicking the ball up, back to goal, volleying the pass over his shoulder to deliver the perfect cross to Denis, by now near the penalty spot. Kapow! It’s in the net before the Spurs defenders knew what had hit them. When you hear about these moments of Best dribbling magic, what is often forgotten is the sheer hard work and persistence allied to constant movement by his team-mates to make it all work. Denis never stopped looking for space, creating opportunities for others to exploit, and he never stopped rushing in to follow up a piledriver from Herd or Charlton, hoping the keeper would spill it for a knock in. So, whenever it was against Spurs, Law had scored and everyone was suddenly happy with Besty again. Great goal, but when was it?

Denis had knee problems from 1965 onwards, hampering him ever more seriously, something modern surgical techniques would almost certainly have sorted out with ease. So for something like 8 years at United Denis was below his best, hard to believe though that is. Throughout that period I kept hoping against hope that he’d somehow escape these problems and have a prolonged injury-free spell . That’s why I remember with real fondness a hatful of goals he got in the twilight of his United days, against Crystal Palace, three in a 5-3 win in April 1971, and two more the following September in a 3-1 win. There was the full repertoire of skills, an over-head scissors kick goal, some rasping drives, short-range stab-ins and bullet headers, all suggesting he was back to his best, and maybe, just maybe, injury free at last. Sadly by that time United were in terminal decline, with Best already up to the antics which so tragically spoiled his later years at Old Trafford, and for Denis it was simply the latest false dawn.

So finally, let’s return to the best goal I saw him score in the flesh, one of my favourite moments at Old Trafford.

To set the scene, it was the 1966-7 season, and the goal occurred against Nottingham Forest on February 11, 1967. Earlier in the season I had seen United slump to a humiliating defeat against Forest at the City Ground, losing 4-1. It was a shoddy, sloppy performance, redeemed only slightly by a late cannonball goal from Bobby Charlton, who appeared to wake up far too late to the fact that they were getting hammered. For those of you who, like me, were thrown into deepest gloom when Liverpool beat United 4-1 this season, you’ll known how I felt back then. Not that Forest were long detested rivals like the dippers, but because, managed by revered former United captain, Gentleman Johnny Carey, they were undoubtedly credible challengers for the title United so desperately wanted to regain.

So when the return match came round in February there was an awful lot at stake. United were second in the table, a point behind reigning champions Liverpool but with a game in hand (sound familiar?). Forest were a point behind in third place and had been in terrific form, full of progressive, passing football, as you’d expect from a Carey team. It was billed as a possible title decider, and one of the tensest games I can remember, with both teams playing cagily at times, but also showing why this was table-topping encounter with slick attacking play. As the clock ticked by I remember feeling very cold and shivery, not from the cold (although it was a miserable wintry day) but from nerves. I found myself shaking, knowing how much Liverpool would just love it if United dropped a point or two. I wished I had an extra sweater on. Then in the last five minutes came the moment that decided it all. There was a blur of action in the packed Forest penalty area, which was crowded with big defenders of real quality, such as centre half Bobby McKinlay, a cool but strong character who always marshalled everything at the back. Now this is where I’m not quite clear about what happened. The ball came in from somewhere, maybe Best, possibly good old Paddy Crerand, I’m not sure. Somehow Law managed to leap at the ball as it flew in at pace, appearing to almost wrap himself round McKinlay, head round one side, volleying foot round the other, body horizontal, a couple of feet off the ground, simply ignoring the considerable bulk of the centre half as he crashed the ball into the back of the net. Like Cantona’s heat-seeking missile shot in the last few minutes against Liverpool in the ’96 FA Cup Final, everyone knew it was all over, 1-0 to United with only minutes to go. Forest were totally deflated, having battled so resolutely for so long against the most feared forward line in Europe, only to see Denis the Demon King arrive from nowhere to settle it with an undefendable volley.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen film or a photo of that goal, and no-one ever mentions it, except to note that this was a vital result on the way to Matt Busby’s 5th and last Championship. We’re all used to United scoring late winners, but for me this was one of the absolute best, significantly tilting the title towards Old Trafford, as the crowd of nearly 63,000 knew all too deliriously. Suddenly I felt warm again, no more shivering, now it was just the most wonderful feeling in the world, United were on the march. In the end United won the league with 60 points, 4 more than Forest in 2nd place, the precise gap created by that vital 1-0 back in February. And where were Liverpool? 5th, 9 points behind the Champions. Just as it should be.

One other thing about that magnificent 66/67 championship winning team, which was the best I ever saw in Busby’s time. It contained one of the most exciting left backs I have ever seen for United, Bobby Noble, a tough but fast and skilful player who only made 33 appearances before a car crash tragically ended his career. He was playing that day against Forest and I thought he was fantastic, so mature for such a young player, really up for the big crunch games. He’s largely forgotten today, but everyone will understand when I say he was ‘True United’. I know Denis and all the other players had a very high regard for Noble, and that terrible accident creates yet another might-have-been at the end of the Busby era.

So there we are, the King, the King, the man who inspired a thousand chants of, ‘Give us a go-al, Give us a go-al, Denis Law, Denis Law!’ For me, the greatest United goal-scorer of all time. How I wish he’d got the European Cup medal he so richly deserved. Thank goodness his skill was appreciated in the wider world as he was voted European Footballer of the Year in 1964, the year of his lovely goal at Fulham, the year before his ever-hampering knee injury. Spare a moment as you watch Barca and United to think of Denis, and all the others who made United the force they are today.