The Reds Remembered: Reflections from Terry Beckett

Countless books have been written about English football, the beautiful game. Many of those have extolled the years in the fifties and sixties, the decades which covered the emergence of Manchester United’s famous Busby Babes. The club itself has attracted writers by the legion, stretching well before the fifties and up to the present day.Very few, if any, have been able to show insights from a player who wore the Reds shirt at the same time as Matt Busby’s prodigies. This book, The Reds Remembered, is laden with memories, reflections, opinions and stories from Terry Beckett. As a young, homebred Mancunian from the inner-city district of Ancoats, Terry filled the right wing and inside-right slots for the club at academy and youth and team levels. He lived, trained and worked alongside all of those who perished in the Munich air disaster in 1958.This book does not focus exclusively on that tragedy, but includes it alongside the story of Terry’s own career progression in the game, as well as remarkably unique, close-up vignettes on celebrated team mates, coaches and managers of that era. As a talent scout for the Reds for more than thirty years, the longevity of his association with the club is unmatched. We, his four granddaughters, decided as a family project to have a series of interviews with Grandad to let him share his treasure trove of football knowledge. Much of the results of these form the foundation of The Reds Remembered.