Duncan Edwards: Eternal: An intimate portrait of Manchester United’s lost genius

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With the growing legend of Duncan Edwards, Jimmy Murphy relayed a new message to his players before the first leg at Stamford Bridge. The book, which will be released on February 16, includes new interviews from United and English football heroes as well as unseen photographs from an iconic career and life that was agonisingly cut short by the Munich Air Disaster in 1958. The Manchester Evening News will publish a series of excerpts from the upcoming biography, including this one on how Edwards survived two miraculous brushes with death on the very same day: Dudley’s favourite son was 21 when he died from injuries sustained in the Munich Air Disaster, yet his legacy lives on and he is still described by many as the greatest player there ever was. Duncan Edwards was the jewel in the crown of the Busby Babes, an all-time legend at just 21, who was denied the chance to achieve even greater footballing success by the Munich Air Disaster in 1958.

Duncan Edwards: Eternal : An intimate portrait of Manchester

Upon landing, Duncan confided in Express writer Bob Pennington. Pennington asked if it would be okay to report the story – but Edwards asked him not to. It was already informally known that Duncan hated flying. Even going to Ringway Airport with Molly to watch the flights take off sometimes made him apprehensive. Whether or not this particular story would be one of embarrassment more than it might stir some political unrest was not quite certain – Duncan was due to be demobbed, and may well have had that on his mind too. He said to us all, whilst Duncan was sitting there, that we were not to have a ‘Duncan Edwards complex’,” recalls Wilf McGuinness. Duncan Edwards' heart-breaking yet remarkable story is one entrenched into the folklore of Manchester United and the minds of every single supporter.If those United kids had played as Murphy believed they could, then his team-talk may well have gone down in history. But Chelsea were a good team: taking heed of what was happening in Manchester, they were hoovering up the local talent. They gave a polished display in the first half and took a lead in at the break. United, meanwhile, looked disjointed. Kenny Morgans was struggling at outside-right, and Brennan looked uncomfortable at centre-forward. Edwards and Charlton had been on the periphery of the game as inside-forward and outside-left. Murphy needed his two stars to exert their own influence. The most forensic account of this remarkable life and career includes new interviews, as well as contributions from icons of United and the wider English game - plus quotes from Edwards himself. Edwards will always be a colossal figure in United history and, since his tragic passing in 1958, tales of the late great Busby Babe have become legendary. Team-mate Bobby Charlton summed Edwards up best: “Sentiment can throw a man’s judgement out of perspective. Yet it is not the case with him. A few are great, and deserve respect. But Duncan Edwards was the greatest.” I had a similar feeling when reading this as when I read Forever Young about Adrian Doherty. Even though I knew the ending, one of tragically unfulfilled potential, it didn’t stop me from pouring over the excellent detail of the days and weeks leading up to and after the crash.

Duncan Edwards book tells tales of Manchester United New Duncan Edwards book tells tales of Manchester United

Team-mate Bobby Charlton summed Edwards up best: "Sentiment can throw a man's judgement out of perspective. Yet it is not the case with him. A few are great, and deserve respect. But Duncan Edwards was the greatest." Writing about Edwards and indeed Munich is a serious task, but Barton is confident fans will enjoy the book and learn more about Duncan's life. “It was terrifying! In the same way as doing the book on George [Best],” Wayne told us. “I felt so confident at the end of writing that, and I did a book on Jimmy Murphy before. People might disagree, but if you were to name five precious people in United history, Duncan, Jimmy and George are probably in that five. They might even be the top three you’d speak of, in terms of how precious the stories are and how careful you’ve got to be in telling that story. You want to do it because you want to challenge yourself, but also it’s so precious. What could and would have been is the mystery of this book and the reason why Manchester United is what it is today. Wayne has interviewed and worked with players through every decade of the club’s post-War years. In recent years Wayne has produced films in conjunction with his books, working on ‘Too Good To Go Down’ in 2018 and ‘True Genius: George Best’ in 2022, both for BT Sport.For Barton, it was vital that Duncan’s family were happy with the book and the messages that it conveys about their iconic relative. “The idea of having something out there that tells the story of Duncan how it was, to a lot a people it might be sacrilege… that you’re scratching away the myth and the legend, but I feel it’s important to do that for some of these people,” said Wayne. To help you reduce the use of non-reusable carrier bags, NFM offers you a wide range of tote bags made from eco-cotton and other recycled materials NFM Eco bags Bobby Charlton remembered it vividly too: “‘Try to put more pressure on your own ability,’ he told us. ‘There may be days when Dunc isn’t around. Sometimes you have to solve your own problems.’” The book, which will be released on February 16, includes new interviews from United and English football heroes as well as unseen photographs and is written with contributions from Edwards’ friends and family.