Sean's back at Old Trafford - 60 years on from playing with Best, Law & Charlton!

How many footballers from their hometown can actually say: "Best? Charlton? Law? Crerand? Sure I trained and played with them………..”

Well, there’s one who certainly can and, believe it or not, he made his first trip back to Old Trafford just recently after almost SIXTY years!

As a then 15yr.old fledgling, Sean Davis from Argyle Street in Derry hopped on a local bus to Belfast, boarded a plane to Manchester and was collected at the airport by none other than Manchester United and Scotland international footballer Pat Crerand. What an envious start to any young player’s apprenticeship!

But, Manchester United were not the first cross-channel professional club to have spotted the potential of the young Davis for, whilst playing for

his local youth club, St. Eugene’s Boys Club, Sean was signed by Millwall F.C. on schoolboy terms at only 13yrs of age and it was while playing a

game for a Northern Ireland Youth Club Select team in Belfast that he caught the eye of United’s most famous of scout’s, Bob Bishop, the man who ‘found’ George Best just a few years earlier.

“Yes, Pat Crerand and his wife, Noreen, collected me at the airport and took me to their home. I lived with them for the first three months of my apprenticeship and then moved into ‘digs’ at No. 19 Gorse Road, Stretford. Little did I realise at the time that it was the same house that Duncan Edwards had stayed in and I was the first boy that the landlady had taken in since Duncan died in the Munich Air Disaster in 1958. She took me in as a personal favour to Matt Busby. I stayed there for a further six months before moving in with a few other of the lads who were at the club at the time”.

Sean’s recent trip to watch the Red Devils take on Fulham was his first trips back in almost six decades and, while surveying the surroundings of the stadium, Sean was reminiscing of how he would get the bus from the boarding house to Old Trafford, walk over ‘that’ bridge into the ground.

He was takoing in the statue of ‘The Holy Trinity’, the statue of Sir Matt Busby and, of course, the newly erected statue of Jimmy Murphy, assistant manager to Busby when, outside the International Suite at the ground, who should appear but Pat Crerand himself who couldn’t believe who he was seeing.

“My God,” said Pat, “Sean Davis! What are you doing here son? Have you got your boots with you?” and the two spent the next half-hour talking over those by-gone days.

Of course, this wasn’t the first time that the two had met since 1965, for Pat was ambassador to the United team which visited Omagh Town F.C, where Sean was assistant manager, for the famous charity match in 1999 in aid of the town’s bombing disaster fund.

While in Manchester, Sean also attended Stretford High School two nights per week, a condition of all schoolboy terms at the time, but within the year his football aptitude was well noticed at the club and he became a youth team regular before turning out for United Reserves.

“Our team manager/coach at that time was John Aston Snr., a former United player and father of Johnny Aston who played in the European Cup winning side of ’68, aided by another former player and future Utd manager, Wilf McGuinness.

"We had a great team of players which included Brian Kidd, Don Givens (QPR & Republic of Ireland) and goalkeeper Jimmy Rimmer, who won a European Cup medal with Aston Villa. It was fantastic for a few of us, myself included, who were chosen to train and play matches with the first team.

"I have great memories of that. George Best, the greatest player I’ve ever seen, Denis Law, lightening fast, Bobby Charlton with his 30 yard power shots, Pat Crerand, the hardest tackler I had seen and Nobby Stiles. Bobby and Nobby won the World Cup with England in ’66! I was playing at left side midfield at the time, trying to dislodge those two from the first team. The training ground at that time was called The Cliff.

“Two of my greatest memories off-field were playing cricket with the senior players during rest times. Now they all play golf!

"Another special memory was of George one day after training taking myself and another young lad, Pete O’ Sullivan (who went to play for Brighton), into Sale in his E-type Jaguar. He took us to his new men’s clothing boutique – ‘Edwardia’ – and kitted us out in the latest trendy gear. Imagine that! It was 1967, we were 17 year olds, wearing ‘swinging ‘60s’ fashion!”

During that time, Sean was a regular traveller with the first team to away games as was the done thing to integrate the ‘next generation’ of Busby Babes.

“There was no set panel of 16 or so like they have now, where they all sit in the dug-out,” explains Sean. “The first team travelled together and we followed by car. Brian Kidd and myself were regular passengers with John Aston Snr.”

Another coincidence during Sean’s time was that, in 1966, Matt Busby signed goalkeeper Alex Stepney who was the ‘keeper at Milwall F.C. when Sean paid holiday time visits to the club. Indeed Sean and Stepney continued that friendship for years thereafter.

Unfortunately for Sean injury curtailed his progress at that time when he suffered a torn knee cartilage which took a bit longer than normal to heal and, as he himself admits, he ‘missed his chance’.

“While I was recovering, Nobby Stiles got injured – for the first time ever, haha!” laughs Sean, “John Fitzpatrick was called in to play in his place at left half. John was then in and out of that position for that season until eventually settling in at left back when Shay Brennan retired. It just goes to show!

"And don’t forget, Brian Kidd then got his ‘call-up’ in the European Cup final in place of Denis Law!”

Sean’s time at United had passed and within the year, to help recuperate, he moved on to Torquay Utd which was managed at the time by future United manager, Frank o’ Farrell. It was here that Sean was ‘spotted’ by a Middlesbrough scout, the club at that time managed by Stan Anderson with assistant manager Harold Shephardson (assist. manager to Sir Alf Ramsay) and captained by another famous Derry footballer, the one and only John (Jobby) Crossan.

Following a two-season stint at The Riverside, Sean decided to return home and signed for Sligo Rovers in the League of Ireland.

“Those memories will never leave me," adds Sean, “And I was never envious of those that ‘made it’. Even after my playing days, I never wanted to give it up and began coaching, having gained my badges at Lilleshall, England, the Football League’s Centre of Excellence. Also at that coaching academy was Pat Rice, Mervyn Day, Tony Galvin and Aston Villa centre forward and European Cup medal winner Peter Wythe amongst others. I gained top grade F.A., I.F.A., F.A.I and European Grade1 License coaching badges.

"I have coached and managed teams at Senior (Omagh Town) Junior (Culdaff) and Intermediate level (Oxford Utd) and have had players through my soccer academy who have gone on to play professionally and have gained International caps. I have been coaching for almost 40 years and my greatest enjoyment now is to see the youngsters who come to my School of Soccer Academy, both north and south, during the holiday periods Easter and summer, really enjoying themselves. Between ages of 6-16, that’s what it’s all about!”

Sean has proved he doesn’t dwell on his past playing career and has enjoyed every moment of ‘giving something back’ to the game that gave him those everlasting memories.