The Man Who Kept The Red Flag Flying: Jimmy Murphy

This updated, family authorised biography of Manchester United hero Jimmy Murphy, new to paperback, celebrates the career of the man who managed the club after the Munich air disaster and took charge of Wales at the 1958 World Cup.

Alongside Sir Matt Busby and Sir Alex Ferguson, nobody in the long history of Manchester United is as important as Jimmy Murphy.

As legendary Manchester United manager Busby lay in an oxygen tent in his hospital bed, recovering from the horror of the Munich plane crash, he clutched the friend of his close friend and faithful right-hand-man Murphy. Murphy stepped into Busby’s shoes and answered United’s call in their hour of need. More than that, he provided the spark which would see a phoenix spectacularly rise from the flames.

Murphy would be at Busby’s side as the club famously conquered England and Europe, driven by a new generation of Babes. Murphy would remain United’s assistant manager up to 1971, going on to become a club scout, unearthing and recruiting famous talents like Gordon Hill and Steve Coppell. In his other role as Wales’ football manager, he would mastermind his country’s appearance in the World Cup finals – taking Wales to the brink of the semi-finals in 1958.

The Man Who Kept The Red Flag Flying has been written in full cooperation with Murphy’s family, with unique insight from sons Nick and Jimmy Junior. It features contributions and comments from Sir Alex Ferguson, George Best, Tommy Docherty and Ron Atkinson, among many, and rare excerpts from the Daily Mirror and Manchester Evening News archives. 

Wayne Barton is the author of twenty books on Manchester United. He has been described as the leading writer and an ‘encyclopaedia’ on the club and in 2020, former owner Martin Edwards described him as ‘the pre-eminent writer’ of his generation on all things Manchester United. 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.
Wayne also works for Manchester United’s editorial department and can use the club’s online and social media resources to publicise the book through official channels.

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