I read with sadness the articles about the Munich air disaster 60 years ago by Jamie Jackson (‘They were the best team by far’, 6 February), Paul Wilson (Half a team died, but half a team survived, 6 February) and Richard Williams (‘Something of a poet’: Donny Davies, the Guardian reporter who died in the Munich air disaster, 6 February). I too still feel the pain of what happened all those years ago.
Over the years there have been many things blamed for the crash, from ice on the wings of the plane to slush on the runway. What has conveniently been forgotten is the pressure Manchester United were under to return from their game against Red Star Belgrade.
The Football Association was against United taking part in the new European Cup competition – so much so that we were told at the time that the team were only allowed to play in Europe on condition that they returned in time to fulfil their Football League fixture commitments.
But for that pressure from the Football Association it seems very unlikely that the crash would have happened, as everyone would have been free to wait for a more suitable opportunity to return home.
David Clowes
Cheadle, Greater Manchester
• As a Mancunian in exile and a 76-year-old Manchester City supporter, I found your articles and photographs commemorating the terrible Munich plane crash most moving.
Like Geoffrey Fink, Manchester United’s longest-standing season ticket holder, I still enjoy my football, and I read Jamie Jackson’s article about Mr Fink with great interest. All I could find fault with was the remark: “Even Manchester City supporters were sorry.”
No, Mr Fink, the lives of so many people cut short made us far more than just “sorry”. If I remember, we reached out to you in common humanity that transcended a mere Saturday afternoon rivalry, as I imagine you would have done to us had our team been afflicted.
Yvonne Burnett
Banstead, Surrey
• Every year when the anniversary of the disaster comes around, I hope to see some mention of the last game the Busby Babes played on English soil. Born and bred in the Oldham area but living as a law student in London, on 1 February 1958 I went along to Highbury to see Manchester United play Arsenal in the hope of finding that they were as good as everyone was saying. By half time I was convinced that they were, as they were ahead with three goals and no reply from Arsenal.
However, in the space of less than three minutes in the second half Arsenal were level. United dusted themselves down and replied with two more.
Arsenal scored again but the game ended Arsenal 4 United 5. In a lifetime watching professional football, this is probably the greatest game I ever saw. Six days later I, and I am sure many of the 60,000 who saw that match, wept as I heard what had happened in Munich.
Robert Hinton
Brighton
• My brother has reminded me that 60 years ago, when we saw the front page of the Manchester Guardian, our father, Donald Blyth – a journalist who had recently moved from that paper, and a member of the footballing family of Blyth and Shankly – sat down in the kitchen and cried over the names of the newspapermen who had died, friends and colleagues all. We’re glad to see they have not been forgotten in this week’s tributes.
Karen Lewton
Newcastle upon Tyne
• Credit should be given to the composer of Flowers of Manchester, Eric Winter (Snow, silence and song: Manchester remembers victims of Munich air crash, 7 February).
Eric was a journalist, folk singer, folk reviewer and editor of the early folk magazine Sing. He kept his authorship of the song secret for many years. It was popularised by the Spinners, and has since been re-recorded by former Spinners member Mick Groves.
Derek Schofield
Wistaston, Cheshire
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