‘I cherish my memories with Bobby every day’

Brian Kidd and Alex Stepney helped the Reds become champions of Europe alongside Sir Bobby in 1968 and shared the pitch with the proud Academy graduate during his 17-year stint as a player at Old Trafford, in which he tallied up longstanding records of 758 games and 249 goals for the men’s team, which have only been surpassed in recent times.

Both men have been remembering their good friend over recent days, sharing personal memories of Charlton as a player and a person with club media, as the one-year anniversary of his passing comes around.

“For what he’s done for Manchester United, worldwide, everybody knew Bobby’s name,” Kidd, who was on the scoresheet alongside Charlton in the ’68 final triumph over Benfica, reflected with us last week.

“As a young boy, it was a great upbringing [for me] because of the demands and expectation, the challenges to make you a player. On one hand, you’d get a rollicking, the next hand you’d get a compliment – the compliments were a bit harder to come across! – but it was a fantastic upbringing for me. 

“I cherish the memories every day and I’m not being sentimental, but I do. I think back to when I first went with him to America as a 17-year-old and it’s gone so quick. We were lucky with Denis [Law] as well and George [Best], three Ballon d’Or winners – how lucky are you to be in a team like that?”