SIR ALEX Ferguson has spoken of his respect for former Manchester United defender Bill Foulkes, who passed away in the early hours of Monday morning at the age of 81.
Foulkes, who grew up in Nutgrove, worked down the pit at Lea Green Colliery when he was first took on by United in the 50s.
By the time he has finished his Old Trafford career he had amassed 688 appearances (now the fourth highest in the club's history), and won the European Cup.
He was a rock at the back of a famous United side that featured Best, Law and Charlton.
But it was the story of how the defender survived the Munich disaster in 1958 and then captained a United side less than a fortnight later that marked him out as a Reds legend.
Sir Alex, the former United manager, told the Manchester United website: "I was very sad to hear the news.
"Bobby (Charlton) and I were talking about Bill yesterday on the way down to Cardiff. He was a really nice man and a great servant to the club, too.
“When I first came in as manager, Bill was managing in Norway and he used to bring players over to training at the Cliff. He came to training quite a lot and I got to know him well through that. He was such a nice, quiet man to know.”
Ferguson added: “The story of his life was absolutely incredible and he’s assured of his place in our history by his appearances and by the way he performed, particularly in the aftermath of the Munich air disaster.
“Having gone through that, how he and Harry Gregg managed to perform a couple of weeks later, leading those young lads out against Sheffield Wednesday – and winning the game - was absolutely incredible. He was an exceptional man.”
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