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Rating: 
Summary: Magnifico!
Review: Tommy Taylor is rated one of the greatest British centre-forwards of all time. Even stars such as Jimmy Greaves, Nat Lofthouse, Denis Law and Alfredo di Stefano testify to his uncanny ability to beat defenders in the air and his strength and skill with the ball at his feet, yet when lists of 'Best ever British strikers' are produced his name rarely gets a mention.Born in Barnsley, Tommy began his career at his local club. Concurrently Matt Busby, realising his 1952 Champions were past their best, was building his Busby Babes. When speculation mounted that Tommy was being allowed to leave Oakwell as many as 17 clubs were rumoured to have bid. In the end Busby paid the unprecedented amount of £29,999 for Tommy (he didn't want the lad to feel the pressure of a £30,000 price tag) and the Yorkshireman made his debut for United against Tom Finney's Preston at Old Trafford. He went onto a remarkable and all too brief career with Manchester United and England before the tragedy of Munich struck. The author clearly has a passion for both the player he saw as a yougster and the club he supported as a boy. What comes across is the innocence of the times and the pure enjoyment and love of the game by players and spectators. The author also interviews the greatest surviving players of the era: Finney, Lawton, Lofthouse, Charlton... the list seemingly endless. In the words of Alfredo di Stefano - this story, while obviously tragic, is nonetheless 'magnifico'
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