Crerand: Why Tony Dunne is United’s greatest full-back
Dunne’s humility and team ethic were crucial to the mix, according to Crerand, in a team that featured three Ballon d’Or-winning superstars in Denis Law (1964), Bobby Charlton (1966) and George Best (1968).
“You’d never get Tony booting the ball up the pitch, because he wasn’t capable of it, but he had myself and Bobby Charlton in the middle of the park,”
recalled Paddy. “And the number of passes we got off Tony Dunne, you would not believe. Every time Tony got the ball, he was looking for one of us.
“You had outspoken people like myself and Nobby, George, Alex. Quiet? You never knew Tony was there! But you knew he was on the pitch. He was just delighted to play for Manchester United, coming from Dublin where there was a massive support for United.
“United found him for about £3,000 [£5,000) or something, something ludicrous,”
he continued. “500 games! That just shows you how good he was.”
