JAMIE MURRAY
Jamie Murray was a winger as a youngster but was given his big break at left back by Ron Atkinson at the start of the 1977-78 season, away at Chester. United were newly promoted to the old third division but had lost their opening two games, conceding seven goals in the process. The Us drew 0-0 and another momentous season was up and running. Big Ron hailed his new 19-year-old defender that afternoon as ‘a revelation’.
Jamie made 21 appearances that season, and notched his first goal in amber and black in the 5-0 thrashing of Lincoln - a 30-yard screamer. Jamie had to bide his time before establishing himself in that great United team, though, not least due to the arrival of another United legend, and fellow Hall of Famer, Lindsay Smith who was preferred at left back. The following two seasons he appeared mainly on the left wing or off the bench, but at the start of the 1980-81 season, under John Docherty in the old second division, he made the left back spot his own. Jamie missed just two games over the course of the following three seasons, a remarkable record during the course of an unprecedented period of success for the club in the second tier.
In 1983, after United had drawn 0-0 at Selhurst Park, John Docherty said of Jamie ‘I’ve been telling people for years that he’s the best full back in the second division’. Jamie had just marked Palace’s star winger Vince Hilaire out of the game.
Jamie didn’t score many goals, just three for United. One, the winner at home to QPR in December 1979, was televised, impressing the very-hard-to-impress Gerry Harrision. It still available to enjoy on You Tube, check it out when you get home.
After John Docherty departed Jamie joined first division Sunderland on loan in March 1984 with a view to a permanent transfer. A fee of £50,000 was agreed but after just a single game he picked up a knee injury that ruled him out for the rest of the season and the deal fell through. Instead, despite interest from other first division clubs, Jamie left to rejoin ‘The Doc’ at Brentford, for £30,000. He went on to enjoy a far better season in the third division than United, who were relegated for the second year in a row.
Jamie rejoined the U’s under Chris Turner in the fourth division in September 1987 and, for a while, he displaced a young pretender at left back – another Hall of Famer, Alan Kimble. Sadly, a knee injury forced Jamie to call time on his United (and his Football League) career at the start of the following season, aged just 30.
Ask any United fan watching the Us in those wonderful second division days about Jamie Murray and they will tell you the same thing - he was fast. Jamie was lightning fast. Has there ever been a quicker player at the Abbey Stadium? After the Us lost 3-0 at Orient in August 1980 the local paper – the Newham Recorder – reported with genuine astonishment that, finally, a visiting full back had been able to keep up with the Os flying winger John Chidozie!
In total Jamie made 269 first team appearances for the Us across nine seasons. His remarkable run of 148 consecutive league games between November 1980 and January 1984 set a club record. What makes Jamie a legend, though, is that the vast majority of those games were in the old second division, the Championship today. Wonderful times. A wonderful player.
Jamie Murray was a winger as a youngster but was given his big break at left back by Ron Atkinson at the start of the 1977-78 season, away at Chester. United were newly promoted to the old third division but had lost their opening two games, conceding seven goals in the process. The Us drew 0-0 and another momentous season was up and running. Big Ron hailed his new 19-year-old defender that afternoon as ‘a revelation’.
Jamie made 21 appearances that season, and notched his first goal in amber and black in the 5-0 thrashing of Lincoln - a 30-yard screamer. Jamie had to bide his time before establishing himself in that great United team, though, not least due to the arrival of another United legend, and fellow Hall of Famer, Lindsay Smith who was preferred at left back. The following two seasons he appeared mainly on the left wing or off the bench, but at the start of the 1980-81 season, under John Docherty in the old second division, he made the left back spot his own. Jamie missed just two games over the course of the following three seasons, a remarkable record during the course of an unprecedented period of success for the club in the second tier.
In 1983, after United had drawn 0-0 at Selhurst Park, John Docherty said of Jamie ‘I’ve been telling people for years that he’s the best full back in the second division’. Jamie had just marked Palace’s star winger Vince Hilaire out of the game.
Jamie didn’t score many goals, just three for United. One, the winner at home to QPR in December 1979, was televised, impressing the very-hard-to-impress Gerry Harrision. It still available to enjoy on You Tube, check it out when you get home.
After John Docherty departed Jamie joined first division Sunderland on loan in March 1984 with a view to a permanent transfer. A fee of £50,000 was agreed but after just a single game he picked up a knee injury that ruled him out for the rest of the season and the deal fell through. Instead, despite interest from other first division clubs, Jamie left to rejoin ‘The Doc’ at Brentford, for £30,000. He went on to enjoy a far better season in the third division than United, who were relegated for the second year in a row.
Jamie rejoined the U’s under Chris Turner in the fourth division in September 1987 and, for a while, he displaced a young pretender at left back – another Hall of Famer, Alan Kimble. Sadly, a knee injury forced Jamie to call time on his United (and his Football League) career at the start of the following season, aged just 30.
Ask any United fan watching the Us in those wonderful second division days about Jamie Murray and they will tell you the same thing - he was fast. Jamie was lightning fast. Has there ever been a quicker player at the Abbey Stadium? After the Us lost 3-0 at Orient in August 1980 the local paper – the Newham Recorder – reported with genuine astonishment that, finally, a visiting full back had been able to keep up with the Os flying winger John Chidozie!
In total Jamie made 269 first team appearances for the Us across nine seasons. His remarkable run of 148 consecutive league games between November 1980 and January 1984 set a club record. What makes Jamie a legend, though, is that the vast majority of those games were in the old second division, the Championship today. Wonderful times. A wonderful player.