Pat Crerand

Patrick Timothy ("Paddy") Crerand (born 19 February 1939 in Glasgow) was a footballer of Irish descent who represented his country 16 times. [cite web | author= | title="Pat Creand - The Donegal Influence At Celtic" | work=Association of Donegal Celtic Supporters Clubs | url=http://donegalassoc-csc.net/patcreand.htm| accessdate=28 May | accessyear=2007]

After six years at Celtic F.C. (120 appearances, 5 goals), he signed for Manchester United on 6 February 1963, the fifth anniversary of the Munich air disaster, making his debut against Blackpool. He was a hard tackling midfielder who, while known for his tenacity and tackling ability, was also an accurate passer, creating chances for attacking players such as Bobby Charlton and George Best. It was once said that while United had Best, Law and Charlton, an in-form Paddy was the heartbeat of the team.

He helped United to the league championship in 1965 and 1967 and won winners' medals in the 1963 FA Cup and 1968 European Cup finals. He retired in 1972, having appeared in 401 games, scoring 19 goals for United.

He was manager of Northampton Town in 1976-77 and covered United matches on local radio in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Today, he appears regularly on MUTV, Manchester United's television channel, as a co-commentator on its coverage of all Manchester United first-team matches, as well as appearing as a pundit on the phone-in show "Crerand and Bower...In Extra Time" until Steve Bower's departure (joining sports broadcaster Setanta Sports) at the end of the 2006/07 season.

Crerand is even fondly recognised by younger United fans today since his humorously biased commentary during United matches allows him to maintain his cult status amongst all connected to United at Old Trafford.

In 1995 Crerand supported Eric Cantona during the time of his infamous kung-fu kick on Crystal Palace fan Matthew Simmons. Both before and after this incident, Crerand became known for being a 'cheerleader' for the Old Trafford club in media interviews. Crerand's autobiography, Never Turn The Other Cheek, written with Andy Mitten, was published in September 2007 by Harper Collins.

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