[TomClare]

Charlton was asked by Malam, the distinguished Sunday Telegraph football reporter, to compare Rooney and Edwards, whom Charlton played alongside before Edwards perished at Munich.

"If you asked me if I saw any similarities between Duncan and Wayne Rooney, I would say their enthusiasm, their love of playing the game.

"But Wayne is different. For a start, he plays in a different position from the one Duncan usually occupied. He does things that Duncan doesn't do, and Duncan did things he could never do. Kids come to me now and ask what Duncan Edwards was really like. What I tell them is that he was really gentle as a person, but really loud with his football. Tough as hell he was, too, and brave as a lion.

"On the pitch he was like a big dynamo. His size and presence were undeniable and have never been bettered since. People have tried to compare him with anybody who has had a couple of good games, and said: 'It's the new Duncan Edwards!' It happened with Bryan Robson, and Kevin Beattie, but there's nobody like him.

"Roy Keane was a bit of a talisman, but even he didn't have the strength, the power and the ability of Duncan. But for Munich and his tragic early death, Duncan would have been one of the most famous players in the world. I miss him still."

[DrGuinness]

Good stuff. Thanks for this.