Law gave fans the time of their lives

IT IS rare for a footballer to be a great, a legend and a king. Denis Law was all three.

-  SAMUEL LUCKHURST

The most treasured item of football memorabilia in my possession remains the esteemed Manchester Evening News United correspondent David Meek's book United in Europe. Inside are scrawled two signatures: Law's and George Best's.

I was 10 when a family friend met the greats at an after-dinner ceremony and got both of their autographs. The day after I regained the book, it was packed into my schoolbag for an imposed show-and-tell.

A United-supporting friend once sat next to Law on a flight back to Manchester. He idolised Law but kept it quiet that Tommy Docherty had been close with his father.