ALL HAIL THE KING

ROBERT J WILSON LOOKS BACK AT THE LIFE OF THE LATE, GREAT DENIS LAW

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THE last of Manchester United's famous triumvirate, Denis Law, sadly passed away in January at the age of 84.

Absolutely fearless on the pitch, Law unsurprisingly tackled dementia head on too before it finally took him.

Law, fondly known as 'The King' by those who worshipped him at Old Trafford, is now immortalised outside the stadium as part of the Holy Trinity statue alongside his former teammates George Best and Bobby Charlton.

The trio may have been contrasting in personalities and didn't socialise too much off the pitch, but on it they terrorised defences to form the foundations of Sir Matt Busby's rebuild following the Munich Air Crash of 1958.

A decade on they would finally lift the European Cup.

Law's path to adoration differed to that of Best and Charlton. They had emerged through the club's youth system with Charlton one of the fortunate survivors of Munich. Best overcame bouts of homesickness for his Belfast roots to become as famous as The Beatles.

Best made his debut at 17 in September 1963. Charlton was a year older when Matt Busby picked him for the first of 758 Manchester United appearances in 1956.

Although born in Aberdeen, Law never played for a Scottish club during his career. His family upbringing was extremely poor and he was forced to go barefoot until the age of 12. His first pair of second-hand football boots were courtesy of a generous neighbour months later.

Football would become his salvation.

Although he was awfully thin and had a squint in one eye, Law's incredible talent excelled once he switched from full-back to inside left.

He was chosen to represent Scotland at schoolboy level and at 14 was scouted by Huddersfield Town. Despite his puny appearance and the fact that he wore glasses, Law was a force of nature on the pitch.