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Phil Chisnall - the last man t...

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Phil Chisnall - the last man to swap United for Liverpool - has died


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Manchester United and Liverpool have led the tributes to Phil Chisnall, the last man to move from Old Trafford to Anfield. 

The former inside-right was 78.

Chisnall was a product of the Manchester United youth system, signing his first professional contract just two months after the Munich Air Disaster. He'd make his debut at the age of 19 in 1961.

It wasn't until the 1963/64 season that he became a regular starter for United, earning a call-up to the England U23 side managed by Alf Ramsey.

Indeed, the future World Cup-winning manager saw plenty of potential in Chisnall, saying at the time he was, "probably the best passer of a ball in the country".

He'd amass just 47 appearances for United, scoring ten times along the way.

"It was an achievement playing so many games amongst the likes of Law, Herd, Charlton, Best, Stiles and Giles," he later said.

"I’d watch Best beat players for fun in training and I played in his debut against West Brom.

"Charlton was a joy to play with too. If we were struggling then we would look to Bobby to change the game, he was that good."

In 1964, Liverpool paid United £25,000 for Chisnall's services (inflation adjusted equivalent of €600k today). Little would any of the involved parties know at the time, that he would be last player (so far) to transfer between the clubs.

"I was only 22 and, rightly or wrongly, made the decision to move," he told the Liverpool Echo in 2013.

"I thought that I would get in the Liverpool team and my career would pick up again. It was special sitting in the room with Busby and Shankly as they negotiated my future between them.

"They were like father and son and thought the world of each other."

Despite playing - and scoring - in Liverpool's first ever European Cup tie, a 5-0 win at KR Reykjavik, Chisnall would only manage six games for Bill Shankly's side.

"Maybe I wasn’t aggressive enough,” he said of his time at Anfield.

“I saw football as a game, as a nice way of getting paid and as a way of enjoying yourself – not a matter of life or death."

A move to Southend United followed in 1967, where Chisnall would spend the bulk of his career.

He played 161 games for the Roots Hall club, scoring 32 times in a four-year stay before heading back to the north-west with Stockport County.

Football vs the far-right in Georgia and Pure Fitbaw in Scotland


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