John Aston Sr.

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John Aston
Personnel
Surname John Aston Sr.
birthday September 3, 1921
place of birth PrestwichEngland
date of death July 31, 2003
Place of death ManchesterEngland
position Defender (left), center forward
Juniors
Years station
1937-1939 Manchester United
Men's
Years station Games (goals) 1
1939-1954 Manchester United 253 (29)
National team
Years selection Games (goals)
1948-1950 England 17 0(0)
1 Only league games are given.

John Aston , also known as John Aston senior , (born September 3, 1921 in Prestwich , † July 31, 2003 in Manchester ) was an English football player . The 1950 World Cup participant, who was mostly on the left defender and later as a center forward , was only active for Manchester United and was available to the club in various functions after his active career up into the 1970s. His son of the same name was also a professional footballer and stood for "United" in the final team, which won the 1968 European Cup .

Athletic career

Aston was part of the Manchester Red Devils from the age of 15 after joining the club in 1937. Like many hopeful talents, the newcomer from Prestwich was "robbed" of a large part of a possible football career by the Second World War; instead, Aston served his country in the Middle East with the Royal Marines . The Association of the Football League resumed its official operations for the 1946/47 season and a good two weeks after its 25th birthday Aston made his debut on matchday six against Chelsea , which ended in a 1-1 draw. While he had drawn attention to himself on his debut as a tricky inside striker, coach Matt Busby then tested him in the outside runner position before he finally found his regular position as a left defender and formed an effective partnership in defense, especially with the Irishman Johnny Carey - Busby had made it very important that his defenders had technical skills in addition to physical strength, endurance and speed.

The team, which is geared towards playful qualities, showed attractive football, although with three runners-up in a row between 1947 and 1949, the league still failed to achieve a “big hit”. The greatest success in the second half of the 1940s was winning the FA Cup in 1948, to which Aston also made a significant contribution. His direct opponent in the final against Blackpool FC was probably the best English player at the time with Stanley Matthews . Aston largely neutralized Matthews; this failed and United won 4-2 at Wembley Stadium . His achievements in the cup competition made him interesting for the English national team and so he came on September 26, 1948 in a goalless draw against Denmark for the first international match. In the following two years Aston was then even a regular with the "Three Lions", where he was mostly used in the left-back position and only sporadically - although preferred by Aston itself - came into play on the right wing. He was part of the English squad that first took part in a soccer World Cup in 1950 and was part of the team that sensationally lost 1-0 to the USA after a 2-0 opening win against Chile . This was also Aston's last appearance at the World Cup finals and his penultimate international match.

Groundbreaking in the further sporting development was the middle of the 1950/51 season, when Aston represented the injured center forward Jack Rowley at United and scored 15 goals in 22 compulsory games. Although he returned to the left-back position after Rowley's recovery, he had lost his regular place in the national team with this change, as the then main responsible Walter Winterbottom Aston's lack of practice as a defender disliked. This was not changed by the fact that Aston won the English championship with Manchester United in 1952 in their traditional post. After contracting tuberculosis , Aston's active career ended in 1954 after a total of 282 competitive games and 30 goals.

After the active career

Appreciated as humble and down-to-earth, Aston remained loyal to Manchester United for a long time after his footballing career. He was initially active in the coaching staff of Matt Busby and, after the death of Bert Whalley in the plane disaster in Munich, made a significant contribution to the development of the famous "Busby Babes" of the 1950s and 1960s as the new youth coach. In 1968 he also witnessed the win of the European Cup of National Champions , in the final of which his son of the same name played an active part. Persistent knee problems ensured that in 1970 he exchanged his daily training work on the pitch for the role of “chief scout” in the club.

When Manchester United unexpectedly maneuvered into relegation danger in the 1972/73 season , Aston had to leave the club - like the then coach Frank O'Farrell in the first place . Despite the personal disappointment, he did not lose his heart and soul for United and a short time later he was still active as a talent viewer for Luton Town and Birmingham City .

After retiring from the soccer business, he worked with his son in a pet food store. Aston died at the age of 81, leaving behind two more daughters.

Achievements / titles

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