Colin Gibson (1948/49)

The transfer fee that brought Cardiff City outside-right Colin Gibson to Tyneside was the biggest paid out by any club in the summer of 1948. Although he worked hard the move never really worked out, not helped by the fact he was asked to play at inside-right rather than in his favoured position on the outside in half his games.

Gibson was regarded as one of the best wingers in Division 2 and Arsenal, Man City and Sunderland had all failed in bids for him. In 1947/48 he had made 29 appearances, scoring 6 goals, for the Welsh side

However he had not been happy and had put in a transfer request on three separate occasions during the season. He also did all his training at Bolton where he lived.

Tall and fair-haired, Gibson was renowned for flying sprints down the touchline. Very industrious, with an amazing capacity for work, he was a good ball player although he occasionally hung on to the sphere too long.

When he was signed, Stan Seymour, with the previous year's £60,000 profit burning a hole in his pocket, candidly stated: "we were not really in urgent need of an outside-right but a good player in any position is much more use to us than £15,000".

Although he started in his favoured outside-right slot he was moved inside with George Stobbart going on the wing. He had performed reasonably well, but United were in a period where they were trading players at an incredible rate. However, it was still a shock when he was one of eleven players listed in January.

The move drew criticism from director Westwood. "I think the Board should show loyalty to their players and the manager. Those responsible for putting such men as Gibson and Hair on the transfer list should state their reasons. These men have never complained or asked for a transfer, there has been no complaint about them and George Martin, the manager, was not responsible for putting them on the list". He further claimed that supporters were "seething with indignation" and were considering organising protest meetings.

Relegation-threatened Aston Villa were prepared to pay £2,500 more than he had cost and after a slight delay, caused by the player suffering a bout of influenza, he was off the the Midlands.

In August 1948 George Martin, Newcastle manager and trained operatic tenor, was due to perform at a big Newcastle cinema concert, but he had to dash off to watch a player. Therefore two United players - “crooner” Frank Brennan and accompanist Colin Gibson - were drafted in at the last minute.