#2 James W. Gibson - The man who saved Manchester United
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The name is hardly remembered even by the most ardent Man Utd supporter but the club owes it’s very existence to this businessman. James W. Gibson first paid £22,000 to the club in 1931 to pay off it’s debt and even bought turkeys for the players for Christmas.
Later he formed the first ever youth academy for the club, which formed the foundations for the Busby Babes and the Fergie's Fledglings. He oversaw the tenancy of what would become later, the Cliff – United’s training ground for more than half a century.
He persuaded Midland’s Railway to stop trains at Old Trafford station so that it would become easier for the fans to travel, and when Old Trafford was bombed in 1941, he ensured that the Parliament would provide funding to United along with 9 other grounds.
He went on to sign Sir Matt Busby for the club and ensured that the club rose to new heights. In his honour, a red plaque on a railway bridge on the Sir Matt Busby Way has been unveiled along with a plaque in the player’s tunnel.
