DENIS LAW STATISTICS

As we can see there was evidence that Law was capable of putting the ball in the back of the net at the highest level, even at the tender age of 16 and playing in the more creative role of inside-forward but throughout his time at Huddersfield his numbers were decent for a young player but not spectacular. Yet he was held in very high regard by Bill Shankly his manager at the time which suggests his all-round play had a touch of genius about it and indicated that this young man was destined for great things in the game.

Law joined City before the season of 1959/60 had ended which explains the statistics of the first season at City, but once he had settled in, he made a name for himself and had his most successful season to date. Buoyed by his success, he felt the need to seek a greater challenge and accepted the challenge offered to him by legendary Turin-based outfit Torino FC.

Law would later rejoin City having enjoyed the best part of his career at rivals Manchester United. He performed satisfactorily during his one and only season of his second spell at City, infamously scoring the goal which relegated United to the second division. He then subsequently retired.

Having accepted the challenge offered to him by legendary Turin-based outfit Torino FC to play in the defensively robust Serie A, Law found it very tough and not to his liking. He enjoyed a solitary season there, where he posted respectable numbers for a 21 year old making his debut season in an alien and difficult environment but it certainly couldn't be described as a season he will fondly look back on. Despite Law's much heralded talent, at this point in his career he was still statistically unproven and it was his talent, rather than his end product which convinced Matt Busby to bring him to Old Trafford.

Prior to his move to Manchester United, it can be fair to say that for all of Law's talent and promise.. he had won nothing of note and he had not really produced breathtaking numbers on the pitch. Nevertheless he was still a very young man, and aged 23 he was about to hit his peak and start breaking records, some of which still stand today.

Law's best years statistically were the period from 1962-67 where he was regularly scoring around 25 goals plus per season. Within this period, his absolute peak was the period of 1963-65 where he almost scored 40+ goals in consecutive seasons. Considering how much he contributed to the all-round play of the side and wasn't an out and out centre-forward, these were remarkable numbers. One has to say however that the legendary 46 goal season was an outlier, and he touched a zenith that season which he found impossible to keep up with. However for a solid 6 years, two of which were injury-affected to an extent, he was the most deadly inside-forward in British football and for two years, possibly the most deadly in Europe too. Sadly during United's legendary season of 1967/68, Law began to get injured frequently and his star was on the wane., The mantle was picked up by George Best by this stage, and although Law would still prove to be a pivotal figure at United as demonstrated by his 1968/69 season, that was to be his final hurrah and he never again hit the peaks of 1962-67.

Law jointly holds the Scottish international record goal tally with 30 goals.

Law was not chosen to play for Scotland in the 1958 FIFA World Cup, but scored on his debut against Wales on 18 October 1958 and quickly established himself as a first choice player. Throughout his career, he would score goals at a good strike rate but despite being the star player of what was a very strong Scottish national team, they never featured at a major tournament until 1974 by which time Law was long past his peak and dropped from the first team after a poor display in their opening game.

Nevertheless, despite his lack of opportunity on the grandest international stages, he will be long remembered for his role in Scotland's famous 3–2 victory over England on 15 April 1967 in the 1967 British Home Championship, less than a year after England had become world champions.