Episode one is a whistle-stop tour through the Academy’s origin story, taking us from the needs-must beginnings of the MUJAC (Manchester United Junior Athletic Club) in the threadbare 1930s to the slick, innovative Carrington operation helmed by Nick Cox today.
It’s a treat, in numerous ways.
As the images, newspaper cuttings and glorious video clips fly by, and the epic outline of the story is passionately told by presenter (and diehard Red) Harry Robinson, you just feel pride and awe. That our club has done all of these things; that this is our story.
Then you see Tony Whelan – a man who knew Jimmy Murphy, who trained with Best, Law and Charlton, who is still intimately involved with the Academy – walking around Old Trafford and The Cliff, and you start to get a real feel for the through line that still connects modern Manchester United to Ferguson, Busby, Murphy and beyond.
