Editing Matt Busby (section)

===Club career===
Aged 18, Busby signed for Manchester City on a one-year contract worth £5 per week on 11 February 1928,<ref name="mre">{{cite book |last=Penney |first=Ian |title=The Maine Road Encyclopedia |publisher=Mainstream |location=Edinburgh |year=1995 |isbn=1-85158-710-1 |page=37 }}</ref> with the provision for him to leave at the end of the deal if he still wished to emigrate to the United States with his mother. He decided to stay and made his debut for City on 2 November 1929, more than 18 months after first signing for the Blues, when he played at [[inside forward|inside left]] in a 3–1 win at home to [[Middlesbrough F.C.|Middlesbrough]] in the First Division. He made 11 more appearances for City that season, all at inside forward, scoring five goals in the process.

During the [[1930–31 in English football|1930–31 season]], City manager [[Peter Hodge]] decided that Busby's talents could be better exploited from the half-back line,<ref name="mre"/> with Busby playing the right-half role. In his new position, Busby built up a reputation as an intelligent player and a finer passer of the ball.<ref name="murphy_62-63">{{cite book |last=Murphy |first=Alex |title=The Official Illustrated History of Manchester United |publisher=Orion Books |year=2006 |location=London |isbn=0-7528-7603-1 |pages=62–63 }}</ref> In 1930, Manchester United made an enquiry about signing Busby from their cross-town rivals, but they were unable to afford the £150 fee that City demanded.<ref name="white_62">{{cite book |last=White |first=Jim |title=Manchester United: The Biography |year=2008 |publisher=Sphere |location=London |isbn=978-1-84744-088-4 |page=62 }}</ref> By the 1931–32 season, Busby was firmly established in the first team, missing just one match that season.<ref>{{cite book |last=James |first=Gary |title=Manchester City - The Complete Record |publisher=Breedon |location=Derby |year=2006 |isbn=1-85983-512-0 |page=341 }}</ref> Indeed, Busby and [[Jackie Bray]] became such fixtures at wing-half that club captain [[Jimmy McMullan]] had to move to forward to keep his place in the team.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ward |first=Andrew |title=The Manchester City Story |publisher=Breedon|location=Derby |year=1984 |isbn=0-907969-05-4 |page=32 }}</ref> In the 1930s Manchester City performed strongly in the [[FA Cup]]. They reached the semi-finals in 1932, and the final in [[1933 FA Cup Final|1933]] before finally winning the tournament in [[1934 FA Cup Final|1934]]. However, from the second half of the 1934–35 season, Busby's number 4 jersey was worn by [[Jack Percival (footballer, born 1913)|Jack Percival]] with increasing regularity, and Busby was sold to [[Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool]] for [[Pound sterling|£]]8,000 on 12 March 1936, having made more than 200 appearances for Manchester City.

He made his debut for the Reds just two days later, on 14 March, away to [[Huddersfield Town A.F.C.|Huddersfield Town]]; the match ended in a 1–0 Liverpool defeat. Busby opened his goalscoring account a month later – his 47th-minute strike helped his team to a 2–2 draw with [[Blackburn Rovers F.C.|Blackburn Rovers]] at [[Ewood Park]]. Busby soon made the number 4 shirt his own, ousting [[Ted Savage (footballer)|Ted Savage]] in the process. He rarely missed a game over the following three seasons. This consistency earned Busby the Liverpool [[captain (association football)|captaincy]] and he led the club with great distinction. Along with [[Jimmy McDougall (footballer)|Jimmy McDougall]] and [[Tom Bradshaw (footballer, born 1904)|Tom Bradshaw]], Busby made up what is considered by many to be the best half-back line Liverpool had ever had.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lfchistory.net/player_profile.asp?player_id=557 |title=Matt Busby |publisher=LFCHistory.net |access-date=24 October 2009 }}</ref>

[[Bob Paisley]] joined Liverpool from Bishop Auckland in 1939, and it was Busby who took him under his wing and showed him the ropes at [[Anfield]]. This led to a lifelong friendship between two of the most successful managers in English football history. The [[World War II|Second World War]] arrived soon after, and with it came an end to Busby's playing days. Like many of the Liverpool playing staff, he signed on for national service in the [[King's Regiment (Liverpool)|King's Liverpool Regiment]].