It started with the manager being sacked for having an affair with the physio’s wife – and Manchester United deciding that Brian Clough was just too big for Old Trafford.
It ended with the appointment of Alex Ferguson and the beginning of his quest to become the boss of all bosses.
For nine years – between the summer of 1977 and the late autumn of 1986 – the most famous club in English football lumbered from the sublime to the ridiculous.
The Stretford End’s infamous Red Army embarked on regular invasions of Wembley.
But a solitary second-placed finish was as good as it got in the First Division – during an era dominated by Liverpool and which saw Clough’s Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa also lift the European Cup.
A book about one of the most turbulent periods in United’s history details the club that Ferguson inherited when he replaced Ron Atkinson as manager in November 1986.
Que Sera, Sera opens with Tommy Docherty’s roller-coaster reign being ended just six weeks after he guided United to the FA Cup.
As the nation celebrated the Queen’s Silver Jubilee, the Doc was sacked after confessing to the board that he was in a relationship with the wife of physiotherapist Laurie Brown.
Chairman Louis Edwards wanted Bobby Robson. Clough wanted United. Neither got his wish.
So Dave Sexton spent the next four years failing to win any silverware, Clough guided Forest to the league title and successive European Cup successes.
Sexton was seen as the perfect antidote to the in-your-face Docherty and United’s directors feared they would be unable to control the maverick Clough.
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But, under the man known as “Whispering Dave” for his quiet approach, United embarked on a journey that would bring its share of pain before it took them to the man who would spend 26 years becoming the most successful manager in the club’s history.
United lost to Arsenal in the FA Cup Final in 1979 – after coming back from 2-0 down – and then finished runners-up to Liverpool in the title race 12 months later.
But players complained about needing a university degree to understand Sexton’s tactics and he was sacked in the summer of 1981, despite winning the last seven games of the season.
Once again, Clough was ready to quit the City Ground – but was still deemed too much of a maverick. Lawrie McMenemy agreed to take the job – but had a change of mind when his wife refused to move to Manchester.
Bobby Robson and Ron Saunders opted to stay at Ipswich and Aston Villa, respectively, before new chairman Martin Edwards agreed to West Brom’s demand for £60,000 compensation for Atkinson.
“It doesn’t bother me that I wasn’t first choice,” said the Liverpudlian. “I prefer to think that I was offered the job ahead of the best manager in the country – Brian Clough.”
One of Atkinson’s first signings was to become a pivotal figure in United’s glorious future.
Eric Harrison had been a team-mate of Atkinson when they were doing national service with the RAF.
His appointment as youth-team coach was to prove a masterstroke – although Atkinson himself was long gone when Ferguson unleashed the ’Class of 92.
United flirted regularly with the top of the league, but solace again came in the FA Cup, winning the trophy in 1983 and 1985.
There was a never-to-be-forgotten night in Europe when Diego Maradona’s Barcelona were humbled 3-0 at Old Trafford, only for Juventus to put paid to United’s hopes. An injury to Bryan Robson put paid to United’s title hopes that same season, but, in the summer of 1985, they opened the campaign with 13 wins and two draws.
A TV blackout meant the nation didn’t get to see the Reds’ rampant start, but the cameras were back on again as Atkinson’s team eventually finished fourth in what was supposed to be a two-horse race with Liverpool.
Atkinson tried to act like a United boss. There were failed bids for Glenn Hoddle, Kevin Keegan, Liam Brady, Trevor Francis, Charlie Nicholas and Mark Lawrenson.
But when a home draw with Coventry left United 19th in the table on the first day of November 1986, he was doomed.
The rest, as they say, is history.
- ***Que Sera, Sera by Wayne Barton is published by Pitch Publishing***