UTD Podcast | Steve Coppell recalls dream debut for Man Utd in 1975

United had, in fact, only won two of their first six games in the calendar year 1975. The confidence-sapping sequence featured losses to Bristol City at Old Trafford and away to Oxford United (both 0-1) and Aston Villa (0-2), while the side also failed to score against Sunderland (0-0).

The goals had dried up and to remedy the situation, The Doc reached out to economics degree student Steve, who also happened to be a livewire winger on the books of Tranmere Rovers.

“He said to me, ‘You’ll be sub today.’ I thought ‘Brilliant.’ But my boots were away with the Tranmere team at Aldershot!” recalled Coppell.

“So when we got to the ground [Old Trafford], I was looking at the second and third pairs of boots of all the other players. I ended up playing in Stuart Pearson’s third or fourth pair, he let me use them!”