According to Wilf: "Matt Busby called me into his office and said: 'Wilf, I'm retiring and you are to be the next manager of Manchester United'. It was 'wow'. I was just delighted about it." Sound familiar?
Wilf was in a no-win situation. Never a star performer in his playing days, he was pushed in at the sharp end with a brief to manage players who had been his peers. There's no doubt Busby's team was on the slide even though they'd reached a European Cup semi-final the year before. Wilf was 30 or 31 when appointed. Took us to the League Cup semi which we lost to City and an FA Cup semi final 2nd replay when we lost to Leeds. Even though we had the Holy Trinity, we suffered some awful defeats including a 0-4 loss at Ipswich and a 4-0 drubbing at Maine Road ( a recurring theme for United managers). But I will say this, as hamstrung as he was by Busby's interfering and by certain senior players moaning behind his back, Wilf never compromised on playing the game as he had been taught by Busby and Murphy. He left Old Trafford a very dispirited man though time seems to have healed him somewhat.
What gets me is that the lessons of history were written large in the memory of the United board; especially Gill. Determined not to copy the mistakes of Busby, they laid down the requirements for Fergie's successor. Must be experienced in Europe and have a record of winning major trophies. Instead, they tore that up and did almost exactly what Busby did in 1969 and gave control of the team to a man who, though a decent enough manager, had found his level in the game and had never given any indication of moving above that. His brand of football isn't United's. The Harrods/Marks and Sparks analogy was, for me at least, very telling and prescient.