Regarded as one of the great managers to have ever lived, Brian Clough was greatly coveted by United prior to the club having appointed Sir Alex Ferguson in 1986. At the time, manager Ron Atkinson had been sacked as United were languishing in the lower reaches of the table, and Clough was the medias favourite to replace him. Reports from former Manchester United striker Peter Davenport suggested then club-chairman Martin Edwards wanted the former Nottingham Forest manager at Old Trafford in place of Atkinson. He had played under Clough during his playing career, and was constantly quizzed by Uniteds chairman about what the Forest boss was like. Martin was always intrigued at the possibility of getting Brian Clough. He asked what he was like, how he operated, and Martin would have been very pleased if Clough had ever been in the frame for the United job, he said. Despite the media linking the club with a potential move for Clough, no deal materialised to take the two-time European cup champion to Manchester United, and instead the Red Devils appointed ex Aberdeen manager Sir Alex Ferguson to better the clubs fortunes. The rest, as they say, is history.