Celtics legendary manager, the late Jock Stein, nearly joined Manchester United back in the early 70s, but reports suggested his wife wasnt keen on moving to England so he rejected their approach. "I'm happy where I am, I like the people I work with, I like the players and the directors of this club but most of all I like the fans and to see them happy makes me happy, so I'm very happy here," he said at the time of the rumours. A major shame, considering the impact the legend had in all of his appointments. United made approaches for a host of managers prior to appointing Frank OFarrell in 1971, following the departure of influential Sir Matt Busby, but losing such a important figurehead of the club led to their demise in the league. Stein was a target due to his unrivalled success with Scottish Premier League side Celtic, winning a total of 10 league titles between 1966 and 1977. The late manager did eventually make the move to England to join Leeds United, but it wasnt until almost a decade after the Red Devils had initially approached for his services.
Crippy Cooke, 23, is a freelance Football Writer contributing to What Culture. He's had work featured on Zoo, MSN, London 24, The Telegraph, The Huffington Post, and was recently named Writer of the Year on FTBpro - while also a nominee for Best Male Blog in the Football Blogging Awards.
