As Manchester United paid tribute to Sir Bobby Charlton at Old Trafford before their derby against City, Steve Coppell looked on at Brighton.
‘I was with David Kemp. We realized we were the only people in the Amex who had actually played against Bobby when he finished his career at Preston,” smiled Coppell.
“Dave said he nutmegged the big man. I couldn’t claim that, but I did face him for Tranmere and he trained with us at United after he retired. I was in awe of him, he had high standards.
‘Every now and then one of the boys, who is not at his level, will mumble, ‘I thought he was done playing!’ You could see the enormous respect that everyone had from the moment he walked in.”
Coppell has a lot of good stories, as you would expect from a great career spanning 50 years. He made a big impression halfway through his economics studies, won the FA Cup with United and played in a World Cup for England.
Former Manchester United star Steve Coppell has reflected on his time with the Red Devils
Coppell made 322 appearances for Manchester United during an eight-year spell at the club
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When an injury at the age of 28 ended his playing days, he became manager and gave Ian Wright and Gareth Southgate their professional debuts at Crystal Palace. Even the more recent years are sprinkled with stardust.
One job took him to Kerala Blasters in India, founded by cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar. Now 68, Coppell remains smart and modest, with a quick wit that is the product of his upbringing in Rainhill, just outside Liverpool.
He was always a little different and still can’t understand why he chose to start at Tranmere as an amateur, rather than get paid. Even when he was offered the chance to join United in 1975, he wasn’t sure.
“I was talking to my dad and he told me firmly that you don’t turn down a club like Manchester United,” Coppell recalls. ‘My problem was that I wanted to complete my studies at the University of Liverpool. Luckily for me, United were managed by Tommy Docherty at the time.
‘His exact words were: ‘Football will eat you up and spit you out. A diploma is for life. We will work around it.” I was able to do both thanks to Doc, a special person in my career.
‘It all happened so quickly. I didn’t have any boots for my United debut, I had to borrow a pair from Stuart Pearson. I put a goal in front of him and we won 4-0.’
United won promotion to the First Division in his first season, reached the FA Cup final in his second and lifted the trophy against Liverpool in 1977, with Coppell helping to deny his boyhood heroes the Treble.
“We trained to play at a million miles an hour,” he describes. ‘We pressed up the pitch, won the ball high and it was my job as a winger to get the crosses in. They call it a full press now, but we did it back then.”
The now 68-year-old admitted he ‘had no boots’ for his United debut in 1975
He went on to win an FA Cup and an FA Charity Shield during his time with the Red Devils
Between 1977 and 1981, Coppell made 206 consecutive league appearances for United, a club record.
For someone blessed with natural fitness, it was a cruel irony that a terrible kick to the knee while playing for England against Hungary in 1981 would ultimately end his career prematurely.
“It turned out to be a broken ACL, but we didn’t know that at the time,” Coppell said. ‘I remember driving back to Manchester after the match. My leg was killing me.
‘I kept playing. Something was wrong, but I didn’t want surgery because it would cost me a place at the 1982 World Cup. I went to the tournament and did well, but before the last match against Spain my knee swelled.
‘I got an injection the night before so I could play and there was a reaction: I started sweating and vomiting. The manager, Ron Greenwood, a caring man, said he wouldn’t put me there.
‘I’ve had three operations, I’ve played occasionally, but it wasn’t resolved. In October 1983 I had to accept that this was the end. I remember calling my roommate Ray Wilkins and crying.”
Coppell toyed with becoming an economics teacher, but during a three-month stint in Amsterdam for rehabilitation he found himself keeping up with football news. Clearly the itch was still there and in June 1984 he jumped at the chance to become boss of Crystal Palace. ‘It took five years before we were promoted to the First Division. Nowadays a manager would no longer get that time,” he reflects.
‘I’m extremely proud that we reached the FA Cup final and finished third in the First Division and proud to see what some of those players have done since.
A kick to the knee while playing for England against Hungary in 1981 ultimately ended his career prematurely. Coppell is pictured getting away from Scotland’s Kenny Dalglish (right)
He seized the opportunity to become Crystal Palace boss in June 1984 after his retirement
‘I’m sure Ian Wright wouldn’t mind if I said he could barely finish a sentence without swearing when he first arrived. Now he has an OBE and is in high demand on television. I’m very happy: he has used his opportunities brilliantly.
‘When I was thinking about which players would become managers, Alan Pardew was at the top, having already managed a side in the Sunday League, and Gareth near the bottom. I thought he was too sensible.
‘What he has done with England is excellent. I can’t think of anyone who could do that job better representing the FA and the country. It shows that having common sense in football, on top of general common sense, goes a long way.”
Palace’s 1-0 defeat to Manchester United in the 1990 FA Cup final replay proved historic and gave Alex Ferguson his first major trophy in England under pressure.
“We had beaten United 2-1 at Old Trafford,” Coppell explains. ‘Fergie was normally a good host after matches, but this time it was different. Not much was said, he continued to stare at the carpet.
“I thought he was a dead man walking around. A month later, Mark Robins scored the FA Cup third round winner at Nottingham Forest and the rest is history.”
Coppell left in 1996, although he returned for two further spells, also managing Manchester City, Brentford, Brighton, Reading and Bristol City, as well as director of football at Portsmouth and Crawley.
He then took charge of Kerala in India in 2016, the first of three clubs he managed in the subcontinent.
Coppell has since had stints at teams including Brighton, Brentford, Reading and Bristol City
He also reflected on his time at Sachin Tendulkar-owned Kerala Blasters (right)
“I got bored going up and down the same highways,” he said. ‘I’d heard that Peter Reid had gone to India, so I thought, ‘Why not?’
‘It was fantastic to experience a whole new way of life. Tendulkar was harassed everywhere.
‘He was gentle and charming, but you were still aware of his influence. I wanted to send a few players home for disciplinary reasons. Sachin asked if he could handle it. He met the players and there was no repeat!’
Coppell still enjoys going to matches, even at the club closest to his home, Chipstead of the Isthmian League South-Central.
‘I went to watch them play Guernsey. “I was intrigued that there were 30 to 40 fans from the island,” he said. ‘After the match the Guernsey players went over, not just to punch them but also to stop and have a chat. It’s the connection that football brings that I really love.’