In the year England failed to qualify for the World Cup, it seemed Manchester United were destined to carry all before them, hoovering up domestic football trophies with the enthusiasm of a kleptomaniac.

Jim White followed the colossi of English football through a campaign of stratospheric highs and catastrophic lows. From Istanbul to Ipswich, Budapest to the Boleyn Road, he travelled with the team and with the fans, getting to the heart of the most formidable football machine this country has ever seen.