The 2 great what ifs of United History

[Darren]

We'll never know ! But it's fun to speculate. Had we not been releagted I don't think Peters would have gone and I don't think Hassall would have gone either. So we would have limped into the 81/82 season with Peters until he resigned mid way through when he couldn't cope with the rough and tough 3rd division, leaving the club in crisis and ultimate relegation ! But possibly more importantly - with Hassall still in charge, Brearley wouldn't have had the authority to launch the share flotation which ultimately lumbered him with the majority shareholding. His intention was always to act as a consultant and not become the majority shareholder.

I've just checked and can tell you that since 3 points for a win came in in 81-82 no club has been relegated with as many as 55 points. The nearest was Southend who went down from D3 in 88-89 with 54.