My Old Trafford memory

Wolves at home may not stir the blood like a visit from Liverpool, but for one Reds legend, it takes some beating in the reminiscence stakes.

Sammy McIlroy still fondly remembers 3 October 1981 when the Wanderers weren't the only men from the Midlands to step onto the Old Trafford turf. Bryan Robson, bought for a British record £1.5m from Wolves' local rivals West Brom, signed his United contract on the pitch before the game - a stunt fashioned by flamboyant Reds boss Ron Atkinson.

As McIlroy recalls, Robson was tipped to take his place in the team, at a time when shirts were numbered one to eleven, there was only one sub on the bench and rotation was for crops, not football squads.

"Ron brought in Remi Moses and Bryan Robson, two midfielders, and that shook us up a little bit because I was playing in midfield at the time," Sammy told us.

"The press were saying that someone had to go to balance the books, so myself and Ray Wilkins were under a bit of pressure."

The way Sammy responded to the pressure was admirable - initially at least. While the besuited Bryan Robson watched from the stands, the man he was supposed to replace took the Wolves game by the scruff of the neck and notched