When Jimmy Murphy arrived at Manchester United's Old Trafford stadium in 1946 he was greeted by the ruins of what had once been one of the wonders of pre-war Britain. The stadium was a bombed-out wreck while the players trained on a patch of dangerous gravel not fit for a modern day car park. By the time Murphy packed his bags and left Old Trafford in 1971, Manchester United were they had been conquered by and then conquered Europe, raised the profile of English football to a degree unimaginable before the war and touched the hearts of millions in the process.