🇾🇪 The Greenhoff Brothers 🇾🇪 There's a version of history where none of it happens. Where a November storm in 1976 passes over Stoke without doing much damage, the Victoria Ground roof stays intact, and two brothers from Barnsley never get to share the greatest afternoon of their lives together at Wembley. Stoke sold Jimmy mid-season because they needed £250,000 to repair their ground after a powerful windstorm ripped through it. He was their most beloved player having scored almost a century of goals for them since 1969. He refused to leave. Until the phone rang. Sir Matt Busby had called the club personally, asking "Is it right you're selling Jimmy Greenhoff?" and that was enough to change everything. The idea that Sir Matt had picked up the phone on his behalf that settled it immediately. Jimmy joined Tommy Docherty's United in November 1976 for £120,000. An absolute bargain. What often gets forgotten is how decorated Jimmy already was before he pulled on a red shirt. He'd won the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup with Leeds in 1968 and the League Cup with Stoke in 1972. A volley against Birmingham in December 1974 was voted ITV's Goal of the Season. He was 30 when he signed for United, and in many ways at the very peak of his craft. And waiting for him at Old Trafford was his younger brother. Brian had been there since 1968, signed as a youth player by the legendary scout Joe Armstrong, the man who had also spotted Bobby Charlton and Duncan Edwards. He'd had to be patient too. His debut didn't come until September 1973. But once Docherty saw what he had, Brian was rarely out of the side. Upon first greeting him, Tommy said: "I've got you at last. The long way round, but I've got you at last." Brian had frankly admitted as a child that he hero-worshipped Jimmy, who had preceded him through local teams as both brothers worked towards professional careers, urged on by their father who was their most demanding supporter. Now they were teammates. For Brian, it must have felt like the world had arranged itself perfectly. Brian's United career to that point had already been quietly remarkable. He played in every single outfield position for the club, and even went in goal once when Alex Stepney was injured at Birmingham City. He'd been named Supporters Player of the Season in 1973–74, the very year United were relegated. He had played well enough in a struggling team to win the fans' hearts anyway. And there is a photograph from the 1976 FA Cup Final, Brian in tears after Southampton beat United, consoled by Docherty, that tells you everything about how deeply he cared. He walked back to the hotel and threw his loser's medal across the room, telling his wife he'd wait for a winners' medal next year. He was as good as his word. By the time Jimmy arrived, Brian had formed a famous defensive partnership with Martin Buchan, his blond locks flying as he set up the wide men Steve Coppell and Gordon Hill in counter-attack. Martin Buchan later described Jimmy's arrival in terms that still resonate: "Jimmy Greenhoff, in a way, was our Eric Cantona, he nurtured the young kids. He calmed things down. He had a great understanding with Stuart Pearson, and I always felt if I had the ball at my feet in the back four, I could close my eyes and play it forward and either Stuart or Jimmy would be on the end of it." In February 1977, Jimmy scored a hat-trick against Newcastle with the whole ground chanting his name, and becoming the first United player to score three in a game in almost three years. Then came Wembley. 1/2 #JimmyGreenhoff #BrianGreenhoff #ManchesterUnited