the victim of a vicious high challenge from József Tóth which shattered his knee. Coppell said the effect was "like someone had put a firework in my knee and it had gone off" and underwent an operation which allowed him a temporary fix so he could carry on playing. Coppell nursed the injury through the 1982 World Cup in Spain, playing in all three of England's group games and the goalless draw against West Germany in the second pool. England went out in the next game against Spain and Coppell underwent a second operation. He continued to play for Manchester United as much as he could after suffering the injury, playing 36 times in the 1981–82 season and 29 times in the 1982–83 campaign. He made two more appearances for England after the World Cup ended, scoring in the former as England beat Luxembourg 9–0. Coppell was fit enough to play in the League Cup final of 1983 which – in a reverse of events in 1977 – opponents Liverpool won 2–1. But as Manchester United progressed also to the FA Cup final in the same year, Coppell's knee had broken down again and he missed the final against Brighton & Hove Albion, which ended 2–2 and ultimately concluded in a 4–0 victory for Manchester United in the replay. Another operation followed but to no avail, and Coppell announced his retirement from the game in October 1983, aged just 28. He had broken the record for the most consecutive appearances for an outfield Manchester United player – 207 from 1977 to 1981 – which still stands to this day. His Manchester United career ended with 373 appearances and 70 goals; his England career had concluded with 42 caps and seven goals. He also scored the quickest recorded goal at under 18 level in a cup final against Notts County. The goal time was 12 seconds. He has since stated that he recently discovered, thanks to advances in technology, that his ACL had only been connected at one end since the tackle, something which had been missed in previous surgeries. He has now had his ACL removed. Management career Crystal Palace (first spell; 1984–1993) In June 1984, Coppell became manager of Crystal Palace. Aged just 28 years and 10 months upon his appointment, he became one of the youngest men to ever manage a club in the Football League. Coppell made