Steve Bull: Thanks Nobby, I owe everything to you

Stiles, who was a key part of England’s 1966 World Cup-winning team, has died aged 78 after a long illness.

Most known for his part in that World Cup triumph and spending the majority of his club career with Manchester United, Stiles would later go into management.

He was in charge of the Baggies between September 1985 and February 1986, and it was there he took a chance on 19-year-old Bull, plucking him from Tipton Town.

“There was a scout from Tipton Town called Sid Day,” explained Bull, who would leave Albion in November 86 and become a Wolves legend.

“He was a scout at the Albion as well and knew Nobby Stiles. “He just said to Nobby ‘We’ve get this young lad down the road, he’s very, very raw, but he will score you goals, so get him off his work’.

“Nobby then got me training on a Tuesday night, and after about three months, he took a gamble on me.

“He said to me ‘I’m going to sign you as I think you’ve got something in you’.

“If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have had a career at all. Had I been rejected by Albion, who knows what might have happened?

“I might have still been playing for my local side until I was 34 or 35.”

Stiles’ time at The Hawthorns was brief, only managing three wins during his time at the helm, and it would turn out to be his last job in management – having previously been boss at Preston North End and Vancouver Whitecaps.

But Bull will forever be thankful for what he did for him in those few months – and they always stayed in touch.

“He took a chance on me when I was a young nipper, a 19-year-old lad,” said Bull. “He gave me my break and coached me and nurtured me into the game.

“He more or less told me what to do – stand there, shoot here.

“He got me into the game and told me what to do. Nobby was a very, very good coach who became a very, very good friend. I know his son as well, John, so it’s a very sad time.”

Stiles had prostate cancer and advanced dementia in his later years.

Bull added: “We stayed in touch after Albion. He was an absolutely top bloke and a superb coach.

“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I owe an awful lot to Nobby Stiles for what he did for me. He was unbelievable.”