1. Jim Leighton

Signed from: Aberdeen (£500,000), June 1988
Debut: 0-0 draw vs Queens Park Rangers, August 27th 1988
League Record: 73 games
Sold to: Dundee (£200,000), February 1992

We start with a #1 making his first appearance for United on the opening day of 1988/89 and who may well wish he’d never signed for us.

On the face of it, Jim Leighton must have seemed a sound signing: experienced at the highest level at both club and country, he’d won European honours with Aberdeen (then managed by Alex Ferguson) and been Scotland’s man between the sticks for the 1986 World Cup, having also gone to the ’82 finals as their third choice. Indeed, so well regarded was Leighton that even Jimmy Greaves dropped his usual “Scottish goalie = butterfingered clown” routine when talking about him.

He came straight in as first choice, with his predecessor Chris Turner being packed off to Sheffield Wednesday (subsequently to have some revenge in the 1991 League Cup final) and young Gary Walsh struggling with fitness. Initially, he must have thought he’d made a smart move: the previous season (87/88), United had come second behind a dominant Liverpool side but had made what seemed astute signings in him and Mark Hughes.

But it never happened. The side struggled to catch any consistent form, even at one point going six games without scoring – though it’s fair to say the problems weren't with the goalkeeper. Things took a downward turn the following season, though, and Leighton became a target of ridicule from the fans, which won’t have helped his confidence.

One positive was a decent run in the FA Cup. I can remember the semi-final against Oldham Athletic clearly, and Jim didn't look at all assured – though my main memory was the unfortunate sight of him having to change his shorts. We made the final, after a replay, to face Crystal Palace, managed by former United winger Steve Coppell. Famously, Leighton had a nightmare as we were lucky to sneak a 3-3 draw.

Action was needed and we saw the first instance of Ferguson’s necessary brutalism. Leighton, the man he’d brought through the youth ranks at Aberdeen, playing in the World Cup for Scotland and signed for big money, was dropped. The gambit worked, but Leighton cut a sorry figure in his suit before the game and was nowhere to be seen in the pictures of the post-match celebrations. The next season, he was essentially third choice keeper and only got a run out in a League Cup tie against lowly Halifax Town.

In 1992, he drifted back to Scotland with Dundee before a move to Hibs saw him return to the kind of form that made his name. Despite being in his mid-30s, he re-established himself as Scotland’s first choice goalie throughout the late 90s, playing in the 1998 World Cup. These days, he’s back up in Aberdeen (where he returned for a short spell at the end of his playing career) as a coach.

Jim Leighton was a more than capable goalkeeper, not helped by playing for United in the period before it all clicked for Ferguson. He’ll not be the first big name we’ll see to fail at Old Trafford.