43. Paul Parker

Signed from: Queens Park Rangers (£1,700,000), August 1991
Debut: 2-0 win vs Notts County, August 17th 1991
League Record: 100 games (+5 as sub), 1 goal
Sold to: Derby County (free transfer), summer of 1996

The final part of the finest backline United had seen in many years, Paul Parker slotted in at right back alongside Dennis Irwin, Steve Bruce and Gary Pallister, all playing in front of Peter Schmeichel. Parker was also the first to lose his place in the first team, with injuries breaking him down while only in his early 30s.

After serving his first years with Fulham, Parker moved to the top flight when he signed for QPR. Gaining a reputation for his pace and man-marking skills, he made the 1990 World Cup squad and eventually ousted Gary Stevens for the right back position. Sadly, he may be best remembered by many for deflecting a West German free kick over Peter Shilton and into the net. What’s overlooked is that it was his cross that set up Gary Lineker’s equaliser.

No matter, he’d looked sharp in Italy and United were sniffing around even then only for an injury to get in the way. A year later, he was back to fitness and we brought him up North, allowing Dennis Irwin to move over to the left at the expense of poor old Clayton Blackmore. In a way, it’s a surprise he wanted to move, as not too long before, he’d been put through some horrendous racist abuse from the more idiotic United fans.

The move did nothing to help his England career, though: after the 1990 World Cup, new manager Graham Taylor was clearly not a fan, preferring the likes of Lee Dixon for the number two shirt.

No matter – after a slightly stop-start debut season, Parker came back strong in the autumn of 1992, after missing the first few months. Sharp in the tackle with speed to match the vast majority of left wingers he came up against, Parker was a key part of a superb defence. His one league goal came that season, in a 4-1 thumping of Spurs when he picked up the ball inside his own half, ran at a retreating defence, played a one-two with Brian McClair and slotted it away in style. Good example of making your few moments in front of goal look as good as possible.

1993/94 was Parker’s best season: the aforementioned back five only missed seven games between them all as we took the League and Cup double. He looked especially good given he was playing behind Andrei Kanchelskis, a man (unlike Ryan Giggs) who never let the idea of “defensive duties” get in the way of his game.

And that was nearly the end of it, as far as his first team career went. Injuries took their toll, with only one start in the league through 1994/95 and Fergie give a chance to a young local lad we’ll be coming across as entry #46. To make matters worse, his replacement also had a kid brother who wasn’t too bad either, meaning by 1996, Parker was well down the pecking order: he didn’t play enough games to qualify for a third Championship medal and wasn’t in the cup final squad.

Despite that, there was still time that year for one last moment of glory: brought off the bench in a FA Cup tie at Reading, within minutes he’d hit a long range screamer in, though whether it was a shot or a mis-hit cross, only he knows.

Released on a free that summer, he had short spells at Sheffield United and Derby, before finishing his pro career acting as defensive cover at Chelsea. Retired at the age of 33, he’s since done some media work and writes a football column for Yahoo!