46. Gary Neville

Signed from: Youth team
Debut: 0-0 draw vs Torpedo Moscow (UEFA Cup tie, as a sub), September 16th 1992
League Record: 380 games (+20 as sub), 5 goals
Sold to: Retired, January 2011

After Ryan Giggs, the second of the famous 1992 FA Youth Cup winning team to make the first team. There’s a fair few more to come…

For his debut, the first leg at Old Trafford, he was probably only thrown in due to the then-foreigner rule severely limiting our options: even Neil Webb, Danny Wallace and Lee Martin got games in these two ties, which ended with us being beaten on penalties in the second leg in Moscow. That game, due to being in Russia, was on fairly early on a weekday afternoon and I remember coming home from school to catch most of it. I think Bruce and Pallister missed the vital pens, though why Pally was taking one is lost to the mists of time.

After that, he spent most the next two years learning his trade in the reserves before taking his chance when Paul Parker’s injury problems saw him drop out of contention. He impressed enough to get into Terry Venables’ England team within a few months of establishing himself, and looked impressive at the 1996 European Championships.

Around this time, he’d formed a superb partnership on the right flank with our next entry that benefited club and country. Nev also had a knack for hurling a throw-in a considerable distance, which proved useful. What he never seemed to have was much respect from fans of other teams: he was certainly the subject of much piss-taking due to his ultra-serious nature. It was hard to imagine Gary out on the tiles on a Saturday night, knocking back £100 cocktails and copping off with random ladies.

However, there's not been many other players as committed to the Red cause than him and nobody in the team enjoyed success more than him. Winning against Liverpool usually brought this out to the hilt and his enjoyment at a late winner against the old enemy cost him a hefty fine from the FA, which he may have felt was worth it anyways.

At the end, his legs had well and truly gone and in 2010/11 he was lucky to stay on the pitch in games at Stoke and West Brom after some bad tackles. The latter game also saw him somehow avoid giving away a penalty, a moment that had Baggies fans justifiably enraged. Credit to the man, he knew the game was up and announced his retirement from playing within days. Since then, he’s become an articulate pundit for Sky Sports, a job he shares after he strangely went to work on the coaching team for England.

45. Dion Dublin

Signed from: Cambridge United (£1,000,000), August 1992
Debut: 1-2 loss vs Sheffield United (as sub), August 15th 1992
League Record: 4 games (+8 as sub), 2 goals
Sold to: Coventry City (£2,000,000), summer of 1994

Hard (ahem) to mention Dion without making reference to his manhood looking like “a tin of vim with an orange at the end”. So the legend goes, anyways, but by all accounts he may have been the (cough) 'longest' player we've had. The first new signing of the Premiership era as well.

An odd signing on some levels, Dion had been a big star in a Cambridge side that nearly made the top flight. His role in the team, essentially, was to get his lovely smooth head onto the end of the numerous long balls hoofed up the pitch. A record of one goal in three was apparently enough to convince Fergie to splash out a million, the fee mostly covered by selling Mark Robins to Norwich – the club Dion incidentally started his career at.

Following two defeats and a draw at the opening of the 1992/93 season, he was thrown into the fray down at Southampton and rewarded us with a late winning goal to get a first victory on the board. Instant (even in minor) place in United history assured.

Two games later, against Crystal Palace, Dion wound up breaking his leg, which pretty much ended his career with us, as a few months later someone else came in struck up a winning partnership up top with Mark Hughes. He made a few showings over the next two years, but was mainly held in reserve. He did manage to score a vital goal in the Spring of 1994 against Oldham, but understandably wanted a chance to prove himself and that summer, moved on to Coventry City. You have to give credit to the management for getting such a high fee for a player who'd hardly set the world on fire at United. All the same, by being such all-round top guy, he always got a good reception on his returns to Old Trafford.

As it turned out, Dion proved his money’s worth by becoming a prolific striker for the Sky Blues and subsequently did the business for Aston Villa too – he could also count himself unlucky not to make the squad for the 1998 World Cup, being joint top Premiership scorer that season. After short spells at Leicester City and Celtic, he finished up back where he started at Norwich, having moved down the pitch to play at centre-back.

Nowadays, he’s often seen on Match of the Day 2, when he’s not inventing musical instruments. Also worth pointing out that despite what some people might say, his dad didn’t play drums in Showaddywaddy. That was the magnificently named Romeo Challenger.

44. Ian Wilkinson

Signed from: youth team
Debut: 1-1 draw vs Cambridge United (League Cup time), October 9th 1992
League Record: None – his debut was his only game
Sold to: Stockport County (free transfer), summer of 1993

First player who I could find no picture of online. Enigma!

Wilkinson got his single run-out due to Peter Schmeichel being out of the country playing for Denmark and usual back-ups Jim Leighton and Gary Walsh being crocked. So, fourth choice keeper, then. No matter, United drew 1-1 and went through to the next round having won the first leg 3-0. With Schmeichel very rarely injured, the re-signing to the experienced Les Sealey and Walsh still around, he was never likely to get anywhere near the first eleven again.

Released on a free, he eventually wound up at Crewe where he played a handful of games in their 1994 promotion to the third tier before injury forced early retirement from the game. Wiki sez he went into academia, eventually graduating as a Doctor of Physiotherapy, but given it also adds he plays Crown Green Bowls (!) at county level, I’m a tad sceptical. If it’s true, though - kudos to him!