67. Ronny Johnsen

Signed from: Besiktas (£1,200,000), Summer of 1996
Debut: 3-0 win vs Wimbledon (as sub), August 17th 1996
League Record: 85 games (+14 as sub), 7 goals
Sold to: released on a free transfer, Summer of 2002

At the time, to me at least, an unknown when we signed him. Having started in his native Norway, a short spell in Turkey preceded his move to us, by which time he was already established in the national team.

And a fine signing he turned out to be. Calm, tough enough to hack the English game but refined enough to be able to use the ball at his feet, he would become a firm favourite with the fans.

Though signed (presumably) as Fergie continued the search to replace Steve Bruce (he had left the summer Ronny signed), he occasionally filled in at midfield, playing an absolute blinder in that role in our 4-0 drubbing of Porto in 1997. The Portuguese side were considered a tough draw, but a barnstorming performance saw us through to the semi-finals.

A championship medal capped off a good first season, but he never quite managed that level of consistency again, in the main part due to injuries. He still managed to do his bit in the Treble season, though, starting in the Champions League final. Subsequent seasons saw injury problems limit his appearances and he was eventually let go on a free. He managed to get a contract at Aston Villa, playing fairly regularly for two years before a short spell at Newcastle. Drifting back home, he enjoyed a few more years playing before retiring at the end of the 2008 season.

A fine player, who rarely let anyone down, the kind that often make up vital cogs in a championship winning team.

66. Jordi Cruyff

Signed from: Barcelona (£1,400,000), August 1996
Debut: 3-0 win vs Wimbledon, August 17th 1996
League Record: 15 games (+19 as sub), 8 goals
Sold to: Alaves (free transfer), June 2000

If Darren Ferguson had problems having the boss as his old man, how about the pressure of your dad being one of the greatest players of all time? That was the shadow Jordi Cruyff had to always deal with throughout his playing career.

An attacking midfielder, he was born in Holland despite his dad being a huge Barcelona star at the time, though the middle name he went by (his first name is Johan) was a name from Catalonia. Jordi got his break under his pop at Barca, and did good enough to get in the Netherlands squad for the 1996 European Championships. Unfortunately for him, the tournament was a nightmare for a Dutch squad blighted by in-fighting, summed up by a 4-1 kicking from England. To compound the pain, Cruyff Senior was sacked by Barcelona and Jordi quickly realised he wouldn't fit in the new regime.

Jordi was a decent player blighted by injuries at United that prevented him from ever being a regular in the first team. It must have frustrating for him, as he was often shifted our wide left as cover for Ryan Giggs, a role he clearly wasn't suited to. After his first season, appearances became more limited, hard going for a player who clearly had enough talent to do better. A loan spell back to Celta Vigo in 1999 signposted where his future was, and he eventually returned to Spain when his contract expired.

Later, he would have spells in Ukraine and Maltra before moving into coaching. He's currently General Manager of Israeli team Maccabi Tel Aviv.

62. Phil Neville

Signed from: Youth team
Debut: 5-2 win vs Wrexham (FA Cup tie), January 28th 1995
League Record: 210 games (+53 as sub), 5 goals
Sold to: Everton (£3,500,000), August 2005

Younger brother of Gary, Phil was also considered to be a talented cricketer in his youth, but chose United when they came knocking. Their sister Tracey was also talented, playing netball for England. Phil made his debut in the season Gary established himself at right back as injuries did for Paul Parker - also captaining the youth team to FA Youth Cup success that same year.

The next season, he made some fine performances at left back (Dennis Irwin shifting to the right), knocking Gary out of the first team at times. Indeed, for the FA Cup final against Liverpool in 1996, Phil got the nod ahead of his brother, who had to make do with being a sub – he’d looked impressive through the season, putting in some good crosses when he got forward.

To cap off a superb first full season, he won his first England cap and made the squad for the 1996 European Championships. However, Gary remained first choice at international level and Phil never quite managed to establish a regular spot, being left out of the World Cup 22 in 1998 and 2002, though he made the squads for both the 2000 and 2004 Euros – at the former, a rash challenge in a decisive game against Romania saw a penalty awarded and converted, effectively knocking England out and condemning Neville to much venting of bile over the subsequent year from opposition fans back at domestic level.

As an aside, at the time, a few people said I looked like Phil, thus it was something of a knock to a teenager's confidence on reading a newspaper report which labelled my apparent lookalike as the "Ugliest Player at Euro 2000".

For United, he never quite managed to maintain the high levels he set early on, remaining a solid presence in the squad, capable of covering either full back position and, later on, putting in a shift in midfield when needed. It was in that role he had his finest moment in a red shirt.

In December 2002, we were chasing an Arsenal team that were looking to establish dominance in the league. They were the reigning champions and FA Cup holders, boasting an impressive midfield led by French international Patrick Vieira. With the chips down, Phil seemed to dig up the spirit of Bryan Robson and dominated a game in which we won 2-0 - a performance still talked about by fans.

However, in the next couple of years, Fergie made a series of nightmare midfield buys, of whom he felt obliged to play, and both Phil and Nicky Butt were out of action. Clearly good enough to have a first team stake elsewhere, he reluctantly asked for a transfer. I was disappointed at the time, as he certainly deserved more games and his attitude and commitment were solely lacking in others players around at the time.

On finally leaving, he became a deserved first choice (and captain) at Everton and it’s a surprise to me that he didn’t feature more for England. Then, in June 2013, he returned to United as first team coach under the new regime of David Moyes.

61. Andy Cole

Signed from: Newcastle United (£6,000,000 plus Keith Gillespie)
Debut: 1-0 win vs Blackburn Rovers, January 22nd 1995
League Record: 161 games (+34 as sub), 93 goals
Sold to: Blackburn Rovers (£8,000,000), December 2001

Ah, the days when a huge signing could appear out of nowhere and shock you. The news that Andy Cole was on his way to United was exciting to a youthful United – at the time, he was the reigning Young Player of the Year as well as the previous season’s Premiership top scorer. The prospect of him lining up with Eric Cantona seemed to promise goals galore. It didn’t quite work out that way.

Nottingham lad Cole, son of a miner, started out with Arsenal, then managed by George Graham. The dour Scot clashed with the youngster, and after only a single showing from the bench, he was on the way to Bristol City via a loan spell at Fulham. His first full season as a first teamer (92/93) saw him in good form in the second tier, and he attracted the attention of Kevin Keegan, then revitalising Newcastle United and charging to a return to the top flight. February 1993 saw £1.75 million change hands, and he instantly won hero status with 12 goals in 12 games.

Keegan then made an inspired move by bringing Peter Beardsley back to the North East. Having started out in my native Cumbria with Carlisle United, Peter had caught the eye of the legendary Jimmy Murphy whilst playing in Canada for Vancouver Whitecaps. Murphy had always had a keen eye for talent (he had recommended Steve Coppell) and we signed him for £250,000 in 1982. Then manager Ron Atkinson failed to give the striker much of a chance – half a game against Bournemouth in the League up – and let him go at the end of the season. While Beardsley developed into one of the best forwards in the country, we spent years attempting to find a decent forward line: the likes of Garth Crooks, Alan Brazil, Terry Gibson and Peter Davenport all failing to make the grade. It was, quite simply, Atkinson’s worst mistake as manager for us.

By 1993, perhaps Everton saw Beardsley as past his best – he was 32 at the time – but he and Cole scored 55 league goals over the season, as Newcastle won many fans with their attacking football. Andy got 34 of those, and though he was in slightly slower form the next season (nine goals in 18), Alex Ferguson was still convinced he was the man to replace the aging Mark Hughes in leading the front line.

Andy was never a complete crowd favourite – he had many detractors, including my own dad, who never rated him. Conversely, my mother adopted him as her favourite player, perhaps because he had learned his trade alongside her former favourite Beardsley.

A lot of his problems came on the last league game of the 1994/95 season, away at West Ham. Andy had had his moments early on – five goals in a game against Ipswich was the best one-off haul for a United player since George Best put six past Northampton in 1970, and he scored two vital goals in a 3-2 win over Coventry that kept us in the title race. At West Ham, though, he saw chances saved and hit a post as we only drew 1-1, when a win would have made us champions.

Cole, unfairly, took a lot of the blame. He struggled to reach his best form over the next two seasons – his partnership with Eric never really took off, and he wasn’t helped by a broken leg in the Autumn of 1996. Fergie seemed to be losing patience, as he signed three new strikers from 1996-98, one of whom Cole had already fallen out with over a perceived slight whilst on England duty.

The last of those three, however, brought Cole back to the forefront. Finally connecting with a strike partner, period from 1999-2000 saw him play the best football of his career. No long a pure goalscorer, his all round play had improved to an impressive degree. He scored the goal that sealed the 1999 Championship, as well as the winner at Juventus that saw us seal our place in the European Cup final.

By 2001, however, injuries had begun to take their toll - he played just 19 league games in 2000-01 season - and Fergie spent big on a new striker and adjusted the system so that we played with just the one man up top. With his first team regular status no longer assured, and still hopeful (incorrectly, as it turned out) of getting in the place in the England squad for the 2002 World Cup, he left for Blackburn. He had some success, completing his set of domestic medals by scoring the winning goal in that year season’s League Cup final.

Season-long spells at Fulham and Manchester City followed, making a decent scoring return at both, before his career wound down, ending with an unsuccessful stint back in his hometown with Nottingham Forest. Currently, he works as a television pundit and comes across far more articulacy than he did in his younger days.

48. Nicky Butt

Signed from: Youth team
Debut: 3-0 win vs Oldham Athletic (sub), November 21st 1992
League Record: 210 games (+60 as sub), 21 goals
Sold to: Newcastle United (£2,500,000), July 2004

Another promotion from the famous 1992 youth team, Nicky was a Manchester lad brought up in the Gorton district – a tough area reflected in the man’s no-nonsense style. There have been many more talented lads to put on the shirt, but none could better Butt’s commitment.

His debut came at a point where we were in a major slump of form – any momentum from finishing second in 1991/92 seemed to have vanished in the first season of the Premiership as we went seven league games without winning. The 3-0 win over local rivals Oldham steadied the ship before the next entry would arrive to change just about everything.

Nicky began to establish himself in 1994/95, after the departure of Bryan Robson saw him move to become first in line for a place when injuries hit the main midfield duo. When Paul Ince left in the summer, he stepped in and looked very impressive through 1995/96: aggressive in the tackle, good on the ball and a tidy passer, he looked set to develop into the equal of his predecessor.

It never *quite* worked out for him, sadly, which seems an odd thing to say about someone who made over 250 appearances and played for England 39 times. Yet he was rarely ever a first choice at United, always getting his 30 or so games a season, rarely letting anyone down - it’s a cliché to say, but at just about any other club in England, he’d have been a crucial part of the team.

He did his part in the Treble glories of 1999 - suspensions saw him start the Champions League final, where he did his best in holding the line against Bayern Munich until we made our heroic last dash rush to victory.

As the 21^st century rolled through its initial years, he found himself pushed down the pecking order, though he still managed to play well enough at the 2002 World Cup to earn plaudits from Pele, of all people. By 2005, he was sick of losing out to people who should never have been allowed near a red shirt and he was put on the transfer list at his request. He moved to Newcastle, where he put in plenty of hard work, including becoming club captain, before retiring in 2011 after a short spell playing out in China.

47. David Beckham

Signed from: Youth team
Debut: 1-1 draw vs Brighton and Hove Albion (as sub, League Cup tie), September 23rd 1992
League Record: 237 games (+28 as sub), 62 goals
Sold to: Real Madrid (£25,000,000), July 2003

I have a feeling a lot of people would be surprised at how early he made his debut – it wasn’t for another three years that he cracked the first team after Andrei Kanchelskis was sent packing.

At first, he wasn’t the most exciting prospect of his year group. I remember seeing pictures that suggested if he stepped foot on Old Trafford on a gusty night, he’d get blown away and end up in the canal. Not that he had much chance of getting a game in the first place, as Andrei Kanchelskis had the right wing sewn up but when the Ukrainian got injured at the end of 94/95, young David (who had gone through a short spell on loan at Preston to get some pitch time) made a couple of showings and was obviously impressive enough to take the now-available right wing spot the following season.

Though he missed out on making the 1996 England Euro Championship squad, the first game of the subsequent season saw that his star was on a rapid upward trajectory. Against Wimbledon, he chipped their keeper from inside his own half – goal of the season right away, and setting up his reputation for spectacular long-range goals.

Around this time was the fateful day Victoria Adams rocked up at Old Trafford to do the half-time prize draw. She met young David, setting him down a path where he became far better known to the world as a “celebrity” than a footballer. He managed to keep the balance throughout most the late 90, but in the end the media attention seemed to become too much. Newspaper reports would be about his haircut and clothing rather than his footballing exploits.

Eventually, he fell out with Fergie, not helped by being hit by a boot kicked by the boss in a moment of fury, at was even dropped from the team for a spell in 2002/03. We sold him off to Real Madrid, where he did OK before electing to waste the rest of his career hacking around the US league, intercut with two loan spells at Milan. One of these saw him come up against us in a Champions League tie, where he received a deserved warm reception.

In the final reckoning, he should have spent more time at United. And yet, on the other hand, the guy who took his #7 jersey would end up doing a pretty good job in replacing him...

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.

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!

41. Andrei Kanchelskis

Signed from: Shakhytor Donetsk (£650,000), March 1991
Debut: 0-3 loss vs Crystal Palace, May 11th 1991
League Record: 96 games (+27 as sub), 28 goals
Sold to: Everton (£5,000,000), August 1995

The first signing from overseas on our list, and a hark back to different times. Nowadays, when we sign a player, we can look on youtube and usually see a showreel of their best moments. Back in 1991, when we signed some fellow from the Ukraine, I would wager the vast majority of United fans were completely in the dark about him.

In fact, I think the first I knew of him was playing Manchester United: Europe where he appeared in our squad list, only with his first name spelt "Andrej". His actual debut passed me by - Fergie stuck on most our reserves in order to keep the first team fresh for the awaiting Cup Winners Cup final. He must have made a good impression, however, as he was signed up and we had our first proper right-winger since Gordon Strachan had been sold off two years prior.

While Strachan was a winger who dribbled, jinxed and relied on his guile, Andrei Kanchelskis pretty much relied on his main asset: a sprinters pace. Not many, if any, caught Andrei when he got going, and unlike the similarly rapid Franz Carr at Nottingham Forest, he could actually put in a decent cross when he finally ran out of turf to run across.

If we had won the league in 1992, he would have played a big part in it when he scored the winning goal (a superb volley) at Old Trafford against Southampton that Spring. The wheels were wobbling and his goal slightly eased worried minds. Alas, it would be for nothing.

The next season, Kanchelskis struggled for a starting place when Lee Sharpe regained fitness to take the left wing spot with Ryan Giggs shifting over to the right: nearly half his appearances that campaign came from the bench, though he still managed to score some vital goals at QPR and Norwich, the latter in a memorable game where we put the Canaries (our title rivals at that time) firmly in their place.

1993/94 saw him established in the team, however, and he played a big part in our first double winning season. With him and Giggs as our wing options, opposition teams may never have faced two different forms of devastation. Kanchelskis was also one player who profited regularly from the huge throw-outs from our goalkeeper at the time (who'll be our next entry). A goal at QPR that season saw the ball launched from our box to the half-way line, where Kanchelskis carried it the rest of the way and slotted it away. An assist from the 'keeper didn't seem so far fetched back then.

The next season he got better, adding goalscoring to his skillset. The highlight of his time with us came in 1994/95, when he put away a hat-trick in a 5-0 win over Manchester City that helped cure the pain of the 5-1 hammering they gave us in 1989. We could do with another Andrei-esque perfomance in the near future...

But what should have been the next step in Kanchelskis' rise in United's Hall of Fame turned out to be one of our last memories of him. By the end of the season, his relationship with Ferguson had turned very sour - rumours of agents pushing for a move to get a big payday would later do the rounds - and he was moved on to Everton that summer, not long after they'd beat us in the FA Cup final.

Early in his time there, he suffered a serious injury inflicted in a game against, inevitably, us. Once fit again, he managed to score plenty of goals but was soon on his way out, beginning a series of moving to various clubs (including a short spell at Man City) without ever really settling again.

Sadly, a story of talent perhaps very badly advised. That said, the guy who took his place on the right wing didn't turn out too bad...

32. Danny Wallace

Signed from: Southampton (£1,300,000), September 1989
Debut: 3-2 win vs Portsmouth (League Cup tie, scored once), September 20th 1989
League Record: 36 games (+11 as sub), 6 goals
Sold to: Birmingham City (£400,000), October 1993

As a child in the 1980s, Danny Wallace always seemed a really exciting player and thus I was pleased when we signed him. Good enough to make his Southampton début aged only 16, the departure of star players like Kevin Keegan, Alan Ball and Mick Channon ensured that he was one of their main men by the time they had their best-ever league season, finishing second in 1984.

Blessed with rapid pace and an ability to score spectacular goals (his superb overhead effort against Liverpool in 1984 was one of the picks of the decade), he made his England debut against Egypt in 1986, scored and was then strangely never got picked again. A couple of years later, he played a game alongside his younger twin brothers, Rod and Ray, a rare occasion of three brothers playing alongside each other in the same team.

It never really worked out for him at United, sadly. There were moments in his first season where he showed us what he could do - vital goals in cup games against Newcastle and Oldham spring to mind – and he was in the team that won the cup at the end of his first season. Often it seemed he struggled with being restricted to being on the left - Wallace was never really a winger in the traditional sense.

But then the real problems started after that summer, when Lee Sharpe returned to full fitness won the left-wing position. Despite that, his best moment came in the autumn of 1990 in the 6-2 smackdown of Arsenal. Playing the kind of free role he was used to at Southampton, Danny run riot, playing a big part in most of the goals and scoring the sixth himself. There haven't been too many better individual performances in a United shirt that I can remember.

It was a false dawn, though. Niggling injuries kept him out of the team and though he managed to earn a Cup Winners Cup medal as an unused sub, he barely featured at all from 1991 to his departure in 1993. His last contribution was scoring a superb long-range goal down at Brighton in a League Cup tie in the Autumn of 1992. A move to Birmingham saw a debut goal followed by familiar fitness problems and he retired after playing a single game for Wycombe, aged only 31.

Unfortunately for Danny, the reason for his recurring injury woes soon became clear when he diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.  Since then, he’s faced the condition bravely and took part in fund-raising efforts: several ex-United players took part in a benefit game down at Southampton a few years back, and the man himself did a sponsored walk of the London Marathon course.

31. Paul Ince

Signed from: West Ham United (£2,400,000), September 1989
Debut: 5-1 win vs Millwall, September 16th 1989
League Record: 203 games (+3 as sub), 25 goals
Sold to: Inter Milan (£7,500,000), summer of 1995

Paul Ince was one of numerous products of West Ham United’s famed youth system and the ambition that would cause many a United fan to later label him many rude names was evident when the Hammers were relegated from the First Division in 1989.

He wanted out, and got wind United were interested. With West Ham not too keen on letting him go, a picture appeared in the papers of him wearing a United shirt. Sure enough, Hammers fan were enraged and his swiftly left the club - Ince stated the picture wasn't supposed to have been released until after the transfer was completed, but it didn't sit well with anyone. Not ones to drop a grudge, our match at Upton Park in 1994 saw him subject to vile abuse from his former supporters, which he answered in the best fashion by scoring a late equaliser.

When he did arrive, he failed a medical and thus the fee was paid with a million up front and the rest per game he played. At first, he didn’t seem all that special, being very raw and as yet unable to really take control of a game - and if not for injuries to Robson and Webb, I doubt he would have got as many games as he did in his first year. Indeed, for spells of that season, he instead played at right-back in place of the injured Viv Anderson, including the cup final.

All the same, there were hints of something special: I especially remember him smashing a long range shot against the bar against Oldham that signalled there was something worth developing.

Over the next couple of years, he matured as a midfield player, doubtless helped by playing and training alongside Bryan Robson and by the time we began the first Premiership campaign, he was a crucial part of the team. In no small part this was down to finally adding goals to his game, knocking in seven that season when playing as a ball-winning midfielder was no small beer. He also made a habit of making driving runs from midfield that often led to goals - the third in our crucial win at Norwich in the Spring of 1993 being a very good example.

Around this time, he established himself in the national team and made history when he became the first black England captain. Despite that, his career at international level never really seemed to hit the heights of his club form, strong performances at Euro ’96 aside.

Playing alongside a man from Cork the next season, he got even better as we snapped up the league and FA Cup double. However, there were problems under the surface. Ince seemed to have begun believing his own hype, revelling in his self-appointed status as “the Guv’nor” – a nickname never likely to impress Alex Ferguson. After the disastrous 4-0 spanking at the hands of Barcelona in 1994, Fergie slammed Ince as a “big time Charlie” and in hindsight, it was no surprise we let him head off to Inter that summer, especially given he had ambitions of trying his luck in Italy. It turned out to be the best move for us too, his departure allowing other players the chance to stamp their mark on the team.

At Inter, he seemed to be a success: his second season saw him score six goals in 24 games, a superb return in the hyper-defensive Serie A. They also made the UEFA Cup final, though were beaten on penalties by Schalke.

After two years on the continent, he reappeared here playing for, of all teams, Liverpool – much to the chagrin of numerous Reds. In Ince’s defence, we hadn’t taken up the option to resign him and the scousers were doubtless the biggest club to make an offer. What was more hard to take was when he scored an equaliser in a crucial league game at the end of the 1999 season and celebrated like he’d won the World Cup. Perhaps he believed he’d got one over Fergie, but history records who had the last laugh there.

After failing to add to his medals in a team that flattered to deceive, he went on to spells at Middlesbrough and Wolves before moving into management. In that role, he appears to not possess the skills that he seems to think he has, though at least his son Tom looks like being a promising winger over at Blackpool.

Despite his apparent bitterness in the late 90s towards us, I've managed to maintain a respect for him as a player. He stepped up when Bryan Robson was too old to run the midfield and we wouldn't have won the 1993 and 1994 championships without him. That said, a future entry took many of Ince's qualities and added much more...

30. Gary Pallister

Signed from: Middlesbrough (£2,300,000) August 1989
Debut: 0-2 defeat vs Norwich City, August 30th 1989 
League Record: 314 games (+3 as sub), 12 goals
Sold to: Middlesbrough (£2,500,000) July 1998

Talk about a bad start: signed as the most expensive player in the country, on his debut – broadcast live on TV - Gary managed to give away a penalty and look like a complete lummox. A few weeks later, we got run all over the pitch in a 5-1 defeat to Man City and it was looking like a transfer mess-up in the Garry Birtles mold was in the offing. Instead, he ended up as one of the top centre halves in the country and a mainstay of one of the best defensive line-ups in the club’s history. 

Starting out at Middlesbrough in the mid 80s, he played his part in bringing them back from bankruptcy in the old Third Division all the way to the top flight. Though they were relegated in 1989, young Gary had earned England caps and wanted to stay in the top flight to help his chances of further honours. With Paul McGrath sold, we were in the market for a replacement and Fergie had to go through protracted negotiations before getting his man.

After his rocky start, not helped by playing in a team struggling for form, he finally settled in alongside Steve Bruce, a centre back partnership that would form a crucial part of the success to come. The two would eventually be labelled "Dolly and Daisy" and complemented each other superbly: Pallister was surprisingly pacey (I seem to recall he was one of our top sprinters over 100 meters for many years) and also a lot taller than Bruce. Pally was also confident with the ball at his feet and, somewhat amusingly, also looked knackered out after a few minutes on the pitch. 

Somewhat infamously, he was regarded as a terrible trainer to the degree the other players coined the phrase "having a Pally" for someone who'd not done too well that day. 

Through the early 1990s, he improved vastly along with the rest of the team - his own development being recognised by fellow pros who voted him PFA Player of the Year in 1992. The next year, he didn't miss a game as we won the first Premiership title. A classic United moment came in the last home game of that season, against Blackburn. With the title already won, we were 2-1 up in the last minute when we won a free kick on the edge of their area. To everyone's surprise (especially Bryan Robson, who can be seen on camera looking to the bench with a look of bafflement), Pally stepped up to take it. To complete a legendary season, he then smashed the ball home to score his first of the season.  

(As a sidenote, if you ever watch the behind-the-scenes video Captain's Log, there's a scene before the game where Pally laments him not scoring that season and asks to take any free kicks near goal if we were winning. Obviously the boss was in a generous mood!)

Despite his consistent form in a successful side, he never got the recognition at international level. 22 caps is no small amount, but he surely deserved more. Instead, successive coaches preferred the likes of Tony Adams, Mark Wright and Gareth Southgate. He got the respect he deserved from United fans, though - we knew he was a crucial part of a winning team. 

Perhaps his greatest moment in the shirt came close to the end of his time with us, at Anfield in the Spring of 1997. Chasing the title, points were essentially and Pally stepped up to nod in from two corners at the Kop end in a brilliant 3-1 victory, giving the team a big boost on the road to another title.

Eventually, age and injuries took their toll and he was sold back to Boro. He only managed a couple more seasons before decided to pack it in, and he’s been seen a few times on MUTV, including one memorable occasion where a caller on a phone-in stating his admiration for Gary’s 'bulge' in the trouser area. Another amusing anecdote was told to Andy Mitten by a teammate who said that when Pally had his kitchen renovated, he had the fridge moved a foot closer to the door to living room so he didn’t have to walk so far for a beer. 

26. Norman Whiteside

Signed from: Youth team
Debut: 1-0 win vs Brighton (as sub), April 24th 1982
League Record: 193 games (+13 as sub), 47 goals
Sold to: Everton (£600,000), July 1989

Like Paul McGrath, there’s no doubting Norman Whiteside was a hero in a red shirt but he’s also one I’ve very few clear recollections of. It’s perhaps worth noting that Big Norm is the last player we’ll come across who played under Ron Atkinson.

Hailing from an area of Northern Ireland where he would see people get drills through their kneecaps, the “Shankill Skinhead” followed the paths of George Best and Sammy McIlory in joining the youth ranks at Old Trafford. Physically mature way beyond his years, he came off the bench for his debut a few weeks before his 17th birthday and on his full debut against Stoke a month later, scored his first goal.

Famously, he went to that summer’s World Cup in Spain with Northern Ireland, breaking Pele’s record to become the youngest player to ever play in the finals and taking part in their surprise 1-0 victory over the host nation. He would also be in his country’s squad for the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.

Another record was broken in a remarkable first full season (82/83), when he became the youngest player to score in a Wembley cup final, opening the scoring in the League Cup final against Liverpool. Sadly, the scouse won 2-1. Compensation came with winning the FA Cup weeks later. Big Norm had seen us make the final by scoring a brilliant volley to see off Arsenal in the semi-final and he scored in the replay of the final too, the second in the 4-0 drubbing of Brighton.

Despite only being 18, there was attention coming his way from the biggest names in Europe. Whiteside considered himself, perhaps rightly, too young to be moving away and committed himself to United, luckily for us. By the time of the 1985 FA Cup final, he'd been moved back into midfield due to the emergence of Mark Hughes. This was the game that would see his most sublime moment: deep into extra time, with United down to ten men against an Everton team that were recently crowned champions, Hughes put a ball out wide to Norman, who was knackered out, but still managed to use one of their defenders as a shield to curl a shot into the net.

It was a sublime finish, that sadly proved to be a peak in Whiteside's career. Over the next few years, injuries would begin to take their toll. He didn't help himself by enjoying a few too many drinks in those periods out of action and when Ferguson took over, he was determined to rid the club of what he saw as a dangerous drink culture.

His last truly great moment in a United shirt came at Anfield in the Spring of 1988. Liverpool were miles ahead in the league and, after a Bryan Robson opener, had gone 3-1 up. To make matters worse, Colin Gibson had managed to get himself sent off. Fergie knew what was needed and sent Stormin’ Norman on for one last bit of Scousebusting.

Within minutes, in a real "you won’t see that anymore" series of actions, he had "sorted" Steve McMahon with a tackle verging on GBH and “accidentally” elbowed John Barnes in the windpipe, essentially putting the two players causing us the most trouble out of the game. Robbo and Gordon Strachan scored to offer some great memories in consolation to only finishing second in the league.

Soon after, frustrated by lack of first team action, he put in a transfer request that was accepted, only for injury troubles to put off any would-be suitors. His last season (1988/89) saw him only make six appearances but Fergie somehow wangled a decent fee out of Everton, who got a year’s service out of him before he had to retire through injury. Putting his negative experiences to good use, he went back to school and, to his credit, qualified as a Podiatrist, in which capacity he presently works for several football clubs.

What makes his early retirement from the game sadder is that when we won the league and cup double in 1994, four years after his retirement, he was still younger than a fair few of our team!

18. Mark Robins

Signed from: Youth team
Debut: 5-0 win vs Rotherham United (as sub, League Cup tie), October 12th 1988
League Record: 19 games (+29 as sub), 11 goals
Sold to: Norwich City (£800,000), August 1992

Yet another youngster given a chance by Fergie, Mark Robins, like Russell Beardsmore and Lee Martin, was a local-ish lad (from Ashton-under-Lyne) given a chance in a first team that looked increasingly bare in the late 80s: in two years, Fergie had sold Frank Stapleton, Kevin Moran, Graeme Hogg, Peter Barnes, Peter Davenport, Jesper Olsen, Liam O’Brien, Arthur Albiston, John Sievbaek, Chris Turner, Mark Higgins and Terry Gibson, as well as losing Remi Moses and Gary Bailey to injury. Three more experienced internationals would also exit in the Spring/Summer of 1989 – Gordon Strachan, Paul McGrath and the man who’ll be entry #26.

In fairness, most of those needed to be sold due to them being too old or not good enough. In return, we’d brought in Leighton, McClair, Hughes Anderson, Bruce and entries #19 and #21.

Robins, in terms of his first team chances, also benefited from the premature retirement of Nicky Wood, who had been given his first starts by Fergie in 1987 but was finished by back problems. When Davenport was sold, Robins became third choice striker behind Hughes and McClair. Not that it meant much in the season of his debut – the international duo started every single game and Robins was mainly restricted to appearances from the subs bench.

The next season, however, saw a serious injury crisis that necessitated Robins was thrown into the first team. A vital goal in a 2-2 draw at Wimbledon was enough to convince Fergie to keep him there for a vital FA Cup game at Nottingham Forest.

Enough has been written about that game for me to just stick to the basic facts, namely that Forest were a top cup team of the time (they won the League Cup in 1989 and 1990, and had reached the FA Cup semi-finals in 1988 and 1989) and United were on a bad run of form, lying just above the relegation zone.

Depending on who you believe, it we had lost, Fergie would have been sacked. Thankfully for all concerned, Robins headed home a Mark Hughes cross following good work by Lee Martin and we held on for the win, though Forest had a goal dubiously disallowed. In the fifth round, he scored again up at Newcastle and followed that up with the winner in the semi-final replay, after which he was carried off the pitch by celebrating fans.

That goal came in the middle of a run where Robins scored six goals in six games, of which he only started one: in the same period, Hughes and McClair (who started all those matches) only mustered three goals between them and the youngster may have fancied his chances for a place in the first XI in the cup final. However, Ferguson opted for experience in the end, leaving Robins on the bench. Though he got some game time, it was Mark Hughes who scored twice, including a late equaliser.

Despite that disappointment, Robins had a winner’s medal and finished the 1989/90 as the club’s second top scorer. However, his career at United had already peaked. Despite starting the next season with some games and getting some goals (including a superb finish against QPR), McClair had rediscovered his scoring form and Mark Hughes was having another impressive season. Some consolation came when Robins won another winners medal by being on the bench against Barcelona,

The next season he saw even less action, featuring in only two league games, and he understandably put in a transfer request. In the summer of 1992, Norwich City stumped up the cash and he was on his way.

Finally given the chance to show what he could do, he scored twice on his debut at Arsenal and played a big part in Norwich’s title push that year. They finished third and Robins’ may have been confident on building towards a prolific future. Instead, he was badly injured at the start of the following season and subsequently struggled to rediscover his form, embarking on a nomadic career that included a short spell at Manchester City. A three year spell at Rotherham United saw him back amongst the goals, and he went onto manage them before he moved onto taking charge at Barnsley.

17. Russell Beardsmore

Signed from: Youth team

Debut: 2-0 win vs West Ham United (as sub), September 24th 1988
League Record: 30 games (+26 as sub), 4 goals
Sold to: AFC Bournemouth (free transfer), June 1993

One of the many things I love about football is that sometimes, even the obscure players rise to the top and have their moment of glory. Russell Beardsmore was one, and his moment was January 1st 1989.

We were playing Liverpool - reigning League champions and top dogs. We were struggling. It was live on TV and I remember watching it clearly. I recall my cousin, an ardent Liverpool fan, stating they would drub us and I had no reason to disbelieve him, and sure enough, in the second half John Barnes put them ahead.

But then an odd thing happened. Our waif-like young right-winger suddenly turned into George Best, jinxing through their defence before crossing for McClair to equalise. After Mark Hughes put us ahead, Beardsmore completed an amazing ten minutes or so by vollying Lee Sharpe's centre to make it 3-1. I was dancing round the living room, shouting the scoreline to the next door neighbours (also Liverpool fans). It was something of a false start to the year, but Beardsmore's reputation rose - Bob Paisley selected him as Young Player of the Month - and the departure of Gordon Strachan left a space for him to fill. For a spell, he was a regular face in the first XI or on the subs bench, but it wasn't a great time: the last 11 games of that season saw us only win twice and only score eight goals.

Perhaps with that in mind, we signed four new midfield players in the summer of 1989, pushing him out of contention once all were fit and settled, meaning he didn't make the cut for the 1990 FA Cup final or the European Cup Winners Cup the next season and barely featured at all throughout 1991/92, though his status as an English player got him on the bench of the  European Super Cup that season. Though at that time played over two legs (home and away), we were up against Red Star Belgrade, and the situation in what used to be Yugoslavia wasn't too welcoming, so UEFA decided to just have a one-off game at Old Trafford. We got completely battered for most of the game, but somehow sneaked a 1-0 victory with a Brian McClair goal: a result which may well still baffle some reds. In any case, though he didn't get on the pitch, the result got Russell his own medal from his time at United.

Shortly after we won our first championship in 26 years in 1993, I read somewhere that Beardsmore had been given a free transfer. I was a bit surprised as he'd not played at all that season (he may have been an unused sub in some cup games?), so I'd assumed he'd either quit or left the year below.

He signed up with AFC Bournemouth and enjoyed five years of regular first team football, before serious injury forced him to retire at the age of 28. He's still on the South coast, working for his old club in some worthwhile Community projects, and is seemingly still a United fan, as he was nicked, fined and banned from driving after overdosing on the refreshments while celebrating our 2008 Champions League victory and then trying to drive home.

16. Lee Sharpe

Signed from: Torquay United (£175,000), June 1988
Debut: 2-0 win vs West Ham United, September 24th 1988
League Record: 160 games (+33 as sub), 21 goals
Sold to: Leeds United (£4,500,000), summer of 1996

The first time we get to see Fergie's eye for a bargain: for whatever potential Lee Sharpe failed to realise, the fee we paid was peanuts for what he did manage to achieve for us - which turned out to be quite a lot.

Young Sharpe, born with a great name for a winger, was a Brummie lad who had failed to impress Aston Vila (who he supported) and ended up down the English Rivera (ahem) with Torquay United. However, it didn't take long for their manager, the late Cyril Knowles, to put the 16-year-old in the first team. United were soon tipped off and the youngster was on his way back North. Though the plan was for him to spend some time in the reserves, he - still only 17 - was thrown into the first team early into his first season.

Initially, he played most his games at left back - weirdly, a number of matches at the end of 1988/89 have him wearing #3 and Lee Martin (nominally a full back) at #11. He wasn't able to get fully established to earn a medal in our 1990 FA Cup victory, but the next season would see his world change.

He'd not started the season in the team, but a goal in a 3-1 League Cup victory against Liverpool served as notice for what was to come when the tie for the next round came on November 28th 1990. Playing a strong Arsenal side on their own turf, Sharpe run riot, scoring a hat-trick in a 6-2 rout. I remember the night well mainly for the disbelief my nine-year-old felt when my mother told me the score. I was up at a very early hour the next day to watch the highlights from Granada Sport Night and was top dog at school, being the only United fan.

A few days later, he scored the winner in a league game at Everton. Life changed almost overnight for Sharpe, who became a pin-up more likely to be in magazines for teenage girls than the football press. He won a call up to the England team and was awarded the 1991 PFA Young Player of the Year award. Sharpe's game was built around his lightning quick pace and good crossing ability - it was telling how far he had come that Barcelona felt the need to mark him out of the game in the Cup Winners Cup Final. Unfortunately for them, that gave Bryan Robson the room to operate in that he needed to set up our second goal.

That season I can remember him running riot over several unfortunate right-backs, including Mel Sterland of Leeds United, who got such a chasing in both legs of the League Cup semi-final that I don't remember him being the same player again. We'd won the first leg 2-1 at Old Trafford, and the return match saw us fighting a rearguard action in the last minutes as Leeds threw everything at us. I was hiding behind the sofa in nerves, only emerging when Brian Moore screamed "They say he's onside!" as Sharpe legged it on their goal in a killer counterattack, rounding John Lukic, finishing brilliantly and doing the "Sharpe Shuffle" in front of the ecstatic travelling reds.

From such a peak, there was only one way to go: the following season saw a series of injuries and illness set in, allowing some punk kid from Salford to take the #11 shirt. More of him later. Sharpe, meanwhile, had to face ugly rumours that his absence was due to some kind of drug habit, when in reality he'd had to fight a nasty dose of meningitis. The only highlight for him of the season was coming off the bench in the League Cup final victory over Forest.

He still wasn't fit for the start of the first season of the Premier League, in which United hardly started on fire.  Making a comeback around Christmas time, he appeared reborn and his tricks on the wing (along with the guile of a certain European gentleman) kick started the season. His great form carried over to the start of the next season (93/94), where he also found his scoring touch. Sadly, an injury in January saw him lose his place in the tea, though he earned an FA Cup winner's medal by coming off the bench in the hammering of Chelsea.

Sadly, he joined Leeds at a bad time. The manager who signed him, Howard Wilkinson, was sacked soon after his signing (not helped by a home 4-0 drubbing at the hands of United) and was replaced by the dour George Graham, who was never going to have time for Sharpe's brand of wingplay. His career wound down with spells at Bradford City, Portsmouth and Exeter City, he finished his professional career after a few games for a team in Iceland - retired at 32.

In recent years, he's been spotted arsing about on reality television shows, all of which adds to the sense of unfulfilled potential. He was only 28 when we won the treble in 1999 and you feel he could have played left-wing in that game and contributed to United into the new century if things had been different. There's also the matter that he could have solved the long-standing left-sided problem the England team had through the 90s.

A great shame, then, but also some great memories.

15. Billy Garton

Signed from: Youth team
Debut: 4-0 win vs Burnley (League Cup tie), September 29th 1984
League Record: 39 games (+2 as sub)
Sold to: Retired due to illness, May 1990

Raised in Ordsall, in sunny Salford, Billy Garton may be the player brought up closest to Old Trafford that we'll come across. As a youth, he was a member of the iconic Salford Lad's Club as seen on many a picture of the Smiths.

Billy was a ball-playing defender who played alongside Mark Hughes and Clayton Blackmore at youth level, but had plenty of competition ahead of him in the first team. Struggling to get games, he was sent out on loan to Birmingham City in the Spring of 1986. He played well enough for the Brummies so that on his return to United, he went into the first team for the rest of the season.

Sadly, injury problems plagued one of Salford's finest, and he struggled to stay fit enough to establish a lengthy run in the first team. Alex Ferguson clearly rated him enough to make him first choice right back at the start of the 1988/89 season, but after a good spell at 13 games, fitness problems struck again. To make matters worse, Garton was then diagnosed with ME, forcing an early retirement from professional football.

I don't have that many memories of the man playing, but his chapter in Andy Mitten's excellent We're The Famous Man United book is my favourite: his love of United and playing for us shines through and he's honest enough to talk about the severe depression he suffered on being forced to quit due to his condition.

Eventually, he recovered to the degree that he was able to play non-league for Salford City, Witton Albion and Hyde United. To his credit, he also turned to studies and eventually qualified as a teacher, working in local schools and rising up to the position of Deputy Head.

In another career turn, he was then invited to move out to California to start a football school, where I believe he's still to this day, ensuring the kids out West are learning to play the game the United way.

13. Viv Anderson

Signed from: Arsenal (£250,000), July 1987
Debut: 2-2 draw vs Southampton, August 15th 1987
League Record: 50 games (+4 as sub), 2 goals
Sold to: Sheffield Wednesday (free transfer), January 1991

Once the topic of two Trivial Pursuit questions: namely being the first black guy to win a full England cap, and also being the only player to go to two World Cups with them and not get a single second on the pitch. The last one was true in the late 1980s, at least. He also got to spend all of Euro '88 twiddling his thumbs on the bench.

Born in Nottingham, he was a key part of Brian Clough’s all-conquering Forest team of the late 70s: by all accounts he was a class act of a player, nicknamed ‘Spider’ for his gangly limbs, which were always handy for reaching those last-ditch tackles. He certainly looked an unlikely footballer when you saw him running around, but like Peter Crouch or Paulo Wanchope, he was actually a lot smoother on the ball than he looked.

A League Championship, two League Cups and two European Cups over the course of three years was a fantastic haul and you can easily understand why Clough and the members of that team approach deity status in the red half of Nottingham. Along with Peter Davenport, he was part of the Forest team robbed of a place in the 1984 UEFA Cup final when semi-final opponents Anderlecht bribed the ref in the second leg: 2-0 up from the first game, Forest were denied at least one stonewall penalty and suffered from a number of dodgy decisions.

That summer, perhaps feeling he needed a new start to push his international prospects – he moved to Arsenal, at the time managed by part-time England coach Don Howe. For the main part, he had played back-up to Phil Neal: however, the Liverpool man was well into this 30s at that point and his mistake against Denmark in conceding a penalty (converted by our previous-but-one entry) had seen England fail to the reach the ’84 European Championships. But it never really happened for Viv, not helped by playing in a very average Arsenal team that only improved in his last season, when George Graham was in charge and saw them lift the League Cup in 1987, a game notable in being the first time Ian Rush scored in a game for Liverpool that they then went on to lose.

Along with McClair, he was one of the first fresh faces Ferguson brought in as he looked to put his own stamp on things. Looking back in 2012, it seems an odd signing as Viv was already 31 at the time – clearly the boss didn’t rate the right-back options he had (John Sivebaek and our next entry) and perhaps the one-time Nottingham Forest legend was the best option around at the time.

Despite a fair first season, big Viv never really enjoyed too much success with us. He wasn’t helped by injuries – especially in 1990 when after playing in the first four games of our FA Cup run, he was injured before the semi-final and wasn’t able to win his place back for the final. That summer, we finally signed one half of the solution to the full back question and Anderson’s days were numbered.

After barely playing in the first five months of 1990/91 season, Ron Atkinson took him over to Sheffield Wednesday. Unfortunately for him, he missed out on their defeat of us in that year’s League Cup final, as he’d played (and scored) for us against Halifax Town in the second round of that competition, so was thus cup-tied.  Despite the advancing years, he still captained Wednesday in their most successful period in recent history and was unlucky in 1993 to end up with losers medals in both the FA and League Cup finals – both times to Arsenal. Shortly after, he went to manage Barnsley for a year but subsequently took up a job as Bryan Robson’s assistant at Middlesbrough. He was sacked along with Robbo and I don’t believe has worked in a full-time coaching capacity since.

These days, whenever I’m at a game and am checking the teams on the screens under the stands, he always seems to be on MUTVs pre-match coverage. Doubtless he was a quality player, but the level of that may be best explained by Nottingham Forest fans. Still, I liked him as he always seemed dead chuffed when we scored, and a bit of enthusiasm goes a long way in this game.

10. Mark Hughes

Signed from: Youth team initially, then Barcelona (£1,800,000) June 1988.
Debut: 2-0 win vs Port Vale (League Cup tie, as sub), October 26th 1983
League Record: 336 games (+9 as sub), 120 goals
Sold to: Chelsea (£1,500,000), June 1995

The first, but not last, player we'll come across who had two spells at United, Mark Hughes was nicknamed 'Sparky' by Ron Atkinson for his style of play - he wasn't the kind of player to go missing on the big occasion, as six goals in various cup finals for us tells you.

Coming to us as a schoolboy in the late 1970s, Hughes initially started as a midfield player and if he'd stayed there, he might not have developed into much. However, someone had the idea to push him up front where he made so much progress, that Atkinson decided to go with him rather than another young striker in the reserves - some Geordie lad called Peter Beardsley.

Getting his début in 1983/84, he played a few more games, scoring a few goals. He did well enough so that by the start of the 1984/85 season, Hughes finally established himself as a first team regular, helped by new signing Alan Brazil failing to settle at United. At the end of that season, he had won the PFA Young Player of the Year award to go alongside his FA Cup winners medal. He played a big part in the final, his defence-splitting pass setting up the winning goal.

He carried over his form to the next season, which turned out to work against us. Barcelona were sniffing around and offering him big, big money. Their English manager, Terry Venables, was looking to replace Steve Archibald and Hughes looked like the man to do so: the lure of European football may have been a factor too, given English clubs had just then been banned.

United had never been known as big payers on the wage front and couldn't match the offer - his sale was concluded quickly and kept secret from the public for some time. The only clue was Hughes' rapid drop in form and any hopes for silverware went with it. It was a transfer with no positives for United: we lost our best striker and the money we got for him was invested in players who just didn't work out. Atkinson later claimed he wanted Cyrille Regis instead of Terry Gibson, but the former failed a medical. A shame, as I was a huge fan of Regis and his kind of aggressive front-running (he was built like a Sherman tank) may have been just what was needed at the time.

It wasn't to work for Hughes either. His physical style didn't meet with the approval of the officials in Spain and he failed to settle into the kind of form that Gary Lineker, snapped up after his Golden Boot-winning World Cup campaign, found easier to come by. Following a disastrous début season, he was shipped out on loan to Bayern Munich, where he had a better time of it, but Barca was still happy to sell him back to us when Fergie came knocking.

His return was one of the very few highlights in a season of mediocrity. He scored some stunning goals, a couple at Spurs and Everton showcasing his extraordinary skill of volleying the ball - developed, according to the man himself because he wasn't so great at heading. Such was his talent at this, it's hard to believe there's been many before or since who could equal him at it.

At the end of a season in which we finished 11th, Hughes at least had some personal glory when he was voted the 1989 PFA Player of the Year, an accolade he'd repeat in 1991.

Though never likely to top the scoring charts (counting all competitions, he only hit more than 20 goals a season three times), Sparky maintained a more than decent return and had a good habit of scoring when it matters - often in spectacular fashion. His crucial second goal in the 1991 European Cup Winners Cup final was absurd in the narrowness of the angle from which he hit his shot: even commentator Brian Moore believed he had gone far too wide before he drove it into the net. A poster of this goal took pride of place on my wall.

Three years later, in the FA Cup semi final against Oldham, things were looking bad. One nil down with a minute to play, it was looking desperate as we threw everything forward. Suddenly, a bad clearance came down on the edge of the box. Sparky stretched his leg and volleyed the ball past the keeper. I think their manager, Joe Royle, lamented that it was his team's misfortune that the ball fell to the one player in the world capable of putting the chance away. It was a crucial goal beyond the game, giving us a burst of confidence at a vital time.

In this last season (94/95), he was starting to look like he was showing his age (31) and with younger strikers signed and breaking through from the youth team, he was allowed to move down to That London and sign to Chelsea. It turned out to be a smart move for him, as he picked up winner's medals in the FA Cup, European Cup Winners Cup and League Cup in his three years there.

While he was there, I remember well a FA Cup tie against Liverpool, in which his team were two down at half time. Chelsea brought on Sparky, who proceeded to run riot, scoring the first goal in a 4-2 comeback.

After Chelsea, his playing career wound down with spells at Southampton, Everton and Blackburn, though with the last of those he was still good enough to be part of their 2001 promotion back to the Premiership and play in their 2-1 victory over Spurs in the next year's League Cup final, shortly after which he put away his boots to concentrate on his new job coaching the Welsh national team.

He later moved on to manage Blackburn Rovers, where he seemed to be doing a good job before he went off and took charge at, of all teams, Manchester City. It was a move never likely to endear him to Reds, and few tears were shed when he failed to get the results demanded by their (then new) oil-rich owners. Indeed, it's a prejudice I can't shake myself - it really shouldn't have, but I couldn't help but feel he grew a tad bitter in his time there. Since then, he's had mixed results back in the capital with Fulham and Queen's Park Rangers.