United transfers in the 80s

lysglimt

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Ok - here we go again. This took a while to do - but it was a fun challenge, and this time I could actually write about players I knew a bit more about :)


1980/81

Nikola Jovanovic
- 28 - signed from Red Star Belgrade for £300.000

Rating 3/10

Nikola Jovanovic was a legend in his home country of Yugoslavia. The colossal defender had played over 350 matches and scored about 50 goals when Dave Sexton signed him for £300.000 in 1980. Jovanovic became the first ever player from outside the British-isles to be signed by Manchester United. He played 2 matches in the 79/80 season, and then further 19 matches and 4 goals in the 80/81-season, but struggled with a chronic back-injury. At the end of his first full season at the club, he was sent back to Yugoslavia and retired just a couple of years later.


Garry Birtles - 24 - signed from Nottingham for £1.250.000

Rating 2/10
No name historically symbolizes a failed transfer as much as Garry Birtles to Manchester United. Birtles was signed by Forest from amateur-club Long Eaton United, but had to wait almost 2.5 years to really be given a chance after Peter Withe had been sold, and youngster Steve Elliott failed to take his chance. Birtles scored 25 goals in 50 matches in all tournaments in his first season, and followed up with 16 in 64 goals in his second. When Birtles scored 9 in his first 14 matches at the beginning of 1980/81, and Uniteds strikers struggled to score, Sexton signed the striker for £1.25 million. Birtles made his debut on October 22nd 1980 against Stoke, and failed to score a single league-goal for United that season. With Dave Sexton fired, Ron Atkinson signed Frank Stapleton to partner Garry Birtles, and that had a positive effect. During the season 81/82, Birtles scored a decent 11 goals in 33 matches, but was still sold back to Forest at the end of the season for £250.000.


1981/82

John Gidman
- 27 - signed from Everton for £450.000 with Mickey Thomas going the opposite way.

Rating 6/10
Ron Atkinson wanted defensive reinforcements and experienced John Gidman fit the bill. Gidman had played over 260 league matches for first Villa and Everton from 1979-1981 and was a highly reliable right-back. He however found life at Everton tough, Gidman was an attacking right-back, but was asked to play defensively at Everton, so making the switch to United was an easy choice to make. Gidman played regularly in 81/82, before being out of the side for the next 2 seasons. He fought his way back into the side and played regularly in 1984/85 and 85/86. In total Gidman played 123 matches for United scoring 4 goals. He made the switch from United to neighbours City in 1986.


Frank Stapleton - signed from Arsenal for £900.000

Rating 7/10

With Joe Jordan, Andy Ritchie and Jimmy Greenhoff all leaving during the summer of 1981, United were left with the aging Lou Macari, a young Scott McGarvey and misfiring Garry Birtles. Ron Atkinsons choice was to sign Arsenals tall striker, Frank Stapleton for £900.000. The 25 year old irish striker consistently grabbed around 15 goals each season, but was very efficient as a target-player. In his first season he formed a decent partnership with Garry Birtles. Stapleton grabbed 13 goals and Birtles 11, and Stapleton grabbed 14 goals in his next 2 seasons as well. But the only really efficient partnership Stapleton ever former, was in 85/86 when he was partnered with a young Mark Hughes. The pair scored 31 goals between them. The season after Stapleton struggled to find the back of the net and the goalscoring responsibility fell to Hughes. With the arrival of Alex Ferguson, the 31 year old Stapleton was released and left for Ajax. He played a total of 223 matches, scoring 60 goals.


Remi Moses - 21 - signed from WBA for £500.000

Rating 6/10

Ron Atkinson had given Remi Moses his chance in the first-team at WBA, a chance Moses had taken with some really strong performances. When Atkinson left for Manchester United, he signed 21 year old Moses for £500.000 just a few weeks before going back to WBA for Bryan Robson. Moses performed really well in the first few seasons at United, but struggled with injuries. Once Atkinson moved Normal Whiteside into midfield alongside Robson, Moses got considerably less game-time. After the season of 1984/85 - Moses' career was practically as a part-time player. He retired during the 1987/88 season due to injuries, and player a total of 150 matches, scoring 7 goals. He was also the first black player to score a goal for Manchester United.


Bryan Robson - 24 - signed from WBA for £1.500.000

Rating 10/10

Ron Atkinson made a lot of strange comments in his career as a manager - but never was he more correct than when he explained paying £1.5 million for Robson by saying: "It may seem like a lot of money, but it's not a gamble. This fella is solid gold". At the age of 24 he was an established england international and a complete players, dangerous in front of goal, superb passer of the ball, hard-working and a leader in the middle of the pitch. In his first season at United he scored 5 goals, but in the next 6 seasons at United, Robson scored a total of 72 goals in all competition. Unfortunately for United, in 1985/86 when United looked on course to win the league, that was the one season early in his career when Robson lost a lot of games to injuries. Bryan Robson was arguably the best midfielder in England, and often was more or less pulling United through matches by himself. After 1988/89, Robson was never a regular player for United due to injuries and a tough competition for places. In his last 2 seasons at United, Bryan Robson won the league title he deserved, before joining Middlesboro as player manager in 1994.

1982/83

Paul McGrath
- 22 - signed from St.Patricks Athletic for £35.000

Rating 8/10

Paul McGrath joined United in 1982 from irish club St.Patricks Athletic. He initially struggled to break into the United-side, but by christmas of the 84/85-season he was playing regularly alongside Kevin Moran, and was named man of the match in the FA Cup Final against Everton in 1985. He player regularly for a couple of seasons after that, but the combination of alcoholism and recurrent knee-problems made it more and more difficult to play. But when he did play, he was outstanding. Ahead of the 1989/90 season he was sold to Aston Villa by Alex Ferguson. Ferguson felt McGrath was beyond repair with his alcoholism and was a bad influence on several of the other players. Paul McGrath played a total of 203 matches, scoring 16 goals for United. He went on to play the best football of his career at Aston Villa, despite his knee problems that at times only allowed him to play matches, but not train with the rest of the team. He player at Villa for 7 seasons, playing 323 matches for the club.


Arnold Muhren - 31 - signed from Ipswich for undisclosed fee

Rating 7/10

When Bobby Robson signed Arnold Muhren for £150.000 in 1978 it was a stroke of genious. Muhren controlled the Ipswich-midfield for 4 seasons, and was instrumental in Ipswich winning the UEFA-Cup in 1981. When Robson took charge of England, Muhren left Ipswich and signed for United. The classy-duchman was an instant hit and played regularly in his first 2 seasons scoring 15 goals in 81 matches. He scored a goal in the FA Cup Final replay against Brighton, and picked up a medal. At the end of the 84/85-season, the age had started to catch up with Muhren and his chances in the first-team were few and far between. After a total of 98 matches and 18 goals, Muhren was allowed to leave on a free to go back to Holland where he played 4 more seasons with Ajax.


Peter Beardsley - 21 - signed from Vancouver Whitecaps

Rating 1/10

Peter Beardsley was showing great promise as a striker for Carlisle United. After 22 goals in 104 matches he left for Vancouver Whitecaps. After 2 season where he scored 20 goals in 48 matches, he was picked up by Manchester United. His spell at United was short-lived. He played 1 game in the league-cup before being released one year after. United soon realized what they have missed out on, as Beardsley went on to score 56 goals in his first 3 seasons at Newcastle. Beardsley later joined Liverpool, Everton before returning to Newcastle. He scored double-figures in the league in 11 of his 12 seasons with these clubs.


1983/84

Arthur Graham
- 31 - signed from Leeds for £45.000

Rating 5/10

Arthur Graham started his professional career as a winger with Aberdeen. He played a total of 7 seasons for the club before being signed by Leeds for £125.000. He was a regular for Leeds for 6 seasons, playing 260 matches and scoring 47 goals in all competitions. Leeds were relegated in the 81/82, and when they failed to get promotion the season after he was sold to United in the summer of 1983. United went into the season with Graham as their only recognized winger and he did quite well in his first season, scoring 7 goals in 51 matches. With the arrival of Jesper Olsen and Gordon Strachan, Grahams time at United was over and he only played once in the league cup the next season. He left for Bradford at the end of the season 84/85.


Jeff Wealands - 32 - signed from Birmingham on a free transfer

Rating 2/10
Jeff Wealands started his career at Darlington before joining Hull as a 21 year old. He had 7 seasons at Hull where he was first-choice goalkeeper. In his first season at Birmingham, he won promotion to the 1 division and was the clubs number 1 goalkeeper for 4 seasons, despite competition from a young Tony Coton. He fell out of favour with manager Ron Saunders and eventually was released to United. Ron Atkinson wanted an experienced goalkeeper as cover for Gary Bailey, but back-problems limited any chance Jeff Wealands had of being a success. He played 2 matches over 2 seasons, before being released to Altrincham in 1985.


1984/85

Alan Brazil
- 25 - signed from Tottenham for £425.000

Rating 5/10

Alan Brazil broke through at Ipswich in the late 70s and scored a total of 70 league goals in 154 matches for the club. During the season 1981/82, the young Scot ended as the 2nd highest goalscorers in division 1 behind Kevin Keegan. In March 1983 he was sold to Tottenham for £425.000, but he failed to make an impression. He started well enough getting 6 goals in 10 matches at the end of the 83/84 season, but in the next season he only scored 3 goals in 19 matches. Less than 1 year later United paid £625.000 to sign him from Tottenham. Atkinson wanted further competition up-fron, but a back-problem was starting to cause problems for Brazil. He scored 9 goals in his first 26 matches in the 84/85 season, and 3 goals in 15 matches in the next season before being part of the deal that took Terry Gibson from Coventry to United


Jesper Olsen - 23 - signed from Ajax

Rating 7/10

Jesper Olsen started his career with danish club Næstved before leaving for Ajax at the age of 20. His time at Ajax was extremely successful and he was called the most talented player player in the Ajax-squad by his coach Kurt Linder. He was signed by United in july 1984 for a total of £350.000 to replace Arnold Muhren as a left winger. His time at United was a bit up and down, he was brilliant in the 85/86 season when he scored 13 goals in total, despite missing a big part of the season with injuries. In October he was put on the transfer list by Atkinson after a fight with Remi Moses, but Atkinson was fired just a few weeks later and Ferguon kept the dane. The last 2.5 seasons at the club he was quite inefficient and scored just 5 goals in his last 88 goals. In total he scored 24 goals in 176 matches for United.


Gordon Strachan - 27 - signed from Aberdeen

Rating 7/10

Gordon Strachan was signed from Aberdeen for £500.000. The tiny, ginger-haired winger had impressed a lot under Alex Ferguson at Aberdeen and scored an impressive 55 goals in 183 matches. Strachans first season at United was by far the best, he scored an incredible 15 goals in the league. During the season 85/86, Strachan missed a great deal of the season with injuries, and this combined with the injury to Bryan Robson was the main reason for United's collapse when they finally looked on course to win the league. Strachans form under Ferguson was patchy and comments made later clearly explained that the 2 of them had their differences. When United got on offer of £200.000 in 1989, they let the 31 year old Scot join Leeds. This was the beginning of some of the best football of his career, which culminated with Leeds winning the league 3 years later.


1985/86

Peter Barnes
- 28 - signed from Coventry for £60.000

Rating 2/10

Peter Barnes was the huge talent, whose career basically ended at the age of 21. As a teenager, Barnes was voted Young Player of the Year in 1976. 22 year old he was transferred to WBA for £750.000 and the winger excelled for the club. He scored 23 goals in 77 matches under Ron Atkinson, but when he was bought by Leeds for £930.000 in 1981, his career at the highest level was practically over. Allan Clarke tried to use Barnes as a striker, it failed miserably and Barnes had a horrible time at Elland Road. He went to Real Betis, to Coventry and eventually to Manchester United in 1985. Big Ron Atkinson signed him as an understudy to Jesper Olsen, but it was pretty obvious that Atkinson didn't get the old Peter Barnes he had at WBA. Barnes played 20 matches, scoring 2 goals during his 2 years at United. After leaving United for Manchester City, Barnes joined over 15 clubs in the space of 6 years, never playing more than 11 matches for each club.


Chris Turner - 26 - signed from Sunderland for £175.000

Rating 6/10

Ron Atkinson felt he needed a new backup keeper to Gary Bailey. Stephen Pears had left and Gary Walsh was still considered too young. He decided on Chris Turner who was a solid keeper, but not at the highest level. Turner had started his career with Sheffield Wednesday and performed really well, but manager Jackie Charlton wanted a taller, more imposing goalkeeper and sold Turner to Sunderland in 1979. His time at the club was good and he was a first choice for the better part of the 6 years he spent at Roker Park. Atkinson signed him for £175.000, but he never really established himself at Old Trafford. His best season was actually in 1987/88 under Ferguson, despite being on the transfer list most of the season. He lost his place to Jim Leighton in the summer of 1988 and was sold to Sheffield Wednesday for the same amount United signer him for.


Colin Gibson - 25 - signed from Aston Villa for £275.000

Rating 5/10

Gibson had been doing really well as a left-back for Aston Villa playing a total of 238 matches scoring 17 goals. But when United offered £275.000 for the player in november 1985, Aston Villa accepted the offer. Gibsons time at United was filled with injuries, but in his first half a season at the club he did really well, scoring 5 goals in 18 league matches. In the next 2 seasons he played 24 and 29 league matches for United. By the beginning of the 1988/89 season, Colin Gibson had been frozen out due to the fine form of youngster Lee Martin, and Gibson only played 11 matches in the next 2 seasons, before he was sold to Leicester in december 1990 for £100.000


Mark Higgins - 26 - signed from Everton for £60.000

Rating 1/10

Higgins started his career with Everton but struggled a lot with injuries in his career. It was only in the 1982/83 season he really established himself as a regular for Everton. In this season he formed a majestic partnership with Kevin Ratcliffe. But the next season he suffered a serious knee-injury that eventually would force him to retire in 1984. Higgins then repaid his insurance-money in an effort to continue playing football, and United gambled on signing the defender in 1985 - 18 months after playing his latest game of football. But it was obvious that Mark Higgins simply wasn't the same player because of the knee-injury and after 8 matches for United, he was sold to Bury for £10.000. A sad ending for a footballer so talented that Everton-fans thought he reminded them of the legend Brian Labone, who was part of the 1966 world-cup winning squad.


1986/87

Terry Gibson
- 23 - signed from Coventry for £500.000

Rating 2/10

Terry Gibson had joined Coventry from Tottenham as a 20 year old, and was an instant hit at Highfield Road. In 2.5 seasons the tiny striker scored 43 league goals in 98 apperances and was made Coventrys player of the season in 1984/85. This attracted the attention of Manchester United who were in the process of losing Mark Hughes to Barcelona. Gibson was signed for £500.000 in january 1986, but with Frank Stapleton staying and Mark Hughes not being sold until the end of the season, Gibson found himself on the bench in his first 6 months. And when Hughes was sold, Atkinson signed Peter Davenport to make it even harder for Gibson to break into the side. The start of 1986/87 was awful for both Gibson and United, and within 2 months Atkinson had been sacked. Ferguson seemed less than impressed by Gibson and didn't play him much. When United signed Brian McClair in the summer of 1987, Gibson knew his time was over and left for Wimbledon wher he went on to win the FA Cup against Liverpool. He played 23 games for United, scoring 1 goal.


John Sivebæk - 24 - signed from Vejle for £250.000

Rating 4/10

United had seen John Sivebæk play during the 1984 Euros and been impressed with the attacking right-back. During december 1985 United contacted Vejle and worked out a deal to bring Sivebæk to the club. He was given few chances during the 85/86 season, but was a regular for most of the 86/87 season. Despite having a unspectacular career at United, he will probably always be remembered as the player scoring the first goal under Sir Alex Ferguson when he scored a freekick against QPR. At the end of the 1986/87 season, he was informed by Ferguson that he wouldn't be a regular the next season, so Sivebæk left United for french club St.Etienne where he stayed for 4 seasons.


Peter Davenport - 25 - signed from Nottingham for £750.000

Rating 5/10

Davenport had impressed for several seasons at Forest, scoring a total of 54 goals in 118 league matches. And with uncertainty over the future of Frank Stapleton and Mark Hughes, Atkinson signed Davenport from Forest in march 1986. He only scored 1 goal in his first 11 matches, but with Hughes being sold in the summer and Gibson misfiring - Davenport was a first choice striker the following season. He did quite well in a struggling United-side, scoring 14 goals in 39 league matches. He kept his place in the team following the arrival of Brian McClair in the summer of 1987, but he struggled to find the back of the net. A total of 6 goals in 40 matches was a poor return for Davenport. With Mark Hughes arriving in the summer of 1988, Davenport was allowed to leave in november 1988 and he joined Middlesboro for £750.000.


Liam O'Brien - 21 - signed from Shamrock Rovers for £50.000

Rating 3/10

Liam O'Brien ended up as Ron Atkinsons last signing for United when he was signed in august 1986. He had made a name for himself at Shamrock Rovers after scoring 21 goals in 70 matches as a central midfielder. During his first season at United, he only played 11 matches - which included a game against Southampton when O'Brien was sent off after only 85 seconds. The fastest ever sending off in the history of Manchester United. He played slightly more in the next season, but after only 3 league matches for 3 months in the 1988/89 season O'Brien asked to leave United and joined Newcastle for £275.000. He went on to play over 300 league matches for Newcastle and Tranmere, before finishing his career with Bohemians in 2002. He played a total of 36 matches for United in all competitions, scoring 2 goals.


1987/88

Viv Anderson
- 31 - signed from Arsenal for £250.000

Rating 7/10

Viv Anderson had a long and impressive career before joining United at the age of 31. First black player to represent England, 10 years and 328 league matches at Forest and 3 seasond and 120 matches for Arsenal. He was a model athlete and a highly reliable player. Ferguson wanted a new right-back and found Anderson to be a good short-term solution. He became the first signing made by Ferguson. He was a regular for the first 2.5 years at the club, and performed especially well during the 87/88 season. During the 1989/90 season he lost his place in the side at the end of the season and was dropped for the FA Cup Final against Crystal Palace, when Ferguson played Paul Ince at right-back. When Denis Irwin signed in the summer of 1990, Anderson never came close to regaining his place in the side. He joined Sheffield Wednesday in january 1991 at the age of 35, and played regularly for 2.5 seasons.


Brian McClair - 23 - signed from Celtic for £825.000

Rating 9/10

McClair had been banging in goals for Celtic for several seasons, and Ferguson who knew McClair from his time in Scotland made the young Scot his second signing. The transfer fee actually went to a tribunal with Celtic demanding £2 million, while United were only prepare to pay £400.000. McClair became an instant hit scoring 24 league goals in his first season for the club, and becoming the first United-player since George Best to break the 20-goal barrier. The next season he was partnered by the returning Mark Hughes - but the partnership was never highly successful and they only scored 24 goals between them. During the disastreous season of 1989/90, McClair was for the first time moved into midfield, but returned as a striker in 1990/91 and 91/92. With the arrival of Eric Cantona in oktober 1992, McClair was permanently moved into midfield to partner Paul Ince, which was a great success. The following season United signed Roy Keane, which many expected to be the end of McClairs career at United. He however continued to play an important role for United, until he left the club in 1998. He played a total of 471 matches, scoring 127 goals.


Steve Bruce - 26 - signed from Norwich for £825.000

Rating 9/10

Steve Bruce started his career with Gillingham and scored an incredible 29 goals in 205 matches for the club. In 1984 Norwich signed the 23 year old defender for £125.000. Slow, but a superb tackler and gave 100% in every single duel. His debut wasn't the best when he scored on owngoal against Liverpool in the first minute, but it didn't take long before Bruce had won over the Norwich-fans with his die-hard attitude. When Dave Watson departed at the end of the 85/86 season, Bruce was named captain. United signed Bruce in december 1986, after Norwich initially refused to accept Uniteds offer, but Bruce made it clear he would not let Norwich ruin his dream move and threatened to never playing for the club again. Bruce would go on to have a magnificent career at United, and when United signed Gary Pallister in 1989 he found his perfect partner at the heart of the United-defense. Bruce was always a big aerial threat but during the 1990/91 season he scored an incredible 19 goals in all competitions. When United won the Premier League in 1993, it was Steve Bruce and Bryan Robson who lifted the trophy. He eventually left United in 1996 to become the player-manager of Birmingham. He played a total of 414 matches and scored 51 goals for United.


1988/89

Jim Leighton
- 30 - signed from Aberdeen for £500.000

Rating 5/10

United had used a combination of Gary Walsh and Chris Turner in goal the season before, but most believed they had solved their goalkeeping problems with the signing of experienced scottish keeper Jim Leighton. Leighton had been a regular for Aberdeen for nearly 10 years, and for the scottish national team for 5 years. It also helped that Ferguson knew Leighton from his team at Aberdeen. Jim Leighton was solid in his first season at United, as was the entire United-defense. The next season was gonna be different both for Leighton and for United. The entire United-team was shaky, and Leighton did little to improve the situation. The real breakdown happened in the FA-Cup Final against Crystal Palace - after an awful match by Leighton, United were lucky to salvage a 3-3 draw and a replay. However in the replay, Ferguson showed his ruthless streak and dropped Leighton in favour of on-loan goalkeeper Les Sealey. United won the replay, and Leighton took several years to recover. He played just one more game for United in the league-cup, before being sold to Dundee in 1992. After being sold to Hibernian in 1993, Leighton regained his form and eventually reclaimed his position as the best goalkeeper in Scotland.


Lee Sharpe - 17 - signed from Torquay for £200.000

Rating 8/10

In his first season at Torquay, the youngster Lee Sharpe impressed so much that United signed him after only 16 matches. With the departure of Jesper Olsen and the poor form of Ralph Milne, young Sharpe ended up playing a total of 22 league matches in his first season. Sharpe got his big breakthrough during the 1990/91-season when he scored 9 goals in 41 matches including a hat-trick away at Highbury. Sharpe then struggled with injuries the next couple of seasons, before having the best season of his career in 1993/94 with 11 goals in 41 matches. He played 2 more seasons at United, but especially in the last season he looked less and Ferguson sold the winger to Leeds during the summer of 1996 after 263 matches and 36 goals. He had 1 season at Leeds, but his career as a top-player was practically over after leaving United.


Mark Hughes - 24 - signed from Barcelona for £1.8 million

Rating 9/10

Hughes had played 89 matches and scored 37 goals for United, before leaving for Barcelona and later Bayern Munchen, but the welsh striker failed to impress. When Ferguson wanted Hughes to return to Manchester, he gladly accepted and joined United for a record fee of £1.8 million. Despite United not doing too well in Hughes first season back in England, it was a good season for Hughes personally. He scored 14 goals in 38 matches and won Player of the Year in England. Hughes continued to be consistent without really scoring a lot of goals. With the arrival of Eric Cantona in 1992, Hughes form improved and he scored 15 goals in 41 matches as United won the league for the first time since 1967. Mark Hughes continued to be a regular for United in the following seasons, despite the arrival of Andy Cole, but he feared his chances would be limited so he left United during the summer of 1995 to join Chelsea. He played 352 matches for United, scoring 116 goals.


Mal Donaghy - 31 - signed from Luton for £650.000

Rating 7/10

Ferguson was looking for a reliable defender, as several of his defenders were either inexperienced like Sharpe or Martin, or injury-ridden like McGrath or Gibson. It was still a bold move to spend £650.000 on Lutons 31 year old defender Mal Donaghy. Mal Donaghy was never spectacular, but he was solid, and a model professional who was never injured. Donaghy was a regular left-back in his first season for the club, and was always reliable. But in the summer of 1989, Lee Martin had taken over the left-back position, Pallister was the new partner to Steve Bruce and Donaghy was fighting with Viv Anderson and Clayton Blackmore for the right-back position. During this and the 2 next seasons, Donaghy played a fair amount of matches but never as first-choice. In 1992 United sold Donaghy to Chelsea for £100.000 - he played a total of 119 matches without scoring a goal.


Ralph Milne - 27 - signed from Bristol City for £170.000

Rating 2/10

Ralph Milne is often described as Fergusons worst ever signing, and at least one of the more peculiar ones as Milne was playing in division 3 at the time. He started his career at Dundee United and was at the time playing really well in the early 80s. In 1982/83 Dundee United won the league for the first time, with 22 year old Milne maybe the clubs best player. But his relationship with manager Jim McLean was not good to say the least, and when he lost his place to Kevin Gallacher in 1986 he was sold to Charlton. A year later he was sold to Bristol City where he regaines his form under manager Joe Jordan. 10 months later Ferguson signed Milne and Milne played regularly for the first season, scoring 3 goals in 22 league matches. But the emergence of Lee Sharpe and signing of Danny Wallace kept Milne out of the side, and he later admitted that signing for United rejuvenated him, and being dropped by United destroyed him mentally. Milne also struggled with alcoholism during his entire career, which speeded up the downfall. After his death in 2015, Jim McLean summed up Ralph Milne this way: He had tremendous talent - and I failed with him. He did not have the right attitude to the game, and I could not instill that into him."


Guiliano Maiorana - 17 - signed from Histon for £30.000

Rating 2/10

The left winger had played about 30 matches for non-league Histon when he was invited to Manchester United for a trial, and performed so well that Alex Ferguson described it as one of the best displays ever seen from a trialist. United signed Maiorana for £30.000 and the youngster actually made 6 league appearances in the 88/89 season. He made his last apperance for United in october 89, as he shortly after suffered a bad knee-injury in a reserve-game. He was given a free transfer in 1994.


1989/90



Neil Webb
- 26 - signed from Nottingham for £1.500.000

Rating 5/10

When Ferguson sold Whiteside and McGrath, he replaced them with the Norwich-captain Mike Phelan and Neil Webb from Nottingham. Webb had emerged as one of the hottest midfield-talents in England, when Forest signed him in 1985, after scoring 22 goals in 72 league matches for Reading, and 34 goals in 123 league matches for Portsmouth. During his time under Brian Clough, Neil Webb took the final step and turned into a midfielder of the highest quality. At Forest he scored an incredible 46 league goals in 147 matches, and broke into the English national side. His debut for United in august 1989 was nothing short of magnificient, United destroyed last seasons champions Arsenal by 4-1 and Neil Webb scored a trademark goal when he hammered the ball past Seaman from 20 yards. But just weeks later he snapped his achilles tendon playing for England. Webb returned in march and was instrumental in lifting United to safety in a horrible season for the club. He also had the pass to set up Lee Martin for the FA Cup Winner in may 1990. But gone was the freescoring midfielder from the days of Forest and Portsmouth and Webb never really recovered from the injury and at times looked sluggish and overweight. During the 91/92 season for a short while, he looked a bit like the old Webb, but after a dispute with Ferguson he as sold at the start of the next season. He played a total of 110 matches and scored just 11 goals.


Mike Phelan - 27 - joined from Norwich for £750.000

Rating 6/10

Phelan played his first seasons at Burnley in division 3 and 4, before joining Norwich for £60.000 in 1985. He impressed for the Canaries and when Steve Bruce left for United, Phelan became the new captain of Norwich. With Ferguson needing to bolster his midfield following the sale of Whiteside to Everton, he signed Phelan from Norwich for £750.000, together with Neil Webb from Nottingham. In his first 2 seasons Phelan played regularly but in many different positions, he was central midfielder, right midfielder or right back. By 1991/92 competition in central midfield was getting very hard with Robson, Ince and Webb - while Sharpe, Giggs and Kanchelskis were fighting for 2 wing positions, Phelan only played 18 league matches in that season and 11 in the season after, and was released on a free transfer in 1994. He played 146 matches and scored 3 goals.


Gary Pallister - 24 - signed from Middlesboro for £2.300.000

Rating 9/10

Pallister joined Boro in 1984 and helped them win promotion to the 2 division in 1987 and to the 1 division the year after. Although Boro were relegated, Pallister impressed and was even give his England debut. After a prolonged negotiation, United signed Pallister in september 1989 as a partner to Steve Bruce. When he joined United he was a tall, but not very powerful central defender with a surprisingly high top-speed. Like the rest of the United-team, he struggled in the 89/90-season and gave away a penalty in his debut. As the season progressed, Pallister and Bruce began to strike up a decent partnership, and by the end of 1990/1991 the 2 players looked really solid together. Pallister continued to be a rock in the center of Uniteds defense and played every game when United won the league for the first time in 1993. He hardly missed a game in the next 2 seasons, before a back-injury started to cause a bit of problems in the 95/96 season. With the signing of Jaap Stam, 33 year old Gary Pallister was sold back to Boro for £2.5 million. He stayed at Boro for 3 seasons before retiring in 2001. He played 437 games for United, scoring 15 goals.

Danny Wallace - 25 - signed from Southampton for £1.200.000

Rating 4/10

Danny Wallace made his debut for Southampton at Old Trafford in 1980, before he turned 17 years old. Over his next few seasons he hardly played, but made his big breakthrough in the 1982/83 season. From the left-wing he troubled most defenses with his pace and ability, and he finished that season with 12 goals in 35 matches. He continued to impress and was even given his England-debut in 1986. 2 years later he formed an attacking Southampton-lineup with his brothers Rod and Ray, Matt Le Tissier and a young Alan Shearer, but he was starting to feel restless and informed Southampton that he wanted to leave. United was the quickest to react and paid £1.2 million for the winger. Wallace never rediscovered his Southampton-form while playing for United. In his first season he scored 6 goals in 35 matches, and a further 4 in 28 games in the next season. But the emergence of Ryan Giggs and a puzzling loss of form made sure that Danny Wallace was out of the picture permanently. He did play a total of 8 more games and scored 1 goal, before leaving for Birmingham. A few years later the reason for his form was discovered to be Multiple sclerosis and in 2006 Wallace completed a marathon in 5.5 days to raise money for his own foundation to provide aid for MS-victims.


Paul Ince - 22 - signed from West Ham for £2.000.000

Rating 8/10

Ince got his debut for West Ham in 1986 and played regularly in central midfield from the 1987/88-season. West Ham struggled a lot in the late 80s and finished 15th and 16th, but Ince showed glimpses of what he could do when he scored 2 goals in a league-cup game against Liverpool. With West Ham being relegated at the end of the 1988/89-season, speculation started, but when the 1989/90 season started, he was still a West Ham-player. He started a lot of controversy when a picture of him in a United-shirt appeared in the tabloids, before his transfer to United was finished. The transfer was eventually finished and he made his debut against Millwall in a 5-1 win. Ince didn't really impose himself in the first 2 seasons at United, but his influence gradually grew. When United won the league in 1993, Ince had become a key-player in central midfield. His ability to win the ball was exceptional, and he even started to add some goals to his allround-game. He probably had his best season in 1993/94 when he scored 9 goals in 56 matches, and arguably was the clubs best player. But trouble was brewing as Ferguson noticed a change in Ince in the 1994/95-season, according to Ferguson he didn't track back the way he did before, and he didn't like that Ince walked around United insisting to be called the Guv'nor. At the end of the season, United sold Ince to Inter for £7.5 million, a sale that created a lot of unrest among United-fans. Fergusons comments about Ince, and the fact that Ince joined Liverpool and celebrated madly in front of the Kop after scoring the equalizer against United in 1999, tarnished Ince's reputation among the United-faithfuls. He played a total of 281 matches for United and scored 29 goals.
 
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Crashoutcassius

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Just a brilliant thread. Someone who watched United in mid to late 90s. Can't believe Bruce scored 19 in a season, didn't know Beardsley played with us and didn't actually know Hughes was here and then left to come back. Interesting reading about Brian mcclair being shuffled around positions, not someone I ever saw play and couldn't have told you where he played on the pitch.. that might be why !
 

SerenityValley

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Just a brilliant thread. Someone who watched United in mid to late 90s. Can't believe Bruce scored 19 in a season, didn't know Beardsley played with us and didn't actually know Hughes was here and then left to come back. Interesting reading about Brian mcclair being shuffled around positions, not someone I ever saw play and couldn't have told you where he played on the pitch.. that might be why !
At the same time had Beardsley briefly, we also had David Platt. Let him go the same season he signed pro, after being in the kids for a few years. all clubs make mistakes but 2 big ones around the same time.
 

IrishRick

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Just like the 70s one I found that a terrific read. Thanks again. I went to my first United match in 1991 so I look forward to your take on the 90s
 

lysglimt

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Just like the 70s one I found that a terrific read. Thanks again. I went to my first United match in 1991 so I look forward to your take on the 90s
Which game ? My first game was at the Dell against Southampton. We won 3-1 - Cantona chipped Flowers from 25 yards :)
 

vidic blood & sand

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I was a huge fan of Jesper Olsen. Should have been the best winger in the league, but was consistently better playing for Denmark than us.
 

vidic blood & sand

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I think Muhren joined us on a free, and remember the Stapleton transfer going to a tribunal with Arsenal.
If only we'd signed Terry Butcher to replace Kevin Moran.
 

IrishRick

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Which game ? My first game was at the Dell against Southampton. We won 3-1 - Cantona chipped Flowers from 25 yards :)
Twas actually a friendly/testimonial in Ireland. I was 5. United won 2-0 against an Ireland select, I think. I have it in my head that Irwin played a half dor both Ireland and United but again may be wrong.

My first game at Old Trafford was hell of a lot more memorable. 3-3 against Barcelona in the Champions League. Sharpe backheel, Hughes with a thumping header. Incredible night.

I love that Cantona goal. It almost looks like it didn't go in the way it hits the back stanchion. Genius
 

sun_tzu

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Did we really sign 11 players in one season?

Practically a whole team

.......................Leighton..................
...........donaghy......pallister
Milne...................................Sharpe
..........plelan.....ince....Webb..........
Maiorania........Hughes........Wallace
 

lysglimt

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Did we really sign 11 players in one season?

Practically a whole team

.......................Leighton..................
...........donaghy......pallister
Milne...................................Sharpe
..........plelan.....ince....Webb..........
Maiorania........Hughes........Wallace
no it was the 89/90 that I had forgot to highlight...edited now
 

lysglimt

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11 were penalties if I remember rightly
Yeah something like that - he had a 2 week period in march when he scored 6 goals

2-0 Montpellier (1 pen)
4-1 Luton (2 goals)
3-0 Norwich (2 goals inc 1 pen)
2-1 Wimbledon (1 goal)

He was the leading scorer for Gillinghams reserves at the age of 18 - scored 11 or 12 goals as I recall
 

sun_tzu

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Yeah something like that - he had a 2 week period in march when he scored 6 goals

2-0 Montpellier (1 pen)
4-1 Luton (2 goals)
3-0 Norwich (2 goals inc 1 pen)
2-1 Wimbledon (1 goal)

He was the leading scorer for Gillinghams reserves at the age of 18 - scored 11 or 12 goals as I recall
If I recall he had a header in the cup winners cup final that was going in anway and Hughes pounced on it (like strikers do and got a touch to make it 1-0) but that would have been his 20th of the season
Hughes also got the 2nd from a tight angle and certainly seemed to enjoy getting the goals against his former club
 

Josh 76

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Very interesting interview with Ron Atkinson.
Said deals with Gary Lineker and Terry Butcher were done but club didn't sanction them. Things may have been so different.