While the Class of ’92 enjoyed illustrious careers at Manchester United, they weren’t the first academy graduates under Sir Alex Ferguson.
After replacing Ron Atkinson at United in 1986, Ferguson put his faith in young players, a tradition he upheld throughout his reign at Old Trafford.
We’ve looked at the first 10 players handed their senior debuts by the manager, and how they’ve fared since.
Gary Walsh
Walsh was handed his first-team debut early in Ferguson’s reign, starting in a 3-3 draw against Aston Villa in December 1986.
The goalkeeper made 63 appearances for the club but fell down the pecking order following the arrival of Peter Schmeichel, joining Middlesbrough for £600,000 in 1995.
After spells at Bradford City and Wigan, he announced his retirement in 2006 and became a goalkeeping coach. He most recently worked alongside former team-mate Steve Bruce at West Bromwich Albion.
READ: Ranking Man Utd’s 22 Premier League goalkeepers from worst to best
Tony Gill
Gill starred in United’s youth teams and made his senior debut against Southampton in January 1987, filling in for the injured Bryan Robson.
“At the back end of Ron’s time at the club, one or two of the coaches had talked about me making the move into the first team, so someone had identified I was ready,” Gill said in the ‘Fergie’s Fledglings’ book in 2019.
“But as soon as Alex Ferguson came in, there was an instant difference in that you felt that you were being watched.”
However, the midfielder was forced to retire at the age of 22 after suffering a broken leg and a shattered ankle in 1989.
He served as a youth-team coach at Bristol Rovers for six years before leaving the game completely in 1997. He now works as a sales director.
Lee Martin
Martin famously helped Ferguson win the first trophy of his United career, scoring the only goal in the FA Cup final replay against Crystal Palace in 1990.
“It was just a great time for us all, it felt like the start of something, Sir Alex’s first trophy,” Martin told the Sun in 2020. “I’m still asked about my goal, I’ll never tire of that. For a local lad who had grown up as a United fan, it was fantastic.”
He was eventually usurped by Denis Irwin and had spells with Celtic and Bristol Rovers being seeing out his playing career in non-league.
The 54-year-old now helps young people in Cheshire find jobs or apprenticeships and also works as a pundit on MUTV.
Lee Martin wins the FA Cup for Man Utd 28…
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