Pizzas galore!

46 Dwight Yorke

1998-02, 120 starts, 66 goals

Yorke’s lifestyle and attitude may have let him down at times during his career but his impact at United after his £12.6million transfer from Aston Villa in August 1998 is undeniable. The Trinidad & Tobago forward helped United to win three consecutive Premier League titles and the treble in his first three seasons at Old Trafford and his attacking partnership with Andy Cole was one of the most prolific in the club’s history. A high profile on the celebrity circuit contributed to him falling out of favour and he was replaced by Ruud van Nistelrooy before being sold to Blackburn for £2million in July 2002.

45 Denis Irwin

1990-2002, 511 starts, 33 goals

Irwin never stepped out with a Spice Girl but he never let anyone down in 511 appearances as a left and right back. When he hung up his boots five years ago, Mr Dependable retired having won the European Cup, seven league titles, two FA Cups, one League Cup, one European Cup Winners' Cup and 56 Ireland caps. He repaid the £650,000 United paid to sign him from Oldham in 1990 many times over and at his peak he was one of the best full backs in the world.

44 Joe Spence

1919-33, 510 starts, 168 goals

Spence was working as a miner by the time he was 13 and he was fighting in the First World War when he was 17, so he kept things in perspective when United finished bottom of the first division in 1922. The United sides that he played in from 1919 to 1933 were some of the worst in the club’s history but that did not stop him from scoring once every three games. “Give it to Joe” was a familiar cry on matchdays at Old Trafford in the Twenties and it is a shame that Spence had to wait until 1938 to lift a trophy – the third division North with Chesterfield.

43 David Herd

1961-68, 264 starts, 145 goals

Herd took time to find his feet at United after his £37,000 transfer from Arsenal in 1961 but no-one can argue with his goalscoring record. Playing alongside Denis Law brought the best out of him and he scored 19, 20, 20 and 24 goals in four seasons from 1962 to 1966, helped United to win the title in 1965 and 1967 and lifted the FA Cup in 1963. In the 5-0 victory over Sunderland in November 1966 his four goals were scored against three different goalkeepers: Jim Montgomery, Charlie Hurley and John Parke.