Mark Hughes returned to Old Trafford in 1988 after a six-year spell in the early eighties when Sir Alex Ferguson brought the Welsh forward for £1.8 million, a club record fee at the time. He repaid the faith by opening his account at home to West Ham in September in a 2-0 win and scored four goals in four games in every league game in October, carrying the team. Three goals against Derby, Southampton and Sheffield Wednesday in November turned three defeats into draws as Hughes continued his fine form, and from his first goal until New Years Day he scored 11 goals in 14 league games as he dragged Man United up to 11th place. He was outshone by Brian McClair as 1988 turned into 1989 but United aligned a run in the FA Cup alongside four successive First Division wins. United wouldnt ever leave mid-table obscurity though after a long winless run from March to April as Hughes went on a fourteen game scoreless run. Hughes netted fourteen in the league and two more in the FA Cup against Oxford United and Bournemouth as United crashed out in the quarter finals to Nottingham Forest. The Welshman did become the first Manchester United player to win the PFA Player of the Year though in a relatively poor season. The Welshman would go onto lift two successive Premier League titles in 1993 and 1994 as well as three domestic cups and two honours in Europe; the Cup Winners Cup and the Super Cup of 1991. Hughes has since been inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame whilst lifting the League Cup on two more occasions for Blackburn Rovers and Chelsea as well as other Cup Winners Cup and FA Cup medals with Chelsea.
I am an aspiring journalist with a degree in Media Studies and a passion for all things sport -- especially football and Manchester United. I am a former season ticket holder at Old Trafford and have been a Red Devil since 1998.
