4. Darren Fletcher
I remember the first time I saw Darren Fletcher appear in the United team; it was a week after his debut against Basel and it was in another Champions League game against Deportivo. He was being played on the right-side of midfield and at one point in the game, which meant absolutely nothing as Man Utd had already qualified quite comfortably, he lined up to take a free-kick which he eventually missed. It was however seen by some as an iconic moment where this young Scot would take over the right-side of midfield and fill the massive boots of David Beckham, who was on his way out of the club at this point. This however didnt materialise quite as most would have predicted as the more of Fletcher we saw, the more Ferguson realised that this Scot has all the attributes to be a real asset in the centre of the park, rather than out on the wing. However up until the 2008-09 season, Fletcher found his playing time severally limited by Fergusons preference of Scholes and Carrick as the centre-midfielders. And if he thought he could maybe get a game on the right-side of the midfield, well he had the small matter of one Cristiano Ronaldo to contend with. 2008-09 really should be seen as the season were Fletcher really came into his own and became Uniteds key midfielder. His intensity and closing down of opposing playmakers was fast becoming one of Uniteds key assets. In the Champions League final of that year, the biggest news was that Fletcher was suspended and without him, no one gave the Red Devils a hope of stopping Xavi, Iniesta and Co. The next season Fletcher was key to Uniteds midfield, and was the first name on the team sheet alongside the Superstar names of Ronaldo and Rooney. The Scot was named as the permanent captain of the Scottish national team, after Barry Ferguson was barred from the national team for his off-field antics. This successful season was then capped off by Fletcher being named in the PFA Team of the Year. The next season was the start of Fletchers ulcerative colitis condition which has blighted his promising career to date. It is such a cruel injury for a player who really only had a season or two to truly show us what hes got. If Man Utd had been able to feel a Carrick/Fletcher combination more in recent years, we would be seeing a central midfield more dominant and more hard-working than we currently do see.