Gary Pallister: Once the Most Decorated Player in Man Utd History
Gary Pallister isn’t the most celebrated English defender of the 1990s, but he should be.
To compare his ability to a more modern player, he was Rio Ferdinand before Rio Ferdinand was. And by the time Pallister left Manchester United in 1998, he was actually the most decorated player in the club’s storied history after winning nine major trophies in nine seasons.
Sir Alex Ferguson once said of his star man at the back, “He is a defensive Goliath, has electric pace and can pass the ball. What more can you ask from a centre-half?”
Pallister worked his way to the very top of the English game from humble football beginnings, having initially started at local non-league Billingham Town in County Durham. During that time, the teenage defender combined football with 16-hour shifts as a dock worker on Teesside.
Pallister soon went on to leave the docks behind and joined Middlesbrough, the club he supported growing up, in 1984. His time there coincided with consecutive promotions up the English league ladder to the top flight, culminating in a record move to Old Trafford.
Still seeking to put his stamp on United in those days, Ferguson saw fit to spend £2.3m in 1989.
By that time, Pallister was already an England international, having first been called up for the first time while still playing for Middlesbrough in the second tier, a rare and impressive feat – his misfortune at never playing at an international tournament, despite being the most accomplished centre-back in the Premier League during his career, contributes to a lack of lasting appreciation.
Although Pallister’s debut season in Manchester finished with the club’s lowest league finish (13th) since relegation 16 years earlier, it also yielded an FA Cup, a key moment in the early Ferguson years, while ‘Pally’ himself was named only the third ever Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year.
As Ferguson’s new-look United began to blossom as a team, so too did Pallister. At the behest of his manager, he began a weight training regime and bulked out into a physically imposing ‘monster’.
The following season brought European success in the shape of the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup and the dream of ending a wait for a first league title since 1966/67 grew ever nearer.
When United finished second in the final season of the old ‘First Division’ era, soon to make way for the new ‘Premier League’, Pallister was named PFA Players’ Player of the Year. He was only the third defender to win it since the award was created in 1973/74, while only three further defenders have gone on to win it in the 28 years since.
That was also the first season that Pallister was named in a top flight PFA Team of the Year, having already been included in two lower league selections while playing for Middlesbrough.
In the years that followed, Pallister would be named in four further PFA Premier League Teams of the Year, two more in total than celebrated Arsenal and England captain Tony Adams.
It wasn’t just top level quality that made Pallister stand out, but also dependability. For three consecutive seasons between 1992 and 1995 he was virtually an ever-present for United. He played in 125 of 126 Premier League games and barely missed any others in all competitions.
Pallister’s partnership with Steve Bruce remains one of the most fabled centre-back pairings in Premier League history, alongside that of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic over a decade later.
After Bruce left United in 1996 following a second Premier League and FA Cup double in the space of three seasons, Pallister was still among the best defenders in England and won a further league title in 1996/97 as an old head in an emerging young side.
It was the ninth and final major trophy of his career, leaving Manchester shortly after his 33rd birthday in 1998 to make way for another club record buy at centre-back in Jaap Stam, a cycle complete.
For more from Jamie Spencer, follow him on Twitter and Facebook!