With the news that Edwin Van Der Sar will retire at the end of the season the task is on for Man United find a replacement for the 40-year-old Dutchman.
The former Ajax stopper has been a cornerstone of United's success in recent years, helping them win three Premier League titles and the 2008 Champions League since joining from Fulham in 2005.
The six year previous to that though saw Sir Alex Ferguson scramble around, desperately trying to find a replacement for a another United goalkeeping legend – Peter Schmeichel.
The Dane left the Red Devils in the summer of 1999 but the club continually failed to find a goalkeeper good enough to fill his boots and anyone who followed the Goalwire livescore at the time will remember there were more than a few upsets.
Aston Villa star Mark Bosnich was the first to try, signing the same summer Schmeichel departed, but after a few shaky performances he faced competition from Italian Massimo Taibi.
Taibi, whoever, proved a disaster, making a number of high profile mistakes including letting a Matt Le Tissier pea-roller though his legs. He was sold soon after.
Monaco's Fabien Barthez was signed in the summer of 2000 and for a few years looked to be a solid replacement for Schmeichel.
But he was always prone lapses in concentration and erratic behaviour, resulting in more gaffes – not least at Highbury when he conceded a goal by Thierry Henry after trying to dribble the ball out of his own penalty area.
Wigan 'keeper Roy Carroll was next in line, though he will be best remembered for fumbling a 65 yard shot from Spurs' Pedro Mendes over the line, only for the lineman not to see it. It's a goalwire live match score that Spurs fans still moan about.
By that point American Tim Howard had joined the club but he and Carroll regularly swapped places in the starting line-up as neither could go a few games without making mistakes.
Portuguese Ricardo, Andy Goram, Paul Rachubka, Nick Culkin and Raimond van der Gouw also wore the gloves between Schmeichel's departure in '99 and Van Der Sar's arrival in 2005.
United fans will hope it doesn't take another six years and 10 'keepers to replace the Dutchman.
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