Gary
Pallister
- Appearances437
- Total goals15
A pacy defender with excellent aerial ability and terrific ball control given his towering 6ft 4in frame, Gary Pallister formed half of arguably the greatest central defensive partnership the club has known.
With Steve Bruce by his side ‘Dolly and Daisy’, as they were affectionately dubbed, saw off all comers to United’s 18-yard box in a glorious seven-season stint together. Their rock-like presence yielded three Premiership titles (1993, 1994, 1996), two runners-up spots, the 1991 European Cup Winners' Cup and UEFA Super Cup, three FA Cups (1990, 1994, 1996) and the League Cup of 1992. Born on the Kent coast in Ramsgate in June 1965, Pallister started his career with non-league Billingham Town and joined the Reds from his boyhood heroes Middlesbrough for £2.3 million in August 1989 – then a record fee for a British defender. Given a weight-training regime to bulk up his skinny body, the 13th-placed finish of his first season was followed by a remarkable run in which United finished outside the top two just once in the next eight campaigns. An imposing backline, in which Pallister was a permanent fixture (he missed just one league game between 1992 and 1995), proved a cornerstone of this success. He was voted PFA Player of the Year in 1992 and was unlucky not to win more than 22 England caps. After nine years at Old Trafford and 317 league appearances – and a further title success in 1996/97 following Bruce’s departure – Pallister’s career went full circle, leaving United to return to the north-east with Premiership new boys Boro for £2.5 million in the summer of 1998. All that success, and a £200,000 profit! Pallister is still a regular face at Old Trafford, occasionally popping up on MUTV as a pundit. And though stopping goals is the thing he will be largely remembered for, his brace of headers against Liverpool at Anfield, to all but clinch the 1997 title, burns brightly in any self-suspecting Red’s memory bank.
Defender
England
30 Jun 1965
29 Aug 1989
30 Aug 1989
v Norwich (H) League
1 Jul 1998
United Daily | We catch up with Gary Pallister on the 25-year anniversary of his Anfield double...
Fred's GOTM success got us thinking: which other Reds have scored unexpected worldies? These 10 came to mind...
19 April 1997: United took on second-place Liverpool at Anfield knowing victory would all but guarantee the title...
1 February 1997: King Eric's late winner settled this battle with the Saints...
28 October 1995: Gary Pallister's header and Andy Cole's late strike secured a 2-0 win at home to Middlesbrough...
31 December 1994: Four goals and a point apiece in a lively New Year's Eve encounter.
29 October 1994: Revenge was on the menu against table-toppers Newcastle, for a League Cup defeat three days earlier...
20 November 1993: Andrei Kanchelskis starred as the Reds got the better of the Dons in M16...
3 May 1993: With the league title in the bag, United finished the home campaign in style against Blackburn...
Gary Pallister reflects on his life and career at United, which included winning the Premier League four times...
Presenting Gary Pallister's chest-and-finish at Old Trafford, from this day 24 years ago...
Gary Pallister jokes why United skipper Maguire could be set to ruin his weekend...
Find out why there is a big coincidence this weekend as our skipper looks to set a new appearance benchmark.
“It’s great to go into Liverpool with so much confidence as that’s still the biggest game of the season,” says Pally…
Find out why Maguire can beat a long-standing record held by one of United's legendary defenders next week.