We decided to focus on the glorious Sir Alex Ferguson reign, which ran from 1986 to 2013, and enforced certain parameters - for instance, we only considered overseas players (sorry, Lee Sharpe), did not consider those purchased for big fees relative to their experience (no Cristiano Ronaldo) and strictly wanted those who were not yet established and were under the radar (Peter Schmeichel, for example, was already Denmark's first-choice keeper and a man of some reputation).
So which signings proved expert scouting, the unearthing of gems and evidence that the system was reaping dividends?
Here are our selections.