Man Utd best and worst 25-man squads of Premier League era (MEN)

They might have claimed 13 Premier League titles in 20 years between 1993 and 2013, but Manchester United have had their fair share of duds.

Sir Alex Ferguson signed gems like Roy Keane, Eric Cantona and Cristiano Ronaldo, but he also signed William Prunier, Eric Djemba-Djemba and Gabriel Obertan.

In the old days, Ferguson might have enjoyed the luxury of 18 to 20 players in a squad for the season, but now 25 is the usual number for coaches like Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

So which United players would make it into a dream - and nightmare - 25-man Premier League squad?

MEN Sport have put together two contrasting United squads, one of which would surely conquer all before them, while the other might just make mid-table.

Below are our squads (Rules: three goalkeepers, nine defenders, eight midfielders and five forwards):

Best 25-man squad

Goalkeepers: Schmeichel, De Gea, Romero.

Defenders: G. Neville, Wan-Bissaka, Stam, Vidic, Ferdinand, Johnsen, Irwin, Evra, O'Shea.

Midfielders: Beckham, Scholes, Keane, Giggs, Kanchelskis, Butt, Hargreaves, Carrick.

Forwards: Ronaldo, Rooney, Cantona, Van Nistelrooy, Solskjaer.

You don't need every single one of your 25-man squad to be a nailed-on starter. Hence, alongside the obvious goalkeeper picks of Peter Schmeichel and David de Gea, Sergio Romero gets in as the best back-up keeper United have arguably ever had.

In defence, you need two quality options for each of the positions across the back four, with four excellent centre-backs in Nemanja Vidic, Jaap Stam, Rio Ferdinand and Ronny Johnsen - who are good enough to play in any combination. 

Patrice Evra and Denis Irwin are way ahead of any other left-backs, while Aaron Wan-Bissaka is a great alternative to Gary Neville. John O'Shea is the wildcard option as the ninth defender, as he can play in multiple positions and, at his best, was a brilliantly diligent squad player for Ferguson.

There are four more very obvious selections in midfield: David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Roy Keane and Ryan Giggs. Nicky Butt was their back-up man, so must be included - he never let anyone down - while Michael Carrick is the most natural deep-lying playmaker United have had. You need wing options, so Andrei Kanchelskis comes into the equation (with Cristiano Ronaldo marked down as a forward). Owen Hargreaves, when fully fit, was extremely versatile and very classy.

The forward line virtually picks itself, with any of Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney or Eric Cantona playing off the No.9 focal point who is Ruud van Nistelrooy. Then you need a super-sub striker and there was nobody better than Solskjaer.

Worst 25-man squad

Goalkeepers: Bosnich, Taibi, Carroll

Defenders: Prunier, Jones, Rojo, Darmian, Blackett, Varela, Buttner, Spector.

Midfielders: Di Maria, Obertan, Kleberson, Djemba-Djemba, Chadwick, Veron, Bellion, Tosic, Zaha.

Forwards: Falcao, Forlan, Manucho, Dong, Bebe.

The three goalkeepers in this squad all endured shockers at United for varying reasons. Mark Bosnich wasn't a bad keeper but wasted a couple of chances to shine at the club through his own mistakes. Massimo Taibi will forever be remembered for that howler, while the same could be said for Roy Carroll and Pedro Mendes' ghost goal.

There are only eight defenders in this squad, a reflection of the fact United have usually had a solid back line on which they can depend. In recent years, however, that has changed and players like Marcos Rojo and Phil Jones have been exposed for a rash approach to defending. 

Young full backs like Alex Buttner, Guillermo Varela and Tyler Blackett were all unready for a club like United, while Matteo Darmian should have fared better than he did. Prunier is the obvious choice as an infamous transfer flop.

United have had a fairly poor record of signing wingers: from the ones who arrived with huge expectations like Angel Di Maria and Wilfried Zaha, to the ones who never looked up to the challenge like Zoran Tosic, David Bellion and Obertan. Juan Sebastian Veron was decent for United but still didn't live up to the hype. Neither Kleberson or Eric Djemba-Djemba got close to the required level, while Luke Chadwick failed to build on some early promise.

And where to begin with the forwards? Diego Forlan's inclusion might cause some controversy given his Anfield heroics - though there was little else to write home about. Many fans still scratch their heads about the signings of Bebe and Dong Fangzhou and many will probably have forgotten Manucho entirely. Radamel Falcao is a source of great regret; United just signed him at the wrong time.