era including Brian McClair, Steve Bruce and Neil Webb. The left wing had been one of Ferguson's areas where improvement was needed. After the departure of Jesper Olsen in November 1988, he had drafted in Scotsman Ralph Milne, but the player was hugely disappointing and Ferguson quickly decided that he needed a more talented player to fill this position. 18-year-old Lee Sharpe had started the season as United's first choice left winger, but Ferguson wanted a more experienced player for this position and seemed to have found what he was looking for in Wallace. One of his first appearances for United was a 5–1 league defeat to Manchester City in the Manchester derby at Maine Road. Wallace was never quite the player at United that he had been at Southampton, although he remained their first choice left winger in 1989–90 and was chosen for the FA Cup final against Crystal Palace, which United won 1–0 in the replay after a 3–3 draw. However, 1990–91 saw first team opportunities reduced when Lee Sharpe ousted Wallace as the first choice left winger at Old Trafford, though he still managed his fair share of appearances and gave what was arguably his finest performance in a United shirt on 28 November 1990 when he scored one goal and helped set up two others in United's 6–2 away win over Arsenal in the Football League Cup fourth round, although it was 19-year-old Sharpe who made the headlines with a hat-trick. United reached the final of that competition on 21 April 1991 but suffered a shock defeat to Sheffield Wednesday and Wallace was not included in the squad. He did, however, make the squad for the Cup Winners' Cup final, collecting a winner's medal as a non-playing substitute. But in 1991–92, Ryan Giggs burst onto the scene and Wallace was now firmly out of the first team picture, failing to make a single appearance in the league all season as United came second to Leeds United after leading the table for most of the season. In December 1991 he was put on the transfer list and linked with a move back to Southampton, but the return to The Dell never happened. He also missed out on a place in the League Cup-winning team. Wallace was selected twice for United in their first season in the new FA Premier League, and scored for them against Brighton &