If there's one bunch of players that have epitomised Manchester United's success under Sir Alex Ferguson it was the Class of 92. When Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United had lost 3-1 to Aston Villa on the opening day of the 1995/96 season, pundit Alan Hansen had remarked: “You don't win anything with kids.” It's a remark which earned Hansen a lifetime of mockery, as those ‘kids’ went on to rule English football.

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For the uninitiated, the Class of '92 referred to a group of youngsters who came through the youth academy at Manchester United. They comprised of David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville, Phil Neville and Nicky Butt, footballers who would go on to dominate the league, with their high point being the treble in 1999. The Class of 92 made a total of 3268 appearances for Manchester United, winning 26 trophies and earning 428 national caps. 

Every so-called group of successors to the Class of 92 failed to cut it at United. Tom Cleverley, the Silva twins, Ravel Morrison and Danny Welbeck failed to live up to the tag. Imported youngsters like Nani and Anderson also didn't pass the muster.

Perhaps the only two youngsters who really did well after receiving their footballing education at Manchester United were Cristiano Ronaldo and current club captain Wayne Rooney, even though some feel that the England captain never lived up to his true potential.

Ronaldo on the other hand, is inarguably, one of the two best players to ever play the game as his personal duel with Lionel Messi carries on. However, with the departure of the old guards, the onus is on some known and some unheralded youngsters to carry the Red Devils into the future.

Louis Van Gaal, is of course a man who loves to give youngsters a chance. At Barcelona, he promoted the likes of Xavi and Iniesta to the first team. In Bayern Munich, it was Thomas Muller, David Alaba and Holger Badstuber.

“Ideally you want to bring up a player within the traditions of the club, and invest the time needed in his development,” he said at a press conference. “There is a certain amount of risk in that, and of course it is easier to buy big, established stars, but as we saw last season big stars can also fail. That is why I always think it is better to invest in young players, even if they end up being more for the benefit of the next manager rather than yourself.”

The new generation of Manchester United youngsters consist of both home-grown players and high-profile transfers.

Anthony Martial (Age: 19, Position: Striker)

A lot of eyebrows were raised when Manchester United spent a staggering £36 million on a teenager no one had heard off. While some called him the next Thierry Henry, Martial got off to a blistering start in the Premier League, scoring on his debut against Liverpool and then scoring two against Southampton. Early signs suggest that along with pace and dribbling ability, the youngster has a sense of calm in the final third that only the very best strikers possess.

Even Henry didn’t have such a blistering start to life in the league, but as Louis Van Gaal keeps reminding us, we need to keep calm because it’s unfair of us to heap such pressure on a 19-year-old who will have highs and lows. But right now, it’s very hard to be not excited about the kid from France!

Memphis Depay (Age: 21, Position: Forward/Winger)

After Angel Di Maria left for PSG, £25 million signing Memphis Depay was handed the number 7 shirt. The former PSV Eindhoven forward is considered one of Europe's brightest talents and scored in the Champions League against his former club PSV Eindhoven and Club Brugge. Like Ronaldo, Depay prefers playing as an inverted winger (on the left side), and cut in and shoot.

 An exciting talent with a bag of tricks, Depay promises to make life difficult for Premier League defenders. Hopefully, Depay will return some sheen to the shirt that lost the reverence that was attached to in the days of Best, Robson, Cantona, Beckham and Ronaldo.

Luke Shaw (Age: 20, Position: Full-Back)

A lot of eyebrows were raised when Manchester United paid £30 million for Luke Shaw. While injuries prevented Shaw from playing up to his full potential in the 2014-15 season, the following season he was one of United’s standout performers, starting every match until he suffered a horrific double leg fracture after a tackle by Hector Moreno. Hopefully, he will be able to recover fully from the injury and play an important role in United’s defence over the years.

Adnan Januzaj (Age: 20, Position: Forward)

One of the few bright lights of the horrific season under David Moyes in 2013-14 was the emergence of Adnan Januzaj. Quite interestingly, he shared his birthday Feb 5 with Cristiano Ronaldo, Carlos Tevez and Neymar, even though he inherited Giggs number 11 shirt instead of Ronaldo’s number 7.

Such is the 20-year-old’s currency with the Manchester United faithful, that a lot of eyebrows were raised when he was loaned out Borussia Dortmund for a season in 2014-15. However, Louis Van Gaal has assured the youngster that he definitely has a future at Old Trafford.

To be fair, even David Beckham from the Class of 92 went on loan to Preston North End, and a loan to a team currently leading Bundesliga might be a good education for the youngster.

Tyler Blackett (Age: 21, Position: Full-back, Centre-back)

The youngster has been at United since he was eight years old and his height and physique has seen him play at the centre of defence. He is also capable of playing left-back and was part of the squad that won the FA Youth Cup in 2011.

An injury crisis in 2014-15, along with the departure of the likes of Vidic, Ferdinand and Evra saw Tyler drafted into the first team. He started five of the six games of the 2014-15 season, and eventually lost his place when Jones and Smalling returned from injury. He’s currently on loan at Celtics and his manager believes he will become a great defender. LVG had said about the youngster:

“Tyler has great potential and I believe he is at the right club to continue his development and progression to become a great defender.”

James Wilson (Age: 19, Position: Striker)

After David Moyes was sacked at Manchester United in the 2012-13 Season and Ryan Giggs was handed the rein on a temporary basis, the former winger gave 18-year-old Wilson a start and he repaid his faith with a brace. Even Louis Van Gaal seemed to believe in the youngster’s ability, at times picking him ahead of Radamel Falcao.

Paddy McNair (Age: 20, Position: Centre-back)

Another youngster who made his debut because of Man Utd’s defensive injury crisis in 2013-14 alongside Blackett, McNair has already endured highs and lows at the club. Interestingly, United won four of the five matches that Paddy McNair started.

The youngster actually started off as an attacking forward, and considered Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldinhio his idols. Like Rio Ferdinand, he likes the ball at his feet and it would be amazing to see Blackett and McNair emulate the likes of Pallister-Bruce and Vidic-Ferdinand at the heart of United’s defence.

Andreas Pereira (Age: 19, Position: Attacking Midfielder)

While we keep seeing Wayne Rooney struggle in the number 9 or number 10 positions, one wonders till when LVG will tolerate the captain’s ineptitude. While Martial seems to have made the number 9 position his own, Januzaj (who seemed like a natural at number 10) was sent out on loan. Another one knocking on the door is Brazilian Andreas Pereira.

Sadly, till now his only claim-to-fame was when he offered a student £10,000 to have a threesome with himself and teammate Paddy McNair. But such Giggs and Rooney-like off-field behaviour aside, Pereira performed well U-20 World Cup in 2015, where Brazil lost to Serbia in the final. He even scored an amazing solo goal in the final and it will be interesting to see how he comes along at Manchester United.

If the noise from Old Trafford is to be believed then Class of 92 old boy and current assistant manager Ryan Giggs could very well be the next Manchester United manager. What a sight it would be to watch Giggs lead the Red Devils to a new era of glory with a new generation of youngsters!