Between Peter Schmeichel's departure for Sporting Lisbon in 1999 and the arrival of the experienced Edwin van der Sar six years later, 10 goalkeepers featured between the posts for Manchester United as Sir Alex Ferguson found it mightily difficult to replace the Dane's presence.
There was no doubting the most high profile of those who tried to fill Schmeichel's gloves - Fabien Barthez - who joined the Red Devils 15 years ago today from AS Monaco in a deal worth £7.8m, which was a British-record fee for a keeper.
On paper, the 28-year-old had all of the credentials to be United's number one custodian for many years to come.
During the early part of his career with Marseille, France international Barthez had won the Champions League, and went on to lift the Ligue 1 trophy on two occasions while keeping goal for Monaco. What's more, he had won the World Cup with Les Bleus in 1998 and was about to feature as his nation were victorious at the European Championships.
All of that meant that Ferguson was convinced to hand the eccentric keeper a six-year contract at Old Trafford.
"Schmeichel was a great, great goalkeeper and he played here for a very long time," Barthez said during his unveiling at a press conference.
"I need to be strong but I don't find it daunting. I have played in a World Cup final and Champions League final before and nothing troubles me. I'm here to win and stay a long, long time and I'm so, so happy to sign a six-year deal."
Meanwhile, Ferguson added: "I'm delighted that Fabien has joined us for apart from his obvious goalkeeping skills, he has the personality to play on the biggest stage.
"It's an area in which Peter Schmeichel excelled, for he too had a great personality. Fabien is a World Cup winner and has not only the personality but the vast experience that is required at Manchester United."
Initially, all went well for Barthez in England as a number of solid performances helped the Red Devils to win a third successive Premier League title. After that triumph, though, his career in United colours descended on a downward spiral.
The 2001-02 season was littered with high-profile errors, most of which featured Barthez racing wildly off his line. Those actions cost United games against the likes of Deportivo La Coruna in the Champions League, and Arsenal at Highbury.
He retained his place for the following campaign as United wrestled back the title from the Gunners, but it was his performance against Real Madrid in April 2003 - a game best remembered for a hat-trick scored by the Brazilian Ronaldo - that proved to be the final nail in the coffin of Barthez's United stint.
That summer, Ferguson acquired Tim Howard for £2.3m from the Metrostars and the American rookie was instantly installed as the new number one, with Roy Carroll fulfilling the role of understudy.
It meant that Barthez's services were no longer required and, after FIFA had blocked an initial move to Marseille, he eventually made the switch back to the Stade Velodrome in the winter of 2004, having made a total of 139 appearances for United in all competitions.
Liam Apicella
