Presenting the absolute best of the absolute worst, Goal.com UK
selects the biggest flops of the campaign based on impact,
adjustment, price and contribution to their new sides
Richards, 22, impressed after forcing his way back into Roberto
Mancini’s line-up before picking up a hamstring injury in
March.
The Premier League has arguably been more exciting off the pitch
than on it this season, with shock takeovers, swift managerial
sackings, and some truly surprising transfers – and even better,
there's been some utterly appalling signings.
From Aston Villa to Wigan, fans up and down the English top flight
have seen players trot out in their club's colours only to see them
turn out brown all over. Be they Bosman wastes of space or
multimillion walking embarrassments, near enough every set of
supporters can point to one purchase that they're ashamed to see in
the squad.
And here's a run down of the absolute worst of them. The ones whose
shirts won't be shifting in the club shop this summer, and the ones
who have left eager fans red-faced by having their name and number
splashed on their backs.
We judged the 10 worst transfers for 2010-11 based on:
The player's overall contribution (this being the most important
factor)
How the player fitted into his new line-up
How quickly the player adapted to his new surroundings, and
vice-versa
The transfer fee paid, if any, and any other financial details
known. (Transfer fees unconfirmed by either club or otherwise
unknown are given as approximations and are marked
in italics.)
Before running down our best of the worst, here's a select few duds
who just about managed to avoid this less than sacred list: Laurent
Koscielny, Robert Pires, Jean Makoun, Pablo Barrera, Eidur
Gudjohnsen (twice!), Winston Reid, Mauro Boselli, Jelle van Damme,
James Milner, Milan Jovanovic and Marcos Angleri. That lot were
bad, but they're just a bit better than the charlatans that
follow.
10. Marouane CHAMAKH
Appearances: 38
Goals Scored: 11
Assists: 4
Arsenal Bordeaux - Bosman
The Bosman signing from Bordeaux was supposed to be the fabled
solution to the Gunners' striking woes – a tall totem happy to take
the hits that Robin van Persie can't or won't handle with just
enough quality to keep out Nicklas Bendtner.
He started well enough, but a total lack of heart has landed his
team-mates in trouble since Christmas, typifying Arsenal's descent
into farcical failure.
Has plenty to prove if he is to keep his place at the club next
year.
9. Mario BALOTELLI
Appearances: 24
Goals Scored: 10
Assists: 1
Manchester City Inter - £23m (€26m)
Quite why Roberto Mancini was so hell bent on signing a man with so
many personal demons, at such a phenomenal cost, remains a
mystery.
Clearly a man of many talents, but the young Italian has been a
walking joke on and off the pitch, scarcely showing his abilities
and frequently displaying signs of petulance and staggering
immaturity.
AC Milan seem poised to pounce, but they'd be mad to pay even half
what City did last summer.
8. Stephen IRELAND
Appearances: 11
Goals Scored: 0
Assists: 0
Aston Villa Manchester City - N/A (involved in swap deal for James
Milner)
Many saw this makeweight as one of the signings of the summer
before he even kicked a ball for his new club, and they have all
been proved wrong.
Martin O'Neill's shock exit and the disastrous reign of Gerard
Houllier have contributed to his woes, but, like Balotelli, his
talent is matched only by his mind-boggling arrogance and
stupidity, and the Irishman is now struggling to make a name for
himself in the mad house that is Newcastle United.
7. Joe COLE
Appearances: 27
Goals Scored: 2
Assists: 1
Liverpool Chelsea - Bosman
Another freebie for whom there were so many high hopes, not least
from his own team-mates.
Captain Steven Gerrard said that the chunky attacker was on a par
with Lionel Messi – in height, maybe, but in durability, innate
skill, turn of pace and mental ability the Englishman is nowhere
near.
A whopping £90,000 a week contract negates the negligible initial
outlay, and he will be lucky to even get a whiff of the Anfield
bench next year.
6. Sebastien SQUILLACI
Appearances: 31
Goals Scored: 2
Assists: 0
Arsenal Sevilla - £5m (€5.7m)(estimated)
A rock solid centre-back is what Gunners have been crying out for
for years, but the Frenchman is nowhere near good enough to be the
cure to Arsene Wenger's defensive ills, as evidenced by wobbly
display after wobbly display.
Flying against the manager's policy to buy young, the 30-year-old
penned a long-term deal at the Emirates, but if this is him at his
best, how bad will he be by the time his contract runs out in
2013?
5. Paul KONCHESKY
Appearances: 19
Goals Scored: 0
Assists: 1
Liverpool Fulham - £3.5m (€4m)
A monumentally bad signing by any yardstick. The two-time capped
29-year-old was handed a handsome four-year deal by a then
penniless Liverpool, who traded two prospects and several millions
pounds to snap up a man that was in the final year of his
contract.
A victim of association by unpopular manager Roy Hodgson, but the
left-back did himself no favours with some spectacularly abysmal
displays. Now proving no great shakes on loan at Nottingham
Forest.
4. Christian POULSEN
Appearances: 21
Goals Scored: 0
Assists: 1
Liverpool Juventus - £4.5m (€5.1m)
An indictment on both the manager that signed him and the club's
then owners, the Danish international was another curious mover in
last summer's window. With no other clubs interested, Hodgson saw
fit to instruct his masters to splash precious funds on the
31-year-old after shipping Alberto Aquilani out on loan and
awaiting Javier Mascherano's inevitable exit.
Not his fault that he cost a fortune when the club should have been
more frugal, but a rotten purchase who can't get into the side
ahead of Jay Spearing.
3. Fernando TORRES
Appearances: 12
Goals Scored: 0
Assists: 0
Chelsea Liverpool - £50m(€57m)
You only need to look at the numbers on the left to know why he's
made it this high up the list. The Spaniard is clearly part of
wider plan of action for the Stamford Bridge outfit but he has
proven unbelievably bad beyond anyone's expectations since January,
shifting the entire balance of the team out of whack and showing no
signs of his undoubted talents thus far.
It will take a skilled motivator and a shed load of money on a
supporting cast to get the clearly depressed striker back to his
best next season.
2. Edin DZEKO
Appearances: 16
Goals Scored: 4
Assists: 2
Manchester City Wolfsburg - £27m (€30m)
A target of many of Europe's biggest clubs in the 12 months before
he eventually made his exit from the Bundesliga, the Bosnian has so
far failed live up to any of the hype, and his signing by City
seems like a desperate move from the club and a meek acceptance of
the limitations of his own abilities by the player.
Still to score in the Premier League and yet to make a starting
place his own, the 24-year-old has more to prove than any of the
other big January signings.
1. BEBE
Appearances: 7
Goals Scored: 2
Assists: 1
Manchester United Vitoria de Guimaraes - £7m (€8m)
From nobody to somebody in the time it took for the Old Trafford
outfit to announce his signature, and the club will probably be
wishing that he was still a no-name forward plying his trade in the
Portuguese backwaters. Has been disastrous in his few outings, even
struggling against non-league Crawley Town.
That Sir Alex Ferguson saw fit to spend such a monstrous amount on
a player he had never even seen play, and that nobody checked why,
should be a matter of deep shame for all involved in this fishy
transfer.
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