Worst ever signing? (4 Viewers)
- Thread starter kapowaz
- Start date
Joy Division
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I didn't think Allsop was that bad really, would rather him than what we've had since.
Joy Division
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I'd agree with that, from memory he only really had one good season with us and that was when he returned to us in the Championship.
Grendel
Well-Known Member
The last day when he played for Leeds and we needed a draw he was maximum effort in that game to the last minute.
He was mediocre for us and then back to the Leeds days when he joined Liverpool
Sky_Blue_Dreamer
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But he was truly truly shite. Burge looked like Dino fucking Zoff compared to him.
This is about the worst ever signing - would you say Soton couldn't nominate 'George Weah's cousin' cos he was on a free and only played about 10 mins?
ccfctommy
Well-Known Member
Best ever signing surely? We made a profit on him!
ccfctommy
Well-Known Member
Too young to say Kevin Drinkell but a worst signing is worst value for money. So for me it would be Bellamy, Lee Hughes or Keith O'Neill.
SKYBLUES90
Well-Known Member
Kevin kilbane
was very much in the Tim Sherwood mould, always had the attitude of he must receive the ball all the time. Least Kilbane had the decency to retire 2 months after the season started.
was very much in the Tim Sherwood mould, always had the attitude of he must receive the ball all the time. Least Kilbane had the decency to retire 2 months after the season started.
Depends if they’re answering the question of ‘worst ever player’ or ‘worst ever signing’.
Sky_Blue_Dreamer
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I agree to an extent that he didn't have the impact expected. Also as that massive signing it seemed like the tactic was the team had been told we had to play everything through him and teams cottoned on so just closely marked him and we were fucked. I also think he had a better footballing brain than some of our other players and he'd play balls that others just couldn't read. Although you can also argue that a clever player would know the limitations of his teammates and adjust accordingly?
Also those dinked corners to the near post EVERY time.......
But I don't think he's anywhere near our worst ever signing.
eastwoodsdustman
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Like others have said, Bellamy wass shocking. Didn’t want to join us and he showed it week in week out. Totally disinterested from start to finish. He did more than most to put us down that year.
eastwoodsdustman
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Money back but relegated too. The transfer fee was a drop in the ocean compared to the long term effect it’s had on the club
For the money £350k big fee at the time has to be Leigh Jenkinson, how that bloke ever became a footballer is one of life’s mysteries I was talking footie to a Hull fan on holiday a few years later got round to that transfer and he told me that deal was the talk of Hull for ages after
Sky_Blue_Dreamer
Well-Known Member
In that case Eastwood and McAllister must feature heavily. Special mention for Lee Hughes even if we did get half the fee back - we still lost £2.5m but it could've been more had he still been with us when he got convicted.
kapowaz
Well-Known Member
I’d agree with this assessment but wasn’t he sold before the season we went down? But yeah, he definitely failed to live up to the expectations on us, and he clearly thought he was too big for us.
DannyThomas_1981
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I agree with most of the comments on Bellamy. Disastrous signing and he clearly wasn't fully recovered after his injury lay off. But from memory we recouped a large % of the fee when he was sold to Newcastle so that in some way disqualifies him from the worst signing ever category?
For me worst signing =
-big fee paid
-minimal contribution on the pitch
-sold on for nothing
Drinkell and Kyle tick all boxes.
Lee Hughes. £5MM. Scored a few pens. Sold for £2.5MM within 12 months. (Never quite understood why we let Aloisi go personally who was a far better player and already on our books).
Mcallister certainly did not live up to expectations vs. fee paid (it would be interesting to look at other transfers that summer to see who we could have bought for that outlay at the time - we paid very serious money for Garry Mac in 1996). But would be harsh to label Garry Mac as a disaster; he was much improved after we had Carlton Palmer in the side. And ultimately played in one of my favourite City teams of all time.
Taking all factors into account - Drinkell and Kyle the biggest disasters - down to very poor research from our scouts/managers.
kapowaz
Well-Known Member
Lee Hughes is also a good contender considering how much he cost us. The irony is he was definitely a quality player for West Brom, but he never clicked with us. Years and years ago I used to spend a lot of time in Kidderminster so I started going to their matches, and saw him playing for them the season they got promoted out of the Conference for the first time, and he was clearly a class act compared to everyone else (plus he was still only maybe 20 or so). I remember telling my schoolmates when I’d head back to Cov after the weekend that we should sign him, and the baggies ended up getting him for naff all. I have to wonder how he’d have fared with us if we’d bought him instead of Bellend.
DannyThomas_1981
Well-Known Member
He certainly played in our relegation season - I remember key misses in our must win game at Ipswich....could have all been different if we'd won there as we had some momentum after the signing of Hartson.
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Liquid Gold
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No, only played in our relation season. Replaced him with Hughes the following summer.
Grendel
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Conviction saved us money. We were paying £7,000 a week of his wages when he went back to West Brom
HuckerbyDublinWhelan
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Was going to suggest him or Raphael Nuzzo on loan
Wyken Sky Blue
Well-Known Member
Two that spring to mind are Kevin Kyle and David Bell.
Eastwood I thought was ok personally, thought he was better in midfield than up front.
Eastwood I thought was ok personally, thought he was better in midfield than up front.
Frank Sidebottom
Well-Known Member
There was a whole clutch of players costing anywhere between £1m-£2m that Strachan Signed and then never played or were often injured. Keith O Neill, Laurent Delorge, Ivan Guerrero and another Honduran.... To this day I have no idea where Honduras is... or if it's even a real country.
JimmyHillsbeard
Well-Known Member
All time worst was probably Gary Collier (our record fee paid) or David Bradford. From the prem McA was a disaster; great player but made us less effective as a team. His return as player-manager was worse.
Eoin Jess, Simon Howarth, Kevin Richardson and David Rennie all seemed very disappointing at times but they wd probably stand out as exceptional in the third division.
From the post-championship era; Denzel Slager was obviously not going to cut it as a professional footballer. I have the same feeling about one of the players we signed last season who is still in the squad for this season, but just in case I’m proved wrong this season or he reads this I won’t mention him by name.
Jordan Turnbull was a terrible signing as was Andy Webster and for the most part Kyle Reid. Overall tho I’d go for the signing that confirmed my growing suspicion that Mowbray had lost his senses completely and run out of ideas..........
Darius Henderson
Eoin Jess, Simon Howarth, Kevin Richardson and David Rennie all seemed very disappointing at times but they wd probably stand out as exceptional in the third division.
From the post-championship era; Denzel Slager was obviously not going to cut it as a professional footballer. I have the same feeling about one of the players we signed last season who is still in the squad for this season, but just in case I’m proved wrong this season or he reads this I won’t mention him by name.
Jordan Turnbull was a terrible signing as was Andy Webster and for the most part Kyle Reid. Overall tho I’d go for the signing that confirmed my growing suspicion that Mowbray had lost his senses completely and run out of ideas..........
Darius Henderson
eastwoodsdustman
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That’s a bit unfair on Reece allesani
win9nut
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Gibbo
Well-Known Member
There was always at least one goal conceding error per game
JimmyHillsbeard
Well-Known Member
It’s not him.
fernandopartridge
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His best season was the year before he went to Liverpool, perhaps playing for a contract elsewhere. He was past it when he came back second time but ok on occasion.