AH, the transfer window. Eagerly awaited by big clubs, agents and Harry Redknapp. Dreaded by chairmen, minnows and anyone with a rising young star earmarked for the Chelsea reserves.
But don’t be so jealous of those super clubs. Those with the biggest pockets usually make the biggest mistakes – just ask Real Madrid, who are currently trying to offload Luka Modric just six months after paying Spurs £33m for his services.
Or Liverpool, whose directors must have been on drugs when they sanctioned a £35m swoop for non-scoring striker Andy Carroll. Little wonder Newcastle’s Mike Ashley hired a helicopter to propel him to Anfield quick sharp.
By the same token, modest resources often yield the biggest returns. For evidence of that, look no further than Swansea striker Michu, surely the best £2m ever spent. History is full of such bargains and bombs… here are some of the best.
BOMBS
Alfonso Alves
Heerenveen – Middlesbrough £12.7m
SO confident were Boro fans that their new Brazilian ‘superstar’ would repeat his Heerenveen heroics (better than a goal a game) that they unveiled a vast banner of his face beside the words ‘Boro Goal Machine’ before he had even scored. It was to prove the definition of hubris. After a decent start, the goals dried up and when he left to join Al Saad 18 months later, he had scored just 13 times in 50 games, with two of those goals coming against non-league Barrow. Amazingly, he then had the temerity to sue the club over unpaid image rights!
Rafael Scheidt
Gremio – Celtic £4.8m (1999)
WITH a name like that, the Brazilian defender would have to be perfect if he was going to avoid mockery… and perfect he most certainly wasn’t. A full international when he was signed by the epically awful duo of John Barnes and Kenny
Dalglish, Scheidt played just three games and was eventually shipped out by Martin O’Neill after being tortured by the mighty Bray Wanderers.
Gianluigi Lentini
Torino – Milan £13m (1992)
LENTINI was a decent winger with a few tricks and good turn of pace. But even the Pope was shocked by the then world-record £13m shelled out by Milan, calling it “an offence against the dignity of work” (whatever that means). Sadly, dignity was the last thing on Lentini’s mind as he struggled for both goals and form. Badly injured in a car crash in 1993, he was never the same player again and he left in 1997 having made just 63 appearances for Milan.
Owen Hargreaves
Bayern Munich – Man United £17m (2007)
IF you picked a fight with a lion, would you expect to win? Much the same could be said of Alex Ferguson’s decision to part with £17m in the expectation that Owen Hargreaves – injured throughout his career and beset by chronic tendonitis – would stay fit. In fairness, he did manage 23 appearances in his first season, helping United win the Champions League. Alas, he would manage just four in the next three seasons, the end finally coming when he lasted just five minutes of a comeback match against Wolves.
Luther Blissett
Watford – AC Milan £1m (1982)
IT may not seem like much now, but £1m in 1982 is approximately £17m in today’s money. Which, let’s be fair, is a bit like Real Madrid suddenly – out of absolutely nowhere – paying £16m for Grant Holt. Famed for his ability to miss from anywhere, Blissett scored five goals in 30 games before being flogged back to Watford for a bargain £55,000.
BARGAINS
John Barnes
Sudbury Court – Watford free (1981)
WELL, not quite free. After a successful trial for Watford, Graham Taylor was suitably impressed and asked Sudbury what they wanted for Barnes. The answer? A set of kits and some weights for the gym. One trip to Argos later, the winger was a Watford player and would go on to be a key member of the side that came oh so close to winning Division One.
Nicolas Anelka
PSG – Arsenal £500,000 (1997)
AH, remember when Arsene really did know, rather than just hope for the best? Never was it better demonstrated than when he signed unknown teenager Nicolas Anelka from Paris St Germain for £500,000 in 1997. ‘Who?’ we all said. Two years and 27 goals later we knew damn well who he was and so did Real Madrid, who paid £22.3m to take him to Spain.
Sami Hyypia
Willem II – Liverpool £2.6m (1999)
SIGNED on the recommendation of a TV cameraman working in Holland, the Finnish defender was hardly a glamour signing; most Liverpool fans had never heard of him and there were worried mumblings he would flop. Instead, he went on to become one of the Premier League’s most consistent centre-backs and an inspirational skipper who led Liverpool to an unprecedented treble of UEFA Cup, League Cup and FA Cup in 2002. “He was a steal, a bargain,” said Liverpool legend Ron Yeats when he left ten years later. “He is one of the best bits of business this club has ever done.”
Peter Schmeichel
Brondby – Man United £560,000 (1991)
ERIC Cantona and Roy Keane are often cited as the catalysts for United’s mid-90s dominance, but neither would have been as effective without the giant Dane between the sticks. Signed for what John Terry earns in a fortnight, Schmeichel would go on to win trophies galore, making his final appearance in the victorious Champions League final against Bayern Munich in 1999. It was, in effect, a double bargain – a year after he signed for United, Schmeichel won Euro ’92 with Denmark, sending his value rocketing.
Who do you consider to be some of the best and worst signings of all time?
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