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<p>For every Ronaldo, there’s a Shevchenko. Sometimes, great reputations come at a great cost yet fail to deliver. Shevchenko is a great player to start with. Feared throughout Europe, his performances for Dynamo Kiev and A.C. Milan saw him become one of the most lethal strikers in the world. Once he arrived at Stamford Bridge, his reputation began to fall apart.</p>
<p>Yet these things happen. Sometimes, for a variety of reasons, some players cannot settle. Yet others flourish when they were expected to fail. Now we look at some of the worst signings in the last ten years and ask ourselves, did Juan Sebastian Veron really cost £43 million for English clubs alone!!</p>
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<p>Well over the years, especially as the Premiership’s international appeal has grown, we now find ourselves in a situation were probably as case can be made for a large chunk of the best players in the world currently ply their trade in England. From Rooney to Torres, Essien to Mascherano, every team offers us a plethora of international flavour. Now let’s cast our eyes over some of my selections for the worst signings this decade in no particular order.</p>
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<p><strong>1. Juan Sebastian Veron £43.6 million</strong></p>
<p>Now Veron’s failure to cope with the Premiership is something I still can’t get to grips with. His international pedigree was assured, he’d pulled the strings for Lazio and Parma during a 5 year spell in Italy, he was a top player. The failure of the Little Witch to adapt to the Premiership still astounds me. Manchester United paid £28.1 million for him, but off loaded him 2 years later to Chelsea, were he continued to under-perform. A return to Italy at Inter Milan never saw him recapture his form and he has now returned to Argentinian football.</p>
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<p><strong>2. Andrey Shevchenko £30.8 million</strong></p>
<p>As I’ve mentioned earlier, a striker with one of the most feared reputations in Europe caused Chelsea to change their system and lose their way a little under Jose Mourinho. Rumours abound that the Special One never wanted him at Stamford Bridge but since he joined Chelsea, his career has taken a nose dive. Even a return to A.C. Milan couldn’t recapture his glory days and he has now returned to Kiev. It was like watching a different player when he was at Chelsea, he just couldn’t cope with the game.</p>
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<p><strong>3. Sergei Rebrov £11 million</strong></p>
<p>Oddly, Shevchenko’s strike partner failed to adapt to the English game also, but his refusal to accept black players as team mates meant that he was always going to struggle. Perhaps a little more digging in to his personal life would have avoided an £11 million mistake for Tottenham Hotspur in 2000.&nbsp; Made a return to publicity when Spurs signed Roman Pavlychenko, warning him about the amount of “Non-whites” in the Tottenham area. A thoroughly horrible man, the Premiership is better for his absence.</p>
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<p><strong>4. Fernando Morientes £6.5 million</strong></p>
<p>Another striker with a fearsome reputation who looked as if he’d been kidnapped and replaced by a stand in when he joined Liverpool in January 2005. It was especially strange as the season before, he’d had a marvelous campaign in the Champions League with Monaco and a solid reputation forged for Real Madrid and Spain. He just never got going at Anfield and returned to Spain after just 18 months.</p>
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<p><strong>5. David Bentley £15 million</strong></p>
<p>Bentley had forged an excellent reputation under Mark Hughes at Blackburn Rovers but his spell at Tottenham has seen him under perform constantly. That goal against Arsenal was expected to be the catalyst but Aaron Lennon’s continued excellent form has seen him become a peripheral player at his beloved Tottenham. It’s simply not worked for him and the problem is no one can work out why.</p>
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<p><strong>6. Jean Alain Boumsong £8.2 million</strong></p>
<p>This transfer still makes me laugh, as it was a ludicrous amount of money for a centre half who struggled to cope with Scottish football during his spell at Rangers. Yet, if you want someone to pay over the odds, who better than Graeme Souness to come to your rescue. Never coped while he was at St James’ Park, he was moved on to Juventus and struggled in Serie B before joining Lyon.</p>
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<p><strong> 7. Albert Luque £9.5 million</strong></p>
<p>Another one of Souness’ signings during his awful spell as Newcastle manager, Luque came highly rated but never saw his career take off at all in the North East. He’d had three excellent seasons at Deportivo but since his two year hell at Newcastle his career has collapsed. Another dreadful Souness signing that never recovered to show his early potential.</p>
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<p><strong>8. Bosko Balaban £6 million</strong></p>
<p>Was highly rated when John Gregory signed him for Aston Villa but in his 30 month spell he never started a game or scored a goal. The long running joke amongst Villa fans was that they’d actually signed the wrong player but he was signed as a goal getting striker. On leaving Villa he continued to score goals but will always be remembered for the goalless spell at Villa Park.</p>
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<p><strong>9. Steve Marlet £11.5 million</strong></p>
<p>The signing that brought the end to Jean Tigana’s reign as Fulham manager and caused a legal battle with the chairman of Fulham, Marlet was an unmitigated disaster. 11 goals in 4 years says it all and he is currently without a club. Though how he was ever valued at £11.5 million after scoring just 13 goals in 2 seasons at Lyon still mystifies me.</p>
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<p><strong>10. Robbie Keane £20 million</strong></p>
<p>Poor old Robbie Keane thought he’d gone to heaven when Spurs grudgingly accepted a hefty bid for the Liverpool supporting Irishman. Yet, unbeknown to Keane, Benitez didn’t want him and he became a pawn in an internal battle between Rick Parry and Rafa Benitez. 6 months later he was on his way back to White Hart Lane for the remainder of the fee that Liverpool owed Spurs, so effectively the Reds paid £8 million for a 6 month loan deal. Has never looked the same player since he returned either.</p>
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<p><strong>11. Francis Jeffers £8 million</strong></p>
<p>Arsene Wengers most expensive mistake, Jeffers was supposedly the fox in the box the Gunners needed as the long term replacement for Ian Wright. Yet Jeffers’ attitude had caused him to be gladly sold by Everton and his career has seen him fall down the leagues, failing to score or stay fit for than a month a time. A shining example of wasted potential, he scored on his England debut in 2001 and it was all down hill from there. Is frighteningly still 28, currently injured at Sheffield Wednesday.</p>
<p>So, any thoughts on who you feel was the worst Premiership signing of the last 10 years? Please leave your comments below.</p>

The Worst Premiership Signings Of The Noughties

The Worst Premiership Signings Of The Noughties - World Soccer Talk

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<p>Over the years since he bought an ailing and abject club, Mohamed Al Fayed has certainly made some “interesting” decisions over the years. Whilst Mickey Adams was rewarded for taking the team up to Division One by being sacked in September 1997,&nbsp; after Al&nbsp; Fayed deemed him “not high profile enough”, Fulham were making major progress under Adams. Eventually Al-Fayed returned them to the top tier of English football after an absence of 32 years which was certainly some achievement. Yet, for me, his best achievement by some way was the decision to appoint Roy Hodgson to attempt and keep Fulham in the Premiership.</p>
<p>As he looks set to extend his stay with a new contract, the sky is the limit for Fulham under Hodgson.Christmas 2007 saw Fulham rooted in the relegation zone, after Lawrie Sanche’z disastrous tenure as manager. A reliance on Championship players and a high defensive line with no pace saw them caught out time and again and it was no surprise that Sanchez was given his marching orders. Hodgson came in to try and keep a side up and it seemed a tough ask, even for someone of his talents.</p>
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<p>Of course, Fulham’s heriocs under Hodgson that season are well documented, but they pushed on again last season to finish 7th, their highest ever league finish in the top flight of English football, bringing with it a chance to compete in Europe for only the second time in the club’s history. Currently sitting in 10th, nicely placed behind the pack chasing 4th place, Fulham are in their best shape for years. There is no doubting the effect that Hodgson has had on the side and Fulham have gone from strength to strength under his stewardship.</p>
<p><div><figure class="external-image"><img loading="lazy" class="alignleft" src="http://epltalk.com/wp-content/uploads/visitbritainnordic.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/fulham-zamora-pantsil-johnson1.jpg" alt="" width="290" height="400"></figure></div>The capture of Brede Hangeland, coupled with the renaissance of Danny Murphy along with several other canny signings, notably Damien Duff, has continued to build on the confidence that avoiding relegation created. Sometimes when a side avoids relegation, it can simply be a case of denying the inevitable, but Fulham have used it as a springboard to bigger and better things. Utilising his skills gained in international and continental football has given them a more expansive and clever brand of football, that makes them hard to beat.</p>
<p>Playing a brand of pacey, strong and fast flowing football has always been Hodgson’s calling card, wherever he’s been and Fulham are in the best shape they’ve been in for years now. With the oft mooted expansion of Craven Cottage looking to be finally sorted, a top quality manager and probably the best side they’ve ever had at the Cottage, Fulham fans can look forward with renewed optimism.</p>
<p>Of course, if there is one thing that Fulham currently lack, it’s strength upfront. Whilst Zamora and Johnson have tons of Premiership experience, they’ve lacked goals. Zamora especially receives plenty of stick for his goal return, but his undoubted strength is his ability to bring other players in to the game.</p>
<p>Johnson has been struggling with injuries the last couple of years and has now been ruled out for a while. Since his amazing season with Crystal Palace in 2004-2005 when he hit 21 league goals, he’s never scored more than 10 in a Premiership campaign.</p>
<p>The reserve options don’t fill me with confidence but I’m sure Hodgson will now make a move in the market come January 1st. With only Nevland, Kamara and Ki-Hyeon to come in for Johnson, getting an established goalscorer is crucial to Fulham to continue to improve on the great work that they’ve achieved over the last two years. With Hodgson in charge, anything is possible but he’ll know goals win games and at the moment, Fulham’s forward line don’t have enough in them.</p>

Hodgson and Fulham Set To Continue The Good Work

Hodgson and Fulham Set To Continue The Good Work - World Soccer Talk

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The Worst Premiership Signings Of The Noughties

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Hodgson and Fulham Set To Continue The Good Work