Which signing is your biggest letdown

[JagSquared]

Chris Kirkland was another. Honestly thought we had sorted our goalkeeper for the next 15 years. We paid a decent fee and then signed dudek on the same window. Kirkland was highly rated then just seemed to be made of glass and his confidence went.

 

Can I also say Torres? Because although he was excellent it was all the stories before he signed like the YNWA under his atletico captains band and the way he seemed to love us. We loved him back and then he turned into a twat and left us just as Kenny was turning us around.

 

I don't think I've ever been as disappointed in a player ever.

[AngryOfTuebrook]

I too had high hopes for Morientes. Kewell, Collymore, Clough, Diouf and Riedle also failed to live up to billing. We bought Ziege 5 years too late; when we used wing-backs, he was one of the world's best - and we let him sign for Boro! Fucksake!

[Ne Moe Imya]

The main one I can think of that hasn't already been mentioned is Robbie Keane.

 

Thought we'd finally gotten a player to take some of the burden off Torres and Gerrard, someone who could come in and score a late goal if those two weren't on their game or if Torres was injured.

 

The less said about what actually happened when he was on the pitch the better (apart from that class goal against the Arse).

[Bad Red Bull]

Kewell - had very high hopes for him.

 

Carroll - because we could have got Aguero, Falcao for that 35 million. Wasn't too happy that we had got him because he had the reputation of being a powerful forward. When I saw him play, I realized how slow he was.

 

Downing - Letdown from the club transfer ppl for me. Everyone knew he was not good enough to pay 20million for and yet we chose him over Mata who went to Chelshit for just a few million more.

[Harry Squatter]

Djibril Cisse. Thought that we had signed this amazingly fast player who was suited to the Premier League. Signed for a lot of money so I expected him to be better than most of the mid level signings we had made around that time. Kept waiting and waiting for this great player to appear but it never happened. Admittedly his horrific leg break at Blackburn didn't help. He did show amazing powers of recovery to come back in the same season.

 

Another one was Biscan, apparently Barcelona and Juventus wanted him but we signed him. Again I thought that he must be a world class player. Had that good game at Old Trafford but never got going bar the odd goal or piece of skill.

[Jhinge Machha]

The main one I can think of that hasn't already been mentioned is Robbie Keane.

 

Thought we'd finally gotten a player to take some of the burden off Torres and Gerrard, someone who could come in and score a late goal if those two weren't on their game or if Torres was injured.

 

The less said about what actually happened when he was on the pitch the better (apart from that class goal against the Arse).

 

still wish we had held onto him for the entire season at least. 

[mighty sweater]

John Scales - thought he'd be really classy and able to bring ball out in pass and move style. 

[Paulie Dangerously]

God Keane yeah. What a clusterfuck he was. His wry grin after missing a sitter makes me livid to this day

[Morning Glory]

Surprised no one has mentioned Ruddock. Remember his debut against Sheff Wed when Clough scored two on his debut and the Kop were chanting his nickname. We all thought we had a tough, compromising defender, with a great left foot. Apart from that goal, all we remember him for is his unprofessionalism.

[Babb'sBurstNad]

Probably Morientes, just because I was sure he was going to be phenomenal for us.

 

Watching him, where he was always just a split second behind the play and easily jostled in the box, made me realise that some players simply won't suit this league, no matter their underlying quality. Seeing Soldado last season reminded me a lot of him.

[Horus]

Surprised no one has mentioned Ruddock. Remember his debut against Sheff Wed when Clough scored two on his debut and the Kop were chanting his nickname. We all thought we had a tough, compromising defender, with a great left foot. Apart from that goal, all we remember him for is his unprofessionalism.

Passing the pound. What a cunt.

[Guest Slim(fast)Shady]

Tons....

 

 

Thing is there's been so many and names that are just forgetable that its hard to pick one....but Paul Stewart for me...

 

And what ever happened to him?....didn't go into management,never been a pundit....just vanished!

[Guest Slim(fast)Shady]

or Juilan Dicks!

[INTORRESTING]

Morientes surprised me the most as I thought he was going to immense.

 

I was gutted litmanen didnt play more as he was an incredible player.

[JermainePennant]

or Juilan Dicks!

I downloaded harry redknapps book the other day and he tells the story about selling dicks, apparently he was one of the worst professionals redknapp worked with and he wanted rid.

 

He got on to souness to have a look and in the games he did dicks supposedly played shit and committed a couple of horror tackles, redknapp was thinking that would have fucked the deal but souness was loving what he saw, it didn't reflect well on souness.

[Lario]

Roy Hodgson.

[JohnnyH]

Surprised no one has mentioned Ruddock. Remember his debut against Sheff Wed when Clough scored two on his debut and the Kop were chanting his nickname. We all thought we had a tough, compromising defender, with a great left foot. Apart from that goal, all we remember him for is his unprofessionalism.

 

That was the problem.  All the bloody compromising instead of just clearing the ball.

[Trumo]

Some of the players mentioned in this thread baffle me like a transfer rumour baffles Tony Barrett. 

[bouncebrigade]

Suarez.

[GR10 LFC]

 

 

Thing is there's been so many and names that are just forgetable that its hard to pick one....but Paul Stewart for me...

 

I thought Stewart and then thought to be considered a let down suggests I had an expectation he would be good in the first place!

[Dr Nowt]

Some of the players mentioned in this thread baffle me like a transfer rumour baffles Tony Barrett. 

 

A baffle is one of the constituent parts of a nebuliser unit, and on the subject of malperforming lungs, I'm going with Joe Cole.  The unflushable turds' unflushable turd.

[FanchesterCity]

My marriage cert was the biggest let down signing.

[Wicket]

Kewell for me, we thought we'd got one of the best players in the world and ended up with his crap, lazy, injury prone twin brother.

[aRdja]

Aquilani and Nuri Sahin.

 

Both soft cocks.

[Galactico]

Some great examples here.  Often it seems the level of fans' excitement at the signing is inversely proportional to how successful the player then is. Morientes was probably the one I was most excited and subsequently disappointed by, but Kewell, Cole, Diouf, Saunders, Babb, Ince and Keane were all players we were thrilled to get and then let down by. So to a lesser  degree were Gonzalez, Kirkland, Leonhardsen and Clough.

 

There were a few in the Houllier era - who could forget the 'new Zidanes', Cheyrou and Biscan, the 'new Vieira' Diao and the much-heralded but ultimately ineffective Valdimir Smicer. 

 

Carroll does stand out because he's still our record signing and one of the most expensive player sin history. Downing and Adam were others who the pundits certainly thought would improve us and who turned out not to be up to the job. With hindsight, you can see how that splurge cost Kenny his job and is in marked contrast to the approach we take now - though let's face it, Aspas, Borini and Alberto were all disappointing signings too.

 

Given the relative lack of excitement at the arrivals of Sturridge, Hyypia and others,maybe the theory also works in reverse. There's not been that much excitement about Markovic in spite of the fee, and there's plenty of negativity about Remy and even Lallana from some. Hopefully they turn out to be players that prove some of the doubters wrong, just as others have proved the optimism unfounded.