With a third of the season already gone, it seems the perfect time to reflect on some of this year’s summer signings. Every transfer, whether it be stepping up a league, moving country or continent, or simply swapping clubs has an element of risk involved.
Some summer signings hit the ground running and enriched the Premier League, such as Eden Hazard and Santi Cazorla. Others however, like usual, have failed to prove they’re worth their transfer fee – and if they had no transfer fee, they’ve proved they aren’t worth their wages.
Some have performed below the the level their reputation might suggest, others are yet to reach the heights their fees would demand, and a few simply can’t break into the first-team at their new clubs.
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Either way, after just twelve games these lads already appear to be a bad piece of business. Here is a list of this summer’s ten most disappointing signings with a brief explanation as to why they deserve a place on our list of newly-signed poor performers.
Click on Clint Dempsey to see the full list of transfer travesties
As Manchester City and PSG have shown in recent years that a big money takeover can prove to be an enormous windfall in terms of financial and on the field success, however some takeovers can prove to be a nightmare.
We take a look at five of the worst buyouts in football.
Malaga
Whilst PSG and Manchester City have been living the high life, Spanish side Malaga are left to rue what might have been.
The Andalucian side were bought for around 35 million euros in 2010 by Sheik Abdullah Al-Thani, who invested millions in building a side that would qualify for European football.
However two years later after Champions League football was achieved, the Qatari removed his investment in the Spanish side, forcing them to sell some of their star players and leaving some players with unpaid wages.
Reports that the Sheik is looking to sell the club after growing frustrated with the lack of progress with his other business ventures in the area, have turned Malaga’s dream owner into the sugar daddy from hell.
Peter Ridsdale – Leeds United
Peter Ridsdale’s tenure as Leeds United chairman was one of the biggest rollercoaster rides in English football over the last decade and a half. Success followed in the early days of his ownership as Leeds reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup and the Champions League, but financial mismanagement saw the club slide down the Premier League table.
Ridsdale quit as chairman in 2003, leaving the club with debts of over £100m. Leeds were then relegated from the Premier League at the end of the 2003-04 season. The turmoil that Ridsdale left behind saw the Yorkshiremen relegated from the Championship in 2007, and began the 2007-08 in League One with a 30-point penalty due to insolvency.
The Venkys – Blackburn Rovers
The Venkys ownership of Blackburn so far has been nothing short of an unmitigated disaster. A seemingly lack of knowledge about the English game, or football in general, has seen the chickenmen ridiculed by the press and fans alike.
Having replaced Sam Allardyce with Steve Kean in December 2010, Rovers went on narrowly avoid relegation at the end of the 2010-11 season. Despite Kean originally being hired on a temporary basis, the Venkys eventually gave the Scot the manager’s job full time.
With the club looking like certain favourites for relegation under the stewardship of Kean in January 2012, the Venkys failed to inject more transfer funds into the club, or sack the hapless Kean in order to help save the club from the drop.
To rub salt in the wounds the club made a pre tax loss of £18.6m during the Venkys first year at the helm.
The Glazers – Manchester United
When it comes to the question of sugar daddies any Manchester United fan will happily tell you that the Glazer family has pumped more debt into the club than they have invested.
After an unprecedented £800m buyout of United in 2005, the Glazers have left the club paying around £70m a year in interest – the equivalent of one Cristiano Ronaldo every season.
The Florida based owners have been a figurehead of contempt at Old Trafford, and whilst much of the management of the club has remained constant, the animosity towards the American owners has not lifted in the last seven years.
In many ways United are lucky that their extensive commercial arm has helped to finance the club in recent years, although there have been rumours that Alex Ferguson has had to curb his spending to help the club clear its debts.
Portsmouth
With the sheer number of disastrous takeovers at Portsmouth in the last six years, it would be unfair to pin the club’s current financial problems on just one man.
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Perhaps the biggest villain of the piece must be the Franco-Israeli businessman Alexandre Gaydamak, who started the rot after taking soul ownership of the club in 2006. Gaydamak had allegedly stripped the club of £32m before selling it to Sulaiman Al-Fahim for £60m in 2009.
Al-Fahim’s tenure at the club lasted less than three months, before he sold the club to Ali al-Faraj in October 2009. The sale provoked much controversy with one report claiming that Al-Fahim had sold the club for ‘zero pounds’.
Al-Faraj’s reign was met with similar financial mismanagement. The club was transferred into the hands of Balram Chainrai in February 2010, after Al-Faraj defaulted on a £17m loan. Chainrai’s first major action was to take the club into administration, becoming the first Premier League club to earn the dishonour.
Relegation swiftly followed and the club was sold yet again in July 2011 to the Convers Sports Initiatives (CSI) consortium headed by Russian businessman Vladimir Antonov. “In CSI, I believe we have found owners who will take the long-term view,” said chief executive David Lampitt at the time.
By November Antonov had resigned as chairman of Portsmouth after being arrested for asset stripping. His Convers Sports Initiatives was placed into administration and subsequently so were Portsmouth.
In many ways perhaps Pompey are best off in the hands of the administrators.
As Tottenham Hotspur have looked to take their season into a higher gear during the festive period, for Emmanuel Adebayor, it’s felt much more like a chance to take the handbrake off, rather than increasing on any momentum gained.
Since making his superb loan spell from Manchester City permanent during the summer, the big Togolese striker has of course endured something of a difficult start to life as a fully-fledged player at White Hart Lane.
After joining up with Andre Villas-Boas’ squad without a proper pre-season under his belt, Adebayor has struggled for both form and fitness as he’s endeavoured to try and recapture the form that saw him net 17 Premier League goals for Harry Redknapp’s side last term. The superb goalscoring exploits of Jermain Defoe has offered the ex-Arsenal man only another obstacle to overcome in a set-up which has tended to only accommodate one striker for much of the season.
And in more ways than one, Adebayor’s goal in the 3-1 win over Reading yesterday couldn’t have come at a better time for both club and player. Because while it set the Lilywhites on their way to third in the Premier League table, it also saw Adebayor finally alleviate some of the mounting pressure that had begun to build amongst supporters in recent weeks.
Yet while some of the critique aimed at Adebayor has been both fair and due, especially so in the wake of his disastrous sending off against Arsenal back in November, there has been a growing sense of malaise developing from a small section of supporters towards the Togolese international. While Adebayor isn’t without his faults, fans must remain patient with him as we set off out into 2013.
Given his chequered history, it’s fair to say that supporters are well within their rights to dabble in an element of cynicism when it comes to evaluating their No10’s current run of patchy form. While Adebayor has scored goals wherever he’s gone in his career, he’s also tended to serve up large spells of inconsistency, too.
Since he first arrived at Spurs in 2011, supporters have yet to really be treated to the darker side of Emmanuel Adebayor, but come the North London derby back in November, they were given a timely reminder of the other side of the one time Real Madrid man’s game. His 18th minute lunge on Santi Cazorla saw him correctly sent off during Spurs’ disastrous 5-2 defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates, in a game which coincidentally saw him notch his only other league goal of the season.
It was a moment of stupidity and an exhibition of the fiery blood that has always pumped through the body of Adebayor, but nothing more. Yet judging by some of the views emanating out of White Hart Lane in recent weeks, the negativity heaped upon him suggests that not all may have necessarily got over the mauling caused that day by Adebayor’s moment of madness.
Yes, he’s not hit anywhere near the heights of last season, but first of all, let’s not forget quite what an outstanding contribution Adebayor produced for the Lilywhites last term. A tally of 17 league goals and 11 assists is outstanding whichever way you look at it and while he may not come close to matching it this time round, don’t underestimate the work he’s been performing for the side since his return to first team affairs.
Patience appears to have been running thin for Adebayor for a while now, but given the disruption he’s faced to his season so far, is it really that much of a surprise that he only may just now be coming into form?
Even though we’re now already half way through the Premier League season, Adebayor simply hasn’t had the solid, consistent run of starts in the league until the start of last month. Given his abject lack of fitness via an absent pre-season, early season cameos against Norwich and West Brom are reduced to little more than token statistics and following a niggling hamstring injury, he had to wait until November 11th to make his first start of the season against Manchester City.
The subsequent three-game suspension that awaited him following his next game against Arsenal is no one else’s fault bar his own, but consequently, his next start in the league didn’t come till the 2-1 defeat against Everton at Goodison Park. That was only his third Premier League start of the entire season.
And for a player that’s been described as everything from a passenger to a mercenary in recent weeks, his side haven’t half done bad with him in the team. Since that defeat to David Moyes’ side, Tottenham have been unbeaten in five, picking up 13 points along the way. Adebayor has started all five of those games.
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Playing in Villas-Boas’ altered 4-4-2 like set-up, the hard work Adebayor’s been doing off the ball, striving to win it back and linking up play from far deeper than what we’ve seen before, will never win as many plaudits as the goals Jermain Defoe’s recently been scoring. But don’t underestimate his value to the team.
Only in the past four weeks has Adebayor really got that run of games he’s needed to try and find both form and fitness. There’s been some knocks along the way, a few unconvincing performances and a touch in front of goal that certainly won’t return overnight. Yet slowly but surely, we’re finally starting to see Villas-Boas’ faith pay dividends.
Emmanuel Adebayor can’t stop here and for all his hard work, he must do more to start putting the ball in the back of the net. Although wheeling out tired clichés about him giving up the ghost now he’s got a permanent contract is both as uninformed as it is missing the point. He’s doing his bit to try and recapture the form of last season. It’s time the small section of naysayers started doing their bit to help him, too.
Norwich defender Michael Turner admits the players decided to block out the home fans’ frustration at half-time in the Swansea game.
The Carrow Road faithful vented their anger at boss Chris Hughton after the Canaries nearly went two goals down before the interval, but Turner says the players did not pay any attention to the “sort it out” chants.
“We could sense the fans’ frustration but we were saying to each other, ‘Don’t listen to the crowd, stick to the game plan and we will be fine’,” Turner said.
Winger Elliott Bennett, who crossed for Robert Snodgrass’ goal and then set up Turner for the second, paid tribute to the side’s unshakeable belief – even when things appear to be going wrong.
“We always believe in every game and we will try to pick up points wherever we go and whoever we face.”
The former Brighton star admitted he did not know if a point at home would be good enough to keep the Canaries up at the end of the Premier League season.
“I don’t have a clue how many points we will need,” he added. “This league is so weird.
“Wigan have games in hand on us and everyone knows what they are like. They are notorious for getting out of trouble.
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“We have the points on the board so if we take care of our own business we won’t be relying on anyone else.”
We all think of footballers as well paid individuals and indeed they are. If a Premier League star invests his money correctly, then there’s a good chance he’d never have to work again for the rest of his life. However, a football career isn’t exactly a job for life, as you never know when injury or loss of form may strike that could result in your career plummeting to depths of horrendous lows.
It’s wise therefore, for players to have some sort of other interests outside of football, to keep them occupied off the field, but also to earn a living if things go wrong. The vast majority of players just invest their money into property or start life as a media pundit, but others take a more interesting route and immerse themselves in something a little different. We bring you 15 footballers with a different life outside the game that you should definitely know about.
Click on Stuart Pearce to unveil the 15
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QPR have agreed a transfer fee of up to £4 million as compensation for Junior Hoilett’s move from Blackburn, The Daily Mail claim.
The Canadian attacker impressed over a number of seasons at Ewood Park, but left the Lancashire club following their relegation from the Premier League last term.
Hoilett’s contract was up and joined the Loftus Road club on a free transfer, but due to his age Rovers were due a compensation fee.
An initial amount of £3 million will be paid to the Championship side, with an extra £1 million in the offing dependant on the number of appearances the North American makes for the London club.
It is believed that Blackburn are also entitled to a portion of Hoilett’s sell-on fee should it be more than the figure they have just received from QPR.
The agreement between the clubs means that the matter does not have to be determined by the Professional Football Compensation Committee.
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Everton striker Kevin Mirallas has revealed he wants to score at least 10 goals in his first season in English football.
The Belgian striker arrived at Goodison Park in a £5 million switch from Olympiakos in the summer and has become an instant hit, scoring three goals in 11 appearances in all competitions so far.
But only one of those has come in the Premier League, with the other two coming against Leyton Orient in the Capital One Cup, and he is eager to add to his single top-flight goal sooner rather than later.
He told the Liverpool Echo: “I think at the moment I have more assists than I have goals.
“I have provided one or two decent passes for my colleagues to score, but at the same time I am hoping to continue to improve in front of goal and i think 10 goals is a reasonable target for my first season.
“If I manage 10 goals that would be decent.”
The striker went on to admit his natural instinct to assist goals is helped by the fact he is playing with quality players at Everton.
“It is a part of the game I am not bad at and my delivery is quite good,” he continued.
“Sometimes it is easier to supply the pass for a goal than to add that finishing touch, especially when you have lads in the middle with the quality of Nikica Jelavic and Marouane [Fellaini].
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“It encourages you to put crosses in when you players like that in the middle.”
For a team as rich in history as Liverpool F.C, there hasn’t half been some tosh pull on the famous red shirt and walk past the ‘This is Anfield’ sign. Although the Reds might have picked up seven domestic trophies and three European ones since the inception of the Premier League, they have never quite managed to pull off the big one, indeed their last league title came under Kenny Dalglish in 1990.
Although there have been some great players turning out for the club in the Premier League era, think Steven Gerrard, Sami Hyypia or Robbie Fowler, some of their other signings have been simply miserable. Old boss Rafa Benitez had a reputation for loading his squad with unheard-of, and often useless players, while more recently, Kenny Dalglish went the other way, paying big fees for overrated talent.
There are a lot of contenders for such a team, but we’ve selected the worst XI signings to play for Liverpool in the Premier League era. See if you agree:
Click on Paul Konchesky to unveil the XI
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A calamitous transfer deadline day at Liverpool left the club with only two recognised strikers.
Earlier in the transfer window Rodgers pleaded his need for a minimum of three strikers claiming he would have to “be a nutcase to even consider at this moment to let Andy Carroll go out, unless there are other solutions”. Carroll left Liverpool to be reunited with Kevin Nolan at West Ham and was the third striker to leave Anfield this season after both Dirk Kuyt and Craig Bellamy left the club.
A deadline day loan move for Daniel Sturridge failed to materialise, but missing out on number one target Clint Dempsey was particularly telling. Dempsey had publically declared his wish to play for Liverpool, but a fee of £6m was deemed too much for a 29 year old, who had scored 17 goals in the Premier League last season. Dempsey chose instead to move to Tottenham after rejecting earlier advances from Aston Villa as the management at Anfield headed home hours before the transfer window slammed shut with no striker in sight.
Since then the rumour mill has gone into overdrive with free agents and former players Michael Owen (now at Stoke), Emile Heskey and Florent Sinama-Pongolle all linked with moves back to the club. The possible releases of Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba from the Chinese Super League may be more suitable but big money moves to the US, Middle East and even Juventus appear far more likely destinations.
Rodgers and Liverpool are almost certain to shun these options and choose instead to look from within the club.
In John W Henry’s open letter, the American owner revealed the club is focused on developing its own talent and the likes of Morgan and Sterling may see their chances at Liverpool noticeably increase following Carroll’s departure.
Eighteen year old striker Adam Morgan is favoured by Rodgers and the out-and-out striker has impressed his manager with his work-rate and desire to learn. Morgan has been at Anfield since he was 10 years old and started against Hearts in the Europa League at Anfield last week.
Seventeen year old midfielder Raheem Sterling has started against both Manchester City and Arsenal in the league and the Jamaican-born winger has impressed in the red of Liverpool with his pace and exuberance exciting the Kop. Sterling has been capped at England U16, U17 and U19 level and could feature further forward for Liverpool as his blossoming reputation grows.
Last season Harry Redknapp chose to blood youth in the Europa League for Tottenham with the likes of Rose, Livermore and Kane all featuring. Liverpool will similarly not rank the competition too highly and Morgan, Sterling and Shelvey are all expected to see game time in the competition this season.
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The signing of Samed Yesil may be unknown to many but the German striker has represented his country at Under-16, 17 and 18 level scoring 19 times in 20 appearances, including six goals at the U17 World Cup last year. Yesil has yet to be given a squad number and like Dani Pacheco should spend most of his time in the reserves, although the German is one to watch.
After a tumultuous week, Rodgers will have to quickly develop and progress his youngsters ahead of schedule to negate the failings of the board as Liverpool look to cope without the cover of Andy Carroll.
Jonathan Day is a football betting expert who specialises in European and Premier League football. Jonathan writes for Sportingly Better a football betting blog providing free football tips, predictions and fantasy football picks.
star Jack Wilshere, is expected to return to action at home to Reading at the end of the month.
The England midfielder has been out injured since Arsenal’s 2-1 Premier League defeat to rivals Tottenham Hotspur and it was initially claimed that manager Arsene Wenger had ruled out the possibility of using him again this season.
However, now Arsenal have responded quickly to deny that there was any setback in the talismanic midfielder’s recovery.
“Nothing has changed in Jack’s recovery. There’s no setback or any further damage to his ankle,” said a club spokesperson.
“There’s no concern about any long term problems. Jack was told to rest and is still on course to resume training and be available for selection against Reading.”
Wilshere’s injury problems started when a routine operation on his right ankle caused him to miss 17 months of football due to a number of setbacks.
With Arsenal still in the mix for a Champions League place, the news of Wilshere’s return from injury will give the team a boost as they look to catch Tottenham, who are four points ahead, having played a game more.
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And after another trophy less season, Champions League qualification is a must for the Gunners.