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May I add:

 

1. Amady Faye - £2M

2. Jermaine Pennant - £8M

 

ITV

 

The worst transfers of 2006

 

The season is now well past the half-way watershed and the Big Four are sitting atop the league while some unlikely clubs find themselves in a relegation battle deserving of the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan.

 

The transfer window is upon us and some managers will be keen to "pull a Redknapp" and buy a few players to rescue their seasons.

 

Alan Curbishley and Alan Pardew have more than a first name and former club in common. They are in the same boat - or overloaded Haitian ferries in rough seas - as without some acumen in the transfer window both clubs will be playing in the Championship come next season.

 

Between the two they shipped 10 goals between them in the last round of Premiership fixtures.

 

And while it is no surprise that the Big Four now hold the first four positions on the table, it is a surprise that Chelsea trail Man United by half a dozen points.

 

Much of what has happened at both ends of the table can be traced back to what happened in the summer transfer window.

 

So here is an album of the greatest transfer mis-hits of 2006.

 

1) Andriy Shevchenko

 

The Ukraine is known for Chernobyl, mail-order brides and Chicken Kiev. It used to be known as the country that produced the World's greatest striker.

 

Until Andriy Shevchenko signed for Chelsea that is. Milan did an Italian Job on the Blues by ripping them off to the tune of £30million at a cool £4million profit.

 

2) Tevesherano

 

A close second to Shevagol comes West Ham's shock (soon to be followed by horror) signings of Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano.

 

The duo have not looked like quality signings but unlike Sheva neither have decent pedigrees behind them. But like Sheva the Argentines must be finding life in London rather grim.

 

3) Khalid Boulahrouz

 

Roman Abramovich splashed out £8.5million on Khalid Boulahrouz to replace William Gallas.

 

He is known as the Cannibal not because he was signed from Hamburger SV but because of his allegged ability to 'eat the opposition'. So far as this season's form goes he must be pretty hungry.

 

4) Souleymane Diawara

 

Iain Dowie brought Souleymane Diawara to Charlton from Sochaux for £3.7million. After Diawara signed for the Londoners Dowie said,

 

"Souleymane is a player I've long identified as a top defender.

 

"He's got great pace, big stature, good ability on the ball, and he's a very powerful defender who will be well-suited to the Premier League."

 

This goes a long way to explaining why Mr Dowie is currently unemployed as Diawara has looked more suited to the circus than football.

 

5) Djimi Traoré

 

Another Iain Dowie classic was the £2million he wasted on Djimi Traoré in a bid to make the Addick's defence watertight.

 

Djimi made a splash on his debut against West Ham as he managed to get sent off for two bookable offences. It is something of a travesty to think that he has a Champions League winners medal hanging on his bedroom wall.

 

The Mali defender perhaps forgot that he was a Charlton player as he gifted his former club Liverpool a penalty after kicking Jermaine Pennant in the head in a challenge more reminiscent of Thai street boxing than football.

 

6) Michael Ballack

 

The Germans are known for their efficiency and hard-work. Michael Ballack is a German but he is not one to get stuck into a Premiership match. This might explain why he has been anonymous for Chelsea for most of the season.

 

The Blues signed the midfielder on a free transfer but as Chelsea pay him an outrageous £130 000 per week in wages one would expect him to outshine most Premiership midfielders.

 

Although in his defence he does have the same number of league goals as Sheva.

 

An honourable mention goes to Cashleigh Cole who opened his account with a stunning own-goal against Reading resulting in the Blues dropping two vital points in the title race.

 

And with Chelsea's defence looking as loose as Paris Hilton, Jose Mourinho must be wishing a certain French defender had not moved to North London

 

Both West Ham and Charlton are in deep trouble at the wrong end of the table and both clubs have been linked with a series of high-profile transfer targets in January.

 

Chelsea, it could be argued, are trailing United in the league because hitherto their high-profile signings have flopped.

 

However, in a list of the worst transfers of 2005 Nemanja Vidic would have featured highly. The £7-million spent on him by Man United looked like a monumental waste of money.

 

But in his second season at Old Trafford the Serbian has looked the complete defender. So there is hope for the likes of Shevchenko, Tevez, Diawara and co - assuming their clubs don't sell them.

 

Richard Ferraris

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Nice to see no toon ones in there for once.

 

Maybe because we didn't really sign anyone :D

 

Duff could be on the list though, but he's not been that bad. Not as good as he should have though, but been injured.

 

Well.. What about Olivier Bernard for bad transfer? :D

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Guest smoggeordie

Nice to see no toon ones in there for once.

 

Maybe because we didn't really sign anyone :D

 

Duff could be on the list though, but he's not been that bad. Not as good as he should have though, but been injured.

 

Well.. What about Olivier Bernard for bad transfer? :D

 

Bernard wasn't a transfer, he was out of contract.

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Nice to see no toon ones in there for once.

 

Maybe because we didn't really sign anyone :D

 

Duff could be on the list though, but he's not been that bad. Not as good as he should have though, but been injured.

 

Well.. What about Olivier Bernard for bad transfer? :D

 

Bernard wasn't a transfer, he was out of contract.

 

So was Ballack and he's listed too. But I meant signing, used wrong word.

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Nice to see no toon ones in there for once.

 

Maybe because we didn't really sign anyone :D

 

Duff could be on the list though, but he's not been that bad. Not as good as he should have though, but been injured.

 

Well.. What about Olivier Bernard for bad transfer? :D

 

Bernard wasn't a transfer, he was out of contract.

 

So was Ballack and he's listed too. But I meant signing, used wrong word.

 

Probably forgot about him and he is on £5k a week apparently which is pretty small for the premiership.

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What about Luque!?

 

Was he signed in 2006?

 

August 05

 

 

Ok, worst signing of the decade then. Has to be Luque.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then Parker.......

 

That really made me laugh out loud for some reason :lol:

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If something doesn't change soon, then in about 10 games time, I might be tempted to post the words "Stiliyan Petrov" to this thread.

 

 

£8m wasn't it? Ouch.

 

Decent player but no more than that. Worth about £3m.

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If something doesn't change soon, then in about 10 games time, I might be tempted to post the words "Stiliyan Petrov" to this thread.

 

 

 

£8m wasn't it? Ouch.

 

Decent player but no more than that. Worth about £3m.

 

Excellent for three games, anonymous since.

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If something doesn't change soon, then in about 10 games time, I might be tempted to post the words "Stiliyan Petrov" to this thread.

 

 

I thought he was doing well but tbh I haven't seen much from him since his first couple of games.

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