Famous Five: SAF's maverick misses
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Following the arrival of the unknown Gabriel Obertan at Old Trafford, Ian Watson looks at Sir Alex Ferguson's previous maverick purchases.
Ferguson likes nothing more than a rough diamond at Manchester United.
While the Scot has purchased his fair share of big-money superstars, he has also raised plenty of eyebrows with some buys that have had United fans scratching their heads.
Some have been massive successes, Peter Schmeichel and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer being prime examples. But for every Solskjaer, there's a Bellion.
Obertan is the most recent head-scratcher, with the player himself admitting he was stunned to find himself the subject of Ferguson's admiration.
Whether the Frenchman will go on to be a hit at Old Trafford remains to be seen. But here, Ian Watson gives his run-down of Ferguson's top five maverick misses in the transfer market.
5 - William Prunier:
Prunier never actually signed for United but his sheer awfulness sees him creep in at number five.
With United facing a defensive injury crisis over Christmas in 1995, Ferguson drafted in the French centre-back on trial and was forced to throw him straight into the side. Against QPR, the 29-year-old looked relatively comfortable as he sauntered through a 2-1 win, and the ropiest of ropey chants, 'Ooh-Er-Prunier', was given an airing at Old Trafford for the first time. And last.
A couple of days later came Prunier's first real test, which he failed pretty spectacularly. United were handed a 4-1 thumping at White Hart Lane by Tottenham, for which Prunier was made a scapegoat.
Ferguson, obviously unconvinced by what he had seen, offered Prunier an extension to his trial, which the former Bordeaux stopper rejected in favour of a move to FC Copenhagen.
4 - Kleberson:
You might think that signing a player who had won the World Cup with Brazil is as close to a sure-thing as is possible in the transfer market. Well, Kleberson proves you'd be wrong.
A year after lifting the World Cup in Japan, Ferguson swooped for the midfielder, beating off competition from other Premier League clubs to complete a £6.5million deal. The fact that Leeds had previously failed to sign the Brazilian because he had no wish to leave his homeland without his 15-year-old fiancée should perhaps have acted as a sign of the farce to come during his 25-game, two-year stay at United.
The rumour goes that United actually signed the wrong player. The Red Devils reportedly thought they were buying someone who could play on the right-side of midfield, but were stunned to discover from Kleberson that he had never actually occupied in that position. Seemingly United had identified the wrong Brazilian.
Unsubstantiated rumour though it may be, the World Cup winner's form at Old Trafford certainly suggests that United's scouts got something badly wrong, and not for the first time.
3 - Eric Djemba-Djemba
Joining Kleberson in coming through the Old Trafford entrance in the summer of 2003 was Eric Djemba-Djemba.
The combatitive midfielder was identified by Ferguson as a potential successor to Roy Keane but in his two years at Old Trafford, the Cameroonian succeeded in very little.
Djemba-Djemba could run and occasionally tackle. Usually a lot later than was required but he got there eventually, bless him. However, with poor passing and abysmal shooting, he was never going to hold down a place in the United engine room, let alone replace the most influential central midfielder to play in the Premier League.
He was sold on to Aston Villa, where he faired no better, failing to break into what was at the time, a very ordinary Villa side. The Villans promptly shipped him out on loan to Burnley, and the Djemba-Djemba twins can now be found, running around a lot and giving the ball away for Odense in Denmark.
2 - Ralph Milne:
Left-winger Ralph Milne is the player who Ferguson himself admits has been his biggest failure at Old Trafford.
Ferguson brought the Scot to United two years after the manager had moved south of the border himself. The former Dundee United midfielder was purchased to provide the ammunition for Mark Hughes and Brian McClair but instead of causing problems for opposition defences with his wing play, Milne's crosses more often had the Old Trafford faithful ducking for cover.
Milne may not have resembled George Best on the pitch but he tried his hardest to off it, more than holding his own in a United squad who were known for their drinking prowess. But whereas the likes of Robson and Whiteside were comfortable burning the candle at both ends, Milne simply couldn't.
It was his failure to change Milne's ways that Ferguson regrets most. The United boss said: "If I had an outstanding failure then it was Ralph Milne. He had tremendous talent - and I failed with him. He did not have the right attitude to the game and I could not instill that into him."
After finally giving up on Milne, Ferguson sent him to West Ham on loan, where he again failed miserably. Milne left United permanently, joining Sing Tao in Hong Kong.
1 - Massimo Taibi:
Prior to the signing of Edwin van der Sar, replacing Peter Schmeichel proved to be a major headache for Ferguson.
Mark Bosnich came in as the Great Dane's immediate successor but once his lack of fitness and discipline became clear, Ferguson looked to the continent where he found a previously unheard of Italian by the name of Massimo Taibi.
Signed for £4.4million from Venezia, the 29-year-old stopper was thrown in at the deep end at Anfield, where United fans were treated to the best and worst of Taibi in a 3-2 win over Liverpool. That was as good as it got though as two games later, Taibi made certain he would be featured on every bloopers compilation for the rest of time.
With United struggling to see off a stubborn Southampton side at Old Trafford, Matt Le Lissier carried the ball forward before scuffing a 25-yard shot towards goal. The Saints legend, so disgusted with his effort, turned away so he didn't have the pleasure of seeing Taibi allow the ball to slip through his fingers, body and legs and into the back of the net.
Ferguson, rarely one to admit he has made a mistake, gave the 'Blind Venetian' another chance when the Red Devils travelled to Chelsea in their next game. A 5-0 reverse at Stamford Bridge, though, ensured Taibi never pulled on a United shirt again.
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oh man Eric Djemba-Djemba. he was a disaster, then sold to villa for 1m. turn out that he also cmi at villa. lol
rash of fergie signings in the 2002-2003 seasons
, when he go and bought kleberson, bellion, miller, howard. I still cannot forget that season's signings lol. all turn out to be dud signings 
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Best business he made was Solskjaer and Ronny Johnsen
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Originally posted by deathwish:
Best business he made was Solskjaer and Ronny Johnsen
I would say Solskjaer for 1.5m bought in 1996 from Molde. no one even heard of him before.
but the best piece of business is king cantona, signed from leeds for 1m pounds. Utd won the first EPL title under fergie in cantona;s first season. pity that he wasnt around when utd won the CL in 99 treble year.
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Both are legends in their own right but Cantona will always be my favourite
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forgot about Liam Miller and soon to be Berbacock
The best buy is a tough one between the King and Ronaldo..but i guess Ronaldo would be SAF's best buy both financially and performance wise...
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Originally posted by Master -_-:
forgot about Liam Miller and soon to be Berbacock
The best buy is a tough one between the King and Ronaldo..but i guess Ronaldo would be SAF's best buy both financially and performance wise...
who u think is better, cantona or ronaldo? cantona dun have the dribbling skills of ronaldo, but he is an all rounder than ronaldo. tough to call.
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Cantona to me is better overall while Ronaldo tends to excel in only certain aspects... Cantona can inspire the team while ronaldo lacks that leadership quality... Only other Man Utd player with that quality was Keano
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Schmeichel bought for only £530,000, bargain of the century hands down.
Rooney, at £25 Million, is quite a fair bit of investment too. huhu
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dong fangzhou.. manucho..
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Originally posted by Master -_-:
forgot about Liam Miller and soon to be Berbacock
The best buy is a tough one between the King and Ronaldo..but i guess Ronaldo would be SAF's best buy both financially and performance wise...
I still cannot understand what is it with some people that condemns Berbatov to a failure tag in his first season with the club.And mostly because he cannot run as much as Tevez. Heck even Evra and Vidic looks like failures in when they first joined Utd in January a few season ago. But they are fans' favourites now.
He has scored goals more than Tevez (who these same people may adore). He has proved he can track back and defend when some people claim he is a lazy bugger. He has provide moments of genius (a la Cantona).
He certainly has the talent to suceed and im backing him to shine this coming season after he have a proper pre-season with Utd.
Let's reserve our judgement for this coming season shall we? And then will i admit if Berbatov has disappoints.
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Originally posted by spike_jose:
Schmeichel bought for only £530,000, bargain of the century hands down.
Rooney, at £25 Million, is quite a fair bit of investment too. huhu
dennis irwin??
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Originally posted by hamidisaidi:
I still cannot understand what is it with some people that condemns Berbatov to a failure tag in his first season with the club.And mostly because he cannot run as much as Tevez. Heck even Evra and Vidic looks like failures in when they first joined Utd in January a few season ago. But they are fans' favourites now.
He has scored goals more than Tevez (who these same people may adore). He has proved he can track back and defend when some people claim he is a lazy bugger. He has provide moments of genius (a la Cantona).
He certainly has the talent to suceed and im backing him to shine this coming season after he have a proper pre-season with Utd.
Let's reserve our judgement for this coming season shall we? And then will i admit if Berbatov has disappoints.
well, given he costs 30M, he was supposed to fart goals I suppose.
I was his critic when given his record of top scorer/assist along rooney.So i expect a gung-ho player who can supposedly fart goals.
next season is his biggest test, cause Ronaldo is gone, and he will be expected to fart like at least 20 goals. else i think he is next on the departing train.
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Forget the price tag of 30m. The market is inflated especially since he was bought from an English club. Rooney was bought for 25m and he dont fart goals either.
As we can see from the previous season, it is clear Ferguson has Berbatov playing in a link-up role between attack and midfield to feed to either flanks for the faster Ronaldo and Rooney. Surely, if Ferguson wants Berbatov to stay in the box, he will have screamed at Berbatov to stay up. The expectation of 20+ goals/season is by the media and fans, not by Ferguson.
And Tevez scored fewer goals but the fans adored him up until recently. Why? Because he runs alot? Why the double standards. It seems we fans are blind when it comes to certain aspects of football. We only see what we want to see. We also adore Alan Smith coz he also have the never-say-die spirit. But Berbatov is more subtle player and surely Ferguson knows this and knows he will add a different dimension to Utd's attacks.
If Berbatov did not manage 20+ goals this coming season but provides assists for the likes of Rooney, Owen etc, i'll be more than happy. and I believe Ferguson will be too.
Remember, in the end, its not how much an individual scores, it is how much that individual contributes to the success of the team. Isn't tha why we love Tevez and Alan Smith in the 1st place for their contributions to the team's sucess?
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i think e big risk he took is getting Owen into e squad..
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Originally posted by AEW5001:
i think e big risk he took is getting Owen into e squad..
It is a risk worth taking: no fee with pay-as-you-play 2-year contract. Proven poacher different from the srikers Utd already have, Can be a mentor to the young strikers at the club. Familiar with a lot of the players. Service at Utd definitely better than at Newcastle.
As i said before, we will know once the pre-season training and friendlies start, whether Owen is worth the gamble or Utd needs to buy again. If they do need to buy again, there wll still be time to buy before the Aug window closes. As the Aug window draws near, clubs will also be more willing to lower their asking prices.
However, i believe Owen will be proves a lot of doubters wrong.
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Originally posted by AEW5001:
i think e big risk he took is getting Owen into e squad..
every new player is a risk. but since he is a free agent, his wages also not much, man utd can afford to pay for his 2 years contract.
man utd paid for veron for 27m pounds, look what a dud player he turned out and was quickly sold to chelsea for 15m pounds.
look at the 30m shelled out on shevchenko, he wasnt injury prone, but he could not replicate his ac milan form to chelsea.
after all is said and done, it is left to owen to prove his worth in the next 2 years at man utd.
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what the.......
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Originally posted by AEW5001:
i think e big risk he took is getting Owen into e squad..
every new player is a risk. but since he is a free agent, his wages also not much, man utd can afford to pay for his 2 years contract.
man utd paid for veron for 27m pounds, look what a dud player he turned out and was quickly sold to chelsea for 15m pounds.
look at the 30m shelled out on shevchenko, he wasnt injury prone, but he could not replicate his ac milan form to chelsea.
after all is
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i have to partially disagree that Veron is a dud. in the matches he played for Utd, he showed class and brilliance.
The problem is he just cannot adapt to the pace of the English game. He is still now in the Argentine squad and still providing good value for both his current club (Estudiantes) and country.
I was especially delighted when Utd signed him as he was a genius for Parma and Lazio before that and one of my favourite players to watch then, and i still enjoyed watching him now. He is the type of player that is similar to Riquelme; best suited for Italian and continental football where they have more time on the ball.
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cantona ftw. lol. and yeah agree with hamidisaidi abt veron. he's good, just wrong style of play.
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I believe veron was and still is a class player. He just wasn't used the way I believe he is best used/cannot adapt his game to add other attributes as fergie needed. I believe that players with vision can play the game at any speed. They just need to adapt their style.