6 Sir Alex Ferguson Signings That Were a Lot Worse Than Owen Hargreaves
Sir Alex Ferguson can sit in his retirement reflecting on a job very well done at Manchester United. His recent autobiography aimed to give some insight on his work and the driven nature of his personality.
Amongst the attention-grabbing morsels that the press have been chewing over voraciously this last week were some revelations in to the relationships and opinions that he held with players and other managers.
One ex-player of Ferguson’s that seemed to cop some unfair criticism from the Knight of the Realm, as reported in the Daily Mail and just about everywhere, was Owen Hargreaves. He had the misfortune of being singled out by Sir Alex in his book as his "worst-ever signing."
Hargreaves was a linchpin of the side that went on to win the English Premier League AND the UEFA Champions League back in 2008. Playing the whole 120 minutes of the final in Moscow against Chelsea, he also scored in the penalty shootout and looked to have stamped his name as a regular on the United team sheet.
The following three years were to be an injury-ravaged nightmare for Hargreaves and he left the club having played only 39 games.
It could be conjectured that Sir Alex’s finger-pointing might have had something to do with Owen Hargreaves’ own criticism of United and their medical staff when he left the club in 2011, as reported in the Guardian at the time. But whatever the reason, it does seem a little unfair on a player who has been handed a severe dose of bad luck in his career.
Far be it from me to say that Sir Alex Ferguson may not actually be infallible, but to redress the balance a little for Owen Hargreaves, I cast my eyes over what I believe were the six worst signings during the great man’s reign.
We could look at the likes of David Bellion or Gabriel Obertan. Talented, but raw kids with potential that never saw the light of day. These gambles are lost sometimes.
Diego Forlan was a proven goalscorer in the Argentinian league and became a firm fan-favourite thanks to his work rate and his knack for scoring against Liverpool. However, he took ages to score his first goal for the club he didn’t really stand a chance with due to forever playing in the shadow of Ruud Van Nistlerooy.
Eric Djemba-Djemba, Kléberson and Liam Miller should also be high up the list, but the first two were bought to fill out the squad, with Kléberson never truly settling in England. Miller was a free transfer from Celtic that didn’t work out—so nothing lost.
Ferguson’s quest to find a replacement for Peter Schmeichel in goal could have provided me with a top six from just one position.
He unearthed some goalkeepers who, at best, had mixed fortunes at United: the re-signing of former youth player Mark Bosnich was a mistake, the eccentric Fabien Barthez could not always be trusted, Ricardo Lopez never looked ready for the rigours of the EPL and who could forget the bizarre loan signing of Andy Goram in 2001?
None of these make my list, although one goalkeeper did. To find out who, read on.
6. Juan Sebastián Verón
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A supremely talented footballer, Veron, in my mind, is one of the greatest players of the last twenty years. Yet, somehow, it just didn’t happen for him at United.
Bought in 2001 with United at the peak of their powers, he was the luxury player who they could afford financially but didn’t need.
Often played in a position that he was unsuited to, despite the odd sublime pass and outstanding display in the Champions League, Verón ultimately flattered to deceive. He left for Chelsea in 2003 for around half the £28m fee that United had shelled out for him.
5. Laurent Blanc
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Not so much the wrong player as the wrong time. By the time he joined the red devils he was already 35 years old.
“Larry White,” as he became known by the United faithful, was a defender who could read the game impeccably—but was never blessed with great pace. It was ironic then that he was chosen to replace the departing Jaap Stam, whom Ferguson thought had lost a yard of pace. (He later regretted the sale of Stam, according to the Manchester Evening News.)
Blanc recovered from a shaky start to bring an air of calmness and authority to United’s defence, but combined with the sale of Stam, it was certainly not the best combination of deals.
4. Ralph Milne
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The signing that older supporters remember and the yardstick by which all poor signings are measured is the unfortunate Ralph Milne.
His best years were behind him some years before in Scotland when he was signed in 1988 from lowly Bristol City. He was soon replaced by Danny Wallace and then Lee Sharpe in the pecking order.
Back in 2009, as reported in the Guardian, Sir Alex lamented that he was the worst signing he had ever made, saying, “I only paid £170,000 but I still get condemned for it!”
3. William Prunier
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"Fergie, sign him up!" was the chant from the United fans after a gutsy debut from the Frenchman against Queens Park Rangers in December 1995.
A team-mate of Eric Cantona’s from the Auxerre youth system, Prunier endured an appalling second match, the United defence shipping four goals against Tottenham Hotspur on New Year’s day in 1996.
He actually wasn’t signed up and never featured for the club again. He was that bad in the Tottenham game, though, that he really had to be included in this list, just for making the teamsheet.
2. Massimo Taibi
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£4.5m was spent in 1999 to prise Massimo Taibi from Venezia. A man-of-the-match performance in his debut against Liverpool in a 3-2 win was followed by a 1-1 draw against Wimbledon in which he also shone.
Sadly for Taibi, it was all downhill from there. He made a remarkable error against Southampton at Old Trafford, letting a feeble shot from Matt Le Tissier squirm through his hands and legs as he crouched to save it. A 5-0 drubbing at Chelsea in the next game sealed his fate and he was sent packing back to Serie A.
1. Bébé
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The king of "Why?" transfers. A £7.5m question that is still to be answered. Bébé signed from Vitoria de Guimaraes in 2010, having only weeks before joined that club.
Recommended by Carlos Quieroz to Sir Alex, the club moved to sign him quickly before Real Madrid or Benfica. ESPN and others reported that Ferguson had never even seen Bébé in action, but trusted his scouting department and went on instinct.
Bébé has barely made an impression on the Manchester United team and since his signing has been sent out on loan numerous times.
In the same ESPN piece, Bébé described the attributes that he hoped to bring to United, “I am fast, I kick well and I score a lot of goals.”
United fans would attest that he is certainly fast, but would not be able to vouch for the other attributes. That he wasn’t shown the exit door as fast at United still remains a puzzle.
