Average players who went through a world-class patch, then returned back to being average

[Irrational.]

With Dele Alli being left out of the squad altogether against Leicester today, it got me thinking: this man was destined for greatness. I remember him being seen as the best English talent in years - and when he had that amazing 20 goal season we had posters like @GlastonSpur saying he was better than Pogba. He was considered to be unpurchasable in the same way that Kane currently is.

Since then his career has taken a nosedive and he can't get a game for love nor money. When he does play he looks very average.

Are there any other players who were amazing for a period of time, and then returned back to being completely average?

 

[Big Ben Foster]

Lingard comes to mind - he had that one sensational run of games a few seasons back

 

[Schmeichel's Cartwheel]

I don’t think it’s fair to call Alli average. He’s clearly a very good footballer who has a shit mentality. He had 2 fantastic seasons.

Depends what your definition of average is. Nobody ever called him world class but Michu was a bang average footballer who had one exceptional season. To the point where he was capped by Spain & Arsenal had a £30m bid rejected for him.

Jon Flanagan was a very basic average player who had a great few months at Liverpool, which led to him being on standby for England’s World Cup squad in 2014 and labelled “The English Cafu”

Dan James is an average footballer who had a fantastic month or 2 at United.

Again, depends on our definitions of average, some people call anyone who isn’t brilliant average.

By my scale Lingard is a pretty good player & Alli is a very good player, I class average as below PL level.

 

[Posh Red]

Valencia? Loved him as a player for his industry and commitment, but he was randomly amazing for about two seasons before returning to being just decent

 

[ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg]

Kevin Phillips - albeit it was for Sunderland, but for one season he was sensational.

Mutu arrived and was on fire. Then the drugs wore off.

Michu for Swansea.

William Prunier (one match).

 

[Posh Red]

Nobody ever called him world class but Michu was a bang average footballer who had one exceptional season. To the point where he was capped by Spain & Arsenal had a £30m bid rejected for him.

I don’t think it’s fair to call Alli average. He’s a very good footballer who has a shit mentality. He had 2 fantastic seasons.

He was the top scoring midfielder in La Liga the season before he went to Swansea. So it was more than just one season.

 

[Zen86]

Januzaj was quite an exciting prospect to begin with, although it helped that there was very little else to hold onto that season. He seemed destined for such greatness.

 

[FootballHQ]

Pepe.

 

[Zoo]

Amr Zaki was amazing for about half a season.

 

[RedTiger]

Saido Berahino

 

[Offside]

Valencia? Loved him as a player for his industry and commitment, but he was randomly amazing for about two seasons before returning to being just decent

Rubbish shout. He was class from the start and then went downhill.

 

[Posh Red]

Rubbish shout. He was class from the start and then went downhill.

Was he as good at Wigan as he was at United for those few seasons? Personally don’t remember him being as good maybe I’m wrong

 

[Web of Bissaka]

Average -> World Class -> Average...

Just Lingard then. Can't think of anyone else that reached that "highest level".

I think he started as an average player, full of basics, then become a good squad players first under LVG growing into a very good player and match-winner which is interesting, which progression continued into 16/17 maintaining that difference-maker ability in big games upon finally reach his purple patch peak as Messi Lingod!, no doubt during this he is damn good at both international and club NT levels with high level effective shootings at the #10, but alas it's only for few months. Early 2018 starting January, he's already slowing down and declining... until how he is now.. a huge joke of a player, back to average and actually even worse. His starts are so much better because on the ball he's not worthless, now he's just worthless both on and off the ball.

 

[ROFLUTION]

Salvador Ballesta - 1999/2000

Topscorer in La Liga for Santander - 27 goals

There's a forgotten one for ya

 

[stepic]

Andy Johnson scored 21 goals in the PL in 04/05, never scored more than 11 in a PL season after that.

 

[Web of Bissaka]

Was he as good at Wigan as he was at United for those few seasons? Personally don’t remember him being as good maybe I’m wrong

He was amazing there. Enough to impress SAF.

 

[do.ob]

Belfodil recorded 12 goals and 4 assists over a 14 game period for Hoffenheim. Then he missed a season injured and now he seems to be his old - ineffective - self again.

 

[vodrake]

I think "average" is a bit of a disservice, but Aaron Ramsey seemed to have 1 or 2 immense seasons together then reverted to just being kind of good

 

[Web of Bissaka]

Who is the Newcastle player that score worldies impossible goals, world class even?

I recall he even pulled one vs Chelsea, that impress Drogba so much he applauded it.

 

[Zoo]

Who is the Newcastle player that score worldies impossible goals, world class even?

I recall he even pulled one vs Chelsea, that impress Drogba so much he applauded it.

Papiss Cisse

 

[wrepdrep]

Who is the Newcastle player that score worldies impossible goals, world class even?

I recall he even pulled one vs Chelsea, that impress Drogba so much he applauded it.

Papiss Cisse?


Piatek

 

[Schmeichel's Cartwheel]

Who is the Newcastle player that score worldies impossible goals, world class even?

I recall he even pulled one vs Chelsea, that impress Drogba so much he applauded it.

Papiss Cisse.

Good shout. Signed him in jan. Excellent 5 months, average 5 years following that. I remember United fans suggesting we buy him the summer after his incredible start at Newcastle.

 

[horsechoker]

Pukki

 

[ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg]

I think "average" is a bit of a disservice, but Aaron Ramsey seemed to have 1 or 2 immense seasons together then reverted to just being kind of good

that’s made me think of Wilshire. Although it’s doubtful he was good for that long.

what about Arshavin as well?

 

[Haddock]

Kevin Phillips. Came up from the first division with Sunderland and won the European Golden Shoe. Never hit the heights again. He remains the only Englishman to have won that award.

 

[Schmeichel's Cartwheel]

Wes Morgan & Rob Huth were very average defenders who had 1 colossal season.

 

[ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg]

Rubbish shout. He was class from the start and then went downhill.

valencia has 2 good seasons in 9 for United. Never rated him at all, although I know I’m in a minority here.

 

[DWelbz19]

‘Average’ would also be a disservice to him but I don’t think Bernardo Silva will ever hit the level he did 2 years ago ever again. Again, ‘average’ disservice but Isco is similar at Madrid.

More levelled shouts — Piatek is a good one. Belotti too, probably? I remember Ricky van Wolfswinkel having a good season once upon a time and being linked to us and Manchester City.

Fullbacks who played key parts in title wins are shouts too: Victor Moses, Christian Fuchs, [Irrelevant point], Djibril Sidibe etc.

 

[Offside]

valencia has 2 good seasons in 9 for United. Never rated him at all, although I know I’m in a minority here.

The point of this thread was that they were average and then good and then average again. My point is that Valencia was excellent in his first season, good when he played in his second (injured most it it) and excellent in his third then average after. He was never crap for United and then started playing brilliantly out the blue, which is what the OP is looking for. Lingard is a better shout.

 

[Lay]

Dani Guiza? Won the Picihi in Spain and won the euros with Spain. Last seen playing in Malaysia

 

[ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg]

The point of this thread was that they were average and then good and then average again. My point is that Valencia was excellent in his first season, good when he played in his second (injured most it it) and excellent in his third then average after. He was never crap for United and then started playing brilliantly out the blue, which is what the OP is looking for. Lingard is a better shout.

thats Fair enough. I’m not sure the OPs example of Alli works either. He hit the ground running when he went to Spurs (relatively for a young player) - and so don’t think he went the average-great-average round. More the great then crap route.

 

[OutlawGER]

With Dele Alli being left out of the squad altogether against Leicester today, it got me thinking: this man was destined for greatness. I remember him being seen as the best English talent in years - and when he had that amazing 20 goal season we had posters like @GlastonSpur saying he was better than Pogba. He was considered to be unpurchasable in the same way that Kane currently is.

Since then his career has taken a nosedive and he can't get a game for love nor money. When he does play he looks very average.

Are there any other players who were amazing for a period of time, and then returned back to being completely average?

Götze.

He was rated as talented as Neymar, if not higher (people referred to them as the Messi & Ronaldo successors).

 

[Offside]

thats Fair enough. I’m not sure the OPs example of Alli works either. He hit the ground running when he went to Spurs (relatively for a young player) - and so don’t think he went the average-great-average round. More the great then crap route.

Yeah I agree.

 

[Cascarino]

Michu always pops up in these threads and I reckon it’s unfair. He was coming off a great season in La Liga, went on to have a brilliant debut season in the prem, and then got ravaged by injuries. He wasn’t a player who suddenly reverted to type, he never got injury free and had to retire early. It’s a shame as he was a real talent.

 

[Trequarista10]

Lingard is a bad shout tbh. I mean, it's correct in the sense he had a purple patch where he popped up with goals for a while, but his overall game remained exactly the same.

The examples that spring to mind are the majority of City's early big money signings. The likes of Lescott, Bellamy, Adebayor and Nasri all had excellent seasons the year before at their previous clubs and looked like top drawer players, then just reverted to being good but not stand out players for a variety of reasons. Milner and Barry to a lesser extent too, although both had a few purple patches of good form in their career intermingled with long periods of epitomising the average half decent Premier League and England footballer.

Shaun-Wright Phillips too, although his purple patch was his last season of his first stint at City, and he was distinctly average at Chelsea, his return to City and whatever unforgettable stints he had after that (QPR?).

 

[jderbyshire]

Lingard comes to mind - he had that one sensational run of games a few seasons back

Even in his best moments though, he was never world class.

 

[ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg]

What about Dwight Yorke. He was a good player at Villa, but no one would have expected the two great years he had at United. He then went back to be just ok.

 

[Maluco]

Georgi Kinkladze?

He did some absolutely incredible things over a brief period at City before falling out of favor after going down with them.

Never captured that magic again, but some of the things he did there were truly world class.

 

[Borys]

I thought about Valencia at first too, but he wasn't average when we got him. But his deterioration was remarkable.

 

[JSArsenal]

This is a strange one but Adebayor. He wasn't bad either side of his 30 goal season in 2007-08 but never hit those heights again.