Would agree with that , reservations form the start.
He did improve our defence upon arrival, but I expect a lot more from an expensive, PL proven CB in his prime years who's been blessed with few injuries. He gave us two decent years and two bad ones and now he'll warm the bench for another. That's a flop in my eyes. Even at half the price I wouldn't consider him a good signing to be honest.
At age 35 (?) and on a free transfer, he did exactly what he came to do. He improved us big time for the short term. His injury cut his stay down to 1 year rather than 2 or 3, but all things considered it was a good transfer in my opinion.
Blimey forgot he played for us
Agree, he nearly got to 20 goals.
We really got screwed with Falcao in that he was playing for us 7 or 8 months after an ACL injury, Walcott had the same injury at the same time and didn’t come back for another 6 months. He was never the threat he was pre injury but the player he was for Monaco could have been a good player for us. Classic Woodward though, celebrity signing over practicality.
Wait, was I wrong or right? Can't figure out the context.
How was he poor?
Right. The poster said they didn't think people were against Maguire, I was showing proof there were many posters against it.
We let him get fat, like Rooney and like Shaw.
I hear you. I just don’t agree with your take, which seem to be the only acceptable take.
I don’t understand your question.
There's nearly no instance in which signing a reputable player on a free is a bad move. Zlatan scoring 17 in the league that season on a free was outstanding transfer business.
Agree. It was more the recruitment around him (and even then, in the short-term, we did at least win a European trophy and domestic trophy, then finish 2nd the next season). Mourinho before late-stage Madrid started to damage him, with a forward-looking DOF overseeing transfers, might have worked better than the actual Mou tenure, and a 'forward looking' strategy could still have accommodate a Zlatan for 1-2 seasons, just as SAF brought in the likes of HL when needed as stop-gap or Sheringham as a squad option etc.
Yeah I think he is the classic example
His PL experience was battling relegation at Hull and Leicester. It’s a different ball game to playing for trophies. He’s been incredibly reliable and very consistent- his problem is his proneness to individual errors, which is largely driven by confidence. That is understandably low now because of the crap he has to put up with from so called fans. It’s a pressure he doesn’t need.
How is that an unpopular opinion
How was Ibrahimovic a poor transfer?
I strongly disagree.
Oh okay.
Herrera - good? If you look at his time here he spent 50% of the games he was in the squad for as an unused sub. And he didn’t start all of the other 50% obviously.
This. You'd be hard pressed to find anyone on here who didn't want him or wasn't delighted even he arrived.
I had high hopes for Memphis also. Absolutely gutted he didn’t work.
Excellent post. Agree with all of them. Shows that there is obviously something wrong within the club bar maybe Maguire who I always thought was overrated. The rest were all signings 90 per cent of football fans would rate and want at their clubs. I thought Pogba was going to achieve what KDB has done at City. He didn’t flop as had some good seasons. But someone with his attributes and talent should of achieved more in the game. A big issue was not giving him a decent DM after Matic legs had gone. We wasted so many years with thr McFred crapWe have signed many duds over the last 10 years, but every once in a while we would make a signing that was considered both good and safe by the majority. These players were supposed to would jump straight into the starting eleven and almost immediately make a positive impact. And they would keep making a positive impact for years to come. These are the so-called "correct" transfers.
But as we all know (probably better than anyone now to be honest) even safe bets don't always turn out the way you think. In our case I would even say that these "correct" transfers very rarely work out. Let's start by naming them. Spoiler alert: what the hell, Mourinho?
Di Maria
We signed a 24 year old Real Madrid superstar! I almost had to pinch myself to believe it was happening. But we all know how this turned out...
Pogba
Maybe controversial as he wasn't as bad as the rest of the players on this list. But considering the price, attitude, inconsistency and injuries near the end, I don't think that this transfer should be considered a success.
Mkhitaryan
Had an amazing season at Dortmund, played in a position we needed to strengthen and wasn't even that expensive. Turned out to be awful for us.
Sanchez
Was this a conspiracy? Perhaps revenge for RVP? We're talking about an explosive, PL proven, Arsenal star who City also reportedly wanted to sign, who then turned to shit overnight. And his wages were through the roof!
Lukaku
Was probably considered the best striker on the market that we realistically could hope to sign that summer. He wasn't awful per se, but he never justified his price tag.
Maguire
He was first on many fans' CB wish list that summer. Both Mourinho and Pep reportedly wanted to sign him too, but the price tag was of course a big talking point. He has been particularly poor since the middle of 2021 and most fans seem to have wanted him out since.
Sancho
Probably the biggest disappointment on the list all things considered, even though he's not as poor as Sanchez for instance. Sancho was the right profile and ticked pretty much every box. The optimism surrounding him was as high as with the Pogba signing, but the former can actually only dream of reaching that level for us.
Have I forgotten someone? Am I too harsh on some of these players or is it deserved?
PS:
I did not include Antony despite his crazy price tag because I don't think he fits the "correct transfer" description. He was considered an expensive risk by most people. It's kind of the same story with Martial.
Everybody hates Di Maria because of what he did and has said since he left Utd, dismissing the fact the club let him down.
