A look at 10 of Fergie’s signings that didn’t quite work out as expected.
10. Ashley Young
A controversial choice perhaps, but Young hasn’t lived up to the hype or his price tag since joining from Aston Villa. After an invisible Euro 2012 with England, Young has no goals and just three assists for United this season, which is pretty poor considering he’s got Robin van Persie to aim at now. Fergie would do well to shift the 27-year-old at the end of the season.
9. Fabien Barthez
The eccentric Frenchman was seen as a long-term replacement for the legendary Peter Schmeichel, but lasted just four years at Old Trafford after some high-profile errors. It took Ferguson several attempts to find a new goalkeeper before eventually settling on Edwin van der Saar, but he definitely stuck with Barthez for too long.
8. Laurent Blanc
Blanc was a long-term target for Ferguson, who eventually landed his man in 2001. However, by that time he was 35-years-old and clearly past it. It’s fair to say the French centre-back was the wrong choice as a replacement for Jaap Stam, and quickly found himself on the bench at Old Trafford.
7. Eric Djemba-Djemba
Ferguson thought he had unearthed a real gem in Djemba-Djemba when he signed him for £3.5million in 2003, but the Cameroon midfielder was out the door just two years later. He has since had stints in Qatar, Denmark and Israel, which should give you some indication about how his career has gone.
6. Gabriel Obertan
Obertan may have had some stiff competition ahead of him at United, but with just one goal in two years at Old Trafford, the French winger certainly never lived up to the hype that surrounded him at former club Bordeaux. Now at Newcastle, he is still unable to get regular first-team football, which suggests the Premier League is probably too much of a step up for him.
5. David Bellion
Bellion was signed from relegated Sunderland in 2003, with United having to pay £3million in compensation due to accusations of ‘tapping up’ the player. Three years and just four goals later, you’d have to say he wasn’t worth the trouble. One of several poor Fergie signings from that early noughties period.
4. Roy Carroll
It says something about how bad United’s goalkeeping situation was for a couple of years, as Carroll was often trusted ahead of Fabien Barthez and Tim Howard to be their number one. After failing to save a single penalty in the FA Cup final shoot-out defeat to Arsenal, Fergie was finally convinced it was time to move him on. The Northern Irishman’s career hasn’t exactly been glittering since, with spells in the Championship and Greece following his time with the Red Devils.
3. Juan Sebastian Veron
Another expensive flop, the Argentinian playmaker caused a great deal of excitement when he joined from Lazio for £28million, but could not adapt to the pace of the English game. He joined Chelsea for nearly half the price just two years later, and could not establish himself there either.
2. Diego Forlan
“He comes from Uruguay, he made the scousers cry” – those two goals against Liverpool at Anfield proved to be the highlight of Forlan’s Manchester United career. Despite going on to prove a great striker in La Liga with Villareal and Atletico Madrid, his time in England will be remembered for glaring misses and a long wait to get on the score sheet, going half a season before netting his first goal for the club.
1. Bebe
Perhaps the worst of the lot, Ferguson signed Portuguese forward Bebe on the recommendation of his assistant Carlos Queiroz, having never actually watched him play. The relative unknown still cost United £7million and never managed to break into the first-team, later revealing that he couldn’t understand a lot of what Fergie was saying and that he didn’t take his time at the club very seriously. He is currently out on loan in Portugal and they are unlikely to be able to find someone willing to take him off their hands permanently.