Who's the worst player we signed in the summer?

[ATL Recs]

I know it’s hard to say but when we were a Premier League team, the likes of Eze, Olise and Bowen were such obvious targets in our profile of good EFL, it always amazes me we didn’t get them 12 months before a PL team did. They were no secret at all.

We chased Bowen was a Wilder priority that winter but West Ham stepped in and just blew us out of the water with wages move down south er and certainly had links to Eze

We tried but ……

 

[Tongeincheek]

Baffled that Matos is winning this (at the time of typing)


Yes, he's shite - 90% of our signings are shite, so that's a given - but the obvious answer to this is Ben Godfrey:
- For the wages we've reportedly paid out to him
- For the worst individual performance I've ever seen from a United player (And I had a season ticket for a front-row seat of Dean Hammond's disaster-class season)
- For blocking the path of the lad who has easily been our 2nd best player this season
- For most fans predicting this is exactly how it would play out, given his plane that's run out of fuel-esque career trajectory for the last few years.

Of the players listed I was torn between McGuinness and Ings.
-McGuinness: Again, cost us dearly and we are stuck with him for a fair while, as I'd be amazed if anyone else will be stupid enough to buy him for the money we'd want. He's slow, he dithers, he couldn't jump over a ten pence piece that had already fallen over... but he has had one good game for us.
-Ings: Slow, legs have clearly gone - I must admit I was more excited about us signing him than Bamford, and I've never been more wrong. He looks like a shadow, of the shadow of the player that he used to be, and he's doubtlessly on a pretty big wage (for us at least), and he's blocking One's path, who I still think will eventually come good.

So I've voted Ings of the options available - but McGuinness can count himself bloody lucky.

 

[Badger Blade]

They've all been average to dire with the exception of Bamford and Riedewald with Tanganga bringing a bit of composure at the back (until last week). Its not as if Soumare or Bindon are exactly in the Harry Souttar/Dean Henderson/MGW loanee hall of fame either.

I opted for McGuinness on the basis of we don't have a lot of choice but to actually use him - the others we can manage without by shuffling the pack up a bit.

Based on what we paid for him and the length of contract we gave him, I'd assume he was signed on the proviso that he'd be starting most weeks yet when he has, he's been average at best. Error-prone, slow, two left feet, doesn't seem to read the game and looks lost most of the time.

He's a big lad but lacks any sort of aggression or physical dominance. Compare that to Souttar last season where we could be camped in our own box for half an hour, safe in the knowledge that anything coming in is dealt with time and time again.

I applauded Selles for binning Robinson off but holy shit, we've dropped down another level entirely on this bloke who we're saddled with for the next 3 and a bit seasons. As much as Robinson was stinking the place out and made plenty of errors of his own, its been a case of jumping out the frying pan and into the fire, on numerous levels over the last year.

 

[Bell4]

All of them but at least we got rid of Barry and the missing one, Godfrey.

For me it's Chong. I can mildly accept signing Mcguiness as a backup centre back (but not the price or 4 year contract which is criminal) but Chong offers nothing apart from being our "number 1 ever coolest hair do's" at end of season awards night.

Nah

That award goes to Jeff

 

[Edgar Allan Poo]

All of them but at least we got rid of Barry and the missing one, Godfrey.

For me it's Chong. I can mildly accept signing Mcguiness as a backup centre back (but not the price or 4 year contract which is criminal) but Chong offers nothing apart from being our "number 1 ever coolest hair do's" at end of season awards night.

The hair is important. The Samson Effect (scientific fact) of a haircut would mean that he would lose his natural prowess.

 

[3Cheers4Ramirez]

McGuinness, all things considered

We paid a lot, needed him to be good, and he's played enough games to harm us.... which he has, due to being good at precisely nothing and bad at various things

Shout out to Ings as well because he's disgracefully past it and I'm getting increasingly fucked off with him

 

[CarlMcBlade]

I was expecting bigger things from Ogbene, he’s the one who’s let me down the most.

 

[joe casey]

The answer is Ben Godfrey because he's so shite and AWOL that people continually keep forgetting he played for us

 

[Revolution]

This is so, so difficult isn't it.

Barry - biggest let down. Thought he would step up like Dean Henderson did having gone through the divisions. No. One trick pony, the trick being cut inside and run straight into a bigger defender. So bad at tracking back that McCallum complained to Wilder about him mid-game v Watford.

Godfrey: gave one of the worst performances I have ever seen by a Blades player. Mediocre against Millwall was the best he could do. Absurdly high wages. Signed when any fan could have told you how bad he would be. Mystery problem that everyone except Pollingtonblade and I are fully aware of.

Matos: Luke Thomas Mark II in that you'd think he would have something about him after 50 league games, but no. Offensively makes Hamza look like Frank Lampard. So bad at times (Derby pen) he looks like a contest winner. Another one who could have been avoided if anyone had seen what Oxford fans thought of him.

Ings: I said this signing could have a lot of upside if he stayed fit. I failed to take account of the fact we seem to have signed his rotting corpse. A bit unlucky with offsides and at least has a goal so it's not him for me.

McGuinness: his signing and performances were a standing joke last season. The person who decided to give him that contact should be fired. Scored a nice goal and has had decent moments here and there but he's a league one centre half, that's all there is to it, and we could have brought in a league one centre half for a lot less money. Hell, I'd rather have Aiden Flint and he's in League Two. It's like when we signed Neil Collins to hasten relegation.

Chong: another one who anyone who listed to opposition fans, watched him play or looked at his stats would never have signed. An offensive black hole who can't cross, shoot or beat a man, and he doesn't track back either, weakening us defensively. Doing even more damage because Wilder has one of these fetishes he gets for players who don't merit a start (hello 2021 version of Lundstram) and he's keeping Brooks out of the side. I know they don't do exactly the same job but there is no excuse for leaving Hamer on the bench whilst Chong starts. At least we will have a player at the World Cup eh?

It really is up there with Summer 2013 as a window in which we signed some shocking players.

All of them have arguments to win (well, perhaps not Ings) but I will plump for Chong as he's a permanent signing who is doing damage offensively, defensively, and to Andre Brooks.

 

[Berkshire Blade]

Ukaki is so off it nobody mentions him....

He's apparently leaving on loan

 

[BazWainwright]

Ings: I said this signing could have a lot of upside if he stayed fit. I failed to take account of the fact we seem to have signed his rotting corpse. A bit unlucky with offsides and at least has a goal so it's not him for me..

Everything about this statement.

Agent: "Okay mate. Looks like you're not gonna even make the bench next season given you're 47, managed two late sub appearances in the Bingo Cup, that ACL op ten years ago went septic, you're a stone too heavy and your hamstrings are shot. And they've signed another two strikers at 23 and 25 and they've both got ten goals and twenty assists between them."
Player: "Yeah. I've still got two divorces and my Merc on tick to pay off and a flat in Belgravia I think I signed up to part-own too. And I owe the tax man £2.6m. Any ideas? I'll bonus you up, like ..."
Agent: (picks up phone and speed-dials) "Hello Chris? It's me. You still got a hole in your squad? I've got just the player for you ... "

 

[Berkshire Blade]

Everything about this statement.

Agent: "Okay mate. Looks like you're not gonna even make the bench next season given you're 47, managed two late sub appearances in the Bingo Cup, that ACL op ten years ago went septic, you're a stone too heavy and your hamstrings are shot. And they've signed another two strikers at 23 and 25 and they've both got ten goals and twenty assists between them."
Player: "Yeah. I've still got two divorces and my Merc on tick to pay off and a flat in Belgravia I think I signed up to part-own too. And I owe the tax man £2.6m. Any ideas? I'll bonus you up, like ..."
Agent: (picks up phone and speed-dials) "Hello Chris? It's me. You still got a hole in your squad? I've got just the player for you ... "

Bamford shows how it can go though

 

[Revolution]

Bamford shows how it can go though

Yes, sometimes you don't know.

Ings was a defensible signing. So was Barry.

Matos, McGuinness, Chong and Godfrey were bad signings the day they were done. No hindsight needed at all.

 

[CaptainMorgans]

I would have voted Ben Godfrey if he'd been on there.
Before you even get to the off field stuff, he was a very expensive loan signing and I've still no idea what we thought he was here to do. Mind boggling that Steve Cooper has gone for him.

I think the votes for Matos are harsh given his age and inexperience.

Chong is absolutely atrocious.
He is so poor technically and offers no support to his RB. A really awful signing and - more importantly - he's on a 4 year deal.

Let's say we paid a £3m fee for him and he's on £20k a week... that's £7m.
We'll get nothing from the deal and he'll leave for free.
Throw Mark McGuinness in the mix at similar numbers..

How much would it be to develop the land at Dore?

 

[Kona]

Tin helmet on… I actually think Chong will come good. I know he’s had some awful performances but I do think there’s a player in there. It’s just whether we can get that out of him out.

Matos was hugely overpriced but Is still young, so I’ll give him some leniency.

Ings for me has been the biggest disappointment. He might be helping with the development of others in the background, but on the pitch he’s offered nothing.