Thought they'd be the best but weren't!

[BL6 Blade]

A controversial one but I’ll add Terry Curran, we had taken one of ‘their’ best players, I think he had fallen out with Jack Charlton, but I can’t really remember him playing much for the Blades.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

A controversial one but I’ll add Terry Curran, we had taken one of ‘their’ best players, I think he had fallen out with Jack Charlton, but I can’t really remember him playing much for the Blades.

My first game was his first game - as i was an 8 year old my Dad thought he'd sheild me from the worst (best) of the Sheffield vernacular and sit in the South Stand. It took about 5 minutes for a bloke to stand up in front of us and tell Curran to "Fuck off you gypsy piggy C*nt!" - my Dad had his head in his hands and I had the perfect playground retort to any Wednesday fan for about the next 20 years (laughter or a sympathetic shake of the head is all that's needed nowadays).

I guess for a lot of people a few years older than me Curran brings back dark, dark memories. For me though, at that early impressionable age, his mere presence on the pitch provided me with the reason I fell in love with the Lane.

 

[Torrix1889]

Richard Cadette, I was well excited as a young lad when we signed him.
Steve Wigley, (apart from THAT goal v Blackburn)
Franz Carr
Billy Sharp x 2

 

[SouthEssexBlade]

If we're talking ex-pigs, Brian Marwood!

 

[diplomat]

How could you have expected much from Mike Lake? Didn't he come from non-league? I won't hear a bad word said against Zico.

I agree that Rush doesn't count as he'd looked pap for a while before we got him. (I never had the pleasure of seeing him for us)

I think recently Hendrie, Howard and Harper were all ones I was excited about but nothing really happened.

Cheshire - my first game or so was when i was too young to remember much really but I do have a standout memory of Curran on his knees in the opposing penalty area (He'd either over run it to the keeper or failed to get on the end of something, the keeper had the ball) being roundly abused by many around us and being confused as I thought we were supporting the team in red and white. It's funny how so many people over the years vent their spleen at our own players. To be fair he probably had a history to warrant some abuse.

 

[broomhillblade]

Looking at this thread from the opposite viewpoint - i.e. players who we thought were rubbish but have proved us wrong - how about Anthony Stokes?
Couldn't score in England but he's banging them in, in Scotland (and I don't think it's just because the standard is weaker there - there must be a lot of pressure on strikers playing for Celtic).

 

[Grecian2000]

Looking at this thread from the opposite viewpoint - i.e. players who we thought were rubbish but have proved us wrong - how about Anthony Stokes?
Couldn't score in England but he's banging them in, in Scotland (and I don't think it's just because the standard is weaker there - there must be a lot of pressure on strikers playing for Celtic).

Sorry Broomers, can't go along with that.

See Boyd for the latest example of a Scottish to English football disaster.

For my money Andy Walker is the best example. When Kendall signed him from Celtics first team it took him at least a month to find his feet again in the second tier down here.

 

[SotonBlade]

Ahmed Fathi - i'll never trust You Tube again!

 

[Superblades]

The bloke from Forrest who ended up having to retire. I forget his name David Johnson was it? Was on fire for Forrest in 02/03 then he had a serious injury and came on loan to us and did nothing if i remember rightly.

John Ebbrell is another altho that wasn't through his own fault, i suppose. Jean-Phillippe Javary was another player who seemed a decent player then just seemed to get lost. Whatever happened to him?

 

[SotonBlade]

Jean-Phillippe Javary was another player who seemed a decent player then just seemed to get lost. Whatever happened to him?

Last seen playing for Hamilton in 2005, according to soccerbase.com

 

[Jehovah]

Billy Sharp
Lee Hendrie
Brian Howard
James Harper
Leon Britton
Ade Akinbiyi

 

[Bladesway]

Richard Cadette
Ched

Oh you got there before me.

Alan Young.

Others include Hayles, Brian Howard, Hendrie, Britton, Suffo (Thanks to Warnocks big billing) and a countless cast of thousands who were going to be the answer.

 

[CrookesBlade]

Vincent Pericard - started off at Juventus (?)

Britton, Harper, Howard - all alleged 'footballers' who couldn't fit in to our system

Li Tie - had a few good seasons at Everton yet never got a game for us.

Sun Jiahi - Red card against Coventry then never saw him again.

Luton Shelton - as fast as Usain Bolt and as good at football as him.

Nathan Blake - Did bang a few in for us but then was sold on for 'non football reasons' as the rumour goes

James Thomas - makeweight in the Marcus Bent deal. Worst player I've ever seen in a red and white shirt.

Tri Dellas - phillistine managers refused to play him regularly. His goal from the halfway line against Portsmouth was better than anything Beckham or Xabi Alonso could manage

Some more:

Bruno Ribeiro
Billy Sharp
Ian Rush
John Newby
Patrick Suffo
Lee Hendrie

 

[Bladesway]

Nathan Blake? Are you mental?

 

[CrookesBlade]

Yes I am mental but that's beside the point. Probably more to do with how Kendall got rid of him.

I'm adding to the list David Carney, Ahmed Fahti and Michael Twiss

 

[Silverware]

Tri Dellas was tortuously slow but had class - his 40 yarder v pompey was one of the best Ive seen at the Lane. 2 more for the list ... Mamadou Seck and Hao Haidong.

 

[Gazza1984]

Li Tie, James Harper, Leon Britton, Brian Howard, Laurens Ten Heuvel - Was is Warnock that said he was like Bergkamp!

 

[Fiery Blade]

Li Tie, James Harper, Leon Britton, Brian Howard, Laurens Ten Heuvel - Was is Warnock that said he was like Bergkamp!

He meant Albert Bergkamp !

---------- Post added at 06:44 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:36 PM ----------

Thinking about it we've had loads !!
Jimmy Johnstone, Ian Rush, Phil Thompson, Steve Bruce, Martin Peters, Chris Guthrie, Richard Cadette, Peter Withe, Nicky Johns, Don Givens, Michael Twiss, Alex Notman, Craig Beattie, David Johnson, Billy Sharp, David White, Steve Wigley, Ade akinbayi, Geoff Horsfield, the list goes on and on and on...............................................

 

[essex blade]

Phil Thompson, Peter Withe, Vinny Jones

 

[davidpinder]

James Beattie...... oh yeah i forgot he was the best then we sold him

Apart from these last few weeks i did get excited when we signed ched. Simply because of his fee, he must be good.

Ian Rush is up there
Billy Sharp

 

[Highbury_Blade]

Simon Francis?

 

[BL6 Blade]

Tony Towner, a winger form Rotherham who was brilliant according to most Millers fans. We had him on loan but he couldn't beat a man or cross a ball.

Richard Cadette was our first (or only) major signing in around a year. He'd been banging them in for fun at Brentford, I remember his "I'm joining a big club" comment in the papers.
A huge let down.

 

[Sandmart]

Chris Guthrie remember him?. Big money signing for Southend way back in 1975 . Big tall goalscorer? did'nt impress me much.

 

[super_pig]

chris guthrie.. heh.. that harbinger of all things blades for the next 50 years.. i was at the ebbrell game.. he did well for his only half played.. shame..
just to turn this on its head slightly. it's interesting to contrast some of these duffers with the diamonds we have unearthed.. e.g. kelly, borbokis, deane, brown, kyles, jags.. there aren't that many.. when the ratio of bad to good is so high then it's no wonder we are where we are really is it?