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Manchester United are the most successful club in the history of the Premier League. Although their supremacy has waned over the last few years, they are still one of the League's power houses. But even they are prone to the odd piece of bad judgement in the transfer market. Even after the debacle of the likes of Eric Djemba-Djemba and Kleberson, the Red Devils have on occasion failed to learn from their mistakes.The side who have won more trophies in English football than any other club have signed some players who were just unable to perform with any consistency. So here are the 10 Manchester United transfers that failed to impress:
#10 Dimitar Berbatov
Yes, he scored more than 50 goals in his four years at the club, during which time he also won the Premier League Golden Boot. Yes, he holds the record for most goals in a game by a United player and gave Old Trafford some sublime skill to marvel at. But the truth is that, when you are the club's record signing, you really ought to be doing better than a good performance every other week.
Perhaps, just like Juan Sebastian Veron, he was at the wrong place at the wrong time. But the fact was that, although Berbatov scored quite a few goals, he never really settled into the United style of play. The Bulgarian striker struggled in Europe and slowed the game down, when the Red Devils wanted to play fast, swift, counter-attacking football. They say who a player leaves for, shows how good he is, and the striker's move to Fulham in 2012 showed how far he had fallen and why United were right to get rid of him, when they finally did.
#9 Shinji Kagawa
While there are sometimes plenty of reasons as to why some transfers don't work out, many-a-times, the answer is quite simple, they just don't. When Shinji Kagawa moved to Manchester United in June 2012, a lot was expected of him. The playmaker was supposed to thrive in United's fast, counter-attack based game.
Unfortunately for both the club and the player, that never quite materialised. Not only was the Japanese playmaker played out of position far too often, but even when he was, Kagawa was unable to live up to his reputation. Although he scored six goals and won the League in his first season, his second season saw him play 30 games but he didn’t find the back of the net even once, forcing the club to cut their losses and sell him back to Borussia Dortmund.
#8 Louis Saha
Perhaps in 2014, £12.8 million isn't a huge sum of money, but a decade earlier, that was quite a big amount, to be spending on a player. So when Louis Saha was signed from Fulham, great things were expected of him. And the Frenchman didn't disappoint as he scored 7 goals in his first 10 starts for the club.
But from then onwards, it was all a downward spiral as the striker's fragile feet gave way as a succession of injuries blighted his time at United. Saha's four-and-a-half year spell with the club ended in 2008 when he was sold for an undisclosed fee to Everton. Although a goal every three games isn't bad, for a striker on whom so much was spent, his failure to hit to hit double digits in the League throughout his time at the club and his consistent injuries made him an expensive flop.
#7 Gabriel Obertan
There are players who are simply awful, but then there are some players, who although good turn up at a club at precisely the wrong time. For Gabriel Obertan, it was a case of the latter. Although he was signed for just £3 million from Bordeaux in 2009, he was signed in the same window that Cristiano Ronaldo left the club. So the arrival of a quick, strong, athletic winger was always going to draw comparisons.
Unfortunately for the Frenchman, who was a graduate of the famous Clairefontaine academy, expectations never quite matched reality. Although he was quick and skilful, he was never able to make the most of his ability. After two seasons in which he made 28 appearances and scored just one goal, he was moved onto Newcastle United, for whom he has continued to struggle to make a consistent impact.
#6 Manucho
Manucho Gonçalves. Does the name ring a bell? No? Well you are not alone. Not many United fans would remember the Angolan striker who was signed by the club in January 2008. Manucho, who was 25 when he signed for the club, was unable to play immediately due to work permit issues and was loaned out to Greek side Panathinaikos until the end of the season.
Upon his return, the Angolan striker made his debut for the club in the League Cup against Middlesborough. But two more appearances later, he was shipped to Hull on loan and was then sold to Real Valladolid, just after a year and three appearances made for Manchester United.
#5 Alan Smith
There are strikers. There are wingers. There are central midfielders. And then there is Alan Smith. A player, who was never really good at either of the three positions, but still managed to move to United for £7 million from Leeds United after their relegation in 2004. The presence of Wayne Rooney and Ruud van Nistelrooy meant that Smith never really got a consistent run in the side as a striker and was promptly transformed into a defensive midfielder.
Unfortunately for United, that didn't turn out to be the most prudent move as the Englishman struggled in his new role and a embarrassing defeat to Middlesborough led to him being given a proper bollocking by Roy Keane. After the departure of Van Nistelrooy, he went back to being a striker, but injuries meant that, that didn't work out as well. In the end, Smith left for Newcastle United, after scoring just 12 goals in 93 games.
#4 Anderson
When you sign a teenager for £20 million, the expectations from the player are extremely high. And that was the case with Anderson, who was signed as a raw, quick central midfielder destined for greatness. Although he coped with the pressure well in his first couple of seasons, as time wore on, his performances started to fade and a raft of injuries started to pile up.
Nine goals in 181 appearances don't make for good reading, especially if you are an attacking midfielder, who almost the scored the same amount of goals in a single season with your former club. When your manager picks a player who had come back from retirement over you, then you know that there is something wrong with you.
Fitness was a problem for the Brazilian midfielder as he became the butt of internet jokes before he was finally moved out on loan to Fiorentina at the start of this year. But then, he failed to make an impression at the Italian club, and is now back at Old Trafford, making up the numbers.
#3 Liam Miller
Free transfers can always be hit and miss. If someone is good, you generally have to pay for their services, but then again, you can strike a bargain every so often. So when Manchester United signed Liam Miller from Celtic, they were hoping for just that. After all, the midfielder was touted to be the "next Roy Keane".
Unfortunately for United, the only thing that Miller had in common with the United legend was the fact that they both came from the same country. After making just 9 League appearances in two seasons, he was moved out, first on loan to Leeds United, then permanently to Sunderland, again on a free transfer. Miller's was a case of expectation that never worked out in reality.
#2 Dong Fangzhou
There are times when a footballer is signed on his ability and then there are those who are signed merely on the basis of a marketing exercise. Unfortunately for United, Dong Fangzhou was the latter. The Chinese striker who signed for the club in January 2004 was the first East Asian player to play for the Red Devils. And although he helped raised the club's profile in China, Dong failed to impress on the pitch.
Three appearances for the club in four-and-a-half years with the club, most of which was spent on loan to feeder club Royal Antwerp in Belgium, the Chinese striker never quite made his mark on the pitch, as he did off it. The theory that his role was a purely marketing exercise was only strengthened after the performances of Park Ji-Sung, who aside from improving the club's commercial revenue in South Korea, was also very good on the pitch.
#1 Bebe
They say you should never sign players whom you have never seen play. But Sir Alex Ferguson, the club's greatest-ever manager did commit the mistake of signing Bebe, although he had never seen him play. Although he had only moved to Vitória de Guimares for £2.5million in the summer of 2010, United moved quickly and just a few weeks later paid almost thrice the amount to Guimares (£7.4 million) to bring him to Old Trafford.
His biggest claim to fame until then? His performance in the European Street Football Festival in 2009. And apart from playing a few games in the League Cup, the Portuguese forward never quite made the cut at United. So after four years, which included three loan spells and two goals, Bebe was sold to Benfica for a fee rumoured to be in the region of €3 million. Never has a player's departure been as celebrated as Bebe's was as he was quite simply the worst Manchester United transfer of all-time.
