Liverpool fans in the Football Transfer Tavern are preparing for a trip to Wembley this weekend, as their side prepare to take on Aston Villa for a place in the FA Cup final.

Brendan Rodgers is hoping a first trophy of his Liverpool career can save a season that otherwise looks set to end in disappointment, after the Reds fell out of the race for the top four with back-to-back defeats to Manchester United and Arsenal.

Prior to that, Liverpool had been the form team in the country, going a run of 13 games unbeaten and getting themselves back into the mix for a top four finish after a dismal start to the season.

It looks as if they are going to fall short however, and the supporters will demand an improvement next term - and some better summer signings.

Here we have identified five of the most pointless Liverpool transfers of all time.

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Click on Brendan Rodgers to reveal 5 most pointless Liverpool transfers ever

Liverpool v Everton - Barclays Premier League

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El Hadji Diouf

El-Hadji Diouf

It looked as though Liverpool were going to make Nicolas Anelka's loan spell permanent back in 2002 but for some inexplicable reason, Gerard Houllier decided against the move.

In what many consider to be the beginning of the end for the French coach, Houllier opted to bring in El-Hadji-Diouf for £10 million instead, having watched him perform well for Senegal at the 2002 World Cup.

Diouf turned out to be perhaps the worst number 9 in the club's history, managing just three Premier League goals in two seasons, and no shortage of disgraceful controversies - one of which included spitting at a Celtic fan during a UEFA Cup tie in 2003.

Salif Diao

Salif Diao

Like his fellow countryman El Hadji Diouf - who arrived at the same time - Diao struggled to settle in England, and never produced the same form he did on the international stage.

In three season's at Anfield, he managed 37 Premier League appearances, and just one goal.

He was not helped either by Gerard Houllier's comments, with the former Anfield boss claiming he was signing a midfielder similar in style to Patrick Vieira.

Sadly for all connected with LFC, Diao was hardly good enough to clean the boots of the Arsenal legend.

Bruno Cheyrou

Bruno Cheyrou

 

Bruno Cheyrou completed Gerard Houllier's holy trinity of disastrous signings when he joined Salif Diao and El Hadji Diouf as the new summer signings in 2002, with the Frenchman arriving for £4.5million.

Houllier famously labelled Cheyrou 'the new Zidane', a comment that seemed to prove a huge burden.

Cheyrou enjoyed a decent patch of goalscoring during the 2003-04 season, but left Anfield following the arrival of Rafael Benitez with a record of 31 Premier League appearances and two goals, having made no real impact at a time when the Reds were hoping to build on their second placed finish of 2001/02.

Milan Jovanovic

He is only the second Serb to represent Liverpool

A parting 'gift' from former Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez, the Reds had apparently beaten Real Madrid of all clubs to the free transfer of the Serbian forward - seriously, Real Madrid.

Jovanovic joined Liverpool in the summer of 2010, managed only one season, two goals, and just a handful of average performances, before being sold the following summer.

Benitez had built him up in what proved to be his final season on Merseyside, although his successors Roy Hodgson and Kenny Dalglish never rated him - and neither did any of the Liverpool fans.

Christian Poulsen

Christian Poulsen

Who in their right mind tries to replace Javier Mascherano with Christian Poulsen? Only current England boss Roy Hodgson.

The Danish midfielder was a good six or seven years past his best when he arrived at Anfield, and completed a dreadful summer of business which saw the previously mentioned Jovanovic, Joe Cole, Paul Konchesky and Danny Wilson arrive.

Any of those players could have made this list in truth, but it's Poulsen who makes the cut simply because of the drop in class he brought compared to the player he was replacing.

The time period in which he was brought into the club is looked back on as perhaps the darkest in Liverpool's Premier League history.