The Manchester United fans here in the Transfer Tavern have been a fairly happy bunch of late, although their spirits were dampened this weekend after a 1-0 reverse at the hands of West Bromwich Albion.
The ardent supporters within the group are hopeful that their team can finish the season on a high and then build in the summer, ready for next season.
An interesting topic of conversation has emerged from a group of the supporters who are sat chewing the fat following the weekend’s football, over which signings in the club’s history have to be deemed as pointless.
This got ourselves here at the Transfer Tavern intrigued and we tasked our writer Lee Clarke with picking FIVE of the most pointless transfers in the history of Manchester United Football Club……
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PRESS THE IMAGE BELOW TO SEE THE FIVE PLAYERS!
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Regan Poole
The young starlet signed from Newport County during the summer and recently made his first-team debut for Manchester United, as a last minute substitute in the Europa League.
The 17-year-old was signed by United after making just 15 appearances in a struggling League Two side and his signing has to raise doubts.
Newport were desperate for the money meaning they needed to sell, but it would have been good for all parties if United had loaned back Poole to aid his development, at least until the end of the season.
Poole is likely to be one of those players who United have secured on the cheap, just in case he does turn out to be a real star, which is seemingly unlikely.
David Bellion
The French striker was ordinary during his 20-game spell at Sunderland, so when Manchester United opted to sign him in 2003 it came as something of a surprise.
In 24 appearances – mostly from the bench – the striker netted just four goals in three years with the club, largely playing most of his football for the reserves instead.
Bellion didn’t last much longer in English football and following an eight-game loan spell at West Ham United, he was soon on a plane back to France, never to be seen on these shores again.
Alan Smith
As good as Smith was whilst playing for his hometown club Leeds United, he never really struck me as a Manchester United sort of player.
Smith was superb for the Whites playing 172 times and scoring 38 goals, with a series of lively performances as a striker.
Sir Alex Ferguson felt that Smith was better equipped to be playing central midfield and it simply never worked out for him.
He was sold to Newcastle United three years after his arrival at Old Trafford and he is currently plying his trade in League Two with Notts County.
Karel Poborsky
The long-haired winger Poborsky was signed by Manchester United after an impressive Euro 1996, where his performances on the wing for the Czech Republic had seen them reach the final of the competition.
Sir Alex Ferguson was suitably impressed and signed him from Slavia Prague in advance of the 1996/97 campaign.
The winger struggled with the physicality of the Premier League and in one-and-a-half years with the club played just 32 times, before being sold to Benfica.
During his career he played 388 club games and 118 for the national team, but his time in the Premier League was far from successful.
Wilfried Zaha
If Manchester United have ever spent a more pointless £15 million on one signing then the fee they parted with for Zaha, then I am yet to hear about it.
The winger was one of Sir Alex Ferguson’s final signings for United and he arrived with a glowing reputation as one of the brightest young talents in the game.
He wasn’t fancied at all by David Moyes and he featured just twice before being bombed out on loan to Cardiff City – where he also flopped!
Just two years after his arrival, United opted to cut their losses and sold him back to Crystal Palace for a fee considerably lower than the one which they initially paid for his services.
