Manchester United fans may feel hard done by after a difficult season, which may see them miss out on Champions League football once again, but it’s nowhere near as bad as things have had been previously.
Whilst supporters got used to success during Sir Alex Ferguson’s long reign in charge at Old Trafford, not everything went swimmingly and there have been some genuinely awful players to ply their trade in the famous red jerseys.
You may think Marouane Fellaini is the worst thing to have ever happened to Manchester United’s midfield but these lot genuinely make him look like Ryan Giggs, as they’re a different class of terrible.
Bringing back memories that may lead to nightmare for certain supporters, we’re hear to take a look at the worst possible starting line-up that Manchester United could have possibly fielded from their history- and they make the current crop of pansies look sensational!
Hit the image below to see the WORST Man United XI possible!
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GK: Massimo Taibi
Most famous for letting a tame Matt Le Tissier effort through his legs in a 3-3 draw with Southampton, Massimo Taibi is undoubtably the worst goalkeeper to have ever been fielded by Sir Alex Ferguson- and that takes some doing!
Touted as the successor to Peter Schmeichel, Taibi ended up making just four appearances for the Red Devils and his spell cost United over £1m for every appearance he made.
LCB: Pat McGibbon
A relatively unknown name in British football, Pat McGibbon was a similarly unknown quantity when Sir Alex Ferguson made the surprise decision to sign the young defender from Portadown and it was a risk that didn’t pay off.
McGibbon’s only appearance during his five years at Manchester United was in a shock 3-0 defeat to York City in the League Cup, where the defender was sent off. Not really the way to mark your debut, especially if you never make an appearance again.
CB: Laurent Blanc
Laurent Blanc arrived at Manchester United in the twilight years of his career as a replacement for Jaap Stam. However, despite having won the European Championships and the World Cup with France, Blanc failed to impress.
A series of shocking performances led to him being a central member of a side that achieved the worst finish in Manchester United’s Premier League history. Still, he’s done fairly well for himself as a manager and I doubt he’ll be too bothered about his performances with the Red Devils given what he had won previously.
RCB: Jonathan Spector
Discovered by an ‘eagle-eyed’ scout playing for the United States’ U17 side at the 2003 Milk Cup, Manchester United moved to complete the signing of the unknown prodigy and didn’t get much reward for their efforts.
An injury-plagued spell at Old Trafford prevented him from ever properly breaking through into the first-team, though his abilities probably had a say in the matter too, Spector spent five years with Manchester United before joining West Ham.
LM: Jordi Cruyff
With a father that’s one of the iconic figures in world football, having made an impact across the globe during his playing days and as a manager, you’d expect his offspring to have some level of ability. That wasn’t the case, however.
In four years with Manchester United, Jordi Cruyff made 55 appearances and scored eight goals. Whilst that number is significantly better than many on the list, his performances weren’t too inspiring at all.
CM: Eric Djemba-Djemba
So bad they named him twice, Eric Djemba-Djemba was one of many questionable signings for Manchester United in the early noughties. However, he had impressed on the continent with French outfit Nantes and United believed they were getting an energetic midfielder.
Sure, Djemba-Djemba did have energy but it was entirely the wrong sort as he ran around Old Trafford like a headless chicken, although United did hand him 20 Premier League appearances before Aston Villa came calling.
CM: Kleberson
A World Cup winner with Brazil in 2002, Manchester United paid £6.5m to bring the Brazilian to the Premier League and he signed on the same day as Cristiano Ronaldo. In the end, their career paths couldn’t have been more different.
Billed as the replacement for an equally disastrous Juan Sebastian Veron, more on him later, Kleberson never settled in English football and made just 16 Premier League appearances before being shipped off to Turkey.
RM: Bebe
Signed from the third division of Portuguese football, Manchester United splashed £7m on Bebe without ever seeing him play. At the end of it, the scout that recommended the Portuguese player probably ended up working at McDonald’s.
He made two league appearances, neither of them as a starter, before disappearing off the face of the earth- which is probably a good thing.
LF: David Bellion
Manchester United had to endure quite a saga when signing David Bellion from Sunderland, with a tapping-up furore splashing the back pages, and all of the effort from the Red Devils was wasted.
His only asset was pace and he struggled with the demands of the Premier League, before enduring a similar troublesome time with France. He probably should have just given up.
ST: Diego Forlan
Manchester United’s Diego Forlan after a last minute missed chance
Mandatory Credit: Action Images / Lee Smith
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Before he was a star with Inter Milan, Atletico Madrid and the only player in world football to manage to control the awful ball Adidas developer for the 2010 World Cup, Diego Forlan was an uninspiring striker with Manchester United.
After eight months and 28 games, he finally scored his first goal for the Red Devils but it was hardly a watershed moment. In the end, his tally stood at 17 in 63 appearances and he lasted just three years.
RF: Juan Sebastian Veron
Brought from Lazio for a staggering £28.1m fee in 2001, which at that time was a monumental price for a player, Juan Sebastian Veron never quite got going at Old Trafford, with his overall tally standing at just 11 goals in 82 appearances.
Just two-years later, Manchester United cut their losses and sold the striker to Premier League rivals Chelsea for £15m- and he wasn’t prolific there either.
