Poor strikers and Manchester United and two terms you wouldn’t necessarily place in the same sentence, but the Utd fans in the Tavern have been discussing some of their worst…
The Tavern regulars remain discontent with Wayne Rooney’s recent performances – but have recently raised a glass or two to some of the names best forgotten in Old Trafford folklore.
Sir Alex Ferguson was well known for his ability to allow Manchester United to play with freedom in attack – with some of his forwards greatly benefiting from such a style. But for every success story, there have been more than a few flops.
Some of the beautiful’s games most iconic names have led the line at Manchester United – whilst some of the Premier League’s worst players can also lay claim to donning the famous United red…
With that said, here are the 3 worst United strikers of the past decade…
Manucho
A number of heads were scratched when Sir Alex Ferguson signed Manucho in January 2008 from Luanda-based side Petro Atletico.
With United leading the race for a second consecutive Premier League title and in the last 16 of the Champions League – Ferguson decided that the African forward would be an asset for his successful side.
After struggling to gain a work permit, he was loaned out to Greek outfit for Panathinaikos before a number of loan spells to Hull and a few La Liga clubs.
Manucho returned to United in 2008 before being giving a sub appearance in November against Stoke – before the Manchester giants decided to cut their losses on Manucho.
Bébe
After being abandoned by his parents at a young age, Bébe started his football career when he was homeless on the streets of Lisbon. The Portuguese forward impressed during his time on the streets and was signed by Vitoria de Guimaraes in 2010 and signed for United just 7 weeks later.
A mixture of a lack of ability, laziness and poor performances in front of goal seen Bébe make just seven appearances at Old Trafford in 4 years.
A number of loan spells and disastrous performances at United later, and our locals rose a glass when he departed in 2014 on a permanent basis.
Mame Biram Diouf
The Senegal striker may have gone onto have a successful career in Europe, but people regularly forget Diouf’s awful performances at Old Trafford in his youthful days of his career.
Signed from Molde in 2009, Diouf was labelled as the next big thing in European football.
However, just one goal at Old Trafford in five league appearances saw a number of United fans celebrating his exit.
He left Old Trafford in 2012 and signed a two-year contract with Bundesliga side Hannover 96. His very impressive performances seen him return to England with Stoke City and he now looks a completely different player to the lost youngster once seen in Manchester.
