As the season draws to a close, with Manchester United celebrating the winning of another title, and West Ham mourning a relegation to the Championship, the enquiries start to begin. Where did one club prosper where another failed? Who was a poor signing, and which player represented excellent value. In this article we will observe the five worst signings of the Premier League this season:
5) Christian Poulsen (Liverpool)
Number five on our list is the much maligned Christian Poulsen who joined Liverpool in the summer transfer window from Italian giants Juventus in a deal totalling £4.5 million. With Alonso having left for Madrid the season before and Mascherano leaving for Barcelona Liverpool started the season with a large hole in central midfield. The hapless Roy Hodgson had been appointed manager of Liverpool shortly after leading Fulham to the Europa League final, and had the task of replacing Alonso and Mascherano.
Step forward Christian Poulsen, the Danish international who was plying his trade in Italy. He failed to adapt to the pace and vigour of the Premier League and looked atrocious in the Liverpool midfield, and has appeared slower than treacle alongside Steven Gerrard. Poulsen has made 12 Premier League appearances for Liverpool the season in uninspiring fashion, and most of these appearances were under Hodgson with the second half of the season seeing Poulsen disappearing into obscurity.
4) Sebastien Squillaci (Arsenal)
Arsene Wenger has always had a soft spot for rank average French centre backs, with the history books citing the laughable Silvestre, the dreadful Pascal Cygan and the newest addition to the list is Sebastien Squillaci. Squillaci was signed from Spanish club Sevilla late in the Summer transfer window for a reported £6 million, and to say it has been a disappointing season for the Frenchman would be an understatement. Squillaci was highly rated when signed by Wenger, with a view to partnering Thomas Vermaelen at the centre of the Gunners’ defense, however this season hasn’t reflected this faith.
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probably should’ve inculded Bellamy in the second formation but didn’t want to get carried away with names.I could have listed Bellamy in four spots in that 4-2-3-1: anywhere along the line of three, probably more dangerous out wide, or as the lone striker. That he’s so versatile an attacker seemed another reason not to peg him into one of the spots in the formation diagram when focus was on central midfield anyway.