alastair
ignorant
Feck knows, however Veron cost closer to £28mil. And it's not really comparable, the transfer market at the time was at an all time high, Zidane moved for a world record fee, Nedved went for Juve for an astronomical fee, Veron was hardly an extortionate price in comparison. Yes, we over paid perhaps, but he was in the same league as Zidane in 2001, a proven world class midfielder. Andy Carroll has barely proven himself at any level, and the fee you overpaid by is far, far greater.
You don't know that yet. If Carroll scores 25 league goals for 5 consecutive seasons, in this day and age, £35m won't seem too extortionate.