New signing you thought would turn out better

Barthez
Miller
Alan Smith
Hargreaves
Anderson
Fabio
Kagawa
Powell
Di Maria
Falcao
Schneiderlin
Depay
Schweinsteiger
Darmian
 
Before signing Memphis and Lindelöf, I wrote here that I don't think they'll be good enough, hoping they'd prove me wrong, so definitely not them, nor Luke Shaw.

Players who I've expected more from:

Kagawa: like Gotze, Sahin, Blaszykowski, Großkreutz, he couldn't do it outside that certain environment.

Obertan: very impressive Toulon tournament fooled not only me but our scouts too.

Darmian: he's a terribly limited footballer for someone who's an Italy international, one of the least technically talented players I've ever seen for Azzurri.

Schweinsteiger: I thought he could give us more.

Anderson: he was very talented in some regards, so I was extremely patient with him.

Powell: he had some real raw talent.

Hargreaves: one of my favorite players during 07-08, brilliant player when fit.

Di Maria: it just wasn't the right time and place but obviously he's mentally weak too.
 
Memphis.

Thought he'd become our best player :lol::lol::lol:

Pretty bad prediction of mine.
 
Veron the main one. He was a fantastic player but didn't reach those heights here.

Di Maria never wanted to join us and remember reading an interview where he intimated his wish to go to PSG but couldn't due to FFP, this just a few weeks after he joined too.

Falcao was a risk that didn't pay off.
 
Andersons Dietician said:
Mata. He's just never quite done it for me. Think he is a player that needs a team built around him but I don't think he is good enough to have a team built around him. Good player but really his impact on United should be far greater than it is.
Click to expand...

Not sure what more you expect of Mata? He's always coming up with vital goals, and has scored in some big games since his arrival too. Don't forget he's had Moyes and LVG managing him too. I think he's even more to offer yet under Mourinho.
 
From a neutral perspective, I expected Fernando Morientes to be an indeal signing for Benítez's Liverpool. To end up as Peter Crouch's reserve a few months later was a shocking flop.
 
Kagawa was a good player... he never got a proper chance when Moyes took over. Once Mata came however, it made him excess baggage.
Di Maria was also excellent... if it wasn't for the fluke burglary who knows what may have happened. Memphis and Schneiderlin were bad calls and so far Lindelof hasn't impressed me. Luke Shaw was great until his injury... hasn't been the same since. Falcao and Schweinsteiger were just the victims of bad health.
 
Karel Poborsky. Genuinely bought into that Euro 96 hype. Came here and couldnt get near that midfield we had.
 
I remember that CL qualifier where Memphis was unreal and I thought we had someone special.

I also remember the hype around Anderson and it never really worked out for him despite winning a lot here. Nani did reach his potential I suppose but only for about a year before going back to shit do you could include him.

Di Maria is the most obvious transfer flop in our history. Expected to be the best player in the league and in reality he was utter horseshit.

In terms of personal ones - when Obertan signed I was pretty desperate for somebody to step into Ronaldo's shoes and I remember he looked amazing on YouTube. That one looks ridiculous now but I thought he would be an unreal player at the time. I can recall his first game he missed a complete sitter and the alarm bells were ringing straight away.

Not really sure about people saying Hargreaves or Falcao. Falcao was just a risk that didn't pay off. With Hargreaves we got him a year late and he played feck all the season before we bought him if I remember...then he went on to actually be really good for us and a crucial player at times - even starting the CL final. Okay he wasn't seen after that first season but that year alone exceeded some expectations for me anyway. If anything he's an example of 'when you're initial fears of a player come true' as oppose to someone you 'thought would turn out better'
 
Last edited:
Falcao and Memphis for me. Didn't think Falcao was so washed up, and like many others, thought Memphis was going to be much much more of a world beater than he ended up being.
 
I knew Memphis and Schweinsteiger would flop from the beginning. They're just not United players. Even Schweinsteiger in his prime wouldn't have worked out in my opinion. He's just more suited to Bayern and their style. We need players who play the "Man United style" which in my eyes is counter attaching football. Two strikers up front and two pacey wingers.

I wouldn't say Di Maria was a flop. He left us before it came to that. Did he light up the Premier League? No. But from what I've seen, Van Gaal didn't really give him the platform to do so. His best position for me is RW but how many times has he played there for us? Van Gaal stuck him up front on a few occasions. And for some reason he was playing on the left despite the right side being his preferred position? I'm not sure. He was immense for Real Madrid as a CM in a midfield 3 but again, we didn't try it enough.

Eventually it came down to Di Maria vs Ashley Young. And people wonder why he fecked off to Paris :lol:
 
Earliest I can really remember enough to appreciate is Neil Webb. My list:

Neil Webb
Jordi Cryuff
Karel Poborsky
Juan Sebastian Veron
Dimitar Berbatov
Carlos Tevez (brilliant first season aside)
Owen Hargreaves (brilliant first season aside)
Anderson
Angel Di Maria
Memphis Depay

I thought all of those were going to be key, key players. There are a number of others who have disappointed such as Schneiderlin, but I had my doubts about many of them anyway.
 
Depay. Everyone was raving about him but he turned out to be a load of shit.

Schneiderlin. Thought he'd be more like Matic, but he turned out to be more like Tom Cleverley.

Mkhitaryan. Not a terrible player but very underwhelming. Expected more tbh.

Luke Shaw. Looked like a great young talent at Southampton. He's been a waste of space for us.
 
I remember watching Anderson in his first season and just thinking "wow"

I think we have to take a little but of responsibility for Ando not fulfilling his potential. I mean, he had a good career by most standards but should have been world class. I think SAF saw him as an Edgar Davids type combatative DM who burst forward at times but I think we coached all of Ando's natural talent and flair out of him and what was left wasn't special
 
Lentwood said:
I remember watching Anderson in his first season and just thinking "wow"

I think we have to take a little but of responsibility for Ando not fulfilling his potential. I mean, he had a good career by most standards but should have been world class. I think SAF saw him as an Edgar Davids type combatative DM who burst forward at times but I think we coached all of Ando's natural talent and flair out of him and what was left wasn't special
Click to expand...

I think he was just a bit of an unfit joker. Once he lost his pace his dribbling was nothing special. Liked the kid but he just had no stamina or composure (in open play).
 
Shark said:
Not sure what more you expect of Mata? He's always coming up with vital goals, and has scored in some big games since his arrival too. Don't forget he's had Moyes and LVG managing him too. I think he's even more to offer yet under Mourinho.
Click to expand...
When you look at the ability he has he should be controlling and influencing games like a David Silva, Isco,Iniesta,Thiago,Ozil or someone like that and he just never has he just isn't as good as those players and he really should be.
Also nothing to do with those managers, I've watched him since his Valencia days and he has just never quite lived up to his ability.
 
Shevchenko and Torres are the obvious ones for us, but Chris Sutton will always be my ultimate letdown. Bought him for £10m back when that was fantasy football money, and he scored exactly 1 league goal for us. Then when we sold him to Celtic he went back to being prolific. Cnut.
 
El cagrejo said:
There was probably a reason for this...
Click to expand...
Not the one you might think. He didn't fit the style of play at Chelsea at all. I remember a story at the time of a technical training drill at Chelsea where he looked like a fish out of water, compared to the class of Zola and Poyet. He thrived on direct and aerial football, which is why he was such a force for Norwich and Blackburn in the mid-1990s. And then again at Celtic under Martin O'Neill's physical game in the 2000s.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.