The most regrettable transfers in Premier League history

It’s the January window, which means plenty of players are going to trade hands. Some clubs will end up paying far too much money for their new blood (Manchester City have already got the ball rolling on that one), while others will land a player who proves to be a bargain and a regrettable loss for their former employer. A classic example of the latter is Denis Law: Manchester United decided to let their second highest goal scorer of all time leave on a free to rivals City. Law only spent one year at City in his second spell before retiring, but his last goal came in the last game of the 1973-74 season against United. The red side of Manchester needed a win to stay up, but a Law back heel in a 1-0 win confirmed their place in the Second Division for the next season.

With this case study in mind, here’s the Premier League ‘Shouldn’t have let him go XI’…

Brad Friedel (Liverpool to Blackburn, 2000, free)
Friedel only managed 30 starts for Liverpool in three years before he was allowed to move on a free to Blackburn, after failing to displace Sander Westerveld. Since leaving Merseyside, Friedel has been one of the most consistent keepers in the league, while Liverpool have been through Westerveld, Dudek, Chris Kirkland, Pegguy Arphexad and Scott Carson, before settling with current shot stopper Pepe Reina.

Steve Finnan (Fulham to Liverpool, 2003, £3.5m)
Finnan was a key figure in the Cottagers side that won the Second Division and First Division and was a member of the PFA Team of the Year in his first season in the Premiership with them. He managed over 200 appearances for Fulham before moving to Liverpool and winning the League Cup, FA Cup and Champions League in his 5 years on Merseyside.

Jonathan Woodgate (Leeds to Newcastle, 2003, £9m)
In January 2001, Leeds were top of the Premiership. Two years later, they found themselves fighting a relegation battle. Then came the sales of Lee Bowyer, Robbie Fowler and their best defender, Woodgate - unsurprisingly their poor form continued. The following season Woodgate’s value to the team was all too evident when Roque Junior was brought in to fill the gap. Junior looked like he had money on a Leeds relegation as the club conceded 25 goals in the 7 games he played in.

Matthew Upson (Arsenal to Birmingham, 2003, £1m)
Upson only managed 20 league starts in nearly six years at Arsenal before he was sold for half the price they had previously paid for him. He excelled at Birmingam before a £6 million switch to West Ham, where his performances have been rewarded by a call up to the England team. Recent reports have suggested that following the uncertainty of the future of ex-captain William Gallas, Professor Wenger is keen to spend over £10m on bringing him back to Arsenal. If he does rejoin the club, maybe he’d have more luck starting if he changed his name to Mathieu Upsoné.

David Unsworth (Sheffield United to Wigan, 2007, free)
Mr Unsworth wasn’t the biggest success at Wigan - he only managed 10 games for the club. He did, however, manage to score the winning goal with a penalty in Wigan’s last game of the season to keep them in the Premier League. And the side who went down at Wigan’s expense? Sheffield United.

Use your vote wisely…

The scenario: You’re the manager of a Premier League team, and you’re allowed to strengthen your squad by signing just one player in the January transfer window. But you can only choose someone from Aston Villa’s squad - so who do you pick?

Your options: Captain Gareth Barry is obviously in the frame, and it’s hard to overlook the youthful promise of Ashley Young and Gabriel Agbonlahor. Or you might want a big bruiser like John Carew. At the back, Brad Friedel is a rock, while Martin Laursen is a class act at the heart of Villa’s back four.

So much choice, but there can be only one. The decision is yours. Vote below:

This morning’s gossip, rumours and damned lies

Just as Fergie was enjoying watching his pre-season mind games unfold, Carlos Tevez has made a bid to increase the old duffer’s blood pressure with comments about C-Ron’s move to Real Madrid. He said: “I understand Cristiano. Every footballer wants to play at Real Madrid,” later adding “if what he seeks is something else, I think that should be respected.” Considering speculation has died down, and more attention is being paid to Ronaldo’s macho dress sense, it’s an odd time for Tevez to go public with his thoughts.

Dimitar Berbatov to AC Milan
On a day that is certain to make Sir Alex Ferguson’s face even redder than normal comes the news that Tottenham will accept a cheaper offer from AC Milan for Berbatov just to make sure that the striker doesn’t wind up at Old Trafford.

The Spoiler Truth-o-meter: Levy clearly means business

Brad Friedel to Aston Villa
The word is that Martin O’Neill has had an offer accepted for the American goalkeeper and the reason Blackburn - whose chairman John Williams recently said “Brad Friedels don’t grow on trees” - are suddenly happy to sell is that they have Paul Robinson waiting in the wings.

The Spoiler Truth-o-meter: This move probably

Today’s rumours, gossip and damned lies

Various whispers suggest arrogant winger David Bentley is no longer a target for the Big Four coffers, and will join Tottenham today. We’re desperately hoping it’s true after a weekend where the biggest transfer news was Watford’s Danny Shittu rejecting a move to Rangers…

Brad Friedel to Aston Villa
Spurs are supposed to be shifting shifting Paul Robinson over to Blackburn as part of the Bentley deal, and Paul Ince has so much faith in the slippery-fingered one that he will offload Friedel to Aston Villa.

The Spoiler Truth-o-meter: The only thing Robinson has over Friedel is youth. Sort of.

Ronaldinho to Man City
Citeh have made an £18 million bid (controversially via email, not the Premier League’s preferred communication method of fax) but you get the impression that he would arrive reluctantly, possibly with a roll of fifty pound notes shoved in his mouth to silence the screams. Ronaldinho’s camp have allegedly leaked the deal in a desperate attempt to get Milan to bid and save him.

The Spoiler Truth-o-meter: He wants to go to Milan but it looks like they can’t match Man City’s offer. You couldn’t have dreamt of reading that sentence a year ago.

Alexander Hleb to Barcelona
One irritating saga that is finally reaching its conclusion is Hleb’s great escape

These men would DIE for you

With the transfer window now wide open, money men with be lapdancing pathetically throughout the summer, hoping to attract some big name players. Don’t bother with this little lot, you successful football whores.

GK Brad Friedel (Blackburn Rovers)
He might have been plying his trade in Blighty for over ten years, but Friedel still has that “U.S.A!” grit about him - a stateside quality most profoundly portrayed by Sly Stallone in Escape to Victory in 1981. He’s been at Blackburn since 2000, and against stiff competition from the likes of David James and Petr Cech, he still comes out on top. Just.

DL Phil Neville (Everton)
There’s something about Phil Neville that suggests he spends teatime shovelling food into his mouth at an ungodly speed, before slamming his cutlery down, punching the are and shouting “I win”. It’s a worry.