Top Ten: Premier League flops this season

As we draw ever closer to the festive period, you’ll realise that Christmas crackers are actually similar to that of football players and their transfers: Both try to start with a bang, both have an end product that’s rubbish and breaks straight away and whereas one contains a joke, the other can be described as it.

So here at TibsNews, we’ve decided to elaborate on our ‘Top 10: Premier League transfers this season’ and create a ‘Top 10: Premier League flops this season.’

10. Vurnon Anita – AFC Ajax – Newcastle United (£6.7m)

The small Dutchman looked like a pretty decent signing for United having made over 100 appearances for Ajax and coming through the Holland international youth ranks to play for their national team from the age of 21. But having been thrown straight into the Newcastle squad – and sometimes in an unfamiliar right-back position – the midfielder has struggled to adapt to the fast pace and physicality of the league. Having said that, some impressive performances against Stoke City and in particular Club Brugge K.V. may be the step forward Anita and Newcastle were looking for.

9. Olivier Giroud – Montpellier HSC – Arsenal (£12m)

“It’s Oli, Oli, Oli, Oli, Gi-roud” was once the cry of a young fan, but not for a while now as the big Frenchman has scored just four in 16 league matches and has as many yellow cards as he does goals. Bought to fill the shoes of the departed Robin van Persie, it seems Giroud has only been successful in filling up his locker space with hair gel. Still plenty of time to prove us wrong though Big G.

8. Park Ji-Sung – Manchester United – Queens Park Rangers (£5m)

At first I thought this was a brilliant signing for QPR. I always felt Park was underrated at Man.Utd and whilst he did play a fair few matches for the Red Devils, he’d certainly start most at Loftus Road. But now it seems the South Korean is not pulling his weight in London and although he was made captain under Mark Hughes, the 31-year-old has fallen out of favour with new boss Harry Redknapp.
*Note: The fee above could rise to £5m after QPR paid an initial £2m.

7. Jay Rodriguez – Burnley – Southampton (£7m)

Having been an out-and-out goal scorer last season with Burnley, Southampton splashed out on the young player to accompany Rickie Lambert in attack. Although, playing the one striker and with Lambert frankly being the better, Rodriguez has spent most his time on the substitutes bench, making regular appearances but finding more of the woodwork than the net. His only goal in 14 league matches has come in a loss to Tottenham Hotspur; however, his two goals were enough to knock out Sheffield Wednesday early on in the Capital One Cup. For me, he’s a Championship player at the moment.

6. Fabio Borini – AS Roma – Liverpool (£10m)

This one was almost a ‘lol’ deal. A failure as a Chelsea youngster but quite good in the Championship with Swansea, Borini raised a few eyebrows when ex-Swans and now Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers signed him for a double-figure price. Having scored in his second game for the Reds against FC Gomel in the Europa League qualifiers, the Italian has since played five league matches, scoring none and making no impact in, oww, none. On the other hand, he is now suffering with a broken foot that has kept him out since October, so that’s why he’s placed sixth on our list.

5. Stephane Mbia – Olympique de Marseille – Queens Park Rangers (£5m)

Half way stage and it’s that guy, you know, the one that people hyped about? In an almost swap deal involving Joey Barton going the other way, many people thought Mbia was the player Rangers so badly needed in locking up their defence, but as of now he’s yet to sparkle. Making eight appearances in a blue and white looped shirt, he’s let 13 goals pass him and received a shiny red card for a stupid kick out earlier in the season. He also admitted to newspapers that he thought QPR was in Scotland… he probably thinks West Ham is a flavour of soup.

4. Jack Rodwell – Everton – Manchester City (£12m)

This lad looked like one for the future whilst playing for Everton, but instead he opted for a move to big money spenders Man.City. His debut saw him give the ball away for Southampton to score whilst his other four league appearances have mustered no goals and a yellow card. The 21-year-old is however, still unbeaten in a City shirt and is currently ruled out with a hamstring injury. Was his move a chance to win him more trophies and gain Champions League experience, or was it simply for the money?

3. Javi Garcia – S.L. Benfica – Manchester City (£15.8m)

This transfer also seemed to be a sensible one, paying just under £16m for an ex-Real Madrid and Benfica midfielder who can be technically excellent on the ball. Having scored on his debut against Stoke with a brilliant header, it seemed he proved my point too although a handful of poor performances have left him as a bench warmer in place of Gareth Barry… I mean, come on; Barry! His tally tots up to six league matches, one goal and two yellow cards; however, he’s been booked in 60% of his Champions League appearances this season.

2. Marko Marin – Werder Bremen – Chelsea (£7m)

Marko who? Yes, believe it or not people still don’t know who this guy is. Having signed from Germany in the summer, Marin was a regular in Chelsea’s friendly matches and looked a real menace to the opposition. However, injury soon stalled his momentum and since his return in October, Marin has made just two Chelsea appearances in the league and a matter of around 25 minutes overall. Despite being a regular on the bench, the skilful winger just isn’t getting into the first team and is already looking further afield back home in January.

1. Scott Sinclair – Swansea City – Manchester City (£6.2m)

Arguably the most bizarre transfer of them all and he’s only bettered Marin because this guy isn’t even named on the bench – that and his girlfriend is annoying. I don’t know what was going through Sinclair’s mind when he wanted to leave Swansea; he was a first team regular who scored goals and even made Team GB’s Olympic football squad. But since he decided to move away from Wales, the 23-year-old has managed six appearances in all competitions and two of them were on the losing side against Aston Villa and Borussia Dortmund. From scoring a hat-trick at Wembley Stadium and win promotion for Swansea, to streaming his team via the internet from home, Sinclair has taken a huge step backwards in his career.

Oh you’ve come so close! Other Premier League flops that almost made the list are:

Emmanuel Mayuka – Young Boys – Southampton (£3.5m)

Karim El Ahmadi – Feyenoord – Aston Villa (£2.5m)

Adrian Mariappa – Watford – Reading (£3m)

Alou Diarra – Marseille – West Ham (£2m)

Check out my ‘top 10 Premier League transfer this season’ at:

http://www.tibsnews.com/top-10s/top-10-premier-league-transfers-this-season/

Disagree with our ‘top 10’ list? Have your say below.

Aaron Aquilina
@AaronAquilina25

* All stats based on Soccerbase website