Newcastle boss Glenn Roeder has revealed that he came close to signing Didier Drogba during his time at West Ham
The Ivory Coast international is currently the Premiership's top scorer and has been in exceptional form with Chelsea so far this season.
The Blues picked Drogba up for £24million from Marseille in 2004, but his career path could have been markedly different had West Ham avoided relegation 12 months previously.
Roeder has explained that the London side were close to luring Drogba away from Guingamp, before their relegation in 2003 saw him opt to join Marseille instead.
"[European scout] Paul [Montgomery] was convinced Didier would make it in England," Roeder told The Sun.
"We checked him out three or four times and also watched him on tapes and everything we saw suggested he had the potential to score goals in the Premiership.
"I have to say that the Drogba you see now is much more the finished article than he was then, but he had that special something you look for in a striker.
"Nobody else in England seemed to be on to him and he would only have cost £1million, but in the end we weren't able to make it happen."
Roeder faces Chelsea with his current club Newcastle in the Carling Cup quarter-final on Wednesday night, with the game from St James' Park live on Sky Sports 1.
dragg
why bring up such an irrelevant issue?
the Bear
i think if The Drog was to be signed by Roeder, he would have rotted away...
Roeder really CMI.. and the job at Newcastle, i think, is too big for him
dragg
only newcastle are silly enough to offer him the job.
i believe newcastle will go nowhere under him.
the Bear
a ham-fisted attempt at "gamesmanship" which looks about as sharp as a mallet...
Originally posted by dragg:
why bring up such an irrelevant issue?
bryanseb
Originally posted by dragg:
why bring up such an irrelevant issue?
And why cant he?
dragg
Originally posted by bryanseb:
And why cant he?
how do you expect me to answer?
the Bear
here's how..
"he can and that is his right.. just like we cannot stop anyone who insists on eating his own faeces... but the behaviour isn't very dignified, is it?"