Premiership Shockers XI
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The Sun: Premiership Shockers XI
----------------------Taibi----------------------------
Roqué Junior - Kroldrup - Marcelino - Bogarde
Dia - Veron - Kleberson - Brolin
----------------Boogers - Luqué-------------------
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Massimo Taibi (Manchester United)
The Italian keeper was brought in to fill the hole left by Old Trafford legend Peter Schmeichel. Instead, Taibi failed miserably and made just four appearances in a United shirt after signing from Venezia for £4.4m.
Fans still cringe at the memory of him letting a daisy-cutter from Matt Le Tissier slip through his legs, for which he was dubbed the 'Blind Venetian'. Now 37, he is back playing in Italy with Torino.
Roque Junior (Leeds)
The Brazilian World Cup winner was supposed to plug the gaps in Leeds' leaky defence. Signed on a season-long loan, the towering centre-half left every Yorkshireman scratching his head as to how he could possibly fit in alongside Ronaldinho and Co.
He was eventually paid £1.2m for making just five starts as Leeds were relegated to the Championship. Now playing for Bayer Leverkusen, he also owns a popular kids clothes company.
Per Kroldrup (Everton)
Sadly for Toffees fans, Kroldrup was no Great Dane. Hailed by boss David Moyes after signing from Udinese for £5m, the centre-half started only one game — and that was a 4-0 drubbing by Aston Villa.
Kroldrup played a total of just 147 minutes, costing Everton £13,600 for each of them when he was sold to Fiorentina for £3m after just six months.
Marcelino (Newcastle)
Not a popular topic of conversation around the Bigg Market. Much was expected from the Spanish defender when he signed from Real Mallorca for £5.8m.
But fans were left asking whether boss Ruud Gullit had bought the same player who was so composed against La Liga's finest strikers. The final straw came when he refused to play for weeks because of a broken finger.
Winston Bogarde (Chelsea)
The Dutchman was handed a four-year £40,000-a-week deal at Chelsea. He started disastrously and never recovered, playing just 11 times during his contract.
Chelsea tried everything to dump Bogarde but you have to hand it to him, he refused to walk away from his luxury life. The ex-Barcelona, AC Milan and Ajax man ended up commuting from Amsterdam to train with the youth team. To no-one's surprise, he retired a rich man after leaving Stamford Bridge with no takers for his signature.
Juan Veron (Manchester United)
Even in the unparallel riches of today's game, it beggars belief that Manchester United paid over £28m for Veron. The Argentina star arrived in a blaze of glory from Lazio but the massive hype was quickly forgotten.
Known as an elegant master on the ball, Veron could barely pass to a team-mate 10 yards away at times. What was baffling was why Alex Ferguson signed him in the first place when he already had Keane, Scholes, Giggs and Beckham.
Kleberson (Manchester United)
Another Brazilian with a World Cup winners' medal who couldn't hack it in the Premiership. Kleberson was actually signed as a replacement for Veron when he joined for £6m but the only thing they had in common was their utter ineptitude.
Along with Eric Djemba-Djemba, his departure was celebrated far more than his arrival.
Ali Dia (Southampton)
One of the greatest tales in Premiership history. Dia was signed by Southampton boss Graeme Souness when he was told by a George Weah impersonator that he was his cousin and a Senegal international.
The player was brought on as a first-half substitute against Leeds but was so bad he was taken off later on. Souey dumped the fraud, who was last seen playing for non-league Gateshead.
Tomas Brolin (Leeds)
The Sweden ace was signed from Parma for £4.5m but soon became as inflated as his transfer fee. Brolin, a hero in his homeland, failed to bring his form for the Italians to Leeds and soon piled on the pounds.
He was sent round Europe on loan before agreeing to a bizarre move to Crystal Palace where he was briefly appointed player-coach. Began selling vacuum cleaner parts after retiring from football.
Marco Boogers (West Ham)
The £1m arrival from Sparta Rotterdam was sent off in his second match for the Hammers for a sickening two-footed lunge on Gary Neville. He soon went AWOL from Upton Park and was later found in a Dutch caravan park after suffering a breakdown.
West Ham boss Harry Redknapp later admitted he signed the Holland striker despite only watching a video of him. Boogers later recovered to star once again in his homeland.
Alberto Luque (Newcastle)
Another smart signing by Graeme Souness. The Spaniard was hailed as the latest saviour of Newcastle when he signed for a whopping £9.5m two years ago.
But the Geordie crowd, ever impatient for trophies, quickly grew tired of Luque's drab displays and niggling injuries. Scored just twice during his time at St James' Park and was last spotted on loan at PSV Eindhoven.
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ali dia
maybe our sleague team can beat this team -
nice list.
i like this part,
"Along with Eric Djemba-Djemba, his departure was celebrated far more than his arrival." -
I think Sheva, Boulahrouz, Forlan and Mendieta are also worth mentioning.
Cheers.
CK -
a lot of man u players
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Yes! Fergie is a transfer nut!Originally posted by anhydrouscoppersulphate:a lot of man u players 
Lucky he strike it big with Ronaldo and Rooney.
Cheers.
CK -
I think Mendieta did OK right? Definitely better than Sheva...I think he provide quite a no of assists for BoroOriginally posted by CKeer:I think Sheva, Boulahrouz, Forlan and Mendieta are also worth mentioning.
Cheers.
CK
Btw any idea where he is now?
About 6-7 years ago,he was arguably the BEST midfielder in the world... -
shev started more games den them...n shev onli played for 1 season...let's see the nxt season..
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shevchencough shld be in the team ba
even fulham DEFENDER bocanegra scored more league goals than him
n tat bugger cost 30 MILLION BRITISH POUNDS !!!
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I agree with Taibi and Kleberson
but i think they exaggerated on Veron -
Its a little harsh on forlan and veron. They are excellent players who just had difficulty adapting.
Going by their standards, they should include shevchenko. -
koldrup, luque basically dun play enough due to injuries, can't really judge them because of that.
and i dun agree with kleberson in that list, he was better for man u than veron...