Top five signings of the season

[Matt Clark]

1) Berbatov
2) James
3) Larson
4) Tevez
5) O'Neill

[B Rock]

1) Berbatov
2) James
3) Larson
4) Tevez
5) O'Neill

Not sure how McCarthy doesn't make that list, certainly above Tevez.

Dare I tout Howard without being called a Yank monger?

[Matt Clark]

Yeah, good point actually. It's 00:28 here now, if that's any excuse. ;)

[kanonier]

1. Berbatov
2. Tevez (single-handedly saving them from relegation)
3. McCarthy
4. O'Neill
5. Mascherano (to 'Pool)

[pookspur]

it doesn't please me to say it, but the best signing of the year was william gallas. not that he's a better player than berbatov or tevez, but it was a brilliant piece of business in a way that writing a check for 10m (berba) or doing some dodgy business under the table (tevez) is not.

the arse's situation with ashcole looked as 'no-win' as it gets; but somehow those bastards were able to defy the cliche by turning a sow's ear into, if not a silk purse, at least something a whole lot better than a sow's ear. consider that campbell, as well as cole, were going to move on, and there was a rather big hole to fill. pretty shrewd stuff.



we'll have to wait and see if driving off david dein works out so well.

[Matt Clark]

Gallas was definitely a good signing, but whether or not he's in the top five of this season is there to be debated. He's been injured for most of his first campaign with Arsenal, so it's not like he's started repaying the money. But overall, yes - a good signing of course.

[Matt Clark]

1. Berbatov
2. Tevez (single-handedly saving them from relegation)
3. McCarthy
4. O'Neill
5. Mascherano (to 'Pool)
I thought about putting Mascherano's move to Liverpool in, but whilst he shown real promise and been a crucial presence in a number of big games, I don't think you can consider the four months he's been with us as one of the five best signings made this season. Although, I'm sure he does. One minute he's playing Bournemouth in the West Ham stiffs, the next he's lining up against Chelsea in a Champions League semi-final.

Another one that should really go in is of course Roy Keane. I thought his signing by Sunderland was hilariously absurd at the time, but he's proven the doubters wrong in spectacular fashion so far.

[sendorange]

I'm not sure I can agree with O'Neill. 10 million on Ashley Young, near 20 million spent in total with practically nothing earnt, lots of boring draws and a midtable finish. His style of football looks outdated.

Lescott at Everton would be a decent shout to replace him. Maybe also Mpenza for saving Man City when they were getting desperate.

[Matt Clark]

I could agree that O'Neill's impact this season has probably fallen short of what most people (Villains certainly) expected. But let's not forget what we're talking about here: O'Neill was out of the game at the time he committed to Villa and had (has) a standing in the game that afforded him the regard and the opportunity to pick from any number of high-profile appointments, as and when they became available. This is a man talked of at the time (and still, since) as the next United manager, let's not forget. Villa getting him is significant.

Additionally, there's not a lot you can conclusively say about a manager until he's got his own squad doing his bidding. Getting a mid-table finish and, in the process, reorganising a lot of the club whilst David O'Leary's team plays in your name out on the pitch is a pretty solid start. Going forward, you would expect the combination of Lerner and O'Neill to really start having an impact on Villa - next season will tell, of course, but there's no doubt that in the meantime, based on track record and potential, O'Neill can rightly be called one of the most significant signings made this season.

[nicephoras]

it doesn't please me to say it, but the best signing of the year was william gallas. not that he's a better player than berbatov or tevez, but it was a brilliant piece of business in a way that writing a check for 10m (berba) or doing some dodgy business under the table (tevez) is not.

the arse's situation with ashcole looked as 'no-win' as it gets; but somehow those bastards were able to defy the cliche by turning a sow's ear into, if not a silk purse, at least something a whole lot better than a sow's ear. consider that campbell, as well as cole, were going to move on, and there was a rather big hole to fill. pretty shrewd stuff.

Given that Gallas has spent most of the season injured, has had a row with a younger Arsenal player and now there's talk of him going to Spain (already!), that's not a great signing.
Both Gallas and Cole were disgruntled - Chelsea turned a disgruntled Gallas and £5M into Ashley Cole, which is pretty much market value.
Also, Gallas's best attribute is his speed; as he starts to age and has leg injuries it may well rob him of this. See: Duff, Damien.

[glennaldo_sf]

Another one that should really go in is of course Roy Keane. I thought his signing by Sunderland was hilariously absurd at the time, but he's proven the doubters wrong in spectacular fashion so far.

Not a premiership signing! ;)

Well ... not this year at least! :D

[pookspur]

Given that Gallas has spent most of the season injured, has had a row with a younger Arsenal player and now there's talk of him going to Spain (already!), that's not a great signing.
Both Gallas and Cole were disgruntled - Chelsea turned a disgruntled Gallas and £5M into Ashley Cole, which is pretty much market value ...

i certainly wasn't suggesting, ceph, that gallas was the best player signed. nor am i looking at this as a zero-sum equasion between the values of chelsea signing cole* and the arse signing gallas. i'm just saying that, as most fans of most clubs know, the fear of having one of your best players say "******** it, i'm off" is quite real, and can (if said player is a particularly big asshole) put the club in a real 'no-win' situation. even to be able to cut one's losses in such a situation can be considered a good signing, and i would contend that wenger and dein did i bit better than that.

if anything, the point you've made about chelsea getting value for a gallas supports my point. because if turning "a disgruntled gallas and 5m into ashley cole" is good business, then turning a disgruntled ashley cole into william gallas and 5m is, as well.

ok, i'm not married to gallas being the 'best signing' of the year, so perhaps i've overstated it. but i'll still contend that the gap between how things looked for the arse/cole situation and how things ended up turning out is about as great as any. and (in that regard, anyways) it's been infinitely superior to that of tevez. i think it's pretty fair to say that no one at west ham said going in to the tevez/mascherano deal "when one of these guys finds his stride come the spring, he just may be able to barely keep up in the prem!".


*though chelsea trasfers and 'market values' always make for fun conversation. ;)

[Matt Clark]

Not a premiership signing! ;)

Well ... not this year at least! :D
No, I know, but I wasn't really restricting it to the Premiership alone. Just English footie in general, without getting too stupid about it. I'm sure there's a signing in the Rymans League that has really blown everyone away, but I'm buggered if I've heard about it.

[pookspur]

... I'm sure there's a signing in the Rymans League that has really blown everyone away, but I'm buggered if I've heard about it.

"he's been brilliant! the club hasn't spent two-thousand quid this wisely since we put the new water heater in the club house!"

[glennaldo_sf]

Everton have had quite a good season... Andrew Johnson was a decent signing who has made an impact there.. although he was expensive at 8.5 million quid but I noticed he hasn't been mentioned yet so I thought I'd mention him. Tim Howard has also been good for them too.

[michaec]

No, I know, but I wasn't really restricting it to the Premiership alone. Just English footie in general, without getting too stupid about it. I'm sure there's a signing in the Rymans League that has really blown everyone away, but I'm buggered if I've heard about it.
Actually, I saw a couple of good strikers playing in the Chelmsford City vs Harrow Borough match recently.

[superdave]

Johnson's production vs. cost, IMO, keeps him pretty well clear of "top 5."

And while Howard was cheap, IMO he wasn't cheap enough and/or good enough to be top 5. A good piece of business by Everton, but not in the same category as McCarthy, Berbatov, etc.

[kanonier]

I thought about putting Mascherano's move to Liverpool in, but whilst he shown real promise and been a crucial presence in a number of big games, I don't think you can consider the four months he's been with us as one of the five best signings made this season.

Fair enough. I just think it was a really shrewd piece of business and Liverpool ended up with an absolute steel midfielder. Maybe you're right he's not top 5 for this year alone, but I think as time passes his signing will become more and more important for 'Pool.

[lanman]

Lescott and Woodgate deserve consideration here. McCarthy for me is the best signing of the season though.

[Pigs]

1) Berbatov
2) McCarthy
3) Lescott
4) Tevez
5) A. Johnson