The 73 Million Pound Man

[cdmphy]

Discounting youth signing and the unknown fee for Hossam Ghaly, our esteemed director of football Damien Comolli has spent £72,900,000. 73 fricking million pounds on 13 players.

Needless to say, he’s wasted most of it. Although he has helped the GDP of France.

For 70 odd million pounds what have we gotten in exchange has been 2 fantastic players, 2 decent Frenchmen and a slew of squad players, backups and failures.

I have ranked the signings (other than the 5 kids). Of his 13 first team signings he has an average rating of 2.3 out of 5, with only 4 players above a 3. That is a terrible record. Compare this list with a list from Pompey, Blackburn, Everton, Villa or City. Yes they will have had failures, but not as many as we have had and other then Citeh, who spent heavily this past summer, nobody comes even fractionally close to the absurd amount of money we have spent in a little over 2 years. And notice that he has signed a slew of CM’s, 3 forwards but no wingers.

So should we really hope that his man signs any more players?


Younes Kaboul
Auxerre Jul-07
£8,200,000
Rating: 2.5 of 5
I guess we should give him time, but for that kind of money it’s been a huge disappointment as he doesn’t seem to know how to play center-half. And I can imagine that he will become our backup if we ever get in another CB. That’s an astronomical amount for a backup.

Kevin-Prince Boateng
Hertha Berlin Jul-07
£5,200,000
Rating: 2.5 out of 5.
Could be a good signing, but it will take time to tell whether he’s a decent player. However, he hasn’t show much so far. He’s not been bad, but he’s not been outstanding at all. He looks likely to be depth player.

Danny Rose
Leeds United Jul-07
Youth Signing

Darren Bent
Charlton Athletic Jun-07
£16,500,000
Rating: 1 of 5
Might be a good striker but for that cash it’s an awful purchase and he’s been poor so far with us. I honestly think he will never make it with us and we will lose money on this guy and I can’t see Ramos wanting him.

Adel Taarabt
Lens Jun-07
Youth Singing
I know people drool over this kid, but he’s done nothing to earn labels and will be a trivia question one day but I didn’t give him a rating..

Yuri Berchiche
Athletic Bilbao Jun-07
Youth Signing

Gareth Bale
Southampton May-07
£5,000,000
Rating: 5 of 5
Let’s hope he gets a few more games before he wants to leave for United, but definitely a class signing.

Ricardo Rocha
Benfica Jan-07
£3,500,000
Rating :2 of 5
Competent squad player but a stupid desperate signing at the time that has done little to offset the cost.

Ben Alnwick
Sunderland Jan-07
Youth signing but already shipped off

Pascal Chimbonda
Wigan Athletic Aug-06
£4,000,000
Rating: 4 of 5
Was great last year but has slipped this year. Compare price for him with price for Rocha.

Steed Malbranque
Fulham Aug-06
£3,500,000
Rating: 3 of 5
I like Steed, but he has never once played his correct position. And under Ramos he never will.

Mido
AS Roma Aug-06
£4,500,000
Rating: 1 of 5
Desperate signing that should have never happened.

Dorian Dervitte
Lille Jun-06
Youth Signing

Didier Zokora
St Etienne Jun-06
£6,000,000
Rating 2 of 5
He was brought into replace Carrick, which he never did. Has been a fairly poor player until Ramos, where he has been solid in filling gaps.

Benoit Assou-Ekotto
RC Lens Jun-06
£3,500,000
1 of 5
I opted not to give zeroes

Dimitar Berbatov
Bayer Leverkusen May-06
£10,999,999
5 of 5
Been okay

Hossam Ghaly
Feyernoord Jan-06
Undisclosed
Rating: 1 of 5
Throwing the shirt at least made everyone forget about how terrible his passing was

Danny Murphy
Charlton Jan-06
£2,000,000
Rating: 1 out of 5
What a stupid signing for a team that already had enough darn CM’s.

[mattie g]

I thought you were talking about Jared (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jared_Fogle) before he ate all those Subway sandwiches.

[Mr Tips]

I thought it might be about an Andy Reid transfer.

[N-I-C-H-O]

I thought Butterbean was switching sports!

[pookspur]

interesting list, cd. good post.

i've no real quarrels with the ratings; but i do think that in time (after berbs is off) bent will end up being a decent acquisition. he'll never justify the pricetag, of course, but i always rated him at charlton, and still think that, given the minutes, he'll be quite solid for us.

also, malbranque for 3.5m is quite good business, in my honest.

[mattie g]

interesting list, cd. good post.

i've no real quarrels with the ratings; but i do think that in time (after berbs is off) bent will end up being a decent acquisition. he'll never justify the pricetag, of course, but i always rated him at charlton, and still think that, given the minutes, he'll be quite solid for us.

also, malbranque for 3.5m is quite good business, in my honest.

Saying that Alnwick has been "already shipped off" is misleading. He's on loan at Leicester in order to get games - Cerny is an older capable replacement, so it's better to have Alnwick go off somewhere else to get some time instead of sitting on the bench.

Agreed with you, pook, on Steed. He's been very good for us overall, an dthe price has been well worth it.

Bent hasn't gotten the time, but, as you said, there's little chance that he could have lived (or will live) up to his price.

I personally like what (little) I've seen of Rocha. The only problem is that he's been injured quite a bit or has been paired with Gardner/been behind King and Dawson when fit. I'd like to see him get a run out with King next to him. He's quicker than Dawson (not difficult), and can jump very well.

I agree with a lot of the rest. Zokora has looked better under Ramos and I have a feeling that'll keep up. Kaboul was a very big investment, but hopefully one that'll work out in the end - he certainly has the physical tools.

How we recouped our money for Mido is still mind-boggling.

[cdmphy]

One of the reasons I rate Malbranque as low as a I do is that he's a CM and was signed as such.

He hasn't played there. He has played on the right, which caused Jol to move Lennon to the left, which was bad for the team. And he has filled in capably at LW. He's been a really good player and doesn't complain.

But you sign a CM and he become a LW because you have no room for CM and you haven't signed a LW, then you don't deserve much in the way of credit for the signing. The managers and the players deserve credit, but not the guy who goes out and plops down money based on accent rather than ability/position.

[mattie g]

One of the reasons I rate Malbranque as low as a I do is that he's a CM and was signed as such.


I see. The rating was for the signing, rather than for the player. Makes more sense in that regard.

[tomas_brolin]

Dimitar Berbatov
Bayer Leverkusen May-06
£10,999,999
5 of 5
Been okay

haha!

[cdmphy]

haha!


Funny enough I posted this on a UK site and I got so many mad responses at that line.

[Hauler]

I think that most of those transfers have been very solid. I do think that those youth players are going to be bad ass. Dorian Dervite is going to be awesome and Adel Taarabt needs more time on the pitch to see faster growth. Mido and Ghaly have been awful and I hope Ghaly is off very soon. I think the poorest signing on that sheet has been BAE. What has he done for us lately.. Now that is a player we need to dump fast.

[mattie g]

I think the poorest signing on that sheet has been BAE. What has he done for us lately.. Now that is a player we need to dump fast.

Haluer: He's been hurt for most of the time he's been here, so he hasn't done anything for us lately (or since about two Christmases ago). He's got the physical tools to be a left back, but we haven't gotten to see him enough.

And as for offloading him - it's kind of tough to sell a player who's out for the season after knee surgery.

[chanman83]

The only thing I will say in MIDO defense is at some cruicial times last year he came through with some goals. One that comes to mind was I think it was the 2nd leg of the carling up or was it FA that we were down TWO to ARSE and he came in as a sub and headed in a sweet cross to put us only down 1 and give us a chance. I know there are a few more but after that, blah!!!

[Hauler]

Haluer: He's been hurt for most of the time he's been here, so he hasn't done anything for us lately (or since about two Christmases ago). He's got the physical tools to be a left back, but we haven't gotten to see him enough.

And as for offloading him - it's kind of tough to sell a player who's out for the season after knee surgery.

Seeing as how we have or are going to sign a bunch of Fullbacks I can kinda see that as him being pushed out. Ever since I came on here I have not been very high on mainly cause he has not been on the pitch. I would like to see what he is all about cause there are a lot of people here that rate him pretty well. I'd like to see what all the chit chat is about. :D

[Skizz]

The only thing I will say in MIDO defense is at some cruicial times last year he came through with some goals. One that comes to mind was I think it was the 2nd leg of the carling up or was it FA that we were down TWO to ARSE and he came in as a sub and headed in a sweet cross to put us only down 1 and give us a chance. I know there are a few more but after that, blah!!!
You're talking about where we were leading 1-0 at the Emirates and he equalised with two minutes left to take it to extra time.

[chanman83]

You're talking about where we were leading 1-0 at the Emirates and he equalised with two minutes left to take it to extra time.

Ah yeah you right. Thanks

[tomas_brolin]

most of the people that have been signed when levy was in charge have been decent..

ghaly and murphy were pure crap. i was reading that ghaly might go to loan to derby. they were also pointless signings..

bent.. he has been a little below average thus far, if he had more playing time, then his production would be better imo.. i also think that bent was a pointless signing.. im a big defoe fan.. so i don't know why we had to sign another striker.. keane, berbs, and defoe would have been 3 great strikers to have for any other team.. then i would have had lee barnard as the 4th striker.. he should be given the chance.

berbatov - best singing obviously..

assou-ekotto - he has been decent when he played.. but i don't see him getting into the first team for at least 6 months after he recovers.

rocha - not that great.. he is good for a sub at the end for a match.. but that is pretty much it.

bale - when he has played, he has been great. i hope ramos will put him as a left sided midfielder instead levy trying to get downing.. i havent seen his defensive skills though..

kaboul - not bad as of yet.. he still needs time to adjust to the premiership.. i think he and dawson/king could have a good partnership

tarrabt and boateng - good upcoming talents, but they need playing time! i think it's possible that boateng could oust zokora or huddlestone as the dm.. tarrabt, he has good pace, but that's all i have seen, i think that he could be a future left midfielder.

malbranque - he is good, always hustles, but never played in the correct position.

[greatbluekingly]

malbranque - he is good, always hustles, but never played in the correct position.

I was always under the impression, perhaps mistakenly, that Steed preferred to play in the center; but someone told me that he actually preferred to play on the right--he prefers the center though, doesn't he?

[DigitalTron]

Younes Kaboul
Auxerre Jul-07
£8,200,000

I'd say the jury is still out on this one. He hasn't even been here for an entire season, and I'm sure a full offseason here will do him good. He's playing on athletic ability at the moment, but once his head adapts to the speed of play here, I think he might be a good player.

Kevin-Prince Boateng
Hertha Berlin Jul-07
£5,200,000

Again, time needed, but I'm more inclined to think he's just not got the ability to make this one work.

Danny Rose
Leeds United Jul-07
Youth Signing

Still too early. These types of signings are very speculative, it's not about how many misses you get, it's about how many Aaron Lennon's develop from your crop of prospects.

Darren Bent
Charlton Athletic Jun-07
£16,500,000

Good player, not his fault we grossly overpayed--everyone saw that coming from a mile away ... well except for a few England homers. No idea if he's going to be worth the money in the long run, as he'll no-doubt be sold for a tidy sum or become a replacement for Berbs if he leaves. But all in all, we payed over the moon for this one.

Adel Taarabt
Lens Jun-07
Youth Singing

Count me in the drooling crowd. We payed a snippet and this kid is good. I'll be shocked if he doesn't prove to be a very savvy buy.

Yuri Berchiche
Athletic Bilbao Jun-07
Youth Signing

Jury is still out, he's young, but thus far looks to be an inconsequential signing. That said, I don't know how much we paid for him either.

Gareth Bale
Southampton May-07
£5,000,000

Great signing. I think we can keep him here at the Lane. Sure, the lure of Giggs is great, but by the time Bale is considering moving, it's going to be Carlos Q's team, not Sir Alex's team, and Giggs will undoubtedly have retired by then. So, the appeal of Manchester United will not be as great, and Carlos Q will likely fill the position with another player by then. I'm looking forward to Bale becoming a Lane Legend. Here's hoping Gunter can be half as good as Bale.

Ricardo Rocha
Benfica Jan-07
£3,500,000

Bizarre signing. He's not good enough, was bought to cover for injuries but was ineligible to play for the games we really needed him to play, and we paid way too much. I'd give this one a 1 out of 5.

Ben Alnwick
Sunderland Jan-07
Youth signing but already shipped off

I support buying British, and I'm not convinced Robbo is the answer, so Alnwick doesn't bother me. It's good we're getting him experience. Worth the price? ... no idea yet.

Pascal Chimbonda
Wigan Athletic Aug-06
£4,000,000

Enigma. Last season I was very happy about this signing, but he seems to have regressed significantly and caught Anthony Gardner's Disease (great for 85 minutes and stunningly bad for the other 5 minutes guaranteeing the other team goals). I'd say he's a good signing, but if he doesn't turn it around, I'm not so sure.

Steed Malbranque
Fulham Aug-06
£3,500,000

I liked the signing at the time and still do. Agreed, he'd be better if played as a central attacking mid, but honestly, he roams enough as it is even when he's nominally being called a left midfielder. I've been impressed with his committment to defending--particularly when Jol was around. He's neither experienced with it nor good at it, but the effort is there.

Mido
AS Roma Aug-06
£4,500,000

The only thing I can say about this one is that we eventually sold him, and that needs to be factored into the equation.

Dorian Dervitte
Lille Jun-06
Youth Signing

By all accounts he's an excellent signing. Cheap, extremely skilled, and he may be the answer to our CB problems down the road. Unfortunately, he's hit a really bad patch of injuries which have inhibited his development.

Didier Zokora
St Etienne Jun-06
£6,000,000

Dumbfoundingly disappointing. I expected a lot more out of him, but apparently I was wrong, he's just not good enough. This transfer was a real stinker. I cannot stop thinking about how we'd have done with Carrick in the side.

Benoit Assou-Ekotto
RC Lens Jun-06
£3,500,000

The ability is mostly there (except for his shoddy crossing), but he has dominated the competition for the next Tottenham Hospital Sicknote.

Dimitar Berbatov
Bayer Leverkusen May-06
£10,999,999

As Borat says ... very nize.

Hossam Ghaly
Feyernoord Jan-06
Undisclosed

Not worth whatever we paid. He gets a lot of kudos in my book for playing after getting 4 teeth knocked out, and because of that I can forgive his frustration of shirt throwing, but let's be serious, he never was good enough.

Danny Murphy
Charlton Jan-06
£2,000,000

Dumbest. Signing. Ever.

Obviously my comments are in blue. BTW, great run down and thread mate.

-Digital

[Skizz]

This may well annoy you, but you do realise that we were looking at Ghaly before you got him but he went to you for some reason? So all the maria adel hassle should have happened on our board in theory, but for wossisface's "great idea" to buy him?

So, in theory, Comolli set maria adel on you lot?

I'll see myself out.