Worst goalkeeper signings in MLS

Wicks was a headcase with the LA Galaxy, his first MLS club. Good keeper 99% of the time, but prone to serious gaffes at the most inopportune moments, and reportedly terrible in the locker room. But maybe he's different now. Incredibly, he's now captain of a club in the Swedish second division.

I don't know that Kwarasey deserves to be on that list, though. He won a championship. The fact that he was deemed surplus to requirements has more to do with Gleeson's performance than with Kwarasey's ability.

No "worst goalkeeper signings" list is complete without Curtis Spiteri, whose career GAA is 12.00.

Or Joe Nasco, for whom the fastest red card in MLS history (insert police brutality joke here) was just the tip of the iceberg. He played four games, had one really impressive game and three awful ones -- though even in his one good game he gave up a lot of rebounds.

 

Cudi was a spent force and horrible. Josh Wicks also hilariously (if he didn't play for you) accident prone.

Ricketts second LA signing was a disaster. Perhaps gets a pass because he was good in MLS during his prime?

 

I don't know how anybody can top Rais Mbolhi. Not just one of the worst keeper signings in MLS history; one of the worst signings period. Signed a malcontent DP keeper to a team that didn't need a keeper.

 

Lampson (CHI), it wouldn't of been so bad if he was signed to be the back up, but he wad our #1 affording to the coach.

 

How can the keeper who is the reigning MLS Cup winner be on the list for worst keepers? How bad of a fit could he have been? Just because he got beat out of his spot in fair competition this year does not change that. M'bolhi on the other hand ...... yikes. Cudicini .... ugh.

 

Frank Rost was a bizarre signing by Red Bull ... Wasn't it a DP contract? The saving grace was that it was a short term contract so they were able to get move on without too much damage done.

 

Does Louis Crayton break into this list for DCU?

 

Kristian Nicht was signed by the Impact, but didn't play in MLS. He only played in the club's most important game ever, the 2015 CCL final return leg in Montreal, before being released after the game. He didn't do so great.

 

Im wondering how the great Tony Caig stacks up in all this.

 

I do think there's a difference between worst goalkeeper and worst goalkeeper signing. Mbolhi and Rost and Cudicini are the ones in the latter category IMO.

 

I seem to recall he got a ridiculous border-line yellow for something stupid like time-wasting in the first leg, and that caused him to miss the second, which as someone said, was the most important match in club history!

I think they tried to get Sean Johnson from Chicago for a one-game loan, but that deal was nixed.

 

Jorge Campos to the Chicago Fire?

 

That was not a bad signing at all. We were happy when he arrived in Chicago...and happy when he left.

First, Jorge Campos was one of the most famous soccer players in North America at the time.
There was huge publicity about his signing in Chicago. He brought well needed national and international press with his flamboyance and the fact that he was a starter for the Mexican World Cup team. He was the only player for Mexico's World Cup team not playing in Mexico.

Second, it brought us Chris Armas, one of the best Fire players of all time.

Third, we knew going in that Campos would be gone for much of the season due to the World Cup, so it gave plenty of time for Zach Thornton to become comfortable in the role, take over as Number 1 and not lose his spot.
Had we received Kevin Hartman instead (as he was the original pick, along with Danny Pena), Hartman and Thornton would have fought it out and neither likely would have turned into the players that they became.

All in all, I would say it was really good signing for all concerned.
Campos received a lot of money for doing very little.
The Fire more than received just compensation in the form of publicity.
Thornton was able to come along, take over, and be the stalwart in goal for the Fire for a decade.

 

Johnson would have had to stay with the club all year, I believe.

Bush was on a yellow from the SF and got CONCACAF'ed for a second yellow in the first leg of the final. He booted the ball in frustration after a late tying goal and an America player jumped in front of the ball and made a meal of it. Unsportsmanlike conduct was the call. Can't find a video.

The backup during the previous 5 games of the run was actually Jon Smits, on loan from FC Edmonton, but the Impact decided not to go with him as he hadn't played a game all year at that point.