Summer 2025 Transfer Window - hopes, speculation, rumours etc.

[cdbearsfan]

Presumably the worst player ever to wear the shirt would be some youth player or trialist that none of us eve saw who was released due to being absolutely shite and never made it at a lower level.

We will have had hundreds of players worse than Andy Comyn, who was always fairly solid, as I recall, and got sold to Derby, who are hardly non-league level.

[PeterWithesShin]

I never claimed Comyn was the worst ever, just that imo he wasn't as good as Philogene. A couple of years at second tier Derby, then 3rd tier Plymouth then non league doesn't do much to dispel that. Doesn't mean i'm burning effigies of him.

[VILLA MOLE]

There was a player who we had on trial under Sir Graham from Grimsby  Boulding ?  he was pretty out of his depth   

[Steve67]

We’ve had some that were seemingly decent but turned out to be rubbish. Adrian Heath, Warren Aspinall, Brett Holman, Bowery, Bacuna, Balaban, Leonhardson, Lamptey, Grahib, Hadji, Kashloul. To name but a few.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

Conceciao was at Jive, on loan from Porto or Sporting

Oh yeah, he could move, daddio.

I dig him. €30m release clause apparently (Juve paid between €7-10m to loan him for the season).  He definitely looked good against us, but wasn't exactly prolific last season.  5 goals and 4 assists in 37 appearances.  If the team here thought they could get a tune out of him, then great, but don't see him being a priority, unfortunately.

I'd say replacing Bailey and having somebody on the right to worry defences is a priority. His goal the other day away to Germany was more than a bit special and no doubt Porto are laughing all the way to the bank. Realistically, missing out on CL as Monchi pointed out is going to mean it's going to be tough at attract and pay for the quality of players we need.

[eamonn]

There was a player who we had on trial under Sir Graham from Grimsby  Boulding ?  he was pretty out of his depth   

You should have seen his backhand though.

[VillaTim]

Balaban pound for pound has to be the worst.

Yep, you could names dozens that were worse. Crespo, Luna, Malcolm Allen, Comyn, Jota are some more.

I saw Michael Boulding play for us (in the Intertoto cup, admittedly), so I've definitely seen worse.  But in terms of money spent, not sure there is much worse than Balaban? Big money (for the time) and a big wage (for the time), for practically zero return.

Comyn is a bit unfair too. He was a youth player brought in from a non-league side, who played a dozen or so games and was sold onto Derby. I remember him playing very well against Inter Millan at Villa Park. My Dad taught him physics at university, so not your average footballer.

https://rachaelv.podbean.com/e/from-football-to-finance-the-cfo-who-proves-numbers-are-a-team-sport/

Djemba Djemba was one of the worst signings.

Jeam Makoun III was too, and that Bjorn Engels

[paul_e]

Nah, not having Engels on that list, he was decent for the cost as an option for a team that just needed to survive.

A couple of niggly injuries and Konsa settling in faster than expected limited how much he played but he did exactly what you should expect from a cheap punt to bulk out the squad.

[Monty]

Yeah Engels was fine, just resembled an actual tree. But you can bounce a ball far off a tree, and he did that just about often enough.

I'm pretty sure Helenius never did anything other than getting lovingly pantsed.

[VILLA MOLE]

There was a player who we had on trial under Sir Graham from Grimsby  Boulding ?  he was pretty out of his depth   

You should have seen his backhand though.

oh yes he was good at tennis as well wasnt he  ,  bloody all rounders !!

[paul_e]

Yeah Engels was fine, just resembled an actual tree. But you can bounce a ball far off a tree, and he did that just about often enough.

I'm pretty sure Helenius never did anything other than getting lovingly pantsed.

And suffering from fairly severe depression if I remember right.

[Rigadon]

In terms of worst ever signing, and with a particular focus on players coming in to placate fans after seeing a former hero leave - I raise you one Charles nZogbia.  Ah yes, the replacement for Ashley Young was properly and completely fucking shite. 

[brontebilly]

Balaban pound for pound has to be the worst.

Yep, you could names dozens that were worse. Crespo, Luna, Malcolm Allen, Comyn, Jota are some more.

I saw Michael Boulding play for us (in the Intertoto cup, admittedly), so I've definitely seen worse.  But in terms of money spent, not sure there is much worse than Balaban? Big money (for the time) and a big wage (for the time), for practically zero return.

This has probably been asked before but did anybody here see Balaban live for us? He played for Croatia and was it Brugge in CL afterwards so he can't have been a complete dud of a player.

Then again that Croatian keeper we bought under Smith, and had tracked for years apparently, was impossibly bad.

Philogene doesn't belong in that camp but it's fair to say he looked miles out of his depth for us.

[PeterWithesShin]

His career before and after us was decent. He was dire for us. I saw him play a few times for us and it wasn't good, a mate covered the reserves for local radio at the time and said he even looked out of his depth at that level.

[VillaTim]

I'll raise your CNZ with a Habib Baye