All Time Worst XI

[ADVILLAFAN]

How often did Aleksander "crap with both feet" Tonev play for us?

[SoccerHQ]

With the adjusted criteria:

Bunn

Beye Senderos Baker Shorey

El Ahmadi Sylla Sanchez

Holman Hogan Richardson

I know a few of them didn't play all that often but all of them were signed with the intention of being regulars and the ones who didn't manage that were so shit that we either spent again to replace them or played people out of position in their place. I can accept that I'm probably being a little harsh on El Ahmadi but, for me, having him in our midfield after the likes of Barry, Milner and Delph is the point where the hope under Lerner really died. Baker might also be harsh but if he hadn't come through our academy he'd probably have struggled to have a career much above League 1, that he played well over 100 times for us shows just how far we'd fallen by the time we got relegated.

Think some of them were more huge disappointments rather than worst ever. Beye and Shorey were decent enough mid table prem full backs when we got both in but neither were much good for us under MON and became expensive wage drains.

From memory didn't Senderos play about five games with Vlaar in which we kept 3-4 clean sheets then picked up an injury and was never seen again? I can remember him being brilliant away to Liverpool so that's a surprising one.

Never ever rated Clark as a CB. He was a bit like Ridgwell, always had an error in him at key point in game and we conceded a huge amount from corners when he was a regular.

[LeeB]

God bless his soul but Bernie Gallagher is an absolute shoe in at left back.

[Sexual Ealing]

Sanchez is the single worst player I've seen.

[AV82EC]

Sanchez is the single worst player I've seen.

He was Caceido-esque for the first 60 minutes of a game then seemed to disappear into a time shift vortex and play like his boots were on the wrong feet for the final 30.

[rob_bridge]

Based on the approx. 40 games minimum criteria I'll go as below (since 1996). Obviously the likes of Tonev, Balaban, Danny Drinkwater, Mark Bunn etc. would be included with a less strict criteria on the amount of games. It also feels harsh to include Nyland considering his performance in the League Cup semi, but I'm struggling for a terrible keeper that played that many games.

Nyland

Richards, Elphick, Lescott, Cissokho

Bacuna, Kinsella, Sanchez, Richardson

Gestede, C.Cole

Richards

Richards Richards Richards Richards
Richards Richards Richards Richards
Richards Richards

Subs

Richards
Richards
Richards
Richards
Richards

[rob_bridge]

There's a few from the 1986-1987 relegation season I can think of too!!!

They were the worst underachievers - sure some were past their best and some not quite to level they achieved but fupp me Spink, Evans, Dorigo, Keown, Walters, Birch Thompson should never have been relegated. A half decent coach would have had them mid table.

[PeterWithesShin]

Most on these lists as they tend to feature players that tried their best but just weren't good enough, which isn't really their fault. Take Bowery, never good enough but tried like fuck, not his fault we signed him and played him and I don't blame him for joining us. My ire is generally for the likes of Collymore, Ireland, McCormack etc who performed far below their ability.

Even Lescott, everyone sensible knew he was past his best, but then seem surprised he was a bit shit. Richards, we couldn't even insure him and then seemed surprised he was too injured to play after giving him a long and expensive contract.

[Chris Harte]

God bless his soul but Bernie Gallagher is an absolute shoe in at left back.

Absolutely.

Along with Paul Kerr, Darren Bradley & Ray(?) Walker.

[paul_e]

With the adjusted criteria:

Bunn

Beye Senderos Baker Shorey

El Ahmadi Sylla Sanchez

Holman Hogan Richardson

I know a few of them didn't play all that often but all of them were signed with the intention of being regulars and the ones who didn't manage that were so shit that we either spent again to replace them or played people out of position in their place. I can accept that I'm probably being a little harsh on El Ahmadi but, for me, having him in our midfield after the likes of Barry, Milner and Delph is the point where the hope under Lerner really died. Baker might also be harsh but if he hadn't come through our academy he'd probably have struggled to have a career much above League 1, that he played well over 100 times for us shows just how far we'd fallen by the time we got relegated.

Think some of them were more huge disappointments rather than worst ever. Beye and Shorey were decent enough mid table prem full backs when we got both in but neither were much good for us under MON and became expensive wage drains.

From memory didn't Senderos play about five games with Vlaar in which we kept 3-4 clean sheets then picked up an injury and was never seen again? I can remember him being brilliant away to Liverpool so that's a surprising one.

Never ever rated Clark as a CB. He was a bit like Ridgwell, always had an error in him at key point in game and we conceded a huge amount from corners when he was a regular.

My thinking with Senderos, Beye and Shorey is partially that I didn't want to just fill the team with the relegation squad but also because all 3 were signed as established players ready to come in a do a job and, for whatever reason, they turned invisible within weeks. I think it's because I find utterly pointless players more of an issue than players who just aren't good enough. That's also why Bowery didn't get included but I struggled to pick between Richardson and Dawkins. Also (dis)honourable mention to Balaban, Berson, Makoun and Bradley (and many others) for similar reasons.

The other one I reckon is controversial is Holman over Tonev but I knew the latter would get mentions so I went with a player so forgettable he probably needs a few minutes looking in the mirror every morning.

[SoccerHQ]

How often did Aleksander "crap with both feet" Tonev play for us?

My recollection is he played a fair amount in 2013/14. Maybe not many subs but he came on as sub fairly regularly. N'zogbia didn't play a single game that season so I presume he was injured and Albrighton was on his way out.

Soccerbase has it as 17 prem appearances and three games in the cup so 20 over the season.

[SoccerHQ]

With the adjusted criteria:

Bunn

Beye Senderos Baker Shorey

El Ahmadi Sylla Sanchez

Holman Hogan Richardson

I know a few of them didn't play all that often but all of them were signed with the intention of being regulars and the ones who didn't manage that were so shit that we either spent again to replace them or played people out of position in their place. I can accept that I'm probably being a little harsh on El Ahmadi but, for me, having him in our midfield after the likes of Barry, Milner and Delph is the point where the hope under Lerner really died. Baker might also be harsh but if he hadn't come through our academy he'd probably have struggled to have a career much above League 1, that he played well over 100 times for us shows just how far we'd fallen by the time we got relegated.

Think some of them were more huge disappointments rather than worst ever. Beye and Shorey were decent enough mid table prem full backs when we got both in but neither were much good for us under MON and became expensive wage drains.

From memory didn't Senderos play about five games with Vlaar in which we kept 3-4 clean sheets then picked up an injury and was never seen again? I can remember him being brilliant away to Liverpool so that's a surprising one.

Never ever rated Clark as a CB. He was a bit like Ridgwell, always had an error in him at key point in game and we conceded a huge amount from corners when he was a regular.

My thinking with Senderos, Beye and Shorey is partially that I didn't want to just fill the team with the relegation squad but also because all 3 were signed as established players ready to come in a do a job and, for whatever reason, they turned invisible within weeks. I think it's because I find utterly pointless players more of an issue than players who just aren't good enough. That's also why Bowery didn't get included but I struggled to pick between Richardson and Dawkins. Also (dis)honourable mention to Balaban, Berson, Makoun and Bradley (and many others) for similar reasons.

The other one I reckon is controversial is Holman over Tonev but I knew the latter would get mentions so I went with a player so forgettable he probably needs a few minutes looking in the mirror every morning.

Brett Holman...can remember the name but no idea who we signed him from or even what season (or two or three) he was here! McLeish year?

He ran around and scored a couple of goals before drifting back into obscurity after leaving us.

KEA looked on paper an o.k signing and think he did well back at Feyenoord when he left us. He and maybe Sanchez to a degree was just a case of prem being a yard too quick for them in midfield area and they looked fine going back to slower paced leagues.

It was a scandal in 2-3 years we went from a regular midfield of Downing-Milner-Barry/Petrov-Young to some of those names listed above so no shock at all we quickly fell down the prem table.

Would be like replacing all the current midfield options we have now with what Burnley put out.

[PeterWithesShin]

From memory we agreed the Holman Bosman while McLeish was manager meaning he played for us the first Lambert season. And left after a year. My main memory of him is he scored a couple at a World Cup rather than anything he did with us.

[TopDeck113]

Paul Mortimer needs a slot in the nonexistent midfield 

[cdbearsfan]

We've had far worse than Bacuna.

That was the stand-out for me too. Think that back four is probably the textbook answer though.

And now he's off to the World Cup.