Best bargain ever

[Silver Sean]

Just thinking about how, despite their billions, Man City have unearthed a top goalkeeper from Shrewsbury for £600,000, plus some more cash if it worked out.
It's something that all clubs did in the past, but as players are snapped up about aged 9 now doesn't happen much anymore. Kids seem to find their level early these days.
For us there are some obvious ones, Keegan, Hughes, Hansen etc.
My fave has to be Ronnie Whelan for 40 grand and Steve Nicol for £300,000.
Can we claim any bargains in recent years? Sami, Arbeloa, Agger?
Just fancied a break from the endless hand-wringing over our current plight...

 

[Oncy]

Markus Babbel for free was a fucking doozie.
In fact defenders en masse we have done very well with:
Agger, Skrtel, Hyppia, Riise, Finnan, Babbel, Arbeloa = about 20m.

 

[Silver Sean]

Ah yes, Marcus. Brilliant. Good call.

 

[Mystic]

Markus Babbel for free was a fucking doozie.
In fact defenders en masse we have done very well with:
Agger, Skrtel, Hyppia, Riise, Finnan, Babbel, Arbeloa = about 20m.

Yep, and we could have sold just one of them for over that price, making back all the value. Shame we can't get it quite as right further up the pitch.

 

[FoxForceFive]

Sami was one of the Premierships best ever all time value buys imo.

 

[peterhague]

Sami was a freakishly good signing. Virtually impossible to emulate: how many world class players are there today, in their mid twenties, playing for a nothing club in a backwater league? I'd be surprised if there's any.

 

[keniget]

Kompany was a great buy at 7M or whatever they paid for him.

European clubs regularly pick up ridiculous bargains but in England it happens far less.

 

[Oncy]

I heard the other day that Oldham gave Sami a trail and turned him down!!?

 

[keniget]

I heard the other day that Oldham gave Sami a trail and turned him down!!?

Sheffield passed up on Cantona as well I believe.

Funny to hear these stories.

 

[Rosco]

Kompany was a great buy at 7M or whatever they paid for him.

European clubs regularly pick up ridiculous bargains but in England it happens far less.

I wonder why that is

 

[Leo]

Viera,Anelka or Hyppia.

 

[tony]

I reckon buying Barnes for less than a million was a steal - one of the best players the club has seen - fuck nose how much he would cost now £50m ?

 

[peterhague]

I heard the other day that Oldham gave Sami a trail and turned him down!!?

Yeah I remember reading that when he signed. Mad.

 

[peterhague]

I reckon buying Barnes for less than a million was a steal - one of the best players the club has seen - fuck nose how much he would cost now £50m ?

£15-20m I'd have thought.

 

[LarryHagman]

Sheffield passed up on Cantona as well I believe.

Funny to hear these stories.

I think he was on trial at Wednesday but opted for a full deal with Leeds.

All that was after Souness had said 'No Thanks'.

 

[Ryan]

The pair of Church's I got on the last Mr. Porter sale. All in $167, absolute steal.

 

[Pesam]

Going back a bit, Hansen, Keegan, Clemence, Heighway, Whelan, Hughes & Neal were all signed for buttons.

In more recent times, Hyypia, Babbel & Gary Mac.

For other teams I'm afraid the 2 that stick out are both Scummers; Schmeicel £0.5m and Cuntona £1m.

 

[tony]

£15-20m I'd have thought.

Blimey Pete if you could find a player for 15m who is as good as Barnes was you need to be on the scouting team. How we miss a player like that.

 

[peterhague]

Blimey Pete if you could find a player for 15m who is as good as Barnes was you need to be on the scouting team. How we miss a player like that.

Oh, I thought you meant what would the £900k we paid for him convert to in today's money, in which case £15m would be about right I think. Obv he'd be worth more like the £40-50m you said.

It's always puzzled me a bit how we were able to get Barnes for so little. He was an established player - I can only presume he'd never quite convinced totally at Watford?

 

[Glen C]

Arsenal buying anelka for 500,000 and selling him for £25m in such a short time was amazing business by wenger.

 

[irishred]

Peter Schmeichel - 500k Man Utd
van der Sar - 2m Man Utd
Joe Hart - 600k - Man City
Shay Given - 1.5m Newcastle

Glen Johnson - 4m Portsmouth
Markus Babbel - Free Liverpool
Steve Finnan - 600k Fulham + 3.5m Liverpool
Hyypia - 2.6m Liverpool
Sol Campbell - Free Arsenal
Nemanja Vidic - 7m Man Utd
Vincent Kompany - 6m Man City
Alan Hansen - 110k Liverpool
Paul McGrath - 400k - Aston Villa
Colin Hendry - 700k Blackburn
Ashley Cole - £5m + Gallas - Chelsea
Patrick Evra - 5.5m Man Utd
Denis Irwin - 625k Man Utd

Cesc Fabregas - Free Arsenal
Patrick Vieira - 3.5m Arsenal
Roy Keane - 3.75m Man Utd
Emmanuel Petit - 2.5m Arsenal
Tim Cahill - 1.5m Everton
David Ginola - 2.5m Newcastle
Robert Pires - 6m Arsenal

Eric Cantona - 1.2m Man Utd
Gianfranco Zola - 4.5m Chelsea
Robin van Persie - 2.75m Arsenal
Alan Shearer - 3.3m Blackburn Rovers
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer - 1.5m Man Utd
Jurgen Klinsmann - 2m Tottenham
Andy Cole - 1.75m Newcastle
Teddy Sheringham - 3.5m Man Utd
Nicolas Anelka - 500k Arsenal
Darren Bent - 2.5m Charlton
Dwight Yorke - Free Aston Villa
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink - 2m Leeds United
Kevin Phillips - 350-600k Sunderland
Les Ferdinand - 30k QPR

 

[Richey]

Some good ones there.

Not sure Teddy Sheringham to United was exactly a bargain though. Good signing, but the price was pretty reasonable rather than incredibly cheap.

 

[irishred]

Yeah maybe, I suppose he was more of a bargain for Tottenham at £2.1m were he was more successful individually as a goalscorer, but in terms of helping United win multiple trophies by scoring in vital matches and getting the Footballer of the Year accolades in 2001, 3.5m is quite good. I don't like him for some reason though and it's not just because he was a manc.

 

[Richey]

I guess, yeah. Good signing anyway.

I don't like him either, not sure why because he shouldn't be overly offensive really

 

[Mersey86]

Dalglish 440,000 - making a profit from replacing Keegan. Grobbelaar 250,000. Hansen 110,000.

 

[Silver Sean]

£15-20m I'd have thought.

Believe me if Torres costs 50m nowadays and others are around the 35m mark the John Barnes of 1990 would have gone for somewhere close to the same. Maybe even more. He was robbed of playing in Europe because of Hysel but he would have had Real, Barca etc knocking on the door with a huge wedge if he had been.
Best player I ever saw week in week out when he was in his pomp.

 

[Silver Sean]

Arsenal buying anelka for 500,000 and selling him for £25m in such a short time was amazing business by wenger.

That was pretty amazing. Then PSG buying him back for £20 million a few years after selling him for 500,000. Mental.

 

[Silver Sean]

Oh, I thought you meant what would the £900k we paid for him convert to in today's money, in which case £15m would be about right I think. Obv he'd be worth more like the £40-50m you said.

It's always puzzled me a bit how we were able to get Barnes for so little. He was an established player - I can only presume he'd never quite convinced totally at Watford?

Apologies. Just saw this.
We were the biggest draw in the country then. He wanted to come. They took what we offered. That's how I remember it anyway.

 

[Silver Sean]

Peter Schmeichel - 500k Man Utd
van der Sar - 2m Man Utd
Joe Hart - 600k - Man City
Shay Given - 1.5m Newcastle

Glen Johnson - 4m Portsmouth
Markus Babbel - Free Liverpool
Steve Finnan - 600k Fulham + 3.5m Liverpool
Hyypia - 2.6m Liverpool
Sol Campbell - Free Arsenal
Nemanja Vidic - 7m Man Utd
Vincent Kompany - 6m Man City
Alan Hansen - 110k Liverpool
Paul McGrath - 400k - Aston Villa
Colin Hendry - 700k Blackburn
Ashley Cole - £5m + Gallas - Chelsea
Patrick Evra - 5.5m Man Utd
Denis Irwin - 625k Man Utd

Cesc Fabregas - Free Arsenal
Patrick Vieira - 3.5m Arsenal
Roy Keane - 3.75m Man Utd
Emmanuel Petit - 2.5m Arsenal
Tim Cahill - 1.5m Everton
David Ginola - 2.5m Newcastle
Robert Pires - 6m Arsenal

Eric Cantona - 1.2m Man Utd
Gianfranco Zola - 4.5m Chelsea
Robin van Persie - 2.75m Arsenal
Alan Shearer - 3.3m Blackburn Rovers
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer - 1.5m Man Utd
Jurgen Klinsmann - 2m Tottenham
Andy Cole - 1.75m Newcastle
Teddy Sheringham - 3.5m Man Utd
Nicolas Anelka - 500k Arsenal
Darren Bent - 2.5m Charlton
Dwight Yorke - Free Aston Villa
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink - 2m Leeds United
Kevin Phillips - 350-600k Sunderland
Les Ferdinand - 30k QPR

Have to admit Solskjaer and Irwin for the scum were brilliant buys.
s for Darren Bent, I wouldn't give you 2.5p for him.

 

[Pesam]

Some good ones there.

Not sure Teddy Sheringham to United was exactly a bargain though. Good signing, but the price was pretty reasonable rather than incredibly cheap.

My Teddy Sheringham anecdote....................

Back in his United days, I was in the (manchester) city centre looking for an engagment present for friends of mine. I'm shit at buying such presents and was wasting time by visiting the sports memorabilia shop Sports Pages. Behind the counter they had framed pictures of the major football grounds, Anfield, Old Trafford, Maine Road etc.

It occured to me that the couple for whom I was looking for a present were both Old Trafford regulars and I could solve my present-buying dilemma by buying them the framed Old Trafford picture.

I resigned myself to the knowledge that I had to buy the picture entitled "Old Trafford - Theatre of Dreams" but was adamant that the shop assistants (both male, in their 30's) would not mistake me for a Scum fan.

I wandered over to the counter, one of the assistants was free, I pointed toward the framed pictures and said "Can I have one of those Old Trafford Theatre of SHIT pictures". The other customers being served at the counter swung around and said (in a cockney accent) "Oi, less of that nonsense", it was none other than Edward Sheringham and he wasn't best pleased. I smiled but was too shocked to respond.

When he left I got talking to the shop assistants who were both City fans. They were thrilled with my comment but were convinced that I had seen Sheringham in advance and said it to wind him up.