Top Ten: Influential Premier League signings

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Top Ten: Influential Premier League signings

Samuel Van Gelder
Posted on: 03 March 2010 - 12:32
Football
Comments: 18 Go...

Sport.co.uk takes a look at some of the most influential signings in Premier League history, can you think of any others?

Eric Cantona November 1992 Leeds United to Manchester United
The word legend is sprinkled around too often in the modern game. But when fans of a club still sing a song about a player after over 10 years of the player leaving them, the term is applicable. Eric Cantona changed the whole philosophy of the football club with his enigmatic personality and memorable performances. And not just any football club, for that matter.

Dennis Bergkamp June 1995 Inter Milan to Arsenal
When Bruce Rioch signed the Dutch maestro for a then club record £7.5m in 1995, excitement grew amongst the Gunners faithful. Bergkamp joined David Platt at Highbury and Arsenal were starting to build a team full of technically gifted players in their pursuit of Premier League glory. 423 appearances, 120 goals, three Premier League titles, four FA Cups and many memories later (including that special goal against Newcastle), Dennis Bergkamp had written himself into Arsenal folklore.

Alan Shearer July 1996 Blackburn Rovers to Newcastle United
After four incredible years at Blackburn which saw the striker score 130 goals in just 171 games, Alan Shearer was hot property. Add to that a solid Euro 96 and Manchester United soon came knocking. But the Newcastle upon Tyne born predator was only going to sign for one club, his beloved Newcastle United. Kevin Keegan had to smash the world transfer record to acquire his services, splashing out £15m. But it was money well spent and Shearer went on to break Jackie Milburn’s 49-year-old record of 200 goals for the club.

Gianfranco Zola November 1996 Parma to Chelsea
The diminutive genius joined as part of a mass foreign influx under Ruud Gullit’s regime in the winter of 1996. Despite not winning as many trophies as perhaps his talents merited (two FA Cups and a UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup) Zola will long stay in the hearts of many a Chelsea fan. He scored some sublime goals during his time at Stamford Bridge, most memorably that cheeky back heel against Norwich. In 2003 he was voted Chelsea’s best ever player by the club’s fans. You can also add to that the fact that no other Chelsea player has worn the number 25 shirt vacated by the Italian since he left.

John Hartson and Paul Kitson January 1997 Arsenal and Newcastle United to West Ham
May not sound like the most glamorous of signings, but these two front men single-handedly (they have become one person after their heroic displays) kept the Hammers in the Premier League with 12 goals in the last 13 games. Before their arrival, West Ham were down and out. Hartson cost a then club record £3.3m and Kitson £1.2m. What looked a massive risk turned out to be one of the greatest managerial masterstrokes of all time from Harry Redknapp. Think relegation rescue mission, think Hartson and Kitson.

Thierry Henry August 1999 Juventus to Arsenal
Signed for £10m in the summer of 1999, many thought Arsene Wenger was taking a gamble on the Juventus flop, who was bought as a replacement for the recently departed Nicolas Anelka. But the French manager rarely calls it wrong and Henry went on to accumulate a club-record 226 goals, leading the line during Arsenal’s double winning campaign in 2002. He also finished top scorer in the ‘invincible’ 2003-2004 campaign, when the Gunners became the first team in over a century to go through an entire domestic season unbeaten. In 2008, he was voted the Gunners’ Greatest Player, ahead of Dennis Bergkamp.

Cristiano Ronaldo 2003 Sporting Lisbon to Manchester United
Never has £12.24m been such a snip. Signed as a teenager from Sporting Lisbon after glowing references from United’s players, Ronaldo came to England with star billing. And he certainly lived up to all his hype (after he got over the fad of doing too many stepovers whilst sporting a few spaghetti strands in his hair). His success at United included three league titles, as well as an FA Cup and Champions League winner’s medal. And let’s not forget he was named the best footballer on the planet in 2008. The only shame is that he didn’t grace the Premier League for longer, but money (and sunshine) talks.

Didier Drogba July 2004 Marseille to Chelsea
After impressive performances in Europe for Marseille, Roman Abramovich decided to break the bank with the £24m capture of the athletic forward in the summer of 2004. And the Ivory Coast star has been causing havoc for Premier League defences ever since. His arrival signalled the start of a successful period for the club, with back to back Premier League titles along with two FA Cup and League Cup titles. The Blues will have a tough job replacing him when he retires in the next few years.

Fernando Torres July 2007 Atletico Madrid to Liverpool
Signed for a club record £26.5m, El Nino was an instant hit with the Liverpool faithful. He set a new record in his first season at Anfield, scoring 26 league goals to become the most prolific foreign goalscorer ever in a debut season in England. Injuries to the striker have hampered Liverpool’s chances of winning the Premier League for the first time but should Rafa Benitez get a full season with a fully fit Torres, the glory days of the 1980s could soon be returning to Merseyside.

Robinho September 2008 Real Madrid to Manchester City
Yes yes, he has been a flop so far during his tenure in Manchester. But City sent out a message of intent to the football world with his £32.5m capture. It laid the foundations for the likes of Given, Barry, Adebayor and Tevez to join the Eastlands revolution. And who knows, a run of games back at Santos and a good World Cup, Citizens fans could still see the best of the tricky Brazilian in this country.

Do you agree with any of the above? Is there anyone else who you think should have made the list?

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james Posted:06 July 2011 - 02:28

So Elbows Shearer beat Wor Jackies record............Bullshit! Read the facts! Magpie 2, I have made a study of Shearer from the time he took a test at St.James' Park. His record is not as good as it looks. You must bear one factor in mind, some 45% of his goals were spot kicks, and that is not beating the other side, it is a near certainty of getting a goal. To build a reputation up on this, leaves a lot to be desired.He had this signed into his contract, he must have the No9 shirt, and he must take All penalties, Peter Beardsley was the player who normally took them. He smashed more noses with his elbow than anyone I know of, but was very crafty! There are many incidents he has been involved in.....e.g. The Neil Lennon of Leicester one is horrific, Neil finished up in his own goal with the stud marks of Shearer's boot in his face. Shearer claims it was an accident. The film records shoe Shearer on his back with his boot in Neil's face and Neil was cornered into the net, and that was his own goal! I can't say if he would ever make a Manager. I doubt it very much. He has no charisma, as Dalglish and Keegan did. He has no leadership qualities at all! If he is really interested, then he should take a page out of Mike Ashley's book and learn from the bottom! And then come up if he has the quality! To actually take the Magpies on as he did, was truly ludicrous. Again, he has this thing about being the greatest on Tyneside, but that can and never will be taken away from Jackie Milburn, the greatest player we have ever had. Fatso Shepherd had the wording altered to suit himself and Shearer. The greatest number of goals scored in a black and white shirt! That is grossly unfair, for a start, he played with the Magpies abroad many times, in the UEFA competitions etc, and that was impossible for Jackie to have done, so if we want to discount goals, here is one way he never equalled Jackie's record. The FA says he never did. There was a war on if you recall! We did not play in Europe. We fought there! Jackie did his share down the coalmines! Mike promised him a statue, which was commissioned by Fatso Shepherd,the Cumbrian lout aka as Chairman. That was if he kept the team up, and gave him 5M pounds to do it! There is not going to be a statue, even if there was it would be a mockery to any great player. The only way we can get rid of him once and for all is to let him become the Manager and see the real harm he does to the Magpies, and in that day, I think his followers will hate him! Mike will not give him any contract and has said so, he is too much of a liability. Let us look at the Official NUFC Records and see the way the figures are doctored: Shearers None League Goals. Champions League……7 Cup Winners Cup……..1 Intertoto……………….2 Split Up: Shots …………………18 Penalties……………….7 Headers………………..5 Venue: Home…………………18( Leazes End 11, Gallowgate End 7) Away…………………12. This is from the Newcastle Official Records! So, to be fair to Wor Jackie,let us take the 30 off, which is right and proper...and we get at the best..........176 goals actually scored in the PremierShip League! The guy is just a take on! Yes they were in black and white shirts, but impossible to compare them to Wor Jackie's 238, as the WW2 taking place! There were no European games............apart from the games our Military played on the Germans! So let us go into the facts of it! Jackie avoided headers, as did many other players, simply because the leather encased ball, usually soaken and very heavy with a leather lace almost concussed the header. Not like todays balloon! Let come back to it. Elbow Shearers fans say he is the top scorer at the Magpies, I say he is not and ask anyone of them to prove it. He limped along in the last season and scored a sensational 6 goals, 3 were given to him as gifts. But let us put the figures together and see how they figure. Of Elbows goals, 30 came from European Games! So, in there is no comparison. We were fighting a 6 year war! So there were no European games! OK? So we will deduct the 30 from Elbows record in fairness to Wor Jacky, That is 206 - 30 = 176! But to be fair, we have to do the same with Wor Jackie, the pride of England. The FA records give him 238! So seeing as 38 were War League games we will deduct them! In all fairness to Elbows! Wor Jackie......238 - 38 =200! See for yourself, you can't have the cake and eat it. Therefore Wor Jackie.......200..........Elbows Shearer .......176! Now that is being fair. We do not take into consideration the different position's Jackie played in,nor the times he was not in the No9 shirt! Nor that he was not the spot taker as Elbows insisted on being! The fact of the matter emerges............Wor Jackie....200 goals.............Elbows Shearer.....176! 24 less
Eddy McKenzie. Posted:04 March 2010 - 03:04

Grimms Fairy Tales. Again, he never beat Wor Jackie's record, he was 24 short accoring to the Offficial FA records! He is the biggest blot on Tyneside, and its worst failure, he will be remembered for 9 May 2009 for our relegation, first in the last 16 years! Get your facts right laddie, read and watche, I have been a fan for over 70 years and watched as a kid with Bobby, and Basil Hume! It has been reported that Alan Shearer turned down Manchester United twice. That's not true. The fact is he only turned them down once. In 1992 Blackburn Rovers and Machester United both registered an interest in Alan Shearer. Ultimately he was sold to BRFC for a then British record fee of 3.3 million pounds. 92-93 saw BRFC finish in 4th place which in all likelihood would have been higher had Shearer not sustained a serious injury midway through the season. The following season he continued his goalscoring form leading BRFC to a 2nd place finish. In the summer of 1994 BRFC and Man United once again registered an interest in a top class forward. On this occasion it was Chris Sutton whom the sellers made available for a fixed price of 5 million pounds to prevent a "saga" scenario. This went against Man United's usual policy of tapping up players and unsettling clubs so they decided to withdraw. Good to see them get a taste of their own medicine regarding Ronaldo wasn't it? First they lose a major final to the Spanish champions now they lose their star player to the runners up! Does this mean Real Madrid have the right to self proclaim themselves as the biggest club in the world now? Ultimately Shearer and Sutton formed a successful partnership and BRFC ended the 94-95 season as champions. Shearer was the premier league's top scorer and indeed still holds the all time EPL scoring record. The following season was one of colossal failure from a BRFC standpoint. Shearer was not at any personal fault for this as he once again dominated the scoring charts. In Euro 96 he finished as the tournament's top scorer. This led to multiple offers of interest both domestically and abroad. The leading contenders for Shearer's signature in England were Manchester United and Newcastle. As per their usual policy Man United began a deliberate campaign to unsettle Shearer and undermine BRFC who remained confident of retaining Shearer. Indeed Shearer himself stated he would remain at Ewood. Jack Walker even went as far as to offer Shearer a player manager's role intending for a gradual process which would see him take over from the late Ray Harford. As far as BRFC supporters were concerned the worst case scenario would be Shearer leaving for Man United. Local journalist Peter White summed up the anti-Man Utd feeling perfectly and accurately. Author Poll Why did Jack Walker refuse to sell Alan Shearer to Man United? His own personal dislike of Man United The Blackburn Rovers supporters dislike of Man United A combination of both vote to see results Peter White-" "Rovers should never be forgiven for allowing that to happen. They know they would never be forgiven if they let Shearer go to the club the Rovers fans love to hate. Fans might just live with a move to Barcelona or Milan. But not to "that lot." Fortunately Jack Walker shared the dislike of Manchester United. Indeed after completing his takeover in 1991 he stated that he intended to make Man United "look cheap." Note that Liverpool had been the dominant force at that time for many years. Even though Manchester United submitted a higher bid than Newcastle for Shearer it was still rejected. Jack Walker would not have sold Shearer to Man United under any circumstances. Shearer realised he would not get his first choice. Upon signing for Newcastle Shearer took the opportunity to boost his reputation. He claimed that Newcastle were his first choice to enhance his hero status. Though some media outlets knew the truth realising Jack Walker had blocked his true wish gullible Newcastle fans took Shearer's word as gospel. Don't be fooled by Shearer. When he took the manager's role for the last few games of the season he cleverly inserted himself into a no lose situation. He knew that if he was unsuccessful in saving Newcastle he would not be blamed. If he succeeded he would take all the credit and his hero status would shoot through the roof. It dosen't look like he will take the Newcastle role for the upcoming season. That's because Shearer dosen't want to risk getting the blame. He wants to play the white knight role as the last minute saviour. Shearer does at least have some justifiable questions regarding transfer funding. People should remember that Shearer is used to management with huge budgets available to them. Aside from his time at Southampton this is what he's used to. It's no surprise that his demands are anything different. It should also be noted that Kenny Dalglish (whom Newcastle had the incredible audacity to sack just so Frederick Shepherd could boost his ego) and Bobby Robson are the only managers he had whom spent well. They are the men he should learn from not the likes of Kevin Keegan. A managerial loser who Ashley should never have appointed in the first place. One of his many mistakes. So how did Alex Ferguson (I don't refer to anyone as sir especially not the likes of him) react to the Shearer refusal? Unsurprisingly with typical vitriol. He accused Jack Walker of hating Manchester United (which was accurate and I hate them too for the record) and even went so far as to claim Jack portrayed Shearer's sale as a victory to BRFC fans because at least they hadn't sold him to Man United. I wouldn't quite go so far as to say Jack considered it a victory but Newcastle was a better alternative to Man United as far as he was concerned. It's likely Ferguson read Peter White's comments when he stated in the Lancashire Evening Telegraph that the one consolation was that Shearer hadn't been sold to Manchester United. As for BRFC fans the current view of Shearer is a strange one. At first when he returned he was heavily booed. If you were at Ewood Park when Newcastle visited for a FA Cup fixture in 2000 that was the night BRFC supporters answered the question of whom they blamed most for the club's downfall. I wasn't there for his first return in 1996 but I bet it wasn't as bad as the 2000 reception. Gradually the relationship got a little better though it would perhaps be best described as strained. The boos stopped and when he was substituted in his last premier league appearance at Ewood he was clapped by all sides of the stadium. He also returned for a testimonial in 2005 in which he received a hero's welcome. Jason Wilcox appeared too and for the first time ever wasn't treated like garbage by the BRFC support. He was first choice last summer for the manager's role with the club board and many supporters. He wasn't my first choice but I would have accepted his appointment. By the end of the season though mocking chants were aimed at Shearer suggesting he hasn't been entirely forgiven. This is because he claimed he wasn't leaving Ewood and subsequently did so. There will always be a certain degree of bitterness for that. Do I hate Shearer? No but if he's going to make false claims I'm not going to accept that without a response. The truth is that Jack Walker refused to sell Shearer to Man United. It's about time the whole footballing world realised that. Deep down inside Newcastle fans know the truth as well.
Ed McKenzie Posted:04 March 2010 - 02:49

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