OTP revisits some of the transfers that the country’s largest clubs would rather forget…
http://youtu.be/eg9vbIw2ehg
10. David Cotterill
He was named Bristol City’s young player of the season in 2005/6, but for Wigan to pay £2million for a League One midfielder was always a gamble, and one that didn’t pay off. He played only 18 league games in as many months, before joining Sheffield United initially on loan and then a permanent deal.
9. David Connolly
The striker joined Wigan after their promotion to the Premier League for a fee that rose to £3million after the Latics survived relegation in their first season. However, that wasn’t thanks to Connolly in any particular way as he scored one goal all season, and was sold to Sunderland for £1.4million, exactly a year after being bought by Wigan.
8. Antonio Amaya
After playing his football in Madrid for six years at Rayo Vallecano, defender Amaya was signed by Wigan in August 2009 on a three-year deal. The fee was undisclosed but thought to be more than £1million, so that didn’t seem great value when he was loaned back to Vallecano after one season and left permanently after two. The Spaniard had never even appeared in a league game for the club.
7. Julius Aghahowa
Not the first player on these lists to have offered much on Championship Manager but delivered very little in English reality. Signed as a striker (although often utilised in a wide role), the Nigeria international managed to stay at Wigan for 18 months and play 20 games without troubling the scorers. A striker who is listed as scoring forty goals in 12 years was probably not worth the £2million Wigan paid.
6. Fitz Hall
‘One Size’ isn’t actually a poor player, but when a club looking to stay in the Premier League spends £3million on a central defender, you’d expect him to at least be first-choice. As it happens, Hall never impressed at the JJB, and he played just 25 league games in two seasons. He moved to QPR where he was released at the end of last season.
5. Jason Scotland
After being in the League One and Championship teams of the season in consecutive campaigns with Swansea, it was no surprise that a Premier League club took a gamble on the striker, but it did raise eyebrows that Scotland was so unsuccessful. It took an amazing 29 league games for him to find the net, and he did so only once. After just one season (and £2million per goal), Scotland was sold back to the Championship.
4. Olivier Kapo
A player who has turned out for Juventus, Monaco and Auxerre, and yet was signed for £3.5million by Steve Bruce from his old club Birmingham, where his form had been patchy.. Kapo flitted in and out of the side and in and out of matches when he was selected. He scored just one league goal in his two years at the club, eventually leaving on a free. Amazingly, has scored three goals in nine appearances for France.
3. Jason Koumas
A £5.3million price tag is a hell of a burden for a midfielder who had always looked impressive in the Championship, but never set the top flight alight in his time at West Brom. The Baggies snapped Wigan’s hands off for the money. Although the Welshman stayed for four seasons before being released, he scored just one goal from open play and played, on average, 13 games per Premier League season.
2. Marlon King
But at least Koumas stayed out of jail. King was signed from Watford on a deal worth £40,000 per week and a fee of £5million. He stayed for one season, scoring just one goal, and was loaned out twice within that time. At the end of the first season, King was sentenced to 18 months in prison on charges of ABH and sexual assault, leading Wigan to cancel his contract.
1. Mauro Boselli
An example of just why plucking a forward from South America is a risky business. Boselli arrived from Estudiantes for £6.5million, made five Premier League starts without scoring and hit just one goal for the club, against Swansea in the Carling Cup. He has since been loaned out to Italy and Argentina in consecutive seasons, although is still registered as a Wigan player.
Have we missed your favourite worst Wigan signing? Let us know below.
