Hullfox Posted 23 July 2004 Posted 23 July 2004 Didn't we once take a player on through word of mouth, put him on as sub after about an hour and then take him off again never to be seen again. Not sure if Bassett was the manager at the time. Sure I'm right about the player, not convinced about the manager.
lumberjack Posted 23 July 2004 Posted 23 July 2004 i can name a few players that should have disapeared after playing for half an hour, never to be seen again! ::
Scow Posted 23 July 2004 Posted 23 July 2004 I've not heard of that happening with us - Although Southampton are famous for that - I think it was someone called Ali Dia? They believed he was George Weah's brother/cousin, and they put him on as sub.
Guest Daniel Posted 23 July 2004 Posted 23 July 2004 Yeah i remember that scowy! Heres an articale i found on it, very funny. :: Ali Dia - Southampton In 1996 Graeme Souness immortalised himself in football folklore by falling for an amazing scam that resulted in him signing a player, so bad, that it made Gerard Houllier’s decision to buy Bruno Cheyrou look inspirational. It all started when Ali Dia, a desperate 30 year-old nobody, convinced his agent to phone the Southampton boss pretending to be World Footballer of the Year George Weah recommending ‘his cousin’ (Ali Dia) as the next big thing. Souness fell for it quicker than Robert Pires looking for a penalty and Dia was instantly signed up on a month’s loan. As you can imagine, Souness was eager to see what his new acquisition could do, but the Gods of Football Humour were smiling down on the Dell and a proposed reserve game, and Dia’s debut, against Arsenal was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch. That close shave didn’t deter the ‘striker’ who tried to build up his credentials by saying, “I feel I have a bit of pace and I can dribble well. Hopefully I can now show enough of that to the manager and maybe get a place in his squad.†Once again, Souness took the bait and Dia suddenly found himself on the bench in Southampton’s next game against Leeds. But the unthinkable was to follow. Despite Souness never seeing Dia kick a ball, he brought him off the bench. After one minute the whole crowd had to pinch themselves, trying not to believe that Coco The Clown was playing. Dia had the touch of an elephant and the deadliness of a fly. He couldn’t control a ball to save his life and after 14 minutes of 'Bambi on ice' the substitute was substituted, and his loan rapidly terminated. After such a humiliation, you would expect that Souness would have learnt his lesson about taking on a player who clearly can’t play football. I guess this wouldn’t be the right time to mention the £7m he spent on Corrado Grabbi then… oops! Ali Dia and Graeme Souness… we salute you!
Scow Posted 23 July 2004 Posted 23 July 2004 :: :: :: Brilliant stuff, it would be class if there was any footage of that performance. ::
Hullfox Posted 24 July 2004 Author Posted 24 July 2004 I remember Souness being interviewed afterwards. To be fair to him he took it on the chin
Guest Daniel Posted 24 July 2004 Posted 24 July 2004 Yah it would be funny, just for a picture ould make me laugh, but i cant even find that!
Scow Posted 24 July 2004 Posted 24 July 2004 Just seen this about Ade from the same site..... Adi Akinbiyi- Leicester CityDuring his time at Leicester, Ade Akinbiyi was to missing sitters what Vincent van Gogh was to painting. By the winter of 2001 he had become a comedy legend and even the Sun headlined, ‘Ade’s the worst striker in the league!’ on the front page of their sport’s section – rather kind for a tabloid. Signed in the summer of 1999 for a record fee of £5m, Akinbiyi was seen as new boss Peter Taylor’s replacement for Emile Heskey. In hindsight he was, it was just that he was the replacement of today’s hopeless Emile Heskey, rather than the decent youngster that left for Liverpool. For most of Akinbiyi’s first season, sitting in row Z was relatively safe as Leicester even challenged for their second successive UEFA Cup spot. However, a dramatic fall - of Ruud van Nistelrooy proportions – saw them lose nine of their last ten games. Then came the fateful 2001/02 campaign, where the worlds of Leicester City and Ade Akinbiyi fell apart quicker than a Wolves back-four. From the outset, Leicester’s defence couldn’t even mark a lottery ticket, while the blundering Akinbiyi couldn’t strike a match. It wasn’t long before the Nigerian’s calamities were turning ‘The Premiership’ into ‘You’ve Been Framed’ and he only made this worse when he finally broke his duck, twelve games into the season, against Sunderland. Embarrassingly, Akinbiyi celebrated by roaring around the stadium, topless, flexing his muscles (if only he spent as much time on his shooting) like he had scored a wonder goal. Unfortunately, replays showed that his six-yarder had taken a big deflection off a defender, then the post, all after he fluffed his first attempt. By February 2002 Leicester were virtually relegated and Akinbiyi was a cult zero, having bagged just two goals from 22 appearances (and 78 entries into ‘101 Gaffes’). Astonishingly, it was then that Crystal Palace decided to pay whooping £2.2m for the misfit, when even a free transfer would have been overpriced. To date, his time at Crystal Palace has been like his finishing – woeful. After injury, poor form and a hilarious rumour linking him with the 2002 Nigerian World Cup squad, Akinbiyi is looking for a new club with the mighty Stoke, Walsall and Gillingham all clearly disillusioned. Whatever happens with his next move, the Nigerian can take heart in the fact that he has already left his mark on Premiership football – albeit about 20 yards above most uprights. Ade Akinbiyi we salute you… ::
Hullfox Posted 24 July 2004 Author Posted 24 July 2004 can't find a picture anywhere, but it wasn't the only club where he only managed a brief appearance as sub! "Back in 1995 under the management of Peter Harrison, a foreign player was introduced to English game through the luxurious surroundings of Croft Park. Ali Dia became Blyth's first ever coloured player, albeit for a brief appearance as a second half sub. Dia never figured again but later went onto become quite infamous after his brief appearance for Southampton (again as a sub that was later substituted ) against Liverpool in the Premiership." The man is quite obviously a footballing legend.
Scow Posted 24 July 2004 Posted 24 July 2004 can't find a picture anywhere, but it wasn't the only club where he only managed a brief appearance as sub!"Back in 1995 under the management of Peter Harrison, a foreign player was introduced to English game through the luxurious surroundings of Croft Park. Ali Dia became Blyth's first ever coloured player, albeit for a brief appearance as a second half sub. Dia never figured again but later went onto become quite infamous after his brief appearance for Southampton (again as a sub that was later substituted ) against Liverpool in the Premiership." The man is quite obviously a footballing legend. He had a damn fine agent. ::
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