The most overpriced English footballers of all times
Bryn Jones
Wolves to Arsenal - £14,000 (1938)
Arsenal signed Bryn Jones in 1938 to replace their legendary player Alex James. Arsenal paid a record breaking fourteen thousand pounds for the player to Wolverhampton Wanderers. That fee would be somewhere around the seven million pound mark in today’s time. Jones, however, struggled to keep up in London. With the war outbreak in September of 1939, his career was brought to an abrupt halt. Even though the player continued to play for Arsenal in 1946, he had by then lost his place in the first team. He appeared in only seven games for Arsenal and won the league with the team the very same year. By the time he retired he had only managed seven goals for Arsenal in seventy four appearances, while he had had fifty two goals in a hundred and sixty three appearances for Wolves.
Justin Fashanu
Norwich City to Nottingham Forest - £1 million (1981)
After growing to fame with Norwich, Justin Fashanu became England’s, first black player to be signed to a million pounds. Brian Clough signed the player to replace the leaving, Trevor Francis. He never managed to form a good relationship with the manager, Clough. This bad relationship eventually led to the players confidence disappearing. After the manager found out the player was g*y, he was banned from training with the squad. Sixteen months later, he was sold to Notts County for a hundred and fifty thousand pounds. He scored three goals in the thirty two appearances that he made for the team. Clough was reported to have blasted the player by saying, "I didn't pay £1m for you to take corners, now get in the box."
Peter Crouch
Portsmouth to Aston Villa - £5 million (2002)
Southampton to Liverpool - £7 million (2005)
Liverpool to Portsmouth - £11 million (2008)
Portsmouth to Tottenham Hotspur - £10 million (2009)
Peter Crouch is one of the most transferred players in the English League. In his career he has only managed to reach double figures, twice. However the over-grown player has managed to command four over-priced transfers. The player is yet to prove his worth in the domestic league or on the Europeans stage. The player has, however, managed to play for teams ranging from Aston Villa to Liverpool.
Kieron Dyer
Newcastle United to West Ham United - £6m (2007)
Kieron Dyer is not only one of the most expensive transfers; he is also one of the most ridiculously over-paid players. He joined West Ham from Newcastle on a four year deal worth six million pounds; however, due to injuries he really hasn’t been able value the money that was paid for the player. He managed to make only twenty two appearances in the three years that he was employed by the club. According to the Daily Telegraph, the player never managed to complete ninety minutes. However, he continued whopping four hundred and twenty three thousand pounds every season that he was employed at the club, and another hundred thousand in royalties for letting the club use his name and image. His lack of field time and bad fitness record make him one of the most expensive and highly priced English footballers to date.
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