Biggest financial gamble on a player by the club?

[armchairclubber]

was thinking Ritchie and Smith were pretty big gambles, but in today's terms a player like Ritchie would probably have cost £10 mill having score goals for Man U aged 19. They were not such gambles as the three from Holland, Agustien Holla and Elvis (even Berkamp). Best stay clear.

 

[armchairclubber]

Codner and Bissett were big gambles too, difference is in those days you were more likely to break even

 

[Beach Hut]

he also played in a friendly whilst on trial against Lewes. He looked like he'd literally never played football before or he was a fan who'd won a competition and was allowed to play for a laugh

....and then we signed him

Never knew that about the friendly, didn't he actually play only around 30 minutes 1st team football all season ?

 

[turienzo's lovechild]

Never knew that about the friendly, didn't he actually play only around 30 minutes 1st team football all season ?

he played in 4 games. Mostly off the bench. I think his only start was away at Luton alongside Mark McCammon (worst strike partnership ever?)

we lost every game he played

 

[Iovan The Sweeper]

Jason Peake at £100,000 exactly 20 years ago was a significant sum with our meagre income at the time - and the future looking even bleaker.
One worldie goal at the beginning, and that was it. Despite this, we survived.
(For younger fans, just think 'Ryan Harley' and you will get my drift.)

Would also vote for Peake. Great left peg, but didn't work out for us. Soon went back to Rochdale I think - and on a free. Amazing sum given our league position - although I think some of it was money reinvested from selling Paul McCarthy and Junior McDougald.

That was the season before Hereford though - we also brought in Maskell and Baird, which worked out considerably better of course.

Farrington was another bad one. I have a vague recollection that was also £100k. We'd sold Mike Small to West Ham for £400k, so Barry Lloyd probably thought he was quids in. Byrne then went to Sunderland for £250k (?)...and there's no way that Farrington is just under half a Johnny Byrne!

Boy did we used to get mugged off for our players back then...

 

[Easy 10]

We paid £500K for Richie, but most of that was from the £400K we got for Ward.

Ah ok. A bit before my time.
But the wages back then were starting to sow the seeds of financial disaster...

 

[The Albion Roar]

Vicente.

Didn't pay a fee but I imagine his salary was larcenous. Big gamble for someone who was a sicknote by the time he got to us.

 

[armchairclubber]

Ah ok. A bit before my time.
But the wages back then were starting to sow the seeds of financial disaster...

I doubt it. .not then.. would guess he was on no more than £400 per week... if that

 

[turienzo's lovechild]

Vicente.

Didn't pay a fee but I imagine his salary was larcenous. Big gamble for someone who was a sicknote by the time he got to us.

worth every penny

 

[Gregory2Smith1]

anyone remember what we paid for Graham Pearce from Barnet?

must have been a gamble at the time,non-league to top flight

seem to recall him bagging a late winner at Elland Road,so he was worth every penny

 

[GT49er]

Ah ok. A bit before my time.
But the wages back then were starting to sow the seeds of financial disaster...

No idea - we (as fans) didn't really have much awareness of wages back then. Well, I didn't anyway. Great if we paid a few hundred thousand quid for a player, but it was like, that's it - we've signed a £100K player.

 

[e77]

he played in 4 games. Mostly off the bench. I think his only start was away at Luton alongside Mark McCammon (worst strike partnership ever?)

we lost every game he played

Midweek game between Christmas and New Year. I remember walking through snow to the ground from the station to hear the announcement of McGammon and Turienzo up front and almost turning round to go home again.

Turienzo went off injured if memory serves?

 

[El Presidente]

I doubt it. .not then.. would guess he was on no more than £400 per week... if that

The year the Albion went up the highest wage was £350 a week. Two years later, when we had signed Ritchie, the highest paid player was on nearly £1,000 a week.

 

[El Presidente]

anyone remember what we paid for Graham Pearce from Barnet?

must have been a gamble at the time,non-league to top flight

seem to recall him bagging a late winner at Elland Road,so he was worth every penny

£30,000 I think.

He lobbed Mervyn Day at Elland Road in a 3-2 victory from about 30 yards. No one could work out what he was doing in the Leeds half to be honest.

Also scored a last minute SCREAMER when we beat Cambridge 4-3 at the Abbey.

 

[Brighton Mod]

Vicente.

Didn't pay a fee but I imagine his salary was larcenous. Big gamble for someone who was a sicknote by the time he got to us.

Did it not transpire that Gus did not get along with him because he was bigger than Gus. Scored and made assists, one of the most classy players I have ever seen in the stripes. Gus blew it because he could not handle the pressure, Vicente was a joy to watch.

 

[Pantani]

he also played in a friendly whilst on trial against Lewes. He looked like he'd literally never played football before or he was a fan who'd won a competition and was allowed to play for a laugh

....and then we signed him

Remember that game well. Specifically remember turning to my mate and saying "we definitely won't be signing him". Then we did, I was perplexed to say the least.

 

[turienzo's lovechild]

Did it not transpire that Gus did not get along with him because he was bigger than Gus. Scored and made assists, one of the most classy players I have ever seen in the stripes. Gus blew it because he could not handle the pressure, Vicente was a joy to watch.

I doubt Vicente was blameless in the situation. He came with baggage from Valencia where he'd fallen out with the club (primarily the medical staff) and was certainly quite 'delicate' in his time here. Perhaps Gus just wasn't used to dealing with players like that (BIG step up from the likes of Alan Navarro and Matt Sparrow to Vicente) and probably didn't handle the situation particularly well- it definitely became clear after their departures that Vicente did NOT get on well with Gus. Probably one of the most interesting players to have ever played for the club.

but yes, he was an absolute joy to watch, there's no doubt about that

 

[Exile]

I doubt Vicente was blameless in the situation. He came with baggage from Valencia where he'd fallen out with the club (primarily the medical staff) and was certainly quite 'delicate' in his time here. Perhaps Gus just wasn't used to dealing with players like that (BIG step up from the likes of Alan Navarro and Matt Sparrow to Vicente) and probably didn't handle the situation particularly well- it definitely became clear after their departures that Vicente did NOT get on well with Gus. Probably one of the most interesting players to have ever played for the club.

but yes, he was an absolute joy to watch, there's no doubt about that

He certainly was. There is room in the game for all types of footballers, but let's face it, no kid was ever inspired to dream by Andrew Crofts or Keith Andrews.

 

[AZ Gull]

He lobbed Mervyn Day at Elland Road in a 3-2 victory from about 30 yards. No one could work out what he was doing in the Leeds half to be honest.

Supposedly on the way up to the game George Petchey and Chris Cattlin said to him "If you manage to get a one-two and you score, there's a crate of champagne in it for you."

 

[Doc Lynam]

Still has to be Glenn for me 300k in 2007, with our finances