Roman Pavlyuchenko is enduring a torrid time at White Hart Lane. The Spurs frontman can’t get into the team and boss Harry Redknapp seems hesitant to sell him until the summer despite interest from Russia. It seems certain he will go down as a ‘flop’ in England, but he is by no means the worst of the bunch. Here are my top five Premier League striking flops.
1) Andriy Shevchenko, Chelsea
When the Ukrainian striker joined Chelsea for a then British transfer record of £30.8million in May 2006 big things were expected of the striker. He was considered one of the best in the business but it just didn’t come off for him in London. Jose Mourinho, the Chelsea boss at the time, didn’t seem to particularly want him and it seems he was more a signing of owner Roman Abramovic’s than Mourinho’s. He made less than 50 league appearances for the Blues in three years and scored just nine goals.
2) Mario Jardel, Bolton Wanderers
When the big Brazilian joined Bolton from Sporting Lisbon in 2003 the Reebok faithful thought they would have a world-class striker to score some vital goals for them. However, when they caught a glimpse of an overweight and out of shape Jardel they knew different. The double European Golden Boot winner made just seven appearances in his year in Lancashire, and failed to find the net before heading off back to Brazil.
3) Diego Forlan, Manchester United
The inclusion of Uruguayan striker Diego Forlan may seem somewhat harsh but he had a very poor record in England. Sir Alex Ferguson forked out around £7million for Forlan but it took him 27 games to score his first goal. He managed just 10 goals in 63 Premier League appearances and just couldn’t find his form in England. However, he made the switch to La Liga, first with Villareal and then with Atletico Madrid, where he rediscovered his shooting boots.
4) Boško Balaban, Aston Villa
In 2001 Villa paid nearly £6million for Croat ace Balaban. He arrived with a big reputation but failed to deliver, he couldn’t find the net for Villa and made just nine appearances, seven of which came from the bench. He was eventually released and moved to Belgian side FC Bruges on a free transfer.
5) Francis Jeffers, Arsenal
After impressing at Everton Jeffers made an £8million move to Arsenal in 2001. Things didn’t work out for Jeffers in north London, he managed just four goals in 22 league games for the Gunners and quickly lost his place to Thierry Henry and Sylvain Wiltord. Arsenal moved him on in 2004 and his career has dwindled ever since, the 29-year-old is now in the Championship with Sheffield Wednesday, where he can’t get into the team.
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