Transfers That Didn't Happen

[Muddled]

Worthington followed in the footsteps of George Best by combining peerless footwork on the pitch with an equally voracious appetite for all the good things in life off it. He was all set to sign for top dogs Liverpool in 1972 but failed a medical due to high blood pressure, mainly as a result of to his legendary prowess in the bed hopping stakes. Manager Bill Shankly remained keen on the player and told him to take a rest and come back for another medical afterwards. True to form Worthington went on holiday and partied hard for a few weeks. He came back and failed the medical again. The move fell through with Worthington quipping: "I just saw it as their bad luck."

[ashey]

Stam & Sheringham.

[Muddled]

Blackburn's failure to infiltrate the upper echelons of English football for more than a couple of seasons in the 1990s is largely attributed to their inability to strengthen their squad appropriately in the aftermath of winning the Premier League in 1995. This is true up to a point: the likes of Matty Holmes and Graham Fenton were barely names in their own household, and the possibly apocryphal story that Jack Walker vetoed a deal for the Bordeaux pair of Zinedine Zidane and Christophe Dugarry because "we've got Tim Sherwood" hints at a chillingly parochial mentality. Yet their most costly failure came two years earlier, when Blackburn came this close to signing Roy Keane from Nottingham Forest. They may have shared the fiercest mutual enmity, but Keane and Alan Shearer remain the greatest British and Irish players of the Premiership era. You could have had nine complete donkeys alongside them - insert your own Mark Atkins/Ian Pearce/Robbie Slater joke here - but with those two in the side, how much could have gone wrong?


When Keane agreed to join Blackburn on a Friday afternoon, Kenny Dalglish phoned the Ewood Park office to arrange the paperwork, only to find that everybody had gone home. On such gossamer-thin margins did the modern history of English football rest. Keane instead shook hands on a deal and went home to Cork for a celebratory weekend of booze and kebabs. Somewhere in amongst all that came a phone call from Alex Ferguson, who asked Keane to sign nothing until they had met. It was the first time Keane had heard from Ferguson, who was either remarkably blasé or extremely lucky. No matter: Ferguson and the prospect of playing for Manchester United wooed Keane so much that he called off the deal, leaving Dalglish apoplectic. After a long rant, Dalglish concluded that Keane was a "wee *******". Opposing fans would call Keane a lot worse over the years, but mainly because they know how influential he was. He would have been every bit as influential at Blackburn.

[Baracus]

Saviola


Cantona - Souness Said No

[Ryan_Derrick]

Kenny was close to bring Gazza to Anfield about 1990.

[Tee]

Michael Essien to Liverpool - failed to get a work permit.

[Muddled]

Stam & Sheringham.

Saviola

A little bit more detail wouldn't go a miss.

[Muddled]

Cantona - Souness Said No

A good example. At least we had Paul Stewart and Mark Walters.

[Muddled]

Kenny was close to bring Gazza to Anfield about 1990.

Interesting, I thought it was between Spurs and Man Utd.

Gazza on the right, Barnes on the left could have been mouth watering.

[Muddled]

Carrick to Arsenal ...

Michael Carrick is likely to line up against Arsenal on Sunday but, for a time, Arsène Wenger saw him as the natural replacement for Patrick Vieira.

The French midfielder was linked with a move to Real Madrid in the summer of 2004. Had the transfer gone through, Wenger would have gone for the 25-year-old Englishman to fill the void. Circumstances changed and Carrick eventually went to Tottenham just before the transfer window closed that year.

In July this year he left White Hart Lane for Old Trafford in a deal reported to be worth £18.6 million. Wenger remains an admirer.

"He has made a big step up,” said the Arsenal manager. “I felt that Manchester United had the need to take a central midfielder. They paid a bit more because Tottenham didn't necessarily want to lose him. That is the explanation of his price.

“But I personally I rate him as a player because he nearly came here. When Vieira wanted to leave for Madrid, it was him I planned as a replacement.

“It didn't happen because Vieira stayed and we had Edu, Gilberto already and then Fabregas. I felt it was unfair to him to make him come and not play.

”I didn't go in for him again this time because I knew that Tottenham to Arsenal is an expensive way [to move].”

[powerpack]

Cantona - Souness Said No

Apparently he was a trouble maker. So he went on to sign those goodie two shoes, Julian Dicks and Neil Ruddock

[Baracus]

Micheal owen to Liverpool from Real Madrid - because he was a cunt

[Le Chef]

Frank Worthington

Due to sign for Shanks - Had his medical and the doctor said his heart rate was a little high, told frank to go home and rest and they'd re-do the medical on Monday. instead of resting frank went on the piss to celebrate from Friday to Monday and shagged everything in sight. he failed the medical again

[Le Chef]

A little bit more detail wouldn't go a miss.

The board refused to sanction the fee for Stam and the board felt Sheringham was too old and lacked value

[Ryan_Derrick]

Simao and Dani Alves - it was the selling club (Benfica and Sevilla) that up the price at the last minute. Simao was even on the plane and we ended up with Pennant.

Ronaldo - deal was agreed at £3.7m but Parry didn't think we could bring 3 x 18 year olds (we had just signed ALT & FSP) into the team in the same season. Houlluier told Cristiano to wait and he'd be back from him the following season. A week or 2 later Sporting agreed a £12m fee with ManUre (after he tore Gary ugly sister a new one in a pre-season friendly). Rumour has it even then Ronaldo called GH begging him to sign him that season.