Players not reaching expectation

[ThePolishJig]

Sammy Ameobi (Newcastle)
Yuri Sahin( Liverpool)
Stephen Dobbie (Brighton)
Kagawa (Manchester United)

And a lot of Manchester United fans reckoned Anderson was going to be the next Ronaldinho

 

[The Terminator]

The two names that immediately spring to mind are Freddie Sears and Freddy Adu.

Another name that some may not of heard of, Kerlon, a Brazilian he was the top scorer and named player of the tournament at the 2005 South American Under 17 Football Championship. Many tipped him as the new Ronaldinho, I've seen many clips of him as a youngster and he did have a huge amount of talent. Having just checked his wiki it seems he is playing his football in Japan, i believe injury's are his main downfall and probably the reason why he didn't make it.

 

[Brownstuff]

Shaun Wright-Phillips was the bees knees for England a few years back
Don't hear jack about him now

 

[Vegas Seagull]

Who would you play him in front of? Orlandi? Lopez? Vicente?! Bridcutt? Buckley??

What a load of bollocks.

You said it, Lopez & Orlandi were in Spain, Vicente was in the sick bay & Buckers was on the wing....dicker, Sparrow, Harley & Navarro all less talented at the time, all got 20 starts, none scored more than a paltry 2 and look at them now....

 

[The Birdman]

Richard Tiltman ?:

 

[Mowgli37]

I would like to nominate the entire England team during the Sven-Goran-Eriksson reign I seam to remember everyone thought it was the best midfield in the world and if we were ever going to win anything this was the time

Individually we had a collection of utterly outstanding players, as a team we just never seemed to find the zest and togetherness that a trophy winning international side needs

 

[liam82]

Jake Robinson
Joe Gatting

 

[Mowgli37]

Not the most obvious choice but Wayne Rooney? Don't get me wrong, he can be an outstanding player for his club but on the international stage where many were convinced all those years back he would become a hero he's been woeful (apart from Euro 2004). Good goal record yes, scoring when we really need it no.

 

[albion534]

James Vaughan! Younger than Rooney when he scored in prem!

 

[Barrel of Fun]

Nii Lamptey.

A fascinating article if you have the time and/or energy.

Big interview: Nii Odartey Lamptey | Football | The Observer

Lamptey was neglected and abused by both parents during his childhood in Accra and Kumasi, the two biggest cities in Ghana. Whenever he could, he played football and cannot even remember the name of his school. At times he was too scared to go home, sleeping under a car or in a kiosk on the streets to avoid a beating or worse. 'I did not have a family relationship. It was bad,' he says.

His alcoholic father burned him with cigarettes - 'I still have the marks on my body' - lashed him with his belt and, when he finally became aware of his son's talent at football, he would stand on the touchline and shout abuse at him.

 

[00snook]

Just watching the FLS and wasn't Zavon Hines supposed to be a big thing at West Ham? Oh and there's always Danny Cadamarteri.

Zavon Hines is superb on Football Manager.

 

[el punal]

Whatever happened to that Peter Marinello?

That's going back a bit! The Scottish George Best from Hibernian to Arsenal to nothing.

Wasn't he the pin-up boy for Milk posters/ads.?

 

[TottonSeagull]

That's going back a bit! The Scottish George Best from Hibernian to Arsenal to nothing.

Wasn't he the pin-up boy for Milk posters/ads.?

Lives in Bournemouth (or did about 15 years ago) and used to run a Sunday morning team. Played against him a couple of times!

 

[Benson]

I remember Ricketts not being as interesting to watch as I was expecting.

 

[Blackadder]

That's going back a bit! The Scottish George Best from Hibernian to Arsenal to nothing.

Wasn't he the pin-up boy for Milk posters/ads.?

That's the one.

 

[stripeyshark]

Freddy Adu has to be one of the biggest names in this category. Sponsored by Nike around 13/14 years of age. Now doing not alot in MLS.

I've heard from a few people that Michael Standing was a better player than Gareth Barry from that crop, career never came to anything.

I heard his brother "Out" was very good...

 

[Goldstone Rapper]

That's going back a bit! The Scottish George Best from Hibernian to Arsenal to nothing.

Wasn't he the pin-up boy for Milk posters/ads.?

Ended up with Fulham. On the chase with Gary Williams here.

 

[turienzo's lovechild]

leon knight...probably would've struggled in PL with his lack of size but had the ability to be a good championship player. Lack of work rate and appalling attitude has meant that most of his career has been in league 1/2 or in backwaters like northern ireland

dean ashton...was the.absolute REAL DEAL and could've been an absolute star for england were it not for injuries

djalminha...one on the most naturally gifted players i've witnessed...won la liga with deportivo but had a poor attitude...should have achieved more

mario jardel...absolute goal beast...liked partying too much and got fat

 

[Gwylan]

Michael Johnson, got into Man City team when he was young and was going to be a big star. Think he's still only 23 or 24 but his career has gone nowhere thanks to some injuries and bad lifestyle choices.

 

[turienzo's lovechild]

we went through a stage, towards the end of david seamans career of producing potential repiacements who turned out to be fairly mediocre

richard wright, steve simonsen and david marshall all spring to mind