8 Captains Blog

Sitting here reading the latest on the Girton website I was dissapointed to hear about the departure of  Rob Stevens, 2008 captain and one of the linch pins of the reserve side.

However it did give me inspiration for a blog post.

Well that, the Sol Campbell debarcle and the comedy that came with the arrival and instant departure of Super Nas! Right-Back? Left Back? In the hole? who knows…did he?

Seeing that Sol Campbell had upsticks again after just one game in the lower reaches of the professional game I also learnt that last week Super Nas had moved to Barrington, played under a different name (which didn’t mean much to his team mates who continiously called him Nas) and then got sent-off before giving a false name to the referee (turned out he gave the name of a 17 year old, possibly with the name Tarquin).

So was this Girton United’s shortest career? (Are there more?)

Anyway, all this got me thinking, so I took a bit of time out and decided to trawl the web (well Skysports and the Daily Mirror) to find out what the shortest stay at one club was.

My Findings!

1. Hameur Bouazza, Sivasspor

The former Fulham winger signed for Turkish outfit Sivasspor in August and duly made his debut in the 0-3 defeat against Shakhtar Donetsk. Bouazza has since informed Sivasspor officials that he no longer wishes to remain in Turkey and the club has agreed to terminate his contract. So much for Turkish delight!

2. Dietmar Hamann, Bolton

Not one of Sam Allardyce’s finest moments. Big Sam snapped up Hamann in July 2006 on a free transfer from Liverpool – insisting it was his “best bit of business”. However, within 24 hours, the German international had completed a move to Manchester City – in the days when the Blues still had more in common with Steptoe & Son than Harrods.

3. Ali Dia, Southampton

Graeme Souness must have thought he was on to a winner when he snapped up George Weah’s ‘cousin’ following a glowing recommendation from the former AC Milan striker. Except, it wasn’t Weah who had sung his praises and Dia was about as reliable as Ledley King’s wobbly knees!

To make matters worse, Dia replaced Matt Le Tisser after the Saints star picked up a calf injury in a League clash against Leeds in November 1996. According to Le Tiss, he “ran around like Bambi on ice” and was soon spared any further embarrassment when Souness hauled him off. Suffice to say, he was never seen in a Saints shirt again.

4. Clive Allen, Arsenal

Arsenal paid QPR £1,250,000 for Allen in the summer of 1980 -  a huge sum for a teenager in those days. He spent two months at Highbury, played in three pre-season friendlies, and was then swapped for Crystal Palace full-back Kenny Sansom!

5. Christian Vieri, Sampdoria

The Italian international has been through more clubs than Jordan! Famed for his brief stays, he lasted a mere 35 days at Sampdoria following a switch from French giants Monaco in the summer of 2006. He severed his ties with the Genoa side after just over a month to rejoin Atalanta for the second of three spells with the Nerazzurri.

6. Joey Beauchamp, West Ham

Wheeler dealer Harry Redknapp is famed for his ways in the transfer market, but this is one move he’ll want to forgot. Redknapp snapped up Oxford’s prize asset for a record £1.2million, but the midfielder was soon on his way back to the Manor Ground. Sick of travelling back and forth between Oxford and London, he returned to the lower-league side after just 58 days with the Hammers.

7. David Unsworth, Aston Villa

Unsworth joined Aston Villa for £3million from West Ham in 1998, but he never kicked a ball in anger for the Midlands club. He was there for just about a month before Everton coughed up the same £3m to take him back to Goodison Park where he had begun his career seven years earlier.

8. Mauricio Taricco, West Ham

The Argentine defender made the short journey across London to join West Ham from Tottenham in November 2004. However, no sooner had he donned the Claret and Blue then he was waving goodbye to the Hammers. Just 27 minutes into his debut against Millwall, he pulled a hamstring, ruling him out for a minimum of eight weeks. Taricco then stunned everyone by offering to cancel his contract – an act which boss Alan Pardew claimed was one of the most honest things he’d seen by a footballer.

9. Roberto Ayala, Villarreal

The tough-tackling Argentine had agreed to join Villarreal from Valencia in 2007 but, following his return from Copa America duty, he opted out of the move. He then had to fork out £6m Euros to buy out his contract before joining Real Zaragoza.

10. Marco Boogers, West Ham

Another shocker from Harry Redknapp. He signed the Dutch striker from Sparta Rotterdam for £800,000 in 1995 and, though he might have won a few plaudits for roughing up Manchester United’s Gary Neville on his second appearance – a challenge which subsequently saw him sent off – the Hammers boss admitted his howler and got rid of the forward. Redknapp revealed: “I signed Marco Boogers off a video. He was a good player but a nutter. They didn’t show that on the video.”