10 Underwhelming Man Utd Signings Who Became Cult Heros

10. Alan Smith

Having drifted to third in the league, Sir Alex Ferguson needed to inject some real quality into the side, to match the financial muscle of his counterparts from west London, and the sumptuous talent on show a few miles up the road. Was the 23 year old Smith from perennial rivals Leeds United, who had hit double digits just once in six seasons, really the best they could hope for? The answer was no, as they ended up signing Everton wonderkid Wayne Rooney for £30 million three months later, but Smith's acquisition had not exactly got pulses racing at the start of the transfer window. Indeed, United supporters seemed to be enjoying the ire of their Leeds rivals with regards to the transfer, more than the actual signing. Alan Smith wasn't a fantastic signing. He was a victim of many unfortunate circumstances, that were outside of his control - the first being Roy Keane's acrimonious departure within a year of his arrival. As a result, Ferguson decided to deploy the striker in a midfield berth, unsuccessfully trying to mould him into a Keane-esque type box-to-box midfielder. The second reason Smith found his career at Old Trafford to be so stop-start, was due to Liverpool full-back John Arne Riise's ferocious free-kick, with the former Leeds striker breaking his leg and dislocating his ankle as he strived to block it. Perhaps, it was this incident which heightened Smith's popularity in Manchester, however. Adorned as something of a martyr, supporters would have to wait 14 months to witness his first start at Old Trafford, before scoring his first goal in 18 months against Roma in a famous 7-1 victory over Roma. Smith never set the world alight at Old Trafford, for understandable reasons, but that never diminished his popularity. A hard-working and enthusiastic player, the former Leeds dynamo made up for his obvious technical limitations through sheer graft and a will to win.