5 Inspired Sunderland Free Transfers (And 5 Total Disasters)

3. Jeff Whitley

The less said about Jeff Whitley, the better. He was an atrocious footballer who was unanimously groaned at by the Stadium of Light faithful whenever he got anywhere near the ball, probably for a very good reason too. He was a clumsy-tackling, uninspiring presence in the midfield, crowned by one moment of stupidity that passed into legend. With the 2003/04 Championship Playoff Semi-Finals finely poised, the game drifted into a penalty shootout. Whitley had already seen John Oster lash the ball against the post, so he just had to keep it simple. Instead, Whitley staggered his run and miraculously the keeper fell for the dummy and dived. Unfortunately, in the same split second, Whitley passed the ball safely into the keeper's arms and Crystal Palace's Michael Hughes dispatched the winning penalty. He was free, useless, and in that moment, catastrophic.