A club can be forgiven for one of their signings going badly if he at least impressed prior to his arrival, or was given a high recommendation by multiple scouts, but Aston Villa once again ignored all the warning signs before signing Tottenham winger Simon Dawkins on loan in 2013. The 26-year-old was released by Spurs in 2009, while suffering failed trials with Bournemouth and Celtic a year later, but then Tottenham brought him back in 2011 after a successful spell training with the club, before once more loaning him out to the MLS almost immediately. In January 2012, Dawkins failed to win a contract with FC Twente after another trial, but for some reason Aston Villa opted to bring him on loan 12 months later, despite significant warning signs. He made four league appearances for the Villans, which was four more than he ever made at Tottenham, before being sold to Championship side Derby this summer.
Crippy Cooke, 23, is a freelance Football Writer contributing to What Culture. He's had work featured on Zoo, MSN, London 24, The Telegraph, The Huffington Post, and was recently named Writer of the Year on FTBpro - while also a nominee for Best Male Blog in the Football Blogging Awards.
