10. Jiri Jarosik (January 2005, £3 million)
Many people reading this will have reacted in the same manner - who? Jiri Jarosik was signed in 2005 from CSKA Moscow
for £3 million, a versatile utility player who could play in defence or midfield (thank you Wikipedia). Chelsea boffins will probably recall that he started the 2005 Carling Cup Final against Liverpool, and that he made fourteen league appearances in the rest of the season, which means he actually owns a winner's medal. Still have no idea who he is? I can't say I blame you. With the arrival of Michael Essien in the summer, he was loaned to Birmingham City for the entirety of the season, becoming their top goalscorer in a season that ended in their relegation. Jarosik therefore is a name fresher in the minds of Birmingham city supporters than the Chelsea side that bought him. Sold to Celtic in 2006, he is now currently playing for boyhood club Sparta Prague. A mistake in judgement by Abramovich, but at least it wasn't too expensive.
9. Jose Bosingwa (July 2008, £16.3 million)
Jose Bosingwa is now a name familiar to QPR fans as an overpaid lazy full-back who refuses to sit on their bench. His clearly demonstrated attitude problems were not as great an issue at Chelsea, but the main issue was his price and what he brought to the team. Costing around
£16 million from FC Porto, Bosingwa would be bought to fill the gap at right-back left by Glen Johnson. He would go on to make 125 appearances for Chelsea before leaving on a free transfer in 2012. Bosingwa's issue surrounds his rather casual defensive displays, and following a very injury-hit second year at Chelsea, he often found himself relegated to the bench in favour of Branislav Ivanovic. Certainly not one of Chelsea's worst players, as he did play most games well and was not commonly at fault for mistakes. The only issue was that by the end of his Chelsea career he had become a bit-part player, and an expensive one at that.
8. Asier Del Horno (June 2005, £8 million)
Putting it kindly, Asier Del Horno was merely a stand-in for the long-desired signing of Ashley Cole at left-back. Del Horno made thirty-four appearances in his only season for the Blues, which seems a little counter-intuitive. Although he was a regular in the team that dominated the 2005-2006 Premier League campaign, he was out of the door as soon as England's first choice number three became available. Del Horno was not a bad player, nor was he hugely expensive (
£8 million), but he was a victim of circumstance. A good left-back, he is now hardly recalled by the majority of Chelsea supporters, and that is the fault of Abramovich and not him. A great number of Chelsea players have played worse (as you are going to see shortly) and have persistently been kept in the first team. Unfortunately, this means Del Horno features on this list as someone who had potential but was not allowed to follow through thanks to Abramovich's cut and replace policy.
7. Alexei Smertin (August 2003, £3.45 million)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zf8UCb2jsJs Poor Alexei Smertin was another victim of not quite being good enough to play for Chelsea, though they signed him anyway. Initially bought by Claudio Ranieri for
£3.45 million, he was soon loaned out to Portsmouth to get some valuable Premier League experience. He impressed at Portsmouth in their battle to beat the drop, and returned to London, hoping the experience would make him better suited to playing at the best of his ability. However, when he returned Ranieri was gone, and he was greeted by Jose Mourinho and an intimidating midfield of Lampard, Makelele, Tiago, Geremi and Parker. Smertin was unfortunately a misfit, and despite featuring enough to earn a Premier League winners' medal in 2005, it was clear that he was surplus to requirements, and was loaned out to Charlton before being sold to Dinamo Moscow. A less costly signing for Abramovich, but if any player you sign plays more games for your fellow league teams than his own, they must be regarded as a poor piece of business.
6. Khalid Boulahrouz (August 2006, £6 million)
There can be no question in anybody's mind that Khaild Boulahrouz was a player that failed to live up to his potential. Jose Mourinho talked up his new
£6 million signing at a press conference, stating he was perfect cover for all his defensive options, being adept at playing on the left, right and in the centre of defence. However, his time at Chelsea did not quite live up to such lofty praise. Boulahrouz made a promising start with the part he played in victories over Liverpool and his containment of Ronaldinho in Champions League games against Barcelona. But, the fact that he was considered cover meant that he lost favour, continually being overlooked for Terry, Carvalho, Ferreira and Cole. Injuries did not help, as he was out for long periods with knee and shoulder issues. The killer blow was when he was fit and Carvalho was injured, Mourinho opted to play Michael Essien in defence instead of Boulahrouz. He was shipped of to Seville on loan (who also realised he wasn't that good) and then sold for half of his cost to the club.
5. Mateja Kezman (July 2004, £5.3 million)
Mateja Kezman suffered in front of goal like Torres did, but was unable to in any way rescue his reputation. Kezman scored a grand total of seven goals for Chelsea in forty games during his single season at the club, which was very modest considering his unbelievable goalscoring feats at PSV Eindhoven (129 goals, 176 games). His English experience was a disappointment to say the least, and while
his transfer fee was only a fraction of the £24 million spent on Didier Drogba, Kezman proved to be only a fraction of the player. His twenty-five league appearances afforded Chelsea just four goals on their way to the title (however they are figures Torres was initially quite jealous of). Kezman's lasting memory was a goal he scored in the Carling Cup Final, Chelsea's first piece of silverware under Abramovich, but that could not remedy his poor English experience.
4. Yuri Zhirkov (July 2009, £18 million)
If Yuri Zhirkov is
worth £18 million pounds, then I must be at least worth £50,000. Zhirkov has the glorious distinction of being the most expensive Russian footballer of all time, ahead of Arsenal's Andrei Arshavin. Both footballers have something in common, as they started in England quite well, before completely failing to impress on virtually every occasion. Zhirkov arrived at Chelsea injured (a good omen for things to come), but soon was featuring in the first team. From all the reports I read about Zhirkov, he appears to have been a decent player for Chelsea, providing numerous assists an having standout performances against Inter Milan and Bolton Wanderers. However, in his two-year spell at the club he made only twenty-nine appearances. Injuries claimed a lot of that time, but more important in that equation was that he was an unnecessary signing. Ashley Cole was an everpresent left-back, and Florent Malouda was coming into his own in the Premier League. He was never afforded the opportunities, and maybe he didn't merit the opportunities. All that is apparent is that he was soon sold back to Russia for another loss, and Abramovich had £18 million wasted. Could have bought a new yacht with that money.
3. Juan Sebastian Veron (July 2003, £15 million)
This signing was baffling, because Abramovich, Claudio Ranieri, coaches, scouts, physios, players, youth players, fans and groundsmen should have realised that this was going to be a mistake. Sir Alex Ferguson must have been laughing all the way to the bank when Chelsea stumped up
£15 million to sign Juan Sebastian Veron from Manchester United. No wonder they had to wait until 2005 to win the title. Until 2008, Veron's transfer fees had made him the most expensive player in the history of world football, and he had done absolutely nothing to merit that claim except somehow convince managers that he was any good. Injury-prone and seemingly not strong enough to manage in the Premier League, Veron played just fifteen times for Chelsea, £1 million per appearance for those suffering with dyscalculis. There is a reason why the Times has listed Veron as one of the fifty worst transfers ever, and he was soon back in Argentina after a brief stop in Italy. Abramovich and Ranieri should hang their heads in shame over this howler of signing.
2. Andriy Shevchenko (May 2006, £30 million)
(Yes I know. It's a shock that Shevchenko isn't number one, but there is method to my madness, as you will see in the next slide.) Andriy Shevchenko is a legendary player, the best Ukrainian footballer in history, and at AC Milan he scored 175 goals in 322 appearances, and was about to enter his prime years as a player. Chelsea had long been admirers, and finally were
able to get their man for £30 million. Shevchenko, the ace striker became the most expensive signing in English footballing history, and after his debut goal in the Community Shield against Liverpool, he had the rest of football shaking in their boots. And by the time he left England, they were still shaking, but with laughter instead of fear. Shevchenko was on the payroll at Chelsea for over three years, and in that time he scored a grand total of twenty-two goals. Compared to a lot of other players on this list, it isn't too bad. What makes Shevchenko one of the worst signings was that large price tag, the immense expectation surrounding his move, the amount of hoops Chelsea had to jump through in order to get their man. And it was all for nought, as he continued like other Blues strikers to be outshone by Drogba. Shevchenko became the butt of Chelsea's driest spell under Abramovich, as they "only" won a single FA Cup and League Cup, so his arrival seemed to instugate a break in Chelsea's dominance over English football.
1. Adrian Mutu (July 2003, £15.8 million)
No matter how bad some of these players competed for Chelsea, at least most of the time they were available. Adrian Mutu was signed by Chelsea after good spells at Parma and Verona, and had a fair amount of promise due to his strong international goalscoring record with Romania. He began his Chelsea career in scintillating form, scoring four goals in his first three games, but like many on this list his form would dissipate very quickly, and he would only score ten goals in his thirty-six Chelsea appearances. However, the most memorable component of his footballing career with Chelsea, and probably in his entire career, would be for events off of the pitch. After a series of heated arguments with new manager Jose Mourinho, in September 2004 Mutu failed a drugs test for cocaine. He was banned for seven months and fined £20,ooo, but most notably it launched a series of court cases following his well-deserved sacking from Chelsea. Chelsea started to seek compensation from the players failure to fulfil the terms of his contract, with Mutu still fighting to avoid having to pay around 17 million back to his former employers. The amount of hassle the player has created to Chelsea from the moment he signed until this very day means that he is the bad signing that just won't disappear for Abramovich. Whilst Abramovich could have never realised how bad this signing was to be; Confuscious would have been unable to predict this. But there can be no doubt that Adrian Mutu must top a list of worst Abramovich signings. To conclude, has Abramovich learned anything from these bad signings? He will continue to spend extortionate amounts of money on often untested players, but he does so with the express aim to help Chelsea achieve great success. To be fair, he has only brought greatness to Chelsea as a whole, despite a raft of mediocre talent wallowing in the back of his mind, as he carefully admires the Champions League trophy (while he still can). Expect more big money signings at every possible occasion, as the Russian billionaire plays the most realistic game of Football Manager.