As transfer deadline day looms, teams around Europe are desperately trying to improve their squads, whether it be through detailed scouting reports or through a foolhardy chairman throwing cash at any old reject. Sadly for both camps, the January transfer window is considered by many to be the worst time to buy. Newcastle United have proved in the past that you don't need restrictions on trade to buy poorly, they used to happily do it the summer as well, or at any time during the season when they felt their money was sitting around doing nothing. So let's forget about the optimism from our new French contingent, and take a look back at the top ten worst Newcastle United signings of the Premier League era.
10. David Batty
From: Blackburn Rovers Fee: £4million (Source: The Independent) Some might look at Batty's name in this list and consider it an unfair inclusion - he was after all, a previous Premier League winner and performed well in his time at the club. But the issue here was timing. Batty was signed when Newcastle were leading the league in 1996 to protect what was considered by some, a leaky defence. And on paper, the signing seemed to make sense, but his style of play was much different to the existing deep-lying midfielder, Lee Clark. While Clark had a wider range of passing, and crucially, the ability to pass the ball forward, Batty was more conservative, happy to retain possession by playing shorter balls back and to the side. Sensible football perhaps, but it crippled the speed of Newcastle's attacking play, and as a result the opposing defences had more time to regroup. Newcastle were 12 points ahead of second place Manchester United in January and they finished the season four points behind in second. So, whilst not a bad player, it was the timing of the signing that did more harm than good - and it had far more influence on the outcome of that season than Tino Asprilla's acquisition ever did.
