Debate- Was Bischoff Wenger’s worst ever signing?
Posted by Jeorge Bird on July 1, 2009
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is famed for his success in the transfer market- most notably his transformation of Thierry Henry from a left-winger to the best striker in the world circa 2004. However, he does get it wrong occasionally and, following the news that Amaury Bischoff has been released, the debate will re-surface as to just who is Wenger’s worst ever signing.
But why does Bischoff come in for such harsh treatment? Perhaps because he made just four first-team appearances, all as a substitute, maybe because he was perenially injured before he came to the club or even due to the instance in February where he elected to train with Portugal U21s rather than be involved in the Gunners FA Cup Fourth Round replay with Cardiff.
There were some highlights, his splendid goal against Fulham for the Reserves springs to mind, but, almost a year on, I still don’t see the point of signing Bischoff. Sure he has some ability, there’s no doubt about that, but is he better than what we already have? No, certainly not.
So, in light of this today’s debate centres around who you think was Wenger’s worst ever signing. Who can forget that pre-Double winning summer of 2001 when Junichi Inamoto, Richard Wright and Francis Jeffers turned up at London Colney.
What about Pascal Cygan, Igors Stepanovs, or maybe there’s somebody else you wish to add.
Leave your thoughts on this topic in the comments section below.
FC said
I always liked Junichi Inamoto, Pascal Cygan can’t be bad simply because of this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2M6WqmQSF8
I would vote Jeffers way ahead of someone like Bischoff. Remember Bischoff (apart from his wages) was free.
Haris said
Why should he be? He came here for free. He didn’t pay £10m for him…
Mattc said
Wenger worst ever signing? Arshavin – he’s rubbish….
The Daddy said
Inamoto was only on loan and shouldnt be there any way nor should Cygan.Walcott,Reyes,Jeffers should all be there, although Stepanovs was awful he only cost around the £500,000 to a million mark,but still deserves to be there for having written on his passport under occupation “Defender”.
andy said
We had some shockers over the years , Cygan, Richard Wright, Franky Jeffers….but what about Mikeal Silverstre….
KEV said
eboue
adafabregas said
HAHAHA, Walcott, whatever mate. Kaba Diawara, what was the point of that guy. Same with Guy Demel and not to mention Nelson Vivas.
The Daddy said
Vivas was a good signing,the sort of player the squad could do with now.I miss the days when Wenger used to sign useful squad players ie Garde,Grimandi,Luzhy,Petit
Daniel said
Kaba Diawara. Alberto Mendez. Eboué. Adebayor. Wiltord, Vivas. Stepanovs, Jeffers. Reyes.
Mattc said
Nelson Vivas was a god. Didn’t matter how late in the game he was subbed on he could still get a red card (and leave the opponents key playmaker crippled). Lalala lalala lalala lalalala lalalala lalala lalalalaaa lalalalalalala VIVAS !!!
Tristam said
Bischoff was never meant to be a signing to strengthen the first team and should not be judged as such. Wenger himself said that he was a ‘gamble’. He had shown some promise before getting injured and was available for free. There was a good chance that, after his recovery, he could develop into a useful player. As it turned out, his performances were not at the required level, so his potential did not materialise. Arsenal did not gain anything with him but did not lose anything either. It was more of a business investment decision than a footballing decision. There was a low-cost investment that had a 50-50 chance to become profitable. It did not become profitable but the cost was not high, so the decision was justified. For every Bischoff who does not make it, there is a Clichy or Fabregas who does make it. You have to take these gambles, especially if your club has to live under financial constraints.
goonerdave said
Tough call this, for me Richard Wright just shades it over Jeffers, the expectations are what does it. He was a good keeper when he joined, was gonna be the long term replacement for David Seamsn both for Arsenal and England. At least with Jeffers he was part of a group of strikers and we were fine in that department without him, but despite Almunia’s good form last season there’s still a feeling we haven’t found a natural successor to Seaman. Bischoff even when signed was regarded as big gamble on a free, so don’t see why there’s so much press about his release.
Daniel said
And Diaby.
Mattc said
Richard Wright should be somewhere on this list also….
Daniel said
And Rami Shabban, Sebastian Svard and Jermaine Pennant.
South Yorkshire Gunner said
With Richard Wright and Franny Jeffers in the squad Arsenal did the double. Both played in every game in the FA Cup, apart from the final. Wright had David Seaman in front of him and Jeffers had Bergkamp, Wiltord and Henry in front of him – plus he copped for some bad injuries.
As for Reyes; Reyes was an extremely good player – it’s just a pity that he missed his home country.
Wenger has signed some “dogs”, there is no doubt, but worst signing? Take your pick.
Silvestre (now expected to go to Bordeaux) is up there. I never liked Grimandi either. I don’t like Eboue, Song or Diaby. I don’t like Adebayor, even though he will recoup a lot more than we paid for him. Stepanovs was crap, although he did have a half-decent game with Luzhny at centre half when we walloped Chelsea 3-1 in the FA Cup. What about Boa Morte or Wreh or Diawarra? There are a few..
But Silvestre? Yeah I’d go with him. A washed-up Man Utd reject.
Ole Gunner said
Bischoff is not actually a bad player. Wenger gave him the chance to prove he can play on the big stage. He didn’t prove it. What has the club lost? Nothing
Grebokalle said
I believe you tend to forget the number one disaster “Alberto mendez.
Tony Adams said
Silvestre.
Gianni Sonvico said
I’d have to go with either Jeffers or Silvestre too.
Gioo said
I actually liked Bischoff.. and from what i saw of him, he was very promising. Not sure if Arsenal was ever the right club for him though, just too many players higher in the ‘food chain’ than him. And IMO, he wasn’t Wenger’s worst signing, especially considering his transfer was free. All the best to him, hopefully this move won’t come back to haunt us.
Gooner Grantski said
Bischoff had potential but i dont think he had the right attitude. No loss to the club, just a years wages because he was free.
For the amount he cost i think Reyes was possibly his worst signing. For a club record he should have been the best player ever but it wasnt to be, if you spend this sort of money you NEED to get it right, something spurs get wrong on a regular bases.
Ali said
A worst ever signing should and would have contributed to disasterous performances on the field.
crafty bison said
Of course Bischoff wasn’t Arsene’s worst ever signing – he cost nothing bar his wages, which were on the same level as those of youth players like Mark Randall.
dr gooner said
worst signing or worst player? – worst player = stepanovs no doubt
worst signing = lassana diarra – great talent, don’t play him, sell him when we need DMs and now plays for real madrid – well done arsene!! (but i do forgive his mistake/s – not having a go at him before anyone starts)
Erichero said
Inamoto did well for his country, so it was a good gamble. Jeffers must be the worst, because he cost a lot and had a good scoring ratio before arriving. He did miserably and was never the same again, even after he left the club. You could almost say Arsenal killed him.
james said
Undoubtably stepanovs. He single handedly cost us six goals against united. I’m not sure if he ever played again for the first team after that. Cygan wasn’t great, but was alot better than stepanovs. In fact, cygan was better than silvestre as well. poker rakeback
ben said
The worst player ever….. IGOR STEPANOVS!
was Gelnn Helder one of Wengers or Bruce Rioch?
Paul said
Jeffers takes that crown.
Bischoff was never a ‘gamble’ in financial terms more in terms of becoming a first team player. Quite clearly he cost us nothing to sign and only had a 1 year deal. A fairly good bit of transfer dealing considering he was a useful player in the reserves and does have potential. Plus he’s a player we’d been watching for a while.
Bischoff is in the Alberto Mendez, Stefan Malz class. He’s a Wenger project. You could consider it a year long trial.
TJ said
There is no point in even including Bischoff in the list. He didn’t cost very much altogether (no transfer fee, some training compensation to previous teams probably and relatively small salary), had talent to be a great player and could therefore have been an excellent signing, but it just didn’t happen this time. Like Wenger said, it was a gamble and it just did not pay off this time.
Jeffers would probably be my favorite in this category: very expensive and yet completely useless. Somebody mentioned Reyes, but he was actually very good player during his time at Arsenal. It was just that he didn’t adapt to England as a country and wanted to go back to Spain, but with Reyes we got far more for the money we spent (taking into consideration that we also got something back from Athletico) than with for example Jeffers.
Norwegian Gooner said
Lydersen !!
carlosthegooner said
Stepanovs. he was just pants! Lushny worked hard and had many other plus points which made him a bit of a cult hero, ditto Vivas. Cygan was an excellent 3rd choice cb (give me him over Sylvestre anyday) and even alberto mendes scroed in the CC. Maybe Stefan Munz could challenge Stepanovs as he actually brought nothing to the table but no not Jeffers, he was just all that symbolised the young english players of that time, maybe getting too much too soon. How about Cabellero, a loan player who amanged to get banned for knocking out Gavin Maguire of QPR (I think) in his one reserve game and then made his debut as a sub against PNE in the FA Cup and got away with knocking a defender out as Petit scored a goal…. On second thoughts I suppose that makes him a cult hero like Vivas! sticking with Stepanovs
piken79 said
Call me a conspiracy theorist but I believe Wenger sign this guy only to get him fit as a favor to someone in their village. It is rumor that they are from the same village in France…I bet Wenger did this as a favor to someone, because from the 1st time I saw him play, I knew there was no way in hell he would get into the Arsenal first team.
George said
Alberto Mendez Rodríguez
Ryan said
Baptista, Senderos, Silvestre, Cygan, Denilson, Reyes, Bischoff, Gilberto.
Deels said
Maybe change the topic from worst signing to most pointless/useless, in which case he ranks quite high. Not as bad as either Stefan Malz, David Grondin or my favourite the great Alberto Mendez Rodriguez, a player who was a german semi-pro when he signed hiom and he went on to achieve nothing at the club
robert said
I don’t think that signing bichoff was Wengers worst signing because he arrived for free. The worst signing was probably Reyes or Jeffers. sure Reyes scored some importan goals and he had a few really good games but he was REALLY expensive. Jeffers didn’t have many good games and he didn’t score many important goal, but at least he wasn’t as expensive as Reyes….
Howard said
I agree with piken79. Bischoff came in mainly to get treated and earn some money on the side. It was AW’s helping hand to a fellow local. Some of the players in the first team are not good enough but are there because of AW; a collection of them are not fit even to be on the bench but its all about the old Afro-French or french-speaking loyalty.
How such a retention policy helps Arsenal as a club is really strange.
crafty bison said
Ryan, you’re frankly an idiot.
Baptista was only here on loan; all we “paid” for him was Jose Antonio Reyes going the other way for a year.
Senderos was cheap and promising, and will go on to be a quality defender.
Denilson was a fantastic signing: very cheap and very talented – highly regarded by most top managers and will play for Brazil.
And Gilberto Silva? Is he even a serious suggestion?
ReLL said
What about Christopher Wreh, didnt he end up playing non-league football?
Tarren said
Silvestre hes the worst players iv seen play for us hes really bad please release him on a free……..
sussed said
I too have had the sense that Bischoff was a favor to someone. I didn’t know of any village connection. I had imagined it being someone a big, well, higher up in the world of football than the local publican.
mike - gunner fan79 said
Must be henry – worst ever signing …… for the rest of the premiership! (Do you honestly think I would place him as our worst ever signing)
Bodad said
crafty bison
Senderos has never been good and will never be good. He’s not good for the EPL and will never play for a top team. Too slow for the EPL and lacks ball sense.
Remember the pain he’s caused us.
Chelsea v. Arsenal CC finals
Blackburn v. Arsenal FA semi-final
Villa v. Arsenal premier league game
Servilla v. Arsenal CL game
Liverpool v. Arsenal CL semi-finals
Too many heartbreaks to recall.
I don’t want to see him near the club ever. Good riddance. AC Milan won’t sign him because they found him poor even though they had the option to sign him.
James 'Het' Hetfield said
Kaba Diawara ftw!
Dan said
I would go with Jeffers or Reyes although more Jeffers as he cost more than the rest.
although one could argue that a certain Cygan OG could cost us more….
im slightly biased as i never liked Cygan from day1.
Im slightly suspicious of Sylvestre as well…
to sum up, Jeffers, should have been better!
carlosthegooner said
Ryan, are you Myles Palmer in disguise? He being the man who thought we should sell Henry in 2004 and is now calling for Wenger’s head, the man who gives ‘insider’ nailed on exclusives which never quite materialize? It’s not much of a step from Gilberto to Henry is it? Ryan you are a mug.
kent paul said
He took a punt on him and it did not work out it happens.
SNED777 said
He cost us nothing so not a bad thing. Wenger just helped him get back on his career path and should go on to play well in Portugese leagues.
Worst signing is probably Cygan or Richard Wright, although Jeffers was bad
Canadian Gooner said
Many of the players mentioned above cost little or nothing and some were even moved on at a profit. They didn’t work out, but were no great loss to the club. Although not first choice, some like Cygan, Garde, Vivas, etc. were reasonable squad players.
Francis Jeffers was, by far, the worst value for money of any player that Wenger ever bought. Another young player with plenty of promise that failed to deliver. After a number of further transfers he slipped into relative obscurity.
kemgooner said
I dont think it was Wenger’s worst signing, after all he was a free transfer and so worth the risk since we let him go after one season and didnt keep him long. Jeffers has to be the worst imo.
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timao said
Mendez wasn’t he the one who came on as a sub, chopped down an opposing defender while failing to get the ball in the net from 6 yards? Gotta say I liked him, Christopher Wreh was rubbish but The Beast has to go down as the biggest disappointment.
gooner76 said
Thomas Danielvicius, William Huck, Jehed Muntasser, kaba Diawara, Christopher Wreh, Boa Morte, Alberto Mendez, Stepanovs, Norbert, Juan, Cygan, Stepanovs, Stefan Malz, Inamoto, Wright, Jeffers, Wreh, Baptista, Caballero, Eboue – the list goes on more bad than good! It is a good job that the good are generally outstanding players making it easy to forget all of the trial and error garbage that has been brought in
Davo said
Remi Garde anyone?
therealist said
How in the world can eboue be in the worst signing ever argument , are you guys dummer than hammers?..guys not more than 3 years removed from being one of the best right side defenders in the game…the worst signing to me is francis jeffers because of his price and the fact he ended up playing championship ball
Clockenders said
Wiltord was crap, mind you, he did at least try unlike that lazy bastard Bergkamp