Sir Alex Ferguson is undoubtedly one of the finest managers of all time, a man who has achieved legendary status for his extraordinary success at Manchester United over the past twenty-six years.  However even Sir Alex is capable of making mistakes – as these three abject signings testify.

Djemba Djemba – The Cameroon midfield enforcer was signed from Nantes for £3.5m in 2003 as a potential successor to club legend Roy Keane.  It soon became apparent that there was no similarity between the uncompromising Keane and Djemba Djemba, apart from a propensity for reckless and dangerous tackles.  The player was to become an object of ridicule amongst the Manchester United faithful, assuring that he will not only be remembered as being so bad that they named him twice (whatever that means), but also as one of the club’s most ill-advised signings ever.  Djemba Djemba currently plies his trade in the Israeli League.

Kleberson – Signed from Atletico Paranaense for £6m in 2003, it appeared that this Brazilian international central midfielder, who had shone in the World Cup winning team of the previous year, would be a bedrock of the Manchester United team for years to come. Fate had other ideas however and, in only Kleberson’s second game at his new club, he was injured and it was all downhill from there.  After making only twenty appearances for the club he departed, his fleeting stay at Old Trafford having been one of miserable failure, though he will always be assured of a place in Manchester United’s worst team in living memory.

Bebe – Many of the world’s greatest attacking talent have graced ‘The Theater of Dreams’ during Sir Alex’s tenure, so there was considerable surprise when a former homeless Portuguese, who had never made a single competitive appearance for his club side Victoria Guimaraes signed for The Red Devils in a deal believed to be worth around £7.4m.  After a hand full of appearances, mostly in the League Cup against lower tier teams we remained bemused as to why Ferguson had chosen to purchase this winger/striker.  The player was soon rolling up his sleeping bag once more and heading out on loan to Besiktas, where having been banned following the breaking of a team curfew, he was returned to anonymity at Old Trafford.