Most underused player in Premier League history

[Liamh1982]

Has to be Jari Litmanen... FABULOUS player, and yet Houllier preferred Heskey.
Then again, this was the man who signed Erik Meijer, Sean Dundee etc.
Boy did he have a blind spot when it came to strikers...

[SirClive]

Litmanen was already 30 when he joined us. He was a good player, but I think you have you rose tints on.

[Liamh1982]

Maybe, but 30 isn't ancient and I have a point concerning Houllier and strikers.

[SirClive]

30 for a striker is quite old. You only have to look at his record after Liverpool to see it wasn't just Houllier.

[Liamh1982]

Drogba's 32 and in the form of his life, World Cup notwithstanding.
And opinions on Meijer and Dundee, even you must admit they were worse than useless.

[SirClive]

Yeah, I'll give you Drogba, but even the best striker in Finnish history can't be compared to him.

Yep, those two were crap, but then so were most of the ones Rafa bought. Apart from Owen and Fowler who came through the ranks and Torres that even my mum could have chosen, which strikers have been outstanding for us in the Premier League years?

[paranoid marvin]

Without doubt Carlo Cudicini - the greatest keeper to spend the most of the time on the bench rather than between the sticks. Granted he was behind Cech when it came to the goalkeeping stakes , but still a class above the majority of those playing week in , week out for other clubs. 141 appearances in a 10 year period at Chelsea (with the vast majority of those being 2000-2003) shows him to have spent more time warming his hands on the bench than pulling on his gloves for the 1st team. Also one of the best penalty stoppers in the game.

[retrogarden]

Steve Harper? Who after being a bench warmer for Newcastle the entire length of the premier league is only now getting regular games?

I've always got a soft spot for players who do crap for premier league clubs only to do well for foreign clubs. Bar Diego Forlan. I chuffing hate Diego Forlan (even though, by all accounts, he's a nice guy. But I chuffing hate him).

Loved Ibrahima Bakayoko. Played for Everton up front, scored 4 in 24. Went to Marseille & dumped United out of the Champions League. Chuffing love that

[RMLF]

David Lee and Steve Clarke for Chelsea for the Mid 1990's have to be shoe ins for this

Mark Atkins at Blackburn

Scott Sellars, everywhere!

Among countless others

[SirClive]

I would probably agree with Marv. Cudicini was just a wasted talent at Chelsea. Unfortunately that is was happens with keepers though as they don't get revolved very often.

[Liamh1982]

Does that make you think that Given will go?

[SirClive]

He would be mad not to. Another great keeper being used as bench warmer.
Do you remember Tony Warner at Liverpool. The players nicknamed him Bonus because he got thousands of pounds in win bonuses for being on the bench week in week out, but never actually played a senior game in his 9 years at the club!

[Neilos626]

Any palyers comming through the man city youth set up. In recent years they have produced some of the most promising young talents in the country. Steven Ireland, Michael Johnson, Richards, Onuoha none of which will now get the chance to flourish. Would love to see Johnson and Ireland at liverpool.

Joe Cole at Chelski wasted

Ryan Babel, Benetiz has managed to rob a very promising talent of every ounce of confidence he had.

Agree with Houliers poor signings can I add Scmicer, Traore, Vignal, Biscan, Diouf, Diao, Cheyrou ( the next Zidane according to Houllier), Westerveld, Camara I could go on all day!!

[oldiron82]

Carlo Cudicini? He hardly ever got a game at Chelsea when Petr Čech signed,but seemed happy sitting on the bench,playing the odd reserve game,leauge and fa cup games etc etc.

Even now he's at spurs he looks to still be the understudy to Gomes,surley he could of done a decent job at championship level and got regular games on loan? but if he's happy i guess thats all that matters

[pratty]

I have to agree about Litmanen. A wasted genius at Liverpool. I'm a Liverpool fan and I had always admired him as a player, it's sad that I don't have too many memories of him as a Liverpool player.

I think Crespo was underused at Chelsea, he was goal machine at Parma and Lazio, according to his wiki he got 20 goals in 49 appearance for Chelsea which is pretty good, but he was technically a Chelsea player for ages but spent most of it on loan back in Italy and played well there. To be fair he wasn't needed but he was underused all the same.