Football transfers: Good buys, bad buys

Peter Taylor, the talent-spotting half of the (Brian) Clough & Taylor partnership, used to watch potential recruits by donning a flat cap, dark glasses and scarf before taking his place on the terraces. Modern methods are more sophisticated. Clubs have comprehensive scouting networks, access to video and statistical analysis, and widespread television coverage of all four divisions and overseas leagues. Yet it is hard not to argue that few current managers are as successful as Taylor was.

A review of the transfers made by Premier League clubs in the past year produces more failures than successes. Even Sam Allardyce, one of the masters of the market, and the methodical Jose Mourinho bought poorly. Mark Hughes may have found a bargain in Roque Santa Cruz, but what happened to Maceo Rigters and Bruno Berner, his other summer signings? At Anfield, Fernando Torres has justified his £26.5m fee, but Andrei Voronin has been a shocker.

The main reason for the poor hit rate is the difficulty foreign players, who make up the majority of purchases, have settling into the English game. Some of the failures will shine next season. In assessing the hits and misses, this has been taken into account when the player is young, like Rigters. Injuries have also been considered – Alan Curbishley's ill-fated summer spending cannot be fairly reviewed until such players as Julien Faubert, Craig Bellamy and Scott Parker, on whom he lavished more than £20m, get fit.

Loan signings have not been judged except where they have been made permanent moves – as in Antonio Valencia – which ruled out Scott Carson (a good loan) and Christian Wilhelmsson (a bad one). Fees have also been taken into account.

Best Buy: Blackburn's budget goal machine

ROQUE SANTA CRUZ (Bayern Munich to Blackburn Rovers, £3.5m)

Mark Hughes feels that he is the best pound-for-pound signing, and it is hard to disagree. A player who was averaging just five goals a season at Bayern has scored 23 already for Blackburn. An indication, perhaps, that the Premier League is easier? Maybe, but in Germany he was playing for the nation's dominant team. The Paraguayan appears simply to have settled better at Ewood Park, away from the pressures of Bayern, where a season without a trophy is regarded as a season wasted. He feels that he is trusted by the manager, and the English game suits his style. He was named the Premier League player of the month for December after goals against Wigan, Arsenal, Manchester City and Derby. He has also scored the bulk of his goals away from home. Best of all, at 26 his best years should still be ahead of him.

Worst Buy: Hammer horror signing

MARLON HAREWOOD (West Ham to Aston Villa, £4m)

West Ham were astonished when Martin O'Neill offered £4m for a player they were looking to shift. Once described as "a world-beater on his day, a panel-beater on the others", he has largely been the latter. Harewood has made one Premier League start, at Old Trafford in March, which lasted 69 minutes. Five goals from 21 substitute appearances looks a decent return, until you examine them. Three came at in the last five minutes of routs which were already won. Which leaves a goal at Anfield which helped snatch a point, and one at Reading which put Villa two up in what proved a 2-1 win. About £1.3m a point, plus wages, and it is not as if, being 29 in August, he has a resale value.

Good shoppers: Three managers who got it right

HARRY REDKNAPP (Portsmouth)

Buys: Jermain Defoe (Tottenham, £7.5m), Sulley Muntari (Udinese, £7m), John Utaka (Rennes, £7m), David Nugent (Preston, £6m), Lassana Diarra (Arsenal, £5.5m), Glen Johnson (Chelsea, £4m), Arnold Mvuemba (Rennes, £2.5m), Papa Bouba Diop (Fulham, undisc), Jean-Francois Christophe (Lens, undisc), Martin Crainie (Soton, undis), Sylvain Distin (Man C, free), Hermann Hreidarsson (Charlton, free).

The ace wheeler-dealer proved he can shop at Harrods as well as in the bargain bucket. Muntari, Utaka and Johnson have all made an impact, Distin has been a star and Hreidarsson cemented a place. Even the January recruits Defoe and Diarra immediately impressed. Redknapp did not get them all right, but the failures are young enough to be able to recoup their fees .

SIR ALEX FERGUSON (Manchester United)

Buys: Owen Hargreaves (Bayern Munich, £17m), Nani (Sporting Lisbon, £17m), Anderson (Porto, £13m), Tomas Kuszczak (West Bromwich, undis), Manucho (Petro Atletico, undis).

It may be thought to be simple to spend well when Manchester United's resources are behind you, but it is not easy to improve such a team. Ferguson now concentrates on top-calibre players, and talent he can develop. Hargreaves is in the first category, Nani and Manucho the second, Anderson in both. Carlos Tevez, incidentally, appears to be on loan, from MSI.

DAVID MOYES (Everton)

Buys: Yakubu (Middlesbrough, £11m), Phil Jagielka (Sheff U, £4m), Leighton Baines (Wigan, £4m), Steven Pienaar (B Dortmund, £2m), Stefan Wessels (Bayern Munich, free).

Moyes has limited funds but he has largely spent them well. Yakubu's early run of goals provided impetus, Jagielka has played 46 matches in various positions. Pienaar, whose permanent transfer has been agreed, has impressed. Baines' impact has been limited, but he is only 23.

Bad shoppers: Three managers who got it wrong

JOSE MOURINHO (Chelsea)

Buys: Florent Malouda (from Lyons, £13.5m), Juliano Belletti (Barcelona, £4m), Steve Sidwell (Reading, free), Claudio Pizarro (Bayern Munich, free), Tal Ben Haim (Bolton, free).

Amid all the gnashing of teeth bemoaning the departure of the Special One and his usurpation by Avram Grant, it seems to have been forgotten that Mourinho's summer transfer dealings were a disaster. Malouda, his key signing, has struggled to hold down a place in the team. Belletti is third choice at right-back. As for the free transfer signings ... when did anyone last see Sidwell, Pizarro or Ben Haim in a Chelsea shirt? And they are not really free: think of the wages.

LAWRIE SANCHEZ (Fulham)

Buys: Diomansy Kamara (West Bromwich, £6m), Hameur Bouazza (Watford, £4m), Steven Davis (Aston Villa, £4m), Paul Konchesky (West Ham, £3.25m), Chris Baird (Southampton, £3m), Lee Cook (QPR, £2.5m), David Healy (Leeds, £1.5m), Seol Ki Hyeon (Reading, £2m), Aaron Hughes (Aston Villa, £1m), Dejan Stefanovic (Portsmouth, £1m), Adrian Leijer (Melbourne, undis), Kasey Keller (Bayer Leverkusen, free), Nathan Ashton (Charlton, free).

Given £30m-plus, funds Chris Coleman never had recourse to, Sanchez blew it on hiring from below decks and recreating his Northern Ireland team, but performing every week on the bucolic banks of the Thames is a different challenge to doing it once a month at a fervent Linfield Park. Cook and Leijer never played a match, Baird, Kamara, Healy and Stefanovic were dropped, Seol rarely picked, Davis and Ashton loaned out. Only Hughes and Konchesky could be said to be successes. The other 11 signings have made 118 starts between them.

SAM ALLARDYCE (Newcastle)

Buys: Jose Enrique (Villarreal, £6.3m), Alan Smith (Man Utd, £6m), Joey Barton (Man City, £5.8m), David Rozehnal (Paris SG, £2.9m), Abdoulaye Faye (Bolton, £2m), Habib Beye (Marseilles, £2m), Mark Viduka (Middlesbrough, free), Geremi (Chelsea, free), Claudio Cacapa (Lyons, free).

Another manager to pay for his misjudgements with the sack. Smith, Barton, Rozehnal and Enrique cost £21m. Smith failed to score, Barton's form has picked up but he still has a court case hanging over him, while Rozenhal is now back in France. Enrique has not looked anything like a £6.3m full-back. The others have been more successful, notably Beye and Faye, but in most cases only since Kevin Keegan took over.

Best of the rest: Other signings who have paid their way

SYLVAIN DISTIN (Man City to Portsmouth, free)

No free transfer is actually free – such players tend to command higher wages and signing-on fees – but Distin remains a bargain. His pace and mobility make him the perfect partner for Sol Campbell. Harry Redknapp may be known as a manager who encourages flair but his Portsmouth team are built on a strong defence. Missed two games all season. Hard to believe he has not been capped by France, when Jean-Alain Boumsong has 22 caps.

Antonio Valencia (Villarreal to Wigan, £2.5m in January)

A bit of a cheat this, as he is not new to the English game, but neither are the Englishmen transferred this season. Spotted in the 2006 World Cup by Paul Jewell, and signed permanently by Steve Bruce in January after 18 months on loan. The Colombian has been a significant factor in Wigan's recovery and is now sought by the big boys. They can expect to pay upwards of £5m.

Fernando Torres (Atletico Madrid to Liverpool, £26.5m)

At this fee Torres' success should be no surprise. Nevertheless, there were question marks about how quickly the Spaniard would adapt to English football. He is still young (23) and had never played outside Atletico Madrid, nor in the Champions League. There are few doubts now. His finishing has been excellent, his presence inspirational. However, he has scored 23 of his 32 goals at home, usually at the Kop end. There is, though, more to come.

Martin Skrtel (Zenit St Petersburg to Liverpool, £6m, January)

Benitez makes two good signings shock! The fleet-footed Slovakian may not have caught the eye like Torres but it is no accident that his arrival has coincided with Liverpool's improved form these last three months, nor that his injury at Stamford Bridge precipitated their defensive collapse.

Gary O'Neil (Portsmouth to Middlesbrough, £2.5m)

Proof that decent English players can be bought, for reasonable fees, though this one could double depending on appearances. Still only 24 but very experienced, versatile and hugely underrated. Not the quickest but an intelligent team player. Sadly for Gareth Southgate, he wants a move south: West Ham could be interested.

Ayegbeni Yakubu (Middlesbrough to Everton, £11m)

Everton's first 20-goal striker in a campaign since Peter Beardsley in 1992, but, as usual, he has faded badly. David Moyes has made him leaner, and hungrier; now he has to persuade the Yak not to hibernate in spring.

Phil Jagielka (Sheffield United to Everton, £4m)

David Moyes probably did not expect to play Jagielka at centre-half most of the season, but his versatility is one reason Everton signed him.

Glen Johnson (Chelsea to Portsmouth, £4m)

Johnson has thrived under Redknapp's wing and is now showing the form that persuaded Chelsea to spend £6m on him.

Elano (Shakhtar Donetsk to Manchester City, £8m)

The Brazilian has faded towards the end of the season but he lit up autumn with his superb passing and free-kicks. He has also scored seven League goals.

What a waste of money: The rest of the Premier League's most ill-advised acquisitions

EMERSE FAE (Nantes to Reading, £2.5m)

Steve Coppell does not have the budget other managers have, but he admits he should have bought more players this season: he should also have bought better ones. The Ivorian has made eight appearances for Reading, five of them off the bench. Reading have lost all eight. Fae is currently suspended for refusing to play for the reserves. He will be leaving in the summer.

Rolando Bianchi (Reggina to Man City, £8.8m)

A careful examination of Bianchi's career would have revealed the Italian to have had one good season at Reggina, preceded by four goals in 59 appearances with Atalanta and Cagliari. Even those 19 goals at Reggina failed to persuade Roberto Donadoni to cap him and Eriksson, who largely bought well should have steered clear. After four goals in 19 matches he was loaned to Lazio.

Andrei Voronin (Bayer Leverkusen to Liverpool, free)

The Ukrainian announced himself on his full debut with a stunning goal in Toulouse. He scored on his next two outings, against Sunderland and Derby, and then, not very much. Fourteen further appearances have produced one goal and the pony-tailed one is now regarded as surplus to requirements.

Robbie Earnshaw (Norwich to Derby, £3.5m)

It has not been easy playing up front for Derby, but Earnshaw might have been expected to score at least once before relegation was confirmed. He finally hit the target last month, his 21st League match. It provoked Arsenal, 3-1 up at the time, into scoring three goals in the remaining 13 minutes.

Florent Malouda (Lyons to Chelsea, £13.5m)

Actually the most successful of Jose Mourinho's summer signings, but as he was also by some distance the most expensive expectations were far higher. Looked good when scoring in the Community Shield, and on his League debut, but rarely since. Moaned about life in London and likely to be shifted in the close season.

Greg Halford (Reading to Sunderland, £2.5m)

Looked a good player at Colchester but appeared out of his depth in the top flight. Lasted six months at Reading, the same period at Sunderland. After two red cards in eight matches he was dispatched to Charlton, on loan.

Joey Barton (Man City to Newcastle, £5.8m)

The midfielder's form has improved after a dreadful start but his December jailing was a factor in the dismissal of Sam Allardyce, who had insisted he could keep Barton in line. He also has yet to face trial on assault charges relating to two separate incidents.

Juliano Belletti (Barcelona to Chelsea, £4m)

The Brazilian may be a European Cup-winning right-back, as recently as 2006, but he is now third in the queue at Stamford Bridge behind a midfielder, Michael Essien, and the man he was bought to replace, Paolo Ferreira.

Alan Smith (Man United to Newcastle, £6m)

Smith is a decent player who has fought back from a terrible injury, but £6m for a striker who last scored in April 2007? Even accepting Smith frequently plays in midfield, a record of five goals in his last 120 matches should have made Sam Allardyce think twice. Now being used as a sub.