There's only one Tommy Mooney, one Tommy Mooney, walking along, singing a song, walking in the Mooney wonderland
Yeah that's right. I'm pretty sure he scored a hat trick on his debut against Villa and then scored against Spurs a week later in the 2-1 defeat. GT's last season in charge and he built a great side before Basscahunt took over and tore it apart. Just reminded me John McLelland was another 'wow' signing...in my opinion the best centre back that's ever played for us...ever.
Probably the most shocked I ever was at a 'signing' was when one of the tabloids announced that we would be signing Mark Hughes from Barcelona for £750,000. We didn't, but it did cause an awful lot of fuss! Eventually went back to United for £1.8m, so complete press trash, but very exciting for a few moments.
It really seemed a big statement of intent at the time, the wow factor went of the charts with all the names linked to us after he arrived and then the season started and oh dear. Second worst management appointment that I can remember, worst was Bassett - 10 years in the building and in six months he destroyed it.
Not even 6 months...pretty much by the end of pre-season. How the FECK do you drop Tony Coton?????????
TBF, Brian Talbot seemed like a very positive and shock signing. Wasn't too surprised when it was announced though, as I'd seen him with GT driving around Watford in the great man's Jag the day before.
While standing at the other end of a phone line if he had any sense. He dropped TC and Luther and sold Kevin Richardson to Arsenal for a coke and an ice cream, the man wasn't smart enough to be a ******.
Agree about Brian Talbot. Was a very big signing. In later years, I saw a fair bit of him as he won the Maltese league with two different clubs. Talking of ex Arsenal mids with FA Cup winners medals, GT also signed Kevin Richardson too, which was quite a big signing eh..
Without taking this thread down a different path, talking about big name manager signings, if Elton John appointed Sir Bobby Moore instead Sir GT (he's a knight in my eyes KGT), we'd still be down in the ****ter where we were. That said though, could you imagine what the press would've done? Only hypothesising here, but imagine the media-free-BJs-for-all with regards to Eddie Howe and multiply that by 100. Maybe that's why the press hate us as we didn't go for England's golden man and instead went for a nobody northerner (at the time). Also, my answer to the original question is Cassetti. When we signed him I couldn't believe it because this guy was only recently playing for Roma in the Champions League and playing for Roma on a regular basis.
Yes off of Everton I think. Bassett gave him away to Arsenal where he won more things and he ended up winning stuff at Villa as well.
I don't think he was such a big name when we brought him, and he didn't start playing for Scotland until he was with us. Rangers' fans were livid when we signed John McLellend; we started getting Glasgow tourists spectators, and I was told by some fans down for one weekend that it had taken ten thousand off their gate because it had been seen as such a negative move. Not that many people new of him down here, but on the more orangey side of Glasgow he was already a legend.
Wooter as I remember him being around the first team of that great Ajaz team and then we beat Chelsea in his first game. I thought that was going to be it!
In fairness, we should acknowledge that Luton have us beat when it comes to big signings. We just can't compete with Steve McNulty.
Now if I was a really really evil person I'd say the offer of a trip to Watford Girls Grammar but I'm not so I won't.
Player wise Steve Sims was a massive coup at the time - an England U21 and to that point our record signing from Leicester for £250k. He was that good he even had his own Panini sticker. Vialli sure but surprised no-one's mentioned Zola?
Wooter also. I'm digging out my old Wooter shirt for Saturday now. Haven't got around to washing the beach off the one I wore on Saturday.
After putting up with Scott Loach/Mart Poom/Richard Lee (as great a guy as he was) between the sticks since Ben Foster I actually felt like Almunia was a 'wow' signing. To see a keeper who had been playing for Arsenal and was linked with a possible England call up was pretty exciting.
At the end of the 93/94 season we brought two players in on loan in an attempt to beat the drop, Mooney from Southend and Bailey from QPR. IIRC Bailey was better and during the summer of 94 the fans were waiting for the signing of Bailey which never came. I remember being slightly underwhelmed by Mooney's signing at the time, so not a Wow signing but a signing that eventually came a legend.
