Top Ten Football Nosedives!!!?

Top Ten: Career nosedives in reverse order...





10. David Bentley





In July 鈥?8, Spurs signed Bentley from Blackburn for 拢15m, with the winger looking to cement his place in the England team. Come the end of last season, the 24-year-old couldn鈥檛 even find his way onto Spurs鈥?bench after a spectacular loss of form. Perhaps he should have spent less time kicking balls into skips.





9. Freddie Ljungberg





In his final months at Arsenal, Freddie suffered from the dual losses of Dennis Bergkamp, who was so good at picking out the Swede鈥檚 incisive runs, and his acceleration, meaning Arsene Wenger moved him onto West Ham. After one forgettable season at Upton Park, it was clear that the underwear model was now 鈥?yes 鈥?pants.





8. Damien Duff





After providing so much penetration down Chelsea鈥檚 flanks for Jose Mourinho, the Newcastle iteration of Duff looked impotent in comparison. After a series of injuries, the pace and end product had gone, and the Irishman鈥檚 performances did little to fight off the Toon鈥檚 relegation.





7. Lee Bowyer





Since thrusting Leeds鈥?midfield forward in the Champions League in 2001, Bowyer鈥檚 career has gone into reverse, reaching a nadir with his on-field scrap with Kieron Dyer for Newcastle. Given another chance to impress at the top level with recent transfer to Birmingham.





6. Lauren





Lauren was a key member of Arsenal鈥檚 03/04 Invincibles team, providing defensive solidity as well as toughness. When he found his first-team chances at the Gunners curtailed by the emergence of Emmanuel Eboue, the Cameroonian moved to Portsmouth, where he was usurped by Glen Johnson after failing to impress.





5. Alan Smith





At one point the tenacious Smith was seen as Roy Keane鈥檚 heir as the defensive presence in Manchester United鈥檚 midfield, but the ex-Leeds man was severely hampered by a broken leg in 2006 and hasn鈥檛 regained his form since. Yet to score for Newcastle despite being there for two seasons.





4. Danny Mills





Mills deputised capably for Gary Neville in England鈥檚 2002 World Cup first eleven, but ever since that high point the right-back has struggled to find games. Currently without a club having been released from Manchester City on July 1st.





3. Andy van der Meyde





After scoring a fantastic Champions League goal for Inter Milan, the Dutch winger鈥檚 career looked on an inexorably upward trajectory. After being found surplus to requirements in Inter鈥檚 bloated squad, however, van der Meyde moved to Everton in 2005. He is still to achieve anything of note in a Toffees shirt.





2. Paul Robinson





Just when it seemed Robbo had the England #1 jersey cemented, he dropped the ball 鈥?quite literally, and quite regularly 鈥?after suffering a crisis of confidence from which he still hasn鈥檛 recovered, although his form did show signs of improvement at Blackburn last term.





1. Andrei Shevchenko





The Ukrainian arrived at Chelsea for 拢30m, and now it seems that they would struggle to give him away. Problems settling in England have eroded Shevchenko鈥檚 confidence, with his performances seeming like he wanted one more touch on the ball than the relentless Premier League would afford him.





Anyone think of any others?|||Didier Drogba. John Terry. Wayne Rooney. Cristiano Ronaldo.





Oh, wait, not that kind of nosedive. Sorry...





Michael Owen. A genuine superstar at Liverpool, had a little left when he got to Newcastle, but has fallen apart. I suppose Sir Rednose thinks the real Michael Owen is about to stand up, but I'm not sure any Michael Owen can stand up anymore.





Counting my answer, that's 4 out of 11 who were great but found their way to Newcastle and didn't do much for the Toon. I wonder if that's indicative of bad luck or awful management by the Magpies.|||Quaresma was a big flop for Inter and he hardly got to play for Chelsea on loan.


Keane to Liverpool was also a big time flop.