Join The Club
10 brief but memorable seasons
Some turned up and inspired promotion, others arrived and played a huge role in keeping their new team safe from relegation, while others still came from nowhere to inspire success-starved teams to cup glory. Football fans yearn for the days of the one-club player, 'one of their own' to come from the youth team and lead the club to success. Sometimes, though, it takes a player coming in for just a short time to inspire those around them: we take a look at 10 of the best to do just that.
1. Paul Power (Everton, 1986/87)
After 15 trophyless seasons at his boyhood team Manchester City, the 33-year-old Power left Maine Road for Everton in the summer of 1986 as City chairman Peter Swales accepted a bid of £65,000.
Initially it seemed that Power would be a fringe player with the Toffees, but long-term injuries to Peter Reid and Paul Bracewell meant that Kendall called upon Power's knowhow as Everton launched another title assault. Power was a model of consistency (he even netted against former club City, and refused to celebrate – how modern!) as his new team pipped city rivals Liverpool to the First Division crown.
2. Brian Marwood (Arsenal, 1988/89)
Marwood spent 18 months in north London, sandwiched between spells in Sheffield with Wednesday and United. He enjoyed the best spell of his career in the two seasons with the Owls before his move to Arsenal, where he continued to impress. He created plenty from wide areas as Alan ‘Smudger’ Smith won the Golden Boot as the league’s top scorer as Arsenal won their first title for 18 years. Marwood made one appearance for England in a friendly against Saudi Arabia in November 1988.
Injuries and a public fall-out with Graham limited his appearances the following campaign, and he was sold to Sheffield United in May 1990 having won a solitary league winner's medal.
3. Martin Palermo (Argentina, 2009/10)
Prior to his incredible indian summer, Palermo was best known for missing three penalties in Argentina's Copa America encounter with Colombia a decade earlier. With his national side struggling to qualify for the World Cup in South Africa in 2010, Argentina boss Diego Maradona brought the 37-year-old Palermo back into the international fold.
Palermo started a decisive qualifier against Peru. In torrential rain, Maradona's side laboured horribly until Palermo turned home a 93rd-minute winner to keep his team's qualification hopes on track.
"It was a miracle," insisted Diego after sliding on his belly across the muddy pitch in celebration. Palermo even netted in the finals against Greece, making himself the oldest Argentine player to net in the finals since... Maradona.
4. Marco Negri (Rangers, 1997/98)
Negri wasn’t so much a one-season wonder as a half-season one. His start at Rangers following a £3.5m move from Italian side Perugia in the summer of 1997 was nothing short of astonishing. He found the net 23 times in 10 matches at the start of the campaign, finishing the season with 32 goals for the Gers. His season could’ve been even more impressive had he not sustained a serious eye injury playing squash against a team-mate.
He only played another three games after that seismic 1997/98 campaign, sitting out an entire season due to "niggling injuries" and being farmed out on loan.
The dashing Italian frontman – who always celebrated his goals with the minimum of fuss – was never the same player again, totally unable to hit the staggering heights he'd reached during those formative days in Scotland.
5. Michu (Swansea, 2012/13)
Despite scoring some important goals for Rayo Vallecano following their promotion to the top flight, Michu hardly had them dancing in the streets of Swansea when he joined in the summer of 2012. Maybe they should have. He scored twice on his debut in a 5-0 win at QPR and ended up with 22 goals in all competitions as the Swans won the League Cup. His form resulted in a call-up to the Spain squad for a World Cup qualifier against Belarus in Mallorca in 2013. It was to be his only cap.
Following eye-catching goals against Arsenal and Chelsea, Michu was linked with a big-money move away but opted to remain at the Liberty Stadium. Then his form collapsed, injuries flared and he was loaned out to Napoli at the tail end of the 2013/14 season. After a brief stint in Spain's fourth tier, he joined Segunda Division Oviedo but was forced to retire early aged only 31.
6. Frank Worthington (Southampton, 1983/84)
"I bought Frank because I loved signing old crocks," said Saints boss Lawrie McMenemy at the time, "and because I knew that his showman style would go down well with our fans."
Worthington, renowned for his playboy lifestyle, had been capped eight times by England almost a decade earlier and showed up at The Dell in June 1983 in a Stetson and skinny jeans.
Although McMenemy had concerns about the 35-year-old's off-field pursuits, the forward formed an excellent partnership with the prolific Steve Moran as the Saints finished second in the league behind Liverpool. "I'm hoping that he sticks around for next season," explained McMenemy. Instead, the old rocker departed to Brighton for another season-long adventure.
7. Asamoah Gyan (Sunderland, 2010/11)
"I'm hoping that Asamoah can propel Sunderland to greater things. Indeed, I'm convinced that he will," extolled Black Cats chairman Niall Quinn upon Gyan’s arrival at the club on transfer deadline day in the summer of 2010. When he scored twice against Stoke, netted an equaliser against Spurs and was the star man in a 3-0 battering of Chelsea in successive games in November it looked as though Quinn was right. Sunderland were sat in seventh place in the Premier League.
That was as good as it got for the Mackems, though. Mysteriously, Gyan departed the north-east after little more than a year at Sunderland, having netted 10 goals in his first campaign. After the Ghanaian signed for UAE outfit Al Ain, Quinn insisted: "It's good move for the club." It was an even better move for Gyan, who trebled his salary in the process.
8. Brian Kilcline (Newcastle, 1991/92)
Newcastle were struggling at the bottom of the old Second Division table when Kilcline was signed from Oldham early in 2002. He was quickly installed as captain and was superb as the Magpies avoiding going down. "We were in massive trouble, and I dread to think what would have happened if we'd gone down," recalled Newcastle manager Kevin Keegan.
"He absolutely terrified the life out of the opposition and cajoled our players brilliantly. We were in a fire fight and you need the likes of 'Killer' when you're in a fix like we were. He was my most important ever signing," said Keegan.
Keegan quickly decided that a more aesthetically pleasing approach was required as he plotted the Toon's return to the top flight and Kilcline departed, a Toon hero forever.
9. Bryan Robson (Middlesbrough, 1994/95)
Captain Marvel arrived at Ayresome Park as player-manager in 1994 following 13 years with Manchester United. "My legs, knees and hips were creaking and groaning," recalled Robson, "but I realised that I could still play an organisational role in midfield if I learnt to conserve my energy." While it didn’t sound particularly inspirational, it proved to be just that. Robson guided Boro to promotion to the Premier League in his first season, allowing ambitious chairman Steve Gibson to attract the likes of Juninho to the Riverside Stadium for the club’s assault on the top flight.
"Bryan's role in that promotion season completely turned this club around," explained Gibson later. "Without him, we wouldn't have been able to fill our new stadium. He was like a magnet for other stars."
10. Esteban Cambiasso (Leicester, 2014/15)
When the 35-year-old former Inter star turned up in the East Midlands on a free transfer citing his desire to "give it my all for Leicester City", eyebrows were raised.
But Cambiasso – whose first goal for the club came in the remarkable 5-3 defeat of Manchester United – was sensational for Leicester as they cobbled together an incredible run of results that kept them safe. Manager Nigel Pearson described him as "a revelation and an example to all players". He was voted Player of the Season by the supporters.
It was probably a source of regret for everyone that Cambiasso chose not to renew his contract with Leicester, instead opting to return to the Champions League with Greek champions Olympiakos. The Foxes did alright without him, though.
