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Chris DaviePublished Sep 3, 2024, 10:06am|Updated Sep 3, 2024, 10:07am
Paul Scholes has named Mark Bosnich as one of Manchester United’s worst-ever signings.
Bosnich was signed by United on a free transfer from Aston Villa in June 1999 as Peter Schmeichel’s successor.
However, the Australian lasted just 19 months at United, and following the arrival of Fabian Barthez he ended up leaving Old Trafford to join Chelsea on a free transfer in January 2001.
Scholes, who won 11 Premier League titles during his career at United, claims Bosnich was ‘so unprofessional’ during his short stint at Old Trafford and says the former goalkeeper ‘couldn’t kick a football’.
When it was suggested that Juan Sebastian Veron is United’s worst-ever signing, Scholes said on The Overlap: ‘Veron was a great player, a talented player. Don’t really know why it didn’t work for him but what a footballer.
‘I go back to the goalkeepers, when you had to try and replace Peter Schmeichel, which is always going to be difficult.
‘We had a few. I was thinking [Massimo] Taibi, Mark Bosnich.
‘I thought he was a good keeper at Villa, Mark. He came to us, he was so unprofessional. Honestly, it was ridiculous.
‘In shooting practice, you normally have like 15, 20 shots. After three shots, he’s knackered, ‘oh no, get someone else in’.
‘I never realised, he couldn’t kick a football. I’ve never seen anything like it. We played Everton away in first game of the season, and none of us picked up on it, he couldn’t reach the halfway line.
‘There was no wind, it was a perfect day. But when you look at his feet, size 14s, honestly he was just kicking the floor all the time, big flippers. Honestly, it was disappointing.’
In his second autobiography released in 2013, Alex Ferguson: My Autobiography, Ferguson also criticised Bosnich for an apparent lack of professionalism – an accusation which the Australian has since branded as ‘lies’.
‘Mark Bosnich was, in my opinion, a terrible professional, which we should have known,’ Ferguson wrote.
‘The Bosnich buy stemmed from Peter Schmeichel announcing in the autumn of his final season that he would be retiring, which caught us on the hop. We jumped into decisions.
‘We met Bosnich in January, despite reports filtering through to us about his conduct off the pitch. I sent someone down to watch him in training. He was doing nothing in the sessions that convinced me he was the right man for Manchester United.
‘I changed tack and went for Edwin van der Sar instead, spoke to his agent and then to Martin Edwards, who told me, ‘Alex, I’m sorry, I’ve shaken hands with Bosnich.’ That was a blow. Martin had shaken Mark’s hand and would not go back on his word, which I respect. But it was a bad piece of business.’
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