10: Bobby Petta (Adelaide United & Sydney FC)

The speedy Dutch winger had made a name for himself at Celtic under Martin O'Neill, so when he arrived in Australia in 2006 only two years after playing in the English Premier League with Fulham there were expectations he'd dazzle A-League crowds.

However, Petta, who was once called up by the Netherlands national team, never really made any impact in Australia, making 20 appearances for Adelaide over two years – mostly as a sub - and ultimately his time with the Reds petered out with injuries hardly helping.

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9: Yuning Zhang (Brisbane Roar)

Roar had an issue scoring goals in season one of the A-League, so in season two coach Miron Bleiberg turned to a player known as 'the Chinese David Beckham'. The player was Yuning Zhang, a China international who had been linked with Leicester City in the past and had netted eight times for his country.

Following on from the success of his compatriot Shengqing Qu at Adelaide in 2005-06, there were expectations Zhang would make a big impact, particularly following on from some generous comments from Bleiberg in pre-season. But Zhang struggled, failing to score once for Roar, and ultimately struggling to even make the team's matchday squad on a regular basis. Zhang only managed six appearances for Brisbane before Frank Farina, who had taken over from Bleiberg, cut him loose.

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8: Scot Gemmill (New Zealand Knights)

The former English Premier League midfielder and Scotland international arrived in Auckland when the club was in need of some quality. Given his pedigree, including almost 100 appearances for Everton, he promised plenty, but like the Knights, never got going.

Gemmill's arrival was expected to improve New Zealand's midfield after an awful 2005-06 season but the Scot was unable to exert the influence Knights' management had hoped. The slightly-framed 35-year-old was a regular for the side during the campaign but never really showed his quality and when the club folded, their replacements, Wellington Phoenix, weren't interested.

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7: Terry Butcher (Sydney FC)

Maybe we're breaking the rules by naming a coach on this list, but Butcher's spell in charge of Sydney was a big disappointment. The reigning champions had boldly recruited Butcher from Scottish Premier League club Motherwell after letting Pierre Littbarski go, but the team appeared much less cohesive under his guidance.

Butcher's Sky Blues were defensively stable conceding only 19 goals in 21 games, but they only scored 29 goals, winning just eight regular season matches. It was underwhelming after season one's excitement and hardly what Sydney fans had been expecting. The club's part owner Anthony LaPaglia wanted him sacked after nine games in the job. However, Sydney's exit in the first round of the finals to Newcastle Jets was the final nail in the coffin, as Butcher trudged off the pitch, kicking at the turf after a dull campaign, before being sacked with a year to run on his contract.

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6: Steve McMahon Jnr (Perth Glory)

To be fair, McMahon Jnr didn't have a huge profile, so it's hard to be a flop in that regard, but the whole situation regarding him being signed by his father (ex-Liverpool legend Steve McMahon) in the inaugural A-League season for Glory was beyond a joke.

Put simply, ex-Blackpool and Kidderminster defender/midfielder McMahon Jnr didn't seem to be up to scratch in the A-League. There were some suggestions the only reason he was getting a game was nepotism and it came as no surprise that when his father got the sack in December 2005, he followed him back to England soon after. For the record, McMahon Jnr hasn't played professionally since.

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5: Ricardinho (Melbourne Victory)

The Brazilian arrived at Melbourne Victory with the lovely title as 'The King of Dribble' yet where that nickname came from remains a mystery. The 26-year-old former Atletico Paranaense forward's record wasn't glittering before he became Victory's marquee player and was handed the number nine shirt, so his signing appeared a gamble.

Victory coach Ernie Merrick said upon his signing: “He’s a very quick and very skilful player who will no doubt prove a real handful.” However, he never showed such qualities in the A-League, possessing an ordinary first touch and a genuine lack of pace. Ricardinho managed just two goals in 19 games and was overlooked for Victory's 2011 Asian Champions League squad, before being farmed out on loan back to Brazil until December 31. You get the sense he won't be back in a rush.

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4: Romario (Adelaide United)

The legendary Brazilian may have only played in the A-League on a guest stint and he may have scored one goal, but his spell at Adelaide United was close to farcical.

The 1994 World Cup winner arrived at Hindmarsh at the sprightly old age of 39, but there was hope he'd offer something after a good spell with USL First Division club Miami FC where he scored 19 goals in 25 appearances.

However Romario was underwhelming with his complete lack of movement. It appeared his only motivation was on reaching 1000 career goals although he did get one closer with a tap-in from a metre out against Newcastle taking him to 987. Otherwise he disappointed.

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3: Brian Deane (Perth Glory)

The big striker had made history when he recorded the first ever English Premier League goal. However, when Glory signed him in 2005, it was some 13 years since Deane had achieved that feat. For that reason their recruiting strategy heading into season one of the A-League was flawed.

Deane arrived at Glory at 37-years-old, with his best well and truly behind him and it showed. The former Leeds United, Benfica and Middlesbrough had some fine days during his career but his Australian stint wasn't pretty. Deane managed seven appearances for Glory, scoring once, before the club admitted their mistake and decided to part ways with him halfway through the 2005-06 campaign.

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2: Edmundo Zura (Newcastle Jets)

Following Newcastle's A-League championship in 2008, the club saw several players move on and in their haste to replace them, they signed Ecuador international Zura as their new marquee player.

There were already question marks about him upon the announcement of his signing in July 2008, with his Wikipedia page contradicting claims made by the player's management of previous exploits at Ecuador giants Barcelona SC where he was supposed to have scored 23 goals in 57 appearances. It was all a bit murky, with Jets coach Gary van Egmond admitting he'd never actually seen him play live.

And nine appearances and zero goals later, it was over. Zura didn't show many of the qualities which had supposedly made him an Ecuador international and he never settled into life in Australia. Three months after signing with the Jets, they agreed on a mutual termination of his deal and he went home, where he's actually done okay and won four more caps with the Ecuador national team.

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1: Mario Jardel (Newcastle Jets)

The two-time European Golden Boot winner arrived in Australia with a fairly lofty profile. The Brazil international had scored goals for fun for many years in Portugal, with FC Porto and Sporting Lisbon, and more of the same was expected in the A-League when he signed as the Jets marquee player in August 2007 on a wage reportedly worth $3,000 a week.

However, 32-year-old Jardel's best years were well and truly behind him. In fact, he'd been struggling since 2002 with injury and fitness problems and had been unable to settle at a club for years, moving around as a footballing nomad until his move to Australia.

Those issues didn't magically go away at Newcastle and coach Gary van Egmond knew it, as he was reluctant to use him as any more than a late substitute despite owner Con Constantine's insistence. Jardel struggled to make much impact in his cameos off the bench and didn't really look likely to do so either, as he appeared well short on confidence and fitness and a tad overweight.

Eventually van Egmond got his way and Jardel was cut adrift by the club in January 2008 having made 11 appearances (mostly as a sub) and without scoring a goal in the A-League. The Jets would go on to win the A-League championship, while Jardel would later admit he abused cocaine during his checkered career.