AS A-LEAGUE clubs are completing their recruitment crusades for this lengthy off-season, au.fourfourtwo.com decided we'd look back at 10 recruits who didn't turn out as hoped. Here's our Top 10 A-League Flops over the course of the competition's history.
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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