Davids see the Palace - and other strange transfer dealings

As far as bizarre transfers are concerned, the move of Edgar Davids to Selhurst Park to play for Crystal Palace, two years after he last played competitive football, has to be right up there. Football history is littered with bizarre transfers. Unfortunately for Palace, these moves generally end up with one of two outcomes - either one or both parties with their tails between their legs. Just last season, former England and Arsenal stalwart Sol Campbell found himself at Sven Goran Eriksson's revolution at Notts County. He signed a five-year-deal, stating County were 'the best option for this moment of my life.' But he never even played at Meadow Lane - he made his debut on September 19 in a 2-1 defeat at Morecombe, and walked out just three days later with his contract being cancelled by mutual consent. Which is one more appearance than Faustino Asprilla made for Darlington after he'd decided to give the North-East a second try. In 2004, after agreeing to sign for the club after befriending Darlo's flamboyant chairman George Reynolds. But on the day he was due to sign the contract, he had a change of heart and fled the country.
But the greatest, most bizarre transfer of all, must be Ali Dia, the cheeky chappy who was George Weah's 'cousin.' When Southampton manager Graeme Souness got a phone call from 'George Weah' in 1996, suggesting he signed his 'cousin' Dia, who had won 30 caps for Senegal, the dour Scot must have thought all his Christmases had come at once. The reality of the situation, however, was rather different. The mysterious voice on the other end of the telephone was in fact Dia's agent, and he was no relation to the Liberian legend. He had flittered around the lower reaches of French football before signing a part-time contract with non-league Blyth Spartans, before coming up with his ingenious scheme. Souness took him on trial, and was due to play him in a reserve game to get a better look. But the game was cancelled, so he was thrown into the first team squad for a game with Leeds United. After half an hour, Saints legend Matt Le Tissier was injured, and Dia trotted on to replace him. 50 minutes later when he himself was substituted, it became clear he'd never been capped by Senegal - one newspaper described him as playing like 'bambi on ice' and he was never heard of again.
The transfers of Ronnie O'Brien and Jean Alain Boumsong to Juventus, Jay Bothroyd to Perugia and Claudio Cannigia to Dundee all spring to mind, but the most entertaining transfer of recent times was the truly strange transfer of Julien Faubert from West Ham United to Real Madrid. The French right-winger/right-back had hardly lit up East London since arriving for £6 million from Bordeaux, so it was most peculiar when Real took him to the Bernabeu, on a six-month loan deal for £1.5 million with an option for a permanent transfer at the end of the deal. This is an option new coach Manuel Pellegrini declined to take up, after Faubert missed training after he mistakenly thought he'd been given a day off, and was pictured asleep on the bench during a game with Villarreal. Talk about throwing away your big chance, and after just two appearances, he returned to Upton Park. It is perhaps slightly unfair to place Davids to the majority of these examples, but it is always strange to see players in the top echelons of football take a step down in class - it can't be about the money!
Davids, with his flamboyant dreadlocks and huge spectacles (due to his glaucoma) is one of the most recognisable players in world football.But he is also pretty handy on the pitch too. The list of Davids' former employers is a veritable roll-call of who's who in European football - Ajax (twice), AC Milan, Juventus, Barcelona, Inter Milan and Tottenham Hotspur. OK maybe the quality dips a little bit at the end, but it will still be strange to see the 37-year-old former Dutch international rock up at Doncaster and Barnsley in the Championship. He also won 74 caps for Holland, and reached the semi-finals of the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000. The move is made stranger still by the fact that Palace were on the verge of going out of business at the end of last season, and have only just exited administration. He was one of three signings made the day their transfer embargo was lifted - Spurs striker Jonathon Obika and Ipswich forward Pablo Counago were signed on season long loan deals.
Palace manager George Burley is certainly excited by the prospect of seeing Davids in action: 'we spoke to Edgar earlier in the week. He has been training with Ajax but now it's good to see us agree terms with him.' Despite their well documented financial problems, Davids has signed a pay-as-you-play contract rather than a long term deal. So at least he won't be paid an astronomical sum of money for sitting on the bench a la former Ajax and Holland team-mate Winston Bogarde (I'm sure most Chelsea fans still cringe at the mere mention of his name). He made nine appearances in his three years at Stamford Bridge, and despite repeated efforts to offload him, the right-back preferred to stay at Chelsea and see out his lucrative contract before retiring (which he effectively did when he signed for the club). It remains to be seen who will gain most from this venture. If Davids has some of his old fire - which he will need in the Championship, his name will mean nothing - then this could be a marriage made in heaven. If he can re-ignite the fire in his belly, and return to his tigerish former-self, he could slot in seamlessly to the Championship style of play.
But will the prospect of playing in central midfield with Danny Ambrose or Neil Danns be as enticing as lining up with former colleagues such as Clarence Seedorf and Pavel Nedved. Only time will tell, but Burley will be hoping this acts as a motivating factor rather than going the other way. Potential downsides for the Eagles? Davids has fallen out with much bigger coaches than Burley. Think Guus Hiddink, who sent Davids home from Euro 96 for saying 'Hiddink should stop putting his head up some players asses'. And former international colleague Marc Overmars returned to professional football for a season with Go Ahead Eagles, four years after last playing for Barcelona. They should serve as cautionary tales, but the gamble will be worth it if Davids adds more ability, guile and class to Palace's midfield.