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Gérard Houllier’s 40 Liverpool signings ranked and rated – who’s the worst?

By Russell Hughes

Liverpool, Gerard Houllier, Florent Sinama Pongolle, Harry Kewell. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
Liverpool, Gerard Houllier, Florent Sinama Pongolle, Harry Kewell. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images) /
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Liverpool, Salif Diao.
Liverpool, Salif Diao.(Photo by GERRY PENNY/AFP via Getty Images) /

Salif Diao // Sedan // £4,700,000

This article might as well be called ‘Do not sign players based on how good their World Cup was’. Houllier brought in a few based on the strength of their 2002 performance, but most of them flopped.

Salif Diao was one of those.

His performance for Senegal caught they eye and Liverpool bit, bringing him in for nearly £5 million. After 40 appearances in his first season, things didn’t really go to plan and Diao played just 20 times in the next two campaigns.

It also didn’t help that Steven Gerrard never fancied the player.

Rating: 3/10

Christian Ziege, Liverpool.
Christian Ziege, Liverpool. (Shaun Botterill /Allsport) /

Christian Ziege // Middlesbrough //£5,500,000

Christian Ziege arrived with a good reputation, heaps of international experience and domestic titles with Bayern Munich and AC Milan.

Ziege was illegally tapped up while he was at Middlesborough, the Reds got fined £20,000 by the FA for their transgressions, but he wasn’t worth the trouble.

But none of that transferred into success on the pitch with Liverpool. He played 32 times in all competitions during the 2000-2001 season before being shipped out to Tottenham Hotspur in the summer.

It was a pretty forgettable time for Ziege all round.

Rating: 3/10

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