Biggest signing in your lifetime?

[DerekJohnstone 1,210]

Gazza, he was still only 28 at the time, still 1st player on England team sheet and cost us a paltry £15k a week 

[VERITAS VOS LIBREBETS 3,418]

Gazza was immense - like some else said all the kids dyed their hair blond, it was like living in the movie 'children of the corn'  

[dummiesoot 16,263]

Gazza, he didnae even care how much we were gonna pay him

[Brian Fantana 28,894]

Sasa Papac, absolute bargain and a hell of a player

 

[magic8ball 27,904]

20 minutes ago, dummiesoot said:

Gazza, he didnae even care how much we were gonna pay him

Something that young bears will find incredible is when Gazza came he has very few options in the U.K. Probably only us and Man U could afford him 😳

[16BlueSherbert90 19,653]

Have to agree with majority on Gazza. He was definitely our biggest at the time, who was outstanding for us and quickly became a hero to young kids. 

Laudrup was delightful too.

We were very lucky during 9IAR to have a wealth of great players though 👍🏻

[Juniorsparkie 493]

Signed Butcher, Woods & G Stevens to kick start the Souness years.

Englands Captain, Goalie and Right Back.

Never happen again.

[TopCat 4,511]

Souness for me. He started the revolution that brought the likes of Gazza and Laudrup to the club but Aaron Ramsay is the biggest name this century imo.

[The Dude 20,027]

19 minutes ago, TopCat said:

Souness for me. He started the revolution that brought the likes of Gazza and Laudrup to the club but Aaron Ramsay is the biggest name this century imo.

The de Boers were surely bigger names at the time? 

[TartanTeddy 771]

Souness by some distance - based on where the club were at that time, his profile, and then the immediate impact with signings and that title run.

Was on the pre season tour that year absolutely amazed at seeing the likes of Chris Woods and Avi Cohen, to then hear, while we were travelling across Germany, that we were signing Terry Butcher, the England captain, right after a World Cup - was totally mind blowing stuff

Gazza and Laudrup were amazing signings as players, but I think both were seen (incorrectly) as somewhat damaged goods. Mo Johnston is definitely up there as one of the great wtf signing that no one ever saw coming, but Souness, for me, changed everything about the club from day one.

 

[Moody Blue Legend 63,375]

I don’t think we sign Butcher or Woods if English teams weren’t banned from Europe.  Massive signings though.

[TopCat 4,511]

12 minutes ago, The Dude said:

The de Boers were surely bigger names at the time? 

Point taken but The De Boers joined us under very different circumstances.Given our clubs story in the last 10 years Ramsays signing just feels bigger to me.A real bolt from the blue and totally unexpected.

[northern bear 2,950]

Kevin Kyle was quite big when he signed.

[TartanTeddy 771]

9 minutes ago, Moody Blue Legend said:

I don’t think we sign Butcher or Woods if English teams weren’t banned from Europe.  Massive signings though.

Absolutely, but I also don't think we would have signed them without Souness being there - players had options to go overseas or wait it out, he was definitely a draw and gave the club credibility. 

We hadn't won a title since 1978, and weren't looking particularly likely to change things until he arrived

[Moody Blue Legend 63,375]

9 minutes ago, TartanTeddy said:

Absolutely, but I also don't think we would have signed them without Souness being there - players had options to go overseas or wait it out, he was definitely a draw and gave the club credibility. 

We hadn't won a title since 1978, and weren't looking particularly likely to change things until he arrived

Changed Scottish football no doubt. 

[TopCat 4,511]

38 minutes ago, The Dude said:

The de Boers were surely bigger names at the time? 

Bigger names, perhaps but I think this is a bigger signing given our recent history and financial resources. 

[BlueThunder 8,636]

Gazza, Mojo, De Boer in my lifetime. Lauders was probably the most important but he wasn’t IMO on the scale of magnitude of the first three in terms of “holy fuck”ness.

If Ramsey does well I might get selective memory in 10 years 😜

[stewaj3 1,472]

For me gazza and no one's really close to that tbh. 

Laudrups signing looked exciting but no where near the excitement of gazza.

I think as well, its relative to where we are at any given time. I think Ronald De Boer was an exciting name, maybe Kanchelskis to a slightly lesser extent?

Frank De Boer was a class player, but was in his latter years, similar with Caniggia.

Pedro Mendes was quite exciting for the time and given the financial situation we were in..

Recent years, I think Barton, Kranjcar and Alves were obviously big names for where we are at the time, but all disappointed.

 

[Bearsden bear 2,376]

Gazza or wee Mo for different reasons.

[JCDBigBear 10,978]

Souness then Butcher (England captain).

[wully 49,655]

Jon Daly.

[peter huistra 1,763]

Duncan Ferguson was quite a big signing 4 million, sure it was a record at the time. 

 

[CoplandRoad83 3,612]

Gascoigne, then R. De Boer for me.  At the time we got De Boer, he could have joined Man Utd under Ferguson, and both the De Boer brothers were smashing it at World Cups.

Maybe it was because I was young, but I don't remember wild fanfare when Laudrup actually signed, more after we say him play that debut game where he set up Ferguson for the winner.

Also, Flo was a big signing. Not just the transfer fee, but at the time he was very highly rated in England/Europe as seemed to score every time he came on for Chelsea. The way his career spiralled I think tarnished the exictement felt at the time. But most thought he'd bang them in for us for fun, maybe even take us to the next level in Europe as well.