The 25 shits of Christmas - days 19, 20 and 21…

As we head towards Christmas day (and we fly high at the top of the Championship), let’s take another five minutes to remind us of those players, past and present, who really were turkeys.

Day 19 brings us this fop-haired fecker…

Lionel Perez was probably the most baffling signing in the history of NUFC. Woeful for the most part at the mackems, his legacy there was his clownshoes performance at Wembley on that sweet, sweet day when Charlton beat the Wearsiders on penalties in the playoff final. Signed as backup to Steve Harper and Shay Given, Perez didn’t play a game at SJP and was loaned out to Scunthorpe and Cambridge before being booted out on a free. Bizarre.

Day 20 is another odd signing, Scottish crap connoisseur, Garry Brady.

Pictured in his St Mirren shirt, Brady was signed for £650k from Spurs, and was touted as a very hot prospect at the time. Nine non-performances later, and he was back out of the club on loan to Norwich and finally on a free to Pompey. Never fulfilled his potential, never actually did anything. Has went on to forge a fairly respectable career in Scotland, where the standard of players probably makes him look like Pele on performance-enhancing drugs.

Finally for today is Dutch stopper Jon Karelse.

Bought by Ruud Gullit in 1999 as backup/competition for Harper and Given, he made just 3 appearances for United, his debut being a disasterous 4-2 defeat against Southampton at the Dell, where had what can only be described as a “shitter”. Stayed at United until 2004 and tried his hand at a bit of keeper coaching, when he left to return to Holland. Now a coach at NAC Breda.