Former Manchester United midfield supremo Paul Scholes has claimed Mark Bosnich is the storied club’s worst-ever signing.
Bosnich appeared in just 26 matches for the Red Devils across two stints at Old Trafford in 1990-91 and between 1999 and 2001 – but is well known as the only player to be signed on two seperate occasions by legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
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Widely regarded as one of the best midfielders of all time, Scholes shared the United dressing room with Bosnich and did not mince words when speaking about his former teammate.
“I go back to the goalkeepers, when you had to try and replace Peter Schmeichel, which is always going to be difficult,” Scholes told The Overlap YouTube channel.
“We had a few. I was thinking (Massimo) Taibi, Mark Bosnich. I thought he was a good keeper at Villa, Mark Bosnich. (But) he came to us, he was so unprofessional. Honestly, it was ridiculous. In shooting practice, you normally have like 15, 20 shots. After three shots, he’s knackered. ‘Oh no, get someone else in’.”
Scholes also recalled Bosnich struggling with a quite basic aspect of football when they travelled to Goodison Park to face Everton, failing to clear the halfway line from goal kicks.
“I never realised, he couldn’t kick a football. I’ve never seen anything like it. But when you look at his feet, size 14s, honestly he was just kicking the floor all the time! Disappointing.”
It’s fair to say that Bosnich would not have felt at home in the modern era with many Premier League goalkeepers expected to be as comfortable with the ball at their feet as their outfield counterparts, with Manchester City’s Ederson and Alisson at Liverpool two of the better exponents in England.
Bosnich was notorious for off-field issues and also had trouble with discipline, raising the ire of Ferguson and other coaches. After leaving United for Chelsea in 2001, the gloveman tested positive for cocaine the following year and was banned from football for nine months.
A 17-time Socceroo, he played the majority of his career with Aston Villa, making 179 appearances for the Birmingham club and now works in the media himself as part of Stan Sport’s European football coverage.