And so to the curious case of Boudewijn Zenden. Recruited from Barcelona for £7.5m in the summer of 2001, Chelsea's signing of the Dutch left-winger - scorer of a magnificent goal in the 1998 World Cup Third Place Play-Off - certainly caught the imagination of the Blues' fans, and his tormenting of England's Ashley Cole in an international match at White Hart Lane just prior to the start of his first season in the Premiership, did much to further raise expectations. A goal against Newcastle on his debut - albeit courtesy of an awful gaffe by Magpies goalkeeper Shay Given - continued his early success story, and an impressive showing in an early season clash with Arsenal, followed by a lung-busting run and pass to create a goal for Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink at Fulham, raised his stock ever higher. However, his performances soon began to wane, and he found himself being left out of the team at regular intervals. Certainly he had his moments, and a goal scored in a 5-1 victory over Bolton at Stamford Bridge was of the highest order, but all too often he flattered to deceive, and the frustrations of his first season were perfectly illustrated when he received a horrific wound in his thigh as the result of a spiteful, cowardly side-on lunge from Teddy Sheringham in a League Cup thrashing at Tottenham (incredibly, the challenge went unpunished by referee Mark Halsey, whose performance that night was on a par with Chelsea's). That injury kept 'Bolo' on the sidelines for two months but he returned in time to play as a substitute in Chelsea's FA Cup semi-final triumph over Fulham. He staked his claim for a place in the starting line-up at the Millennium Stadium with a fine strike in a 2-0 win at Middlesbrough a week before the Cardiff showpiece but it was as a late substitute that he appeared in the Blues' defeat by Arsenal. Bolo's second season began in similar style to his first. A crashing shot against the bar in the season's opener at Charlton was followed by an assist for Gianfranco Zola as Chelsea fought back from 2-0 down to win 3-2. A tremendous strike in the next game, a 2-2 draw with Manchester United at Stamford Bridge, raised hopes that the supporters were finally going to see the best of Boudewijn Zenden, but it wasn't to be. In fact, that goal proved to be his last for Chelsea, and he was back amongst the substitutes before the onset of autumn. As his wing rival, Jesper Gronkjaer, finally ran into some consistent form, Bolo continued to disappoint, and in just eleven Premiership starts throughout 2002/03 he was substituted an incredible nine times, only playing the full 90 minutes in the aforementioned clashes with Charlton and Manchester United. He was allowed to join Middlesbrough on a season-long loan prior to the start of the following campaign and was rewarded for a fine spell on Teeside, where he helped Boro to win their first-ever trophy, with a permanent move to the Riverside on a free-transfer in July 2004. (Kelvin Barker)