Late in January 2013, West Ham swooped to complete the signing of centre back/left back Emanuel Pogatetz from German outfit Wolfsburg for a loan fee of £500,000. Middlesbrough fans ensured us that we had picked up a solid defender. Instead, a string of horrific defensive performances led the fans to boo when he was coming on and eventually Allardyce had enough of the Austrian and he was limited to just six appearances in a miserable return to England before heading back to Wolfsburg.
