10 Premier League Footballers You've Definitely Forgotten

Hello and welcome to the Premier League Years, a celebration of almost 30 years of history of the self-styled 'Best League In The World'. 

Since 1992, the Premier League has been a haven for the world's superstars as the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Thierry Henry and Sergio Aguero have plied their trade in the Prem. Unfortunately though, some players have fallen by the wayside so let's take a look at 10 Premier League players you've definitely forgotten...

Amaury Bischoff (Arsenal: 2008-2009)

A classic Arsene Wenger signing, Portuguese midfielder Bischoff was plucked from relative obscurity following one solitary Bundesliga appearance for Werder Bremen when he transferred to North London in the summer of 2008. 

Coming to the Emirates with a questionable injury record that had stunted his progression in Germany, Bischoff's career failed to kick into gear in England as he went on to make only one appearance in the Premier League for The Gunners when he replaced Theo Walcott as a substitute in an away win over Portsmouth towards the end of the 2008-2009 campaign. Following his release at the end of the same season, Bischoff returned to both Portugal and Germany in an effort to kickstart his career. 

Kazuyuki Toda (Tottenham Hotspur: 2003-2004)

Remember that period in the early to mid-2000s when Prem clubs clamoured to sign Far Eastern players in an effort to open up merchandising and revenue streams in new areas, yes even Tottenham did it too! 

Midfielder Toda arrived at White Hart Lane in January 2003 having played an important part for the Japanese national team as they reached the last 16 of their home World Cup a year earlier. Unfortunately for Toda and Spurs he was unable to replicate his fine international form in the Premier League and he made just four appearances before moving on to Dutch Eredivise side ADO Den Haag in 2004. 

Jan Kromkamp (Liverpool: 2006)

Imagine if you can the 'Identity Parade' round of a latter-day footballing version of Never Mind The Buzzcocks, we'd wager even the most ardent Liverpool supporter would struggle to pick out Dutch full-back Kromkamp from the lineup. 

Arriving from Villareal in January 2006, Kromkamp made his Liverpool bow in the memorable 5-3 win over Luton in the FA Cup but soon found first-ream opportunities hard to come by as he struggled to depose incumbent full-back Steve Finnan as the first choice at Anfield although he did manage to make an appearance off the bench in the classic FA Cup final win over West Ham before returning to his homeland in August 2006 to join PSV Eindhoven. 

Lars Jacobsen (Everton: 2008-2009, Blackburn Rovers: 2009-2010, West Ham United 2010-11)

Sticking with Merseyside-based full-backs, Danish international Lars Jacobsen managed to represent three clubs in the Premier League over the course of his career without making a memorable impact at any of them. 

Jacobsen's Prem career began with an injury-blighted year at Everton which saw him make the first of his handful of Toffees appearances in March 2009 before the offer of a two-year deal saw him swap Merseyside for Lancashire when he joined Blackburn Rovers in the summer. His Ewood Park stint ended prematurely as he grew frustrated at his lack of first-team opportunities as he set his sights on a place in the Denmark team at the 2010 World Cup. Eventually, Lars joined West Ham in 2010 which was where he made the most appearances in his Premier League career although he was unable to prevent The Hammers from relegation to the Championship at the end of the season. 

Roque Junior (Leeds United: 2003-04)

You remember Roque Junior don't you? Brazilian defender that won the World Cup in 2002 and then the Champions League a year later with AC Milan? Yeah, that's the one. Do you remember his short spell with Leeds in their final Premier League campaign before 2020-2021? 

Signed by Leeds gaffer Peter Reid with the hope of reviving the Elland Road club's fortunes, Roque's Leeds career got off to a poor start as his new club were hammered 4-0 by Leicester, went from bad to worse when he was sent off in his home debut against Birmingham and reached it's nadir as The Whites conceded a hair-raising 25 goals on their way to their cripplingly predictable relegation in 2004. 

Kleberson (Manchester United: 2003-2005)

While we're on the topic of underwhelming Brazilian World Cup winners, it's not often Sir Alex Ferguson got transfers wrong but when he did (like in this instance) it went spectacularly wrong. 

Signed in the summer of 2003 when it looked for all the world that his Brazil team-mate Ronaldinho would join United (he didn't although the alternative, a relatively unknown Portuguese winger named Cristian Ronaldo didn't do too badly), Kleberson was seen as the ideal replacement for the departed Juan Sebastian Veron. Unfortunately, Kleberson became a by-product for United's mid-2000s transitional period as they fell behind Arsenal's invincibles and the newly loaded Chelsea and he ended up leaving the club in August 2005, making just 16 Premier League appearances. 

Asier Del Horno (Chelsea: 2005-06)

Spanish left-back Del Horno joined Chelsea in the summer of 2005 as the Stamford Bridge club were still riding high on the crest of a wave after landing their first league title in 50 years at the end of the 2004-2005 season. 

The former Athletic Bilbao defender made 25 appearances in the Premier League and became a dependable option in defence for The Blues as Jose Mourinho's men romped to a second consecutive title in the 05/06 campaign. With rumours beginning to swirl of Ashley Cole's controversial move across London from Arsenal, Del Horno left Chelsea to return to Spain with Valencia. 

Silvio Maric (Newcastle United: 1999-2000)

We won't lie, we had to do some serious digging to find some info about this Croatian midfielder who was signed by Ruud Gullit in 1999 after representing Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League. 

Despite holding the distinction of being the first Croatian to play in an FA Cup Final at the end of the 1998-1999 season, Maric's career on Tyneside never really hit top gear as he struggled to command a regular place in the first XI with opportunities becoming limited further after Bobby Robson's appointment as manager early in the 1999-2000 season. 

Geovanni (Manchester City 2007-2008, Hull City 2008-2010)

Not necessarily a flop by any stretch of the imagination, Geovanni arrived at the Etihad during Manchester City's madcap summer of 2007 under the ownership of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and management of Sven Goran Eriksson. 

Geo's solitary season at City saw him score a memorable winner against Manchester United before he swapped Manchester for East Yorkshire to sign for newly-promoted Hull City prior to their debut Premier League season of 2008-2009. The Brazilian kept up his impressive goalscoring form, notably scoring the equaliser as Phil Brown's Hull upset Arsenal at The Emirates Stadium and ending the campaign as The Tigers' top scorer as they avoided relegation by the skin of their teeth, unfortunately despite keeping up his decent form, Hull were relegated twelve months later and Geo agreed to cancel his contract departing for MLS outfit San Jose Earthquakes. 

Mladen Petric (Fulham: 2012-2013, West Ham United: 2013-2014)

Probably best known to English fans for his winning goal for Croatia at Wembley in 2007 which ended England's faint hopes of qualifying for Euro 2008, Petric's Premier League career got off to a dream start as he scored twice to help Fulham hammer Norwich City 5-0 on the opening day of the 2012-2013 season. 

Five goals in 23 league appearances for The Cottagers wasn't enough to keep him in West London as he was released at the end of the season with West Ham quick to offer the Croatian international a contract for the following 2013-2014 campaign to provide cover for the injured Andy Carroll. Sadly Petric's time in East London ended after just three Premier League appearances which yielded no goals. 

That's your lot for this instalment, drop us some suggestions for some more obscure Premier League players on Twitter (@DanBarkerGray) and we might do another one of these somewhere down the line.