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The Premier League one-game wonders we simply couldn’t track down

Will Unwin has interviewed a busload of players for his One-Game Wonders series, but there are a few people he simply couldn’t get hold of.

From dropping into the Football League or moving overseas to swapping sport for music, we’ve published several fascinating stories of players who appeared only once in the Premier League or in total for their club.

Some, however, have proved elusive.

Bojan Djordic

By the time the Serbian-born winger arrived at Manchester United he had already made six first-team appearances for Brommapojkarna in his adopted home of Sweden.

As a teenager at Old Trafford he was seen as a prodigal talent, but the only Premier League appearance he made for the club was as a sub in May 2001 as Spurs despatched the Red Devils 3-1 in the final match of the season.

He wouldn’t feature for United again, spending time on loan at Sheffield Wednesday, Aarhus and Red Star Belgrade before departing on a free transfer for Rangers in 2005.

Djordic could never live up to his promise, moving around regularly. Spells at Plymouth and his boyhood team AIK Stockholm, where he won the league in 2009, followed.

A return to England came in 2011 when he joined crisis club Blackpool, who offered him £90 a week. Djordic was left to rely on former team-mates to fund his existence as he tried to make his way in the game.

His lust for the game seem to dip after his spell in Lancashire, eventually calling time on his career after a season in India.

Since retiring, Djordic’s career has come full circle as has become a successful pundit in Sweden and for MUTV.

Colin McKee

One of the forgotten members of the Class of ‘92. Like his more illustrious team-mates he made it to the first team, but he would not replicate their success, playing only once.

The Scottish winger’s talents were spotted by Kilmarnock, who were willing to pay £350,000 for McKee, and he would go on to become an integral member of the team.

However, when he left Killie in 1997 his career seemed to fall apart. McKee failed to make double figures at any club before prematurely retiring from the game, aged just 27, after a spell with Fauldhouse United. Nothing has been heard from him since.

Sam Williamson

When Manchester City suffered a defensive injury crisis under Sven-Goran Eriksson, the Swede called on Williamson to take a place on the bench against Portsmouth in 2008.

In the back four that day were playmaker Elano at right-back, a half-fit Richard Dunne, Vedran Corluka and Michael Ball. When Dunne succumbed to injury, Wiliamson was called up to fill in, playing the final 36 minutes of a 3-1 win.

That was as good as things got for the defender, who may have thought he merited a chance to show what he could do. It would be his only game in the top four divisions as he moved down to the Conference when he left City.

Williamson was out of the professional game by 2010 and would go on to only feature for amateur sides, playing for AFC Macclesfield and, judging by his Twitter account, now works for something called ‘Beelivery’.

READ: Sven-Göran Eriksson on Thaksin Shinawatra and his year at Man City

Patrice Luzi

Liverpool’s 1-0 win over Chelsea in January 2004 was a momentous occasion for two Frenchmen as Bruno Cheyrou did something that wasn’t awful – scoring the only goal of the game – and Luzi replaced Jerzy Dudek late on.

It was only the third league appearance of the goalkeeper’s career, even though he was 24 at the time.

He wasn’t afforded any more opportunities and was sent off to manage a few more years of an uneventful career at Mouscron and Rennes, where he called it a day in 2010, at only 30 years old. He hasn’t been seen since.

QUIZ: Can you name every goalkeeper to appear in the Premier League for Liverpool?

Amaury Bischoff

When Bischoff arrived at Arsenal, Arsene Wenger’s endorsement of the midfielder was hardly stirring. “Amaury is a young, promising player who we have taken a gamble on because he has been out for a long time,” he said.

It was about as good as it got for the Frenchman, who was unable to maintain his fitness or show much signs of being able to play at Premier League level. His one appearance came in a 3-0 victory over Portsmouth, when he replaced Theo Walcott.

“Playing for Arsenal is something every player dreams of,” Bischoff recently told Bleacher Report, but few Gunners fans dream of the midfielder, who has found his level in the third tier of German football, plying his trade for Hansa Rostock.

Despite his fall down the leagues, Bischoff still keeps in contact with Wenger, so maybe there could be a return to Arsenal in the future.

Obviously, if you are any of these people, please feel free to get in touch, as I need folk to interview.

By Will Unwin


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