Nightmare debuts: Joao Felix joins long list of horror shows

Bad day at the office: Six nightmare debuts

Chelsea’s latest signing Joao Felix suffered an ignominious start to his Blues career when he was sent off for a rash challenge on his debut against Fulham.

The Portugal forward had impressed early on but paid the price for a rush of blood when he lunged at Kenny Tete, with the Cottagers taking advantage of the numbers game to claim a 2-1 win.

Felix will now miss the next three games, further reducing what is already due to be a short-term stay at Stamford Bridge.

Here, Ladbrokes look at some other nightmare debuts.

That's a horror tackle 😳

João Félix is shown a straight red on his Chelsea debut… pic.twitter.com/jn3MKtoHwn

— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) January 12, 2023

Jonathan Woodgate (Real Madrid)

The England international’s cringe-inducing start to life at Real Madrid in 2005 is one of the most well-known. More than a year after arriving from Newcastle in a £13.4million deal – injury delaying his debut – Woodgate scored a spectacular own goal and was then sent off against Athletic Bilbao. Fortunately for the defender, his side still won 3-1.

Ali Dia (Southampton)

Who can forget the man billed as George Weah’s cousin? Saints boss Graeme Souness took a phone call purporting to be from the former World Player of the Year (it wasn’t) and Dia was fast-tracked for a Premier League debut just days later, replacing Southampton great Matthew Le Tissier. So bad was his display that he was brought off with five minutes remaining of the 2-0 defeat to Leeds. Arguably the most famous of all nightmare debuts, his name has become a cautionary tale.

Joe Cole (Liverpool)

Cole was a big-name free transfer for Liverpool during the summer of 2010 after being released by Chelsea but his league debut for the Reds did not even last until half-time. He was sent off for a reckless challenge on Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny in first-half stoppage time in the August 15 encounter at Anfield. Koscielny, making his Gunners debut, was also later sent for a second bookable offence in the 1-1 draw.

Chris Iwelumo (Scotland)

Awarded his debut for his fine form at Wolves, the striker’s transition to international football did not go to plan in 2008. Iwelumo could have made a dream start to life as Scotland international, but instead his open-goal miss in the 0-0 draw at Hampden with Norway will always follow him and remains a staple in blooper reels.

Michael Theoklitos (Norwich)

A summer signing from Melbourne Victory, the Australian goalkeeper’s first match for Norwich proved his last. Theoklitos saw seven goals fly past him as Colchester won the 2009/10 season opener 7-1 at Carrow Road. He later called the game the worst of his career and, after new manager Paul Lambert demoted him to third choice, never played another game for the club.

Jason Crowe (Arsenal)

Handed his debut in a League Cup tie with Birmingham in 1997, he came on in extra time and was sent off for a high tackle 33 seconds later. Crowe’s career never really recovered.