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Henry Winter (Telegraph): The importance of conducting detailed background research on signings has been brutally highlighted by the failures of Afonso Alves and Deco, Brazilian-born attackers who have looked anything but worthy inheritors of Pele's rich tradition as they flopped in the Premier League.
Alves, sadly, has become an embarrassment at Middlesbrough, a £12 million recruit who rarely leaves the bench despite his team crying out for a goal as relegation beckons. When Alves did emerge nervously into the limelight at the Riverside on Saturday, he fell over after a promising dribble and then took a free-kick that was more a danger to shipping in the Tees than to Manchester United's goal.