Ravanelli - a lot of our fans used to overrate him, he was a 'big name' and certainly better than anything we'd had at the time, but it was a time when Serie A was superior and any player joining from there was revered. He had a few caps for Italy, mostly off the bench, and wasn't even Juventus' best striker when we signed him, in and out of their side depending on formation. He was often behind Vialli and Del Piero in the pecking order, for Italy too.
His goalscoring record at the Riverside, in the league, was good, and abysmal elsewhere. And, as noted, he scored a hatful in the cups that put him towards the top of the Ceefax 'top scorer' charts despite being nowhere near the top scorer in the league. He was a great finisher from <12 yards out with his left boot, and occasionally further out, but more often closer in. He was as good with his right as I am with mine. The worst thing about him was arrogance. Its true he was used to playing for a more professional outfit, but his arrogance was very UNprofessional. I cringe when I see him volunteer to be our manager as though we'd be desperate to have him back in any capacity - er no thanks.
Boksic - great player for us but clearly an absolute @r$ehole. Was never great at Juventus or Lazio, but when we were first linked with him any player from those clubs would have got the fans excited. I don't even think he was a shoo-in starter for either club across a whole season. In and out at a time when clubs didn't really have squad rotation. We eventually signed him after his stock (and Serie A's stock) had fallen significantly and although he turned out to be fantastic on occasion (possibly better than he ever was in Italy but not France), he simply didn't play enough. Not much more to say about him.
Viduka - up and down to begin with and then sublime in his last two seasons. Also fantastic for Leeds when they were good and could have been good enough for Ferguson etc. The best striker we've ever had by a country mile (in my lifetime). I never forgave him for going to Newcastle and hated him for a while after. Had he stayed here (or even just gone anywhere but there) and avoided injury he honestly would have been as revered as Juninho and we wouldn't have gone down. He was on his way to being THAT loved by the time his contract expired. Instead, we got Mido and the club has never been the same since.
JFH - absolutely quality throughout his whole time in England, but appeared a little lazy at times for us, he was getting on a bit. He was overall a great signing but probably joined us at the right time and moved on at the right time. Every bit as good as the 3 above across his career.
Yakubu - Consistently inconsistent. Never quite enough for 20 a season but could always bank on him for double figures. Almost like a Premier League version of Britt, but better all round even in relative terms. On his day he was unplayable, but it was never more than once a month and if he was in the mood.
Ricard - confidence player. Terrible to begin with, brilliant for 18 months once we were up, then terrible for his last season or so. Almost laughably bad at times.