Reading FC failed to get what Derby County did out of prolific £300k striker: View | OneFootball

It’s the summer of 2004; Greece have shocked the world by becoming European Champions, Milan Baros is in red-hot form, and Ukraine have just won their first ever Eurovision Song Contest. A summer for the ages, by all accounts.

But while the major events on the continent were taking place, Derby County were beavering away to find a prolific goalscorer who would fire them to success in the following campaign, and they eventually found that in the month of September in the form of Grzegorz Rasiak.

The Polish international waltzed into the Pride Park dressing room and immediately got to work for George Burley’s side, with a regular stream of goals coming during his solitary season for the Rams.

A number of moves across the Premier League and EFL followed; all with varying degrees of success, with the forward ending his spell in England with a not-so-fruitful campaign with Reading in 2009/10.

Grzegorz Rasiak's admin error fell in Derby County’s favour

Rasiak had made a name for himself in his homeland during the early part of his career, with a goal-laden spell with the catchily named Dyskobolia Grodzisk Wielkopolski starting to turn heads at clubs across the continent.

It was Italian side Siena who made the move for him initially, but with a quota in Serie A meaning they couldn’t register any more foreign imports, the Pole was left to find a club elsewhere - much to the delight of Rams boss Burley.

He said at the time: "We've been lacking a big man up front and he has real pedigree. He's an international and was playing European football with his last club.

"To sign a player of that calibre on a free is a coup for us."

A coup he most definitely was; with 17 goals in his first season in English football proving his quality in the second tier, as he got off the mark with a late equaliser in a 2-2 draw with Watford.

The striker’s considerable height was used to his advantage time and time again; with a powerful header against Rotherham United starting a fightback from two goals down to win 3-2, before another bullet with his bonce came in a brace against Brighton and Hove Albion.

With the likes of Inigo Idiakez, Paul Peschisolido and Marcus Tudgay playing alongside him, this was a County side of some prestige, while a young Tom Huddlestone cut his teeth in the midfield behind them.

That attacking fluidity played right into Rasiak’s hands, with the Pole almost scoring at will at points during the season; with another brace against West Ham United further adding to his reputation.

County fans will have immediately etched the forward into folklore for his two outstanding displays in two of the biggest games of that season, with two-goal performances in both matches against arch-rivals Nottingham Forest leaving them with bragging rights across the course of the campaign.

With promotion missed out due to play-off defeat to Preston North End, Rasiak was a man in demand over the course of the summer, with Tottenham Hotspur eventually winning the race for his signature, although things didn’t go to plan for him at White Hart Lane after his reported £2.25 million move.

With limited opportunities to prove his ability, the forward lasted just six months before being shipped out to Southampton on loan, before making the move to St Marys permanent as he continued where he left off on his return to the EFL.

With another 20-goal season in the bag, it looked like Rasiak would continue to excel in the Championship, but after falling out of favour with the Saints, loan moves to Bolton Wanderers and Watford followed, before jumping ship for Reading.

Within the space of five years, Rasiak had gone from being one of the country’s hottest strikers to a player that no one could get a tune out of, and the Royals were the last throw of the dice in the English game, having spent £300,000 on his services.

Fresh off the back of a play-off defeat the previous season, the Berkshire side were looking to kick on in the 2009/10 season, but with issues in the striking department they failed to replicate the success of the season before, with Rasiak one of the culprits for a below-par campaign.

There were flashes of the brilliance that had earned him a Premier League move; with a neat finish against former club Watford getting him off the mark at the Madejski Stadium, before a brace against Coventry City marked the high point of that particular campaign.

A return of nine goals from 33 league appearances was far from what Brian McDermott would have had in mind when bringing the esteemed striker to the club, and it says all you need to know that just one of his final seven appearances for the club wasn’t from the substitutes’ bench.

WIth the likes of Shane Long, Brian Howard and Jimmy Kebe all starring for the Royals, a misfiring striker wasn't going to dislodge them in the starting lineup, leaving Rasiak to explore his options further afield the following season.

A spell in Cyprus followed with AEL Limassol, before returning to his homeland with the likes of Jagiellonia Białystok, Lechia Gdansk and Warta Poznan.

Depending on what club you follow the name Grzegorz Rasiak will concur different memories; either an EFL goal-machine or a stuttering striker who failed to live up to expectations.

The Rams will never forget his terrific first season in English football though, where an admin error worked in their favour and resulted in him taking the league by storm.