No, Panopoulos was an Alan Ball signing later. There was a rumour that he ended up signing the wrong player because of a mix-up over names, but no idea if that was true.
The guy I was thinking of was Paul Harries, and looking him up he only made one appearance as sub in 1997.
The guy I was thinking of was Paul Harries, and looking him up he only made one appearance as sub in 1997.