CarewsEyebrowDesigner Posted October 10, 2013 Share Posted October 10, 2013 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeyp102 Posted October 10, 2013 Share Posted October 10, 2013 The goal he scored against Atletico in the home leg in 1998 provided possibly my favourite commentary line. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3gns1yFyrA Don't think I've ever experienced villa park like that moment since. Sat in the office grinning like a clearing in the woods with goosebumps......awesome Some of my favourite players growing up in that side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillaChris Posted October 10, 2013 Share Posted October 10, 2013 What a great euro run that was, puts into perspective our limp efforts since. Uefa cup was a proper tournament then, straight knock out from the first round where we had a very difficult game against Bordeux, then a memorable meeting against Bilbao, think we played Steau Bucharest after that and then the Madrid game who had an excellent side. Think Christian Vieri became the most expensive player in the world that summer when he moved back to Italy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morley_crosses_to_Withe Posted October 10, 2013 Share Posted October 10, 2013 We were linked to Vieri around then! The story (rumour) goes that he had written to Gregory personally to ask him to sign him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyBM Posted October 10, 2013 Share Posted October 10, 2013 i think collymore gets too much stick, people need to move on and put the past behind them, although villa fans cant really do that can we... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrentVilla Posted October 10, 2013 Moderator Share Posted October 10, 2013 i think collymore gets too much stick, people need to move on and put the past behind them, although villa fans cant really do that can we... I rather suspect you haven't actually read the thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillaChris Posted October 10, 2013 Share Posted October 10, 2013 We were linked to Vieri around then! The story (rumour) goes that he had written to Gregory personally to ask him to sign him. Nah JG admitted in his autobio that we were interested briefly but the 20m Atletico wanted put us off! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oaks Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 I still remember 2 interviews when he was at Forest and Liverpool where he said he was a Wolves fan, but also watched the Villa as a kid...now he seems really passionate about us. I'm still confused and not truly convinced...and have been blocked on his twitter for asking about it. He is excellent on the radio, he has pride in doing the best job he can...he really knows his stuff and has really laid into pundits who haven't done their home work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Posted October 11, 2013 VT Supporter Share Posted October 11, 2013 We were linked to Vieri around then! The story (rumour) goes that he had written to Gregory personally to ask him to sign him. was that before or after Shearer and Gazza? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHV Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 I like Stan, he was largely shite as a player for us. So much talent but didnt make the most of it. When he wanted to play he was unstoppable. Dalian Atkinson had a similar problem too. Such a shame as if they both fulfiled their potential they could have both been legends. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjw63 Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 I still remember 2 interviews when he was at Forest and Liverpool where he said he was a Wolves fan, but also watched the Villa as a kid...now he seems really passionate about us. I'm still confused and not truly convinced...and have been blocked on his twitter for asking about it. . Yeah I remember him being interviewed via phone by Chris Evans on Radio One many years ago, said he was a Dingle then as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted October 11, 2013 Moderator Share Posted October 11, 2013 He's fantastic on the radio, I like him as a fan, he's hopefully put his demons behind him as a man Moar please... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thetrees Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 Ahh, Stanley. The comparisons to Ireland are quite close really. Except that Stanley was to Liverpool what Ireland is to Villa. They had a huge problem with him, and were about to burn virtually all of the £8.5m that they spent on him. Then up stepped Herbert, he with the aura of a good businessman, but nothing of the actual substance. He took Liverpool's unsolvable problem off their hands, and gave them £7m in compensation. You couldn't make it up! All this was, of course, without the knowledge of a certain B.Little Esq., Herbert's team manager, who subsequently had to accommodate Stanley, and ultimately lost his job. Stanley didn't like the next team manager, a cockney bloke called John, because he had no sympathy with Stanley's problems. In fairness to John, this was pre internet, so not in the era where every male under 35 was sensitive, huggy, and generally over-emotional, as they are on Facebook, Twatter and fora such as VT. I am sure that John now understands and regrets, because he is on Twatter himself. Stanley spent a bit of time in the Priory and then went elsewhere, pausing to put the boot, literally, into his celeb girlfriend. And now he gobs off on TalkShite all of the time, none more so when he was seriously upset about his station not knowing the OGS-Villa connection. All in all an odious individual who should crawl back under the rock from whence he came. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Lions_Roar Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 I agree with the 'Ireland of his time' tag. Made even worse by the fact he is supposed to be a Villa fan. One of our worst ever signings and I can't believe he is idolised by some. I didn't know Ireland suffers from a mental illness called depression. People need to understand how this ilness affects people before slagging them off. Gregory didn't understand it and said something like 'how can you be depressed earning that much money'. Depression is nothing to do with being sad about a particular thing. Stan signing for us had all the ingredients to be a fantastic striker. Unfortunately his brain won the battle and the relationship turned sour. Many backed Gregory and blamed Stan for not wanting to play. He is a massive villa fan and doesn't hide this. He's passionate and well worth listening to. Sometimes I'd rather listen to his commentary on the radio than watch a game on TV. Read his blogs, he's very knowledgeable. I don't know any other presenter that does the research he does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Rev Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 Ahh, Stanley. The comparisons to Ireland are quite close really. Except that Stanley was to Liverpool what Ireland is to Villa. They had a huge problem with him, and were about to burn virtually all of the £8.5m that they spent on him. That's not true at all. Stan didn't deliver what Liverpool were expecting of him, but he did score 37 goals in 74 appearances for them which is a perfect 1 in 2 strike rate. They were always going to get a huge chunk of their money back for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thetrees Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 Ahh, Stanley. The comparisons to Ireland are quite close really. Except that Stanley was to Liverpool what Ireland is to Villa. They had a huge problem with him, and were about to burn virtually all of the £8.5m that they spent on him. That's not true at all. Stan didn't deliver what Liverpool were expecting of him, but he did score 37 goals in 74 appearances for them which is a perfect 1 in 2 strike rate. They were always going to get a huge chunk of their money back for him. Nothing like a few stats to dim history, is there? They had huge problems with him and were desperate to get rid. After all, if a striker delivers stats like that, then the only reason that you would want rid is if he is a problem. There was only one bidder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Rev Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 How do you know that is a fact? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thetrees Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 How do you know that is a fact? Reports while he was a Liverpool player. How do you know what they expected of him? As you say, a perfect 1 in 2 strike rate is not to be sniffed at. All a long time ago. Even our best 'prove it by Googling it' contributors would struggle to dig it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Rev Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 I presume Liverpool expected him to be the player who fired them to the Premier League title, that didn't happen and he was on the front pages of the papers more than he was on the back pages in those days so I think I can safely say he didn't live up to what they wanted both on and off the pitch. Liverpool were also embarrassed by the 'spice boys' tag they had back then and breaking that group up was certainly a thing they were willing to do. They were also clearly willing to listen to offers for Collymore because they accepted ours but a player of Collymore's quality (and it had been only two years since he was the hottest striker in the division) was always going to be a saleable asset. The tone of your initial post comes across as incredibly smug and arrogant. You aren't the only person here who is old enough to remember 1997 mate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thetrees Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 I presume Liverpool expected him to be the player who fired them to the Premier League title, that didn't happen and he was on the front pages of the papers more than he was on the back pages in those days so I think I can safely say he didn't live up to what they wanted both on and off the pitch. Liverpool were also embarrassed by the 'spice boys' tag they had back then and breaking that group up was certainly a thing they were willing to do. They were also clearly willing to listen to offers for Collymore because they accepted ours but a player of Collymore's quality (and it had been only two years since he was the hottest striker in the division) was always going to be a saleable asset. The tone of your initial post comes across as incredibly smug and arrogant. You aren't the only person here who is old enough to remember 1997 mate. So how I remember it is 'smug and arrogant'? Presumably in your 'humble' opinion? I remember being absolutely gutted that the old fool baled them out of their problem, in exactly the same way that I was gutted when the Villa continued with the Ireland signing after O'Neill's departure. Two players who were big trouble way before they set foot in B6. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts