tonyh29 Posted September 7, 2016 Share Posted September 7, 2016 (edited) I imagine one of our resident ITK's is about to lose his title Edited September 7, 2016 by tonyh29 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eastie Posted September 7, 2016 Share Posted September 7, 2016 Great memories of Sid as a player and a great servant to our club - however I feel the time is right for change and new fresh ideas for the future. i wish Sid well whatever he does and thank him for his time at the club - deservedly up there with the likes of Little and McGrath when it comes to legends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrentVilla Posted September 7, 2016 Moderator Share Posted September 7, 2016 Really not happy about this. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eastie Posted September 7, 2016 Share Posted September 7, 2016 2 minutes ago, TrentVilla said: Really not happy about this. Do you feel he was pushed Trent ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bomvilla7 Posted September 7, 2016 Share Posted September 7, 2016 3 hours ago, omariqy said: Didn't really want to go through this on here but as some of you know I do a fair bit of work in football advising players on their finances. Through this I have met numerous people involved in academies and the England set up including scouts etc. I've heard from numerous people of high ranking and reputation that Villa's academy has been in need of a complete overhaul for about 3 years. We were once considered the very best and apparently we have become very complacent. It coincided with Brian Jones leaving I think. Pretty much everyone involved in academy football has said we should be the best purely because of our size and the area we have to choose from for players. I could go in to a lot of detail of what's gone wrong but I won't. Sid Cowans will always be a Villa legend and not sure many love the club as much as him. Thanks for the insight omariqy. I have to say I've had some frustrations over the past few years with regards to some of the 'talent' that has been coming through, yet fail to progress further. The size & draw of the club should have the best pick of players in the midlands (and potentially beyond). I expected the majority of our winning NextGen team to push on and challenge for a first team place but unfortunately that hasn't happened (I know it could be argued that managers didn't give them a chance but there must be two sides to every coin). Reading about what Mikey Drennan had to go through a few months back on a personal level when he was with the academy was a bitter pill to swallow. There should be more to an academy than just football, and clearly some lads had been let down in more ways than just getting a chance to be a part of the match day squad. If the setup is in due of an overhaul then its a great sign that Tony & co are willing to facilitate that too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisvilla4 Posted September 7, 2016 Share Posted September 7, 2016 Loved Sid as a player. If there are wholesale changes for the better then there are always going to be people leaving that we will be sad to see go. I trust in all that has happened since Tony came in (so far) and don't have any issue with this. If we aren't seeing improvement at any level things have to change All the best Sid UTV! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villa4europe Posted September 7, 2016 Share Posted September 7, 2016 Didn't Wyness yesterday say something about legends coming back and doing stuff in the community and today the dr tweeted something about foreign fans and something or other and the club looking to increase its networking....I'm sure if he decided not to coach the club would happily give him a life of Riley im not convinced he's finished at villa, he'll be back in a different role anytime he's ready Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demitri_C Posted September 7, 2016 Share Posted September 7, 2016 Wonder if that guy we poached from Southampton is taking over from him? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NurembergVillan Posted September 7, 2016 Moderator Share Posted September 7, 2016 I loved Sid as a footballer, and he'll always be an Aston Villa legend. I don't know enough about what his role was, or how good he was at it, to have an opinion on his departure from the club. Sentiment is equally under and overvalued in football. There's a reason Stan isn't our captain this season, and it's the same reason Martin Laursen isn't manager. The other thing we have to take into account is that Sid is now 58 years old. Perhaps he just wants a rest? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrentVilla Posted September 7, 2016 Moderator Share Posted September 7, 2016 23 minutes ago, NurembergVillan said: I loved Sid as a footballer, and he'll always be an Aston Villa legend. I don't know enough about what his role was, or how good he was at it, to have an opinion on his departure from the club. Sentiment is equally under and overvalued in football. There's a reason Stan isn't our captain this season, and it's the same reason Martin Laursen isn't manager. The other thing we have to take into account is that Sid is now 58 years old. Perhaps he just wants a rest? Perhaps. Perhaps the others fancy a rest as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyBM Posted September 7, 2016 Share Posted September 7, 2016 Sid was a player before my time as a supporter, so I've never actually seen him play, nor have i seen any academy matches (how do you even go about attending these?) so i cant comment on how good a coach he is, but what i do know is that he is highly regarded amongst thousands of villa fans that have seen the attributes that i haven't. i understand that hes been a great honorable servant to this club as a player and coach, and for that i too am gutted that hes left, because there's not many people like him in this club, and if you consider what sh*t he has seen from inside the club, and how many managers he has out seen, hes rolled with the punches and got on with the job, and still managed to produce a good selection of youth over the years (just a pity all previous managers couldn't utilize them better) best of luck Sid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRO Posted September 7, 2016 Share Posted September 7, 2016 (edited) 6 hours ago, omariqy said: Didn't really want to go through this on here but as some of you know I do a fair bit of work in football advising players on their finances. Through this I have met numerous people involved in academies and the England set up including scouts etc. I've heard from numerous people of high ranking and reputation that Villa's academy has been in need of a complete overhaul for about 3 years. We were once considered the very best and apparently we have become very complacent. It coincided with Brian Jones leaving I think. Pretty much everyone involved in academy football has said we should be the best purely because of our size and the area we have to choose from for players. I could go in to a lot of detail of what's gone wrong but I won't. Sid Cowans will always be a Villa legend and not sure many love the club as much as him. i too have heard similar remarks, but i must say i have no idea of the nuts and bolts of it all. There is little room for sentiment in football, imagine what it was like for Shankly to tell Ron Yeats, time up or for chelsea to tell John Terry, when that day arrives. I have met Sid on a number of occasions and he is as nice a guy as you will ever meet.....but that is not the issue here. Tony Xia and his troops will have to make unpopular decisions that go with the popular ones.... as long as they are the right ones that progress the club, we have to accept them. Best of Luck Sid and thanks for everything. ps my understanding is he did not go of his own volition, but not certain about that. Edited September 7, 2016 by TRO 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post NurembergVillan Posted September 7, 2016 Moderator Popular Post Share Posted September 7, 2016 15 minutes ago, TrentVilla said: Perhaps. Perhaps the others fancy a rest as well. In that case we can only assume changes needed to be made. It's a cliché, but it's a results driven business. The results of our academy haven't been good enough for too long now. There haven't been enough Gordon Cowans' coming through the ranks while he's been coaching them. There's not a player I could point to and think "I can see his influence there". Perhaps that's not the KPI I should be looking for anyway. I'll always be thankful for his contribution to this great club. Looks like it's time to let somebody else have a go. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidcow Posted September 7, 2016 VT Supporter Share Posted September 7, 2016 Right that's it.... I'm off. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sid4ever Posted September 7, 2016 Share Posted September 7, 2016 Well I will not be changing my username. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidcow Posted September 7, 2016 VT Supporter Share Posted September 7, 2016 7 hours ago, briny_ear said: Love the way Dr Tony suddenly seems very much at arms' length from the club and its decision-making when a potentially unpopular move like this happens. Unlike the previous impression that he was running the club single-handed. A smart operator. Same as pretty much all managers. Happy to be seen as part of the good news but when it's not so good things get a bit vague. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRO Posted September 7, 2016 Share Posted September 7, 2016 7 minutes ago, sidcow said: Same as pretty much all managers. Happy to be seen as part of the good news but when it's not so good things get a bit vague. Is that not a bit of a Human trait? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidcow Posted September 7, 2016 VT Supporter Share Posted September 7, 2016 4 hours ago, dAVe80 said: I love Sid, and always will, so I'm not going to comment on the rights or wrongs of him leaving his job at the academy. I will instead focus on my memories of him as a player, a clubman, a hero, and from the few times I've met him a nice bloke. Those too young to remember him (and I admit I am myself, when talking about his first spell), I can honestly say I can't remember ever seeing a better midfielder at the club, and there aren't that many I can recall being better in English football. If he'd played for Liverpool, or Man United, or a more fashionable side (plus been a bit luckier with his big injury), he'd have played for England many more times than he did. An absolute master of his craft, who could land a ball on a sixpence. The season we finished runners up to Liverpool, I've never seen a player create so many goal scoring chances (especially for Platt). What a footballer. SID! SID! SID! SID! I am old enough to remember 81 and 82 but was not regularly going but he was my first true hero. Most lads my age were about Shaw or Morley. However his second and third spells here as a player were very much my era. Just look at his through ball to Platty in the 6-2 v Everton for a bit of vintage Cowans. Even today he would stand out as an unbelievable passer of the ball at to deliver a killer through ball, spray it diagonally or lob it over the top, straight to feet every time. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidcow Posted September 7, 2016 VT Supporter Share Posted September 7, 2016 18 minutes ago, TRO said: Is that not a bit of a Human trait? Yes not a pop at Tony or a bit of revolutionary talk. Just an observation. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRO Posted September 7, 2016 Share Posted September 7, 2016 6 minutes ago, sidcow said: I am old enough to remember 81 and 82 but was not regularly going but he was my first true hero. Most lads my age were about Shaw or Morley. However his second and third spells here as a player were very much my era. Just look at his through ball to Platty in the 6-2 v Everton for a bit of vintage Cowans. Even today he would stand out as an unbelievable passer of the ball at to deliver a killer through ball, spray it diagonally or lob it over the top, straight to feet every time. not to mention his impressive tackling ability, he had a nifty technique of scooping the ball between his thighs and stealing the ball and then starting an attack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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