KMitch Posted October 11, 2020 Share Posted October 11, 2020 6 hours ago, KenjiOgiwara said: Funnily enough I was thinking about black Villa players, but I didn't wanna make a post about it cause, well, it's a some what delicate topic in ways. My thoughts were more about why it's such a high percentage of youth players that are black. Or youth players that "make it". Unless I'm wrong less than 5% of the English population is black. Yet when I look at Villa youths the last few years... Hogg, Moore, Vassell, Gabby, Delfouneso, Ramsey, Archer, Vasiliev, Baker, Clark, Grealish, Robinson, Green, +++ it just seems it's a disproportionate amount that are black relative to general demographics. Not that it matters one iota, but these are the things I think about haha. Is this due to a class divide etc? Definitely class more than anything else... Soccer has traditionally been seen as a rich white kid sport (mainly for girls) here in the States, which is why even with all the money thrown around by MLS for youth systems over the past 20 years, hasn't helped our national team's performance at all. All our best players have gone through German youth systems. Most poor kids play American Football and Basketball around the country, and that's where our best athletes ply their trades. Poor Caribbean kids play baseball, which is why there is such a disproportionate number of Latino professional baseball players in MLB. Poor Canadian kids play hockey, which is why so many professional hockey players come from Canada. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dounavilla Posted October 11, 2020 Share Posted October 11, 2020 I seem to recall Ron Atkinson fielding 9 black players , most for a top tier club at the time (90's). 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjw63 Posted October 12, 2020 Share Posted October 12, 2020 7 hours ago, momo said: Oh, I searched him up now. Andrew Arthur Gray! Nice trivia. You're obviously a young snot nosed kid ain't ya? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villa4europe Posted October 12, 2020 Share Posted October 12, 2020 11 hours ago, Xela said: Ivor Linton was before Walters I think He has a league and European Cup winners medal I worked with him about 10 years ago now, he's an electrician, nice guy, quite shy about his time with the villa he only really talked to me about it because the holiday cover site manager recognised him and outed him, I'd been working with him for months without knowing anything about him 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villa4europe Posted October 12, 2020 Share Posted October 12, 2020 14 hours ago, maqroll said: We must lead the league in players from atypical African footballing nations. Benin - gestede Ghana - adomah, ayew ivory coast - kodj Senegal - gueye, beye Egypt - elmo and trez Tanzania - samatta Zimbabwe - nakamba burkina faso - traore togo - salifou Cameroon - makoun, djemba djemba Morocco - hadji mali - sylla congo - samba, tshibola adama traore has ties to mali, ugo and gabby to Nigeria, benteke was born in zaire 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blandy Posted October 12, 2020 Moderator Share Posted October 12, 2020 8 hours ago, dounavilla said: I seem to recall Ron Atkinson fielding 9 black players , most for a top tier club at the time (90's). I remember going to Goodson in the 90s. Midweek evening game, that deckchair green away strip, Neville Southall applauding us away fans at the end of the game for making a racket non-stop, and I mean, genuinely did not stop for a moment throughout the game. Anyway, we had a team that was mostly black players. I’m not sure it was 9, but maybe 7 started. I think we won 2-0, but it might have been a draw. I’m trying to recollect the the team in my memory. Brian Small, Earle Barrett, God, Yorkie, Dalian, Bozzie, Deano...anyone else remember that game? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post DaveAV1 Posted October 12, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted October 12, 2020 8 hours ago, dounavilla said: I seem to recall Ron Atkinson fielding 9 black players , most for a top tier club at the time (90's). If I recall correctly I think at the time it was possible for us to field an entirely black team with all positions filled properly with players in their normal positions. It saddened me when Ron was driven from the game because of what he said. I’m not defending it at all, it was lazy, generational racism but I don’t think he was a genuine racist, given his record in recruiting so many black players. My business partner at the time and still friend of over 30 years now, is black and always maintained Ron wasn’t a racist in his eyes. He grew up, as did I, through the 70s and 80s in Birmingham when there was more obvious racism, when it was hard to get a job if you were black. Those days are thankfully largely behind us but perhaps it is more subtle now. I’m pretty sure that, certainly within football, only a certifiable mad man wouldn’t employ a footballer because of their skin colour. However I see the world through the eyes of a white man and so that perhaps should be taken into account. Either way there is no room for racism in society. It hasn’t gone away and we shouldn’t be complacent but football is for once perhaps ahead of the game? 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villan_down_under Posted October 12, 2020 Share Posted October 12, 2020 Noel Blake was around the same time as Linton. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MNVillan Posted October 12, 2020 Share Posted October 12, 2020 10 hours ago, Dave-R said: Weve had a fair good amount of Black players at Villa and some very exciting ones at that to. Some of my Favourites were Paul McGrath, Dallian Atkinson and Ugo Ehiogu. My fandom is solely based on Christian Benteke’s brace at The Emirates on opening day 2013. I’m not kidding. My best mate was a long time Arsenal fan, so naturally I rooted for his misery, and after our 3-1 win and dreaming about the majesty that was Aston Villa (truly a magical name), I decided I was VTID. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwivillan Posted October 12, 2020 Share Posted October 12, 2020 1 hour ago, villa4europe said: Ghana - adomah, ayew You left out the Ghanaian Pele, Nii Lamptey 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amsterdam_Neil_D Posted October 12, 2020 Share Posted October 12, 2020 42 minutes ago, villan_down_under said: Noel Blake was around the same time as Linton. Anyone remember the small heath game ? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarry Posted October 12, 2020 Share Posted October 12, 2020 Rather than "class", I would say socio-economic status coupled with life chances. I have many friends in the building trade who see themselves as "working class", but have incomes of over £50K. Their "working class" children with have different life chances. Off-topic, but sort of relevant....a few years back, I was involved in a conference on "White Working Class" school achievement. WWC was defined as children on free school meals. They basically achieve much lower results than for instance, children who speak English as a second language. Anyway, a researcher at the start of the conference showed that c.60% of the UK see themselves as working class. When exam results are released, and once again children on free school meals (children in poverty) have very low grades, the press (both left and right with opposing agendas) report that our government and education system are failing the "working class". So you can see the bias it puts into 60% of the populaces head immediately. So what we see as "class", is more likely socio-economic. My parents were working class, and were when I was born. By the time I left school they were no longer in the same class position, home-owners etc. Bizarrely, I earn more than they ever did, approaching mid-50s, never owned a house or car and never will! But if placed into a class, it would definitely be middle. The first black players I saw were the likes of Viv Anderson and Tristan Benjamin when Forest and County played Lincoln City in pre-season friendlies. First black Villa player that stands out in memory was Mark Walters. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
withes_shin Posted October 12, 2020 Share Posted October 12, 2020 I recall an Everton game, during Ron Atkinson's time as manager, where the press labelled it the all whites vs the all blacks as Villa fielded 8-9 black players and Everton, historically, hadn't had a black player play for them. In fact I think Earl Barrett may have been Everton's first black signing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villan_down_under Posted October 12, 2020 Share Posted October 12, 2020 49 minutes ago, Amsterdam_Neil_D said: Anyone remember the small heath game ? Proper game of football in the pissing rain. Good triumphed over evil, again! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
claretman Posted October 12, 2020 Share Posted October 12, 2020 The Everton game at the time was a record in England for the most black players fielded in one team. Not sure if that still stands. I recall Big Ron saying in an interview after , “I have no problem with race, I often play blacks against whites in training!” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NIVillan Posted October 12, 2020 Share Posted October 12, 2020 One of my early games was an European Tie against Dynamo Bucharest. We were European Champions and this was the first game we could Villa at home defending that title a first round was behind closed doors. Gary Shaw scored a hattrick and was replaced by Mark Walters who also scored. Also remember Walters scoring a great goal against Moscow I think in the UEFA Cup. Sad when we sold him to Rangers but I was there on his return with Liverpool. He scored and from my distant memory made the outline of a lady in front of the holte end. Shame Deano ruined that home coming Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveAV1 Posted October 12, 2020 Share Posted October 12, 2020 30 minutes ago, claretman said: The Everton game at the time was a record in England for the most black players fielded in one team. Not sure if that still stands. I recall Big Ron saying in an interview after , “I have no problem with race, I often play blacks against whites in training!” He’d be slaughtered for saying that now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjw63 Posted October 12, 2020 Share Posted October 12, 2020 3 hours ago, villa4europe said: Morocco - hadji And Kachloul. And Karim El Ahmadi. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjw63 Posted October 12, 2020 Share Posted October 12, 2020 2 hours ago, blandy said: I remember going to Goodson in the 90s. Midweek evening game, that deckchair green away strip, Neville Southall applauding us away fans at the end of the game for making a racket non-stop, and I mean, genuinely did not stop for a moment throughout the game. Anyway, we had a team that was mostly black players. I’m not sure it was 9, but maybe 7 started. I think we won 2-0, but it might have been a draw. I’m trying to recollect the the team in my memory. Brian Small, Earle Barrett, God, Yorkie, Dalian, Bozzie, Deano...anyone else remember that game? Oct 19, 1991 maybe? Won 2-0 with goals from Daley and Regis. Team was Les Sealey Dariusz Kubicki Shaun Teale Paul McGrath Bryan Small Mark Blake Kevin Richardson Dalian Atkinson Tony Daley Cyrille Regis Dwight Yorke I think Ugo was on the bench 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blandy Posted October 12, 2020 Moderator Share Posted October 12, 2020 14 minutes ago, rjw63 said: Oct 19, 1991 maybe? Won 2-0 with goals from Daley and Regis. Team was Les Sealey Dariusz Kubicki Shaun Teale Paul McGrath Bryan Small Mark Blake Kevin Richardson Dalian Atkinson Tony Daley Cyrille Regis Dwight Yorke I think Ugo was on the bench Yeah, that's the one, definitely. Cheers Rob. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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