hippo Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 How did you feel when a villa hero departed ? Bruce Rioch I was only a young lad - there had been rumours for a while. I remember my dad being totally gutted. It was an eye opener for me. Selling players for money was a new concept - and players not wanting to play for villa was just a ridiculous notion !!! Ron Saunders We should have seen it coming and they tinkered with his contract weeks before. A truly ridiculous decision by the then owners. Not sure we ever really recovered. Gray/Gidman I wasn't to fussed as my faith in Ron Saunders was 100% Colin Gibson. Very low profile in comparison. But the club was making bizzare decisions and generally being poorly managed. I just despaired. Platt A real blow. Thought we could hang on to him. Not to be. Ashley Young. The bigger picture was that we knew a major decline was coming. Jack Grealish. His departure had been rumoured every year since relegation. So for me he stayed longer than expected. Sad that his best season for us we couldn't see live. A plus point is some ballsy and decisive moves by the owners. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wict01 Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 The one that hurt me most was Barry in 2009, but Jack has eclipsed that this summer. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Zen Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 (edited) Yorke was by far the worst. A real childhood trauma. But if I’d have been 11 years old now, Jack leaving would probably hurt even more than Yorke’s departure did. Edited August 5, 2021 by El Zen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MentalM Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 I think Milner handled his transfer the best. Said that City had to fix it before a certain date else he would stay, and they fixed. Clear and no back and forth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Moustache of Teale Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 I was left bereft when Leandro Bacuna departed. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidcow Posted August 5, 2021 VT Supporter Share Posted August 5, 2021 I think Yorke hurt the worst before this for me. Platt I just couldn't believe the fee it was so otherworldly at the time and I was just excited to see what we did with it, which was one hell of a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
It's Your Round Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 Dwight Yorke was the one that hit me the most. Since then I’ve got used to losing our best players to the ‘big clubs’. Barry was also a bad one, his piece in the paper about wanting to join Liverpool really annoyed me, then when he went to City, I couldn’t believe it. I also remember being pissed off when Southgate went to Middlesbrough because they had “more ambition” LOL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodders Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 At the time, as a young teenager, Yorke's departure was gutting. But swiftly forgotten when Dublin and Merson were amazing buys. Dunno if Gregory counts as a legend but I remember being surprisingly sad when he quit too. Barry's departure was crack handled but I've long since forgiven him. Young leaving was telegraphed a long way off so had time to prepare for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidcow Posted August 5, 2021 VT Supporter Share Posted August 5, 2021 1 minute ago, The Moustache of Teale said: I was left bereft when Leandro Bacuna departed. Out of likes but I just spat my coffee out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Salad Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 For me it was Friedel. When I think about the 3 best US GK's I have ever seen play (Friedel, Keller, and Howard) I just got the most out of watching Brad play for Villa and how he commanded his troops if you will. I think he had a lot left to give us. I have met him before and he such a down to earth dude. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villa4europe Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 (edited) 17 minutes ago, wict01 said: The one that hurt me most was Barry in 2009, but Jack has eclipsed that this summer. came to say Barry too from memory you kind of knew what man city were doing back then but we were competing with them, i dont think they'd got CL at that point, it was definitely not the leap forward that Grealish is making, and then you throw in all the NotW bollocks from his florida holiday home he left a real sour taste 1 league title and 1 FA cup in 4 years too, its easy to forget that pre pep city didnt actually win that much, milner only has 2 leagues, 1 league cup and 1 FA cup in 5 years there, its not the glory that they were promised in my opinion Edit - i had a look, the 1 FA cup final milner won with city he was an unused sub, the league cup that he won with them he was unused sub Edited August 5, 2021 by villa4europe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinRichardsonsMoustache Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 2 minutes ago, Rodders said: At the time, as a young teenager, Yorke's departure was gutting. But swiftly forgotten when Dublin and Merson were amazing buys. Dunno if Gregory counts as a legend but I remember being surprisingly sad when he quit too. Barry's departure was crack handled but I've long since forgiven him. Young leaving was telegraphed a long way off so had time to prepare for that. Ditto for me: Yorke's departure hit me hard (I remember being overly dramatic and ripping his page out of the club calendar that year), but I remember looking at the league table just before Christmas and feeling mighty smug about our progress without him. That no doubt softened the blow. I hated watching Yorke play for united in the league, but started to enjoy seeing him alongside Cole in the CL. I suppose it was a different context so I couldn't draw any Villa-related parallels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Albrighton Posted August 5, 2021 VT Supporter Share Posted August 5, 2021 Mellberg was the classiest. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meregreen Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 Keegan, Ronaldo, Bale, Gascogne, Stapleton, Rush, Coutinho, Ball, etc. All sold by so called top teams. It’s a myth that only lower teams get to lose their top talent. It’s what you do with the cash which defines whether it was a successful trade. Liverpool replaced Keegan with Dalglish, best bit of business they ever did. Even our own club has history doing this. I was truly gutted when Gidman and Gray left. Wasn’t that impressed when Withe and Swain were brought in as replacements, hey ho, what do I know. After that, I’ve always been an optimist. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam2003 Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 21 minutes ago, El Zen said: Yorke was by far the worst. A real childhood trauma. But if I’d have been 11 years old now, Jack leaving would probably hurt even more than Yorke’s departure did. Remember Yorke ruining a childhood holiday. Jack I’m relaxed about. As you say probably the different between being a teenager and being what I’m almost ready to call middle aged 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjw63 Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 I was 15 when we sold Andy Gray to the dogheads and I was really pissed off. That was the last time I let a player affect my emotion. It's much easier to just think "**** 'em" Platt was in the pipeline for ages so wasn't a shock. What did surprise me was Yorke going to small heath. I had to change my oldest son's middle name by deed poll because of that word removed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dudevillaisnice Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 Wasn’t so much the departure from the club but the game.. but the circumstances around it but Petrov for me hit more than anyone leaving for transfer reasons, glad he is healthy today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Villa 59 Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 Charlie Aitken The only true Villa legend in my lifetime and played in the very first game I saw at Villa Park in 1959. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Didiersix Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 Platt I was gutted. Weirdly enough I wasn't too upset when Yorke left... you could see the vultures circling. In recent years, more than Barry or Young it was the departure of Cahill that annoyed me. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 Great Villa Departures:Richards and Lescott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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