Vive_La_Villa Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 2 hours ago, Eastie said: Disagree , pace power 2 good feet ? His best game was against Man City on the opening day - he was ok at best in my opinion . i certainly don’t think he had it all as a player - was limited ability wise and relied mainly on pace - without that he’s nothing really . movement and effort both sadly lacking . As someone said earlier he would have gone had he been that good like Barry, young , Milner etc but there was never really any reported interest in taking gabby unfortunately . He will however retain some fond memories as he scored some big goals for us especially against blues - his best times were undoubtedly alongside Carew. I think had he continued to play the way he did he would have eventually got his move. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AntrimBlack Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 11 hours ago, TRO said: I think he is a player who scored on the back of our low expectation, in the same fashion as Darius Vassell. His loyalty to the club, was a bit of a missed placed thing, no one else wanted him, so he attached himself to the golden goose....not denying he loves Villa, but lets get a bit of perspective. His goalsoring record v games is poor.....its only when it is culminated in his whole career it looks respectable. If he was the player, we thought he was, we wouldn't have been able to hang on to him...He sadly wasn't. Gabby, was an incredibily lucky player, in as much he has become a very wealthy man on the back of our demise.....I am not blaming him for that, but lets catergorise him for what he is......an opportunist. Will we see him coming back to games as an ex-player, like, say, Albrighton? That would be interesting. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don_Simon Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 8 minutes ago, AntrimBlack said: Will we see him coming back to games as an ex-player, like, say, Albrighton? That would be interesting. That would involve him... 1) Him being arsed to finding another club. 2) Another club being desperate enough to want him. 3) That club being in the Premier League.... BECAUSE WE'RE GOING UP BABY! (Disclaimer: it could be a non-league team coming to VP for a magical third round FA cup day out, but lets face it, Gabby isn't cut out of the rough and tumble of the Vanarama League). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AntrimBlack Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 9 hours ago, dont_do_it_doug. said: Wait, enough of the revisionism. It could be argued O'Neill built his team around him. He hasn't always been shit. I agree. He was wonderful to watch at that time. But was never offered a move to any top team, so the answer probably lies somewhere in the middle. I will always have good memories of him from the past, tempered by my disappointment during his recent seasons. I think he just peaked under O'Neill and then, like some footballers, lost interest. It happens to some earlier than others. It is a shame he was given that last contract. He would have left the club with dignity had he gone at that time. It is like a party - knowing when to turn up is important - knowing when to leave is even more important! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AntrimBlack Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 2 minutes ago, Don_Simon said: That would involve him... 1) Him being arsed to finding another club. 2) Another club being desperate enough to want him. 3) That club being in the Premier League.... BECAUSE WE'RE GOING UP BABY! (Disclaimer: it could be a non-league team coming to VP for a magical third round FA cup day out, but lets face it, Gabby isn't cut out of the rough and tumble of the Vanarama League). Sorry. I meant being in the crowd, like Albrighton has been, as a fan. I doubt very much Agbonlahor will ever play again after he leaves us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AntrimBlack Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 54 minutes ago, Vive_La_Villa said: I think had he continued to play the way he did he would have eventually got his move. You could say that about thousands of players who never quite made it. The fact is he never did reach that level. Awards are not given for `might have happened if'. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don_Simon Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 1 minute ago, AntrimBlack said: You could say that about thousands of players who never quite made it. The fact is he never did reach that level. Awards are not given for `might have happened if'. Especially with the awful attitude and work ethic he has. Couple that with limited ability, and he really was riding the crest of the desperate Villa wave. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AntrimBlack Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 3 hours ago, Eastie said: Disagree , pace power 2 good feet ? His best game was against Man City on the opening day - he was ok at best in my opinion . i certainly don’t think he had it all as a player - was limited ability wise and relied mainly on pace - without that he’s nothing really . movement and effort both sadly lacking . As someone said earlier he would have gone had he been that good like Barry, young , Milner etc but there was never really any reported interest in taking gabby unfortunately . He will however retain some fond memories as he scored some big goals for us especially against blues - his best times were undoubtedly alongside Carew. And Young. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post dont_do_it_doug. Posted February 16, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted February 16, 2018 Just now, Don_Simon said: Especially with the awful attitude and work ethic he has. Couple that with limited ability, and he really was riding the crest of the desperate Villa wave. We were proper desperate, finishing 6th in the league every year. For a number of different reason mentioned above, of which injuries also played a part, Gabby has been hopeless for a long time now. But it is farcical to suggest he only ever got a game for the club because we were at a low ebb. We weren't. He was the focal point of the most 'successful' Villa team of the last 22 years. Perhaps longer. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrDuck Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 26 minutes ago, dont_do_it_doug. said: We were proper desperate, finishing 6th in the league every year. For a number of different reason mentioned above, of which injuries also played a part, Gabby has been hopeless for a long time now. But it is farcical to suggest he only ever got a game for the club because we were at a low ebb. We weren't. He was the focal point of the most 'successful' Villa team of the last 22 years. Perhaps longer. I was gonna say 22 years, nonsense, what about the Brian Little side... and then I realised how long ago that was. Jeez. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post TheMelvillan Posted February 16, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted February 16, 2018 Just going to offer my opinion. And its not going to reflect well on me but here goes. The way I see it Gabby doesnt love football. If he didnt do it for a career im not convinced he would watch or follow football. He fell into it, probably from encouragement and guidance at an early age, due to his natural speed. If athletics paid as well as football, he'd be an athlete. You get the impression that players like Grealish and Adomah and Hogan would play football even if it werent their profession, just as a hobby because of their love of the game - I dont get this with Gabby. Which is fine. We would be daft to think that all footballers love football - they dont - they are just good at it and it offers a good career. I dont think that after his football career he will have anything to do with the game and I think that the fact that he is the one player who has been at aston villa from the highs of the MO'N era through to now has probably seen the fight taken out of him. Playing under so many managers and in such at times negative and spiteful environment would do that to a person so in a way I have some sympathy. The best thing for Gabby and his legacy at Villa would have been to get out and go to a different club a long time ago, But to turn down the contracts he was given made that next to impossible. Its an unfortunate situation but I see how it has happened. He isnt a bad guy, and I dont think he has intentionally ever tried to hurt the club. He's just an overrated average footballer who lucked out with his career. I for one have no ill will, nor great affinity with him. I think that him moving on at the end of the contract will feel like a fresh start for all. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave J Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 1 hour ago, dont_do_it_doug. said: We were proper desperate, finishing 6th in the league every year. For a number of different reason mentioned above, of which injuries also played a part, Gabby has been hopeless for a long time now. But it is farcical to suggest he only ever got a game for the club because we were at a low ebb. We weren't. He was the focal point of the most 'successful' Villa team of the last 22 years. Perhaps longer. I don't think he has ever been the focal point Doug - Young, Barry, Carew, Milner were all much more influential again in my opinion for what it's worth - you also speak of injuries which unquestionably have dogged him over the past 18 months or so - but in reality he was very poor for a long time before injury prevented him from playing again imo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave J Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 44 minutes ago, TheMelvillan said: Just going to offer my opinion. And its not going to reflect well on me but here goes. The way I see it Gabby doesnt love football. If he didnt do it for a career im not convinced he would watch or follow football. He fell into it, probably from encouragement and guidance at an early age, due to his natural speed. If athletics paid as well as football, he'd be an athlete. You get the impression that players like Grealish and Adomah and Hogan would play football even if it werent their profession, just as a hobby because of their love of the game - I dont get this with Gabby. Which is fine. We would be daft to think that all footballers love football - they dont - they are just good at it and it offers a good career. I dont think that after his football career he will have anything to do with the game and I think that the fact that he is the one player who has been at aston villa from the highs of the MO'N era through to now has probably seen the fight taken out of him. Playing under so many managers and in such at times negative and spiteful environment would do that to a person so in a way I have some sympathy. The best thing for Gabby and his legacy at Villa would have been to get out and go to a different club a long time ago, But to turn down the contracts he was given made that next to impossible. Its an unfortunate situation but I see how it has happened. He isnt a bad guy, and I dont think he has intentionally ever tried to hurt the club. He's just an overrated average footballer who lucked out with his career. I for one have no ill will, nor great affinity with him. I think that him moving on at the end of the contract will feel like a fresh start for all. Excellent post - thank you for this I agree pretty much everything and particularly when you mention athletics he should probably have chosen this route and who knows he may well have represented England on many more occasions than he has done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave J Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 10 hours ago, Vive_La_Villa said: Gabby was quality. He had it all. Pace, power, two good feet. Defenders would shit it against him. He scored against every big club. Then he started to bulk up and lost that yard of pace. Then after that it was injury after injury and he never really recovered. The top players are normally the ones that also train the hardest and look after themselves the most. Maybe Gabby didn't put in that extra effort to make him the player he could have been. With the very greatest of respect- I can't see how even his greatest advocates would argue two good feet - the very best anyone could argue a case for would be pace, power - both naturally given talents that required little in the way of hard work or effort- I would add that I do think Gabby was generally well behaved as a footballer and without the benefits of stats I think his yellow/red cards per games played is good 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dont_do_it_doug. Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 4 hours ago, Dave J said: I don't think he has ever been the focal point Doug - Young, Barry, Carew, Milner were all much more influential again in my opinion for what it's worth - you also speak of injuries which unquestionably have dogged him over the past 18 months or so - but in reality he was very poor for a long time before injury prevented him from playing again imo I don't disagree with that. However, in my opinion it is undeniable that his pace was integral to our counter attacking style. He also scored some very important goals. I actually speak of the injuries that have plagued him over the last 5 years, going back to McLeish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bannedfromHandV Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 6 hours ago, dont_do_it_doug. said: We were proper desperate, finishing 6th in the league every year. For a number of different reason mentioned above, of which injuries also played a part, Gabby has been hopeless for a long time now. But it is farcical to suggest he only ever got a game for the club because we were at a low ebb. We weren't. He was the focal point of the most 'successful' Villa team of the last 22 years. Perhaps longer. Agree with all aside from focal point Dave. Carew was the focal point with Young and Gabby supplementing from wide positions. At least in my memory anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAMAICAN-VILLAN Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 6 hours ago, Don_Simon said: That would involve him... 1) Him being arsed to finding another club. 2) Another club being desperate enough to want him. 3) That club being in the Premier League.... BECAUSE WE'RE GOING UP BABY! (Disclaimer: it could be a non-league team coming to VP for a magical third round FA cup day out, but lets face it, Gabby isn't cut out of the rough and tumble of the Vanarama League). Or none of the above and he just comes as a retired ex footballer who still has an interest in the club? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bannedfromHandV Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 5 hours ago, TheMelvillan said: Just going to offer my opinion. And its not going to reflect well on me but here goes. The way I see it Gabby doesnt love football. If he didnt do it for a career im not convinced he would watch or follow football. He fell into it, probably from encouragement and guidance at an early age, due to his natural speed. If athletics paid as well as football, he'd be an athlete. You get the impression that players like Grealish and Adomah and Hogan would play football even if it werent their profession, just as a hobby because of their love of the game - I dont get this with Gabby. Which is fine. We would be daft to think that all footballers love football - they dont - they are just good at it and it offers a good career. I dont think that after his football career he will have anything to do with the game and I think that the fact that he is the one player who has been at aston villa from the highs of the MO'N era through to now has probably seen the fight taken out of him. Playing under so many managers and in such at times negative and spiteful environment would do that to a person so in a way I have some sympathy. The best thing for Gabby and his legacy at Villa would have been to get out and go to a different club a long time ago, But to turn down the contracts he was given made that next to impossible. Its an unfortunate situation but I see how it has happened. He isnt a bad guy, and I dont think he has intentionally ever tried to hurt the club. He's just an overrated average footballer who lucked out with his career. I for one have no ill will, nor great affinity with him. I think that him moving on at the end of the contract will feel like a fresh start for all. Great post. Much like boxers who will say they hate the sport but cannot deny their aptitude for it (and the potential riches it brings). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAMAICAN-VILLAN Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 6 hours ago, dont_do_it_doug. said: We were proper desperate, finishing 6th in the league every year. For a number of different reason mentioned above, of which injuries also played a part, Gabby has been hopeless for a long time now. But it is farcical to suggest he only ever got a game for the club because we were at a low ebb. We weren't. He was the focal point of the most 'successful' Villa team of the last 22 years. Perhaps longer. Balanced approach, I like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyblade Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 (edited) I think the injuries have to do with him bulking up too fast. He was a wiry, quick player but he tried to transform himself into an even more jacked Usain Bolt. I doubt you can run just as fast with 50 more pounds of muscle on you without proper form. Gabby's running form post-2010 had always looked awful...like he's always straining. Edited February 16, 2018 by Keyblade Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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