Most underrated Villa Players
- Thread starter remote
- Start date
JW1985
Vital Champions League
And stayed on for many years coaching various youth teams. Even took charge of the the "first team" for that weird FA cup tie when everyone bar the kids reserves had Covid.
BringbakMON
Vital Football Hero
Grant Holt -
proper man
proper man
DeanoVilla
One Bloody Number
Gareth Southgate. Because of the way he left, and also because of the man he became, people just forget what an immense centre back he was for us.
Never discussed when we talk about the clubs best CB's but right up there with Mellberg, Laursen, Ehiogu for me.
Never discussed when we talk about the clubs best CB's but right up there with Mellberg, Laursen, Ehiogu for me.
Melon Donkey
I am a little bit perplexed
Nicolo ‘offers something different’ Faniolo.
I definitely underrated how shit he actually is.
I definitely underrated how shit he actually is.
DeanoVilla
One Bloody Number
Gabby. Our clubs record Premier League goalscorer. A real big game player, scored lots of important goals in big games against Blues, United, Arsenal...
Gets way too much flak for me coz he stood up to that twat Paul Lambert. Maybe went about things the wrong way, but I've heard enough stories about Lambert to not be too hard on Gabby.
Massively underrated by the vast majority of Villa fans.
Gets way too much flak for me coz he stood up to that twat Paul Lambert. Maybe went about things the wrong way, but I've heard enough stories about Lambert to not be too hard on Gabby.
Massively underrated by the vast majority of Villa fans.
JW1985
Vital Champions League
The flak he gets is because he basically gave up trying to improve himself after MON left. 4 good seasons at the start of his career then he never hit double figures again.
He should have had over 100 premier league goals and more England caps but couldn't be bothered to put the work in so coasted along on the credit his various Derby goals had won him.
DeanoVilla
One Bloody Number
That's one way to look at it.
The other way would be that he was never gifted with natural football ability. He basically had pace and nothing else, and had to work extremely hard to be a premier league striker. He did remarkably well to become our clubs record premier league goalscorer despite not being blessed with natural talent.
You can't ignore the succession of terrible managers he had to play under after MON. Did anyone thrive under McLeish or Lambert? It wasn't only Gabby's form that dipped. Also wasn't he shoved out wide as soon as we signed Darren Bent? Of course his goal numbers are going to drop.
Pangloss
Vital Football Legend
I can see the point about Gabby really. For me he was an absolute dog shit footballer blessed with outrageous pace. In his best years he clearly dialed in his training and improved his footballing ability as best he could and contributed heavily in the MON years. The problem is that of course he lost interest and I would also see that in a long career he had at best 4 good seasons for us.
DeanoVilla
One Bloody Number
He definitely lost interest but as said I think Lambert was massively to blame for that. It's fine to question his professionalism, but we've all worked for shit bosses surely, and we all know how difficult that can be.
He definitely over acheived in comparison to his natural talent, but there was always going to be a ceiling. I just don't get those who think he could have been much better.... I thought he did remarkably well to get to where he got to.
Villan57
Alert Team
Yep David Platt is the same, never gets a mention as he never really backed the Villa since he left. Never a good word said about us.
DeanoVilla
One Bloody Number
Yeah, the bloke is an absolute chunt but you can't deny how good he was for us.
Melon Donkey
I am a little bit perplexed
I don’t think Gabby is underrated at all.
Fans knew exactly what he was which was a decent premier league striker . No more or less. Had he not been ‘one of our own init bruv’ i imagine he would have been forgotten pretty much.
Should have scored many more tbh. But lost his head. Tekkers scored enough under Lameberk so can’t really blame managers here.
Fans knew exactly what he was which was a decent premier league striker . No more or less. Had he not been ‘one of our own init bruv’ i imagine he would have been forgotten pretty much.
Should have scored many more tbh. But lost his head. Tekkers scored enough under Lameberk so can’t really blame managers here.
Pangloss
Vital Football Legend
Yeah he's one of our best ever players and if he didn't come across as though he resents us every time he talks about us then he would be held in the best possible light.
Villan57
Alert Team
Not sure what we did to him to make him so bitter, but he was learning Italian long before he left so we never sold him against his will. As a Goal scoring midfielder, he's had no equal at VP.
Melon Donkey
I am a little bit perplexed
Platt is a legendary player .
One of the best midfielders I’ve seen at VP.
One of the best midfielders I’ve seen at VP.
"Merd"
Vital Football Hero
His years also overlapped with our decline which he was a big part of. By the end of his career he was a joke and really didn't give a toss. Think he was over rated by some personally because of his derby goals. Not on my list for sure.
Ian Taylor for me, not the most gifted, but always put in a shift and should be up there with some of the other legends.
Villan57
Alert Team
He was an exciting player until we gave him that last 5-year contract and he turned into a fat lazy arsed idiot. Shame he ruined himself and his reputation with the majority of fans. He's currently embarrassing us and himself on talk sports with his dopey talk. I know most of it is an act but ...
