From today's Daily Mail. I seem to have lost the facility to 'quote articles', how do I change that?
http://tinyurl.com/33um3fzMarc Albrighton rocks: How the small kid became a big talent at Aston Villa
The past month will be remembered as one of the most chaotic in Aston Villa's recent history; it will also be known for the emergence of devilishly talented winger Marc Albrighton.
He has been the joy to compensate for the despair of an awkward start to the season, including the departure of Martin O'Neill and some uncomfortable results.
Albrighton, 20, was given his first League start against West Ham in the 3-0 win on the opening day of the season and his display of old-fashioned wing trickery had full backs reaching for the panic button.
As Villa prepare for a home game with Bolton today, Albrighton, a local boy and a Villa fan - he still lives at home just 10 minutes from the training ground at Bodymoor Heath - revealed how John Robertson played a huge role in his transformation as a player.
'I was a striker as a kid and I scored goals for fun,' he told Sportsmail in his first national newspaper interview. 'But I was really small and from 12 to 14 I didn't grow. Everyone else had spurts. It was ridiculous. I was getting pushed off the ball. I had to rely on my pace but if I came up against a quick defender, then there wasn't a lot I could do.
'It all changed for me when Gordon Cowans, my Under 15 coach at Villa, thought I'd be better facing the play instead of having my back to goal all the time. Ever since, I've been on the wing. I was having a lot of joy going down the wings. Instead of scoring goals, I really got a kick out of making them.'
Albrighton, who is 5ft 9in and on a special weights programme to strengthen him further, first offered a glimpse of his gifts two seasons ago when O'Neill rested eight senior players for a UEFA Cup tie at CSKA Moscow.
'Everything about that Moscow trip was unreal,' he said. 'It was freezing cold. Minus 10 or something like that. I didn't have my tights on. But the fourth official came into the room before the start and said that only the black lads could wear tights. I don't know why to this day.
'It was an uncomfortable journey back home. A whole tub of Vaseline went that night. But it was worth it. Curtis Davies came over to me and said: "You've done yourself no harm there, the gaffer knows he can rely on you now".'
Albrighton was later given a reminder of the scale of the task when he played in a star-studded pre-season tournament.
'I had three England international wingers in front of me - Stewart Downing, Ashley Young and James Milner. So getting into the squad was an achievement, never mind playing Juventus.
'I remember when Alessandro Del Piero came on as a sub. With his first touch he took it out of the sky from 50 yards and hit a diagonal ball 60 yards. The other fella didn't move a muscle. It was like: "Wow". A few of the other lads' jaws were dropping around me.
'Even if they were surrounded by three opponents, they didn't panic. They just retained possession and kept the ball moving.'
He was again on the fringes of the first team last season but a run of substitute appearances was interrupted by injury.
'I got a chance against Brighton in the FA Cup. We had a brilliant crowd, my first start in domestic football. I set up a goal but then went over on my ankle after 12 minutes.
'I had been with the club since the age of eight, waited all this time for my chance. I got it and then it could have been over in 12 minutes. I feared the worst, It was heart-breaking.'
It took him six weeks to recover but there was another shock when O'Neill left Villa last month, taking with him coach Robertson, among the greatest British wingers of all time. Robertson was a hero to Albrighton's Nottingham Forest supporting father Terry, and a mentor to Marc.
'My dad was watching Forest in the era when Robbo was in his prime. I watch a lot of ESPN Classic and you can see the Forest games. In European Cup matches he was the best player on the pitch. I've watched all the wingers, John Barnes, Chris Waddle.
'The main thing Robbo taught me was to be positive. That if I've got a one v one situation that it's just about the last thing that a defender wants - especially if it's late in the second half.
'He doesn't want to be backpedalling towards his goal, so I should back myself. I lacked selfbelief and Robbo was keen to get it into my head that I shouldn't worry about losing the ball.
'I was beating myself up if I lost the ball or put in a bad cross or was tackled. It's about knowing when to take people on. If you have John Carew or Emile Heskey to aim at, it might be better to create half a yard and whip it in.
'But when you have a chance to gamble in the final third, you have got to back yo
Read more:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1313015/Marc-Albrighton-rocks-How-small-kid-big-talent-Aston-Villa.html#ixzz0zsOAPaFE
