Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Villa Memories => Topic started by: peter w on October 13, 2006, 12:16:06 PM
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To follow on from the recent topic on Tony Daley I thought I'd ask the question. So, who, in your opinion is the best winger at VP. I undoubtedly will have missed one or two, so feel free to add your suggestions. Was Harry Burrows a winger? He's not going in because I don't know.
Strictly speaking Peter Mac wasn't, but he will go in.
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Morley for me...if just for that cross in rotterdam.
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Has to be Morley - for his consistency and goals.
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What about Ian Ormondroyd?
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What? No Stumpy?
Well, in all honesty Johnny McLeod was no world beater but when you're eleven years old and you see a traditional dribbler it makes an impression.
Saw Harry Burrows as well. Again, never set the world on fire but an out and out winger.
If you'd have asked these guys to track back and be tactically aware about the attacking threat on the flanks from a wingback they'd look at you as if you'd just arrived from the planet Zob.
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For an out- and-out winger who stuck to the touchline Willie Anderson was from the old school, but I remember him as a bit infuriating.
Didier Six was a great crosser of the ball but did'nt stick around too long.
Stumpy McLeod I just about remember, the bow legged little winger from the old Scottish dribbling tradition...nah.
Daley was hit and miss, and also not a great crosser but a brilliant runner with the ball...
Graydon has to come close not only for his great wing play but he scored lots of important goals and helped the early years of Andy Gray with regular teasing crosses, hung up high in front of the Holte End goal...
Anyone remember David Rudge?
But for productivity, it also just has to be the legend that is Tony Morley for me.
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Got to be Morley purely for the goal v Everton
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What about Ian Ormondroyd?
He was signed (on the same day as that w**kstain Callaghan - I had a poster of them both on one of my school books!) from Bradford as a striker and converted to a winger, wasn't he? There can't have been many other 6' 4" wingers in the game.
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Morley for me.
Daley was fantastic on his day and scored some superb goals but was too inconsistent.
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Has to be Tony Morley for me. When this guy was on form he was unstoppable. =D> =D>
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What would England give now for a goalscoring left winger like Morley now?
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Anyone remember David Rudge?
I do. He was one of my favourite players when I was a kid. I don't really know why - he wasn't a regular was he?
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Morely for about two or three seasons was fantastic. best in the business. He seemed to get sussed out after a while and began to fade after the European Cup season, and then overtaking by a young Walters and his cheeky step over
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Morely for about two or three seasons was fantastic. best in the business. He seemed to get sussed out after a while and began to fade after the European Cup season, and then overtaking by a young Walters and his cheeky step over
I got the impression success went to Morley's head a bit. I remember seeing the players on the pitch before the Charity Shield game against Spurs at Wembley. Morley had dyed his hair blonde during pre season and was wearing a white jacket. While this flash behaviour is normal nowadays, successful footballers didn't generally tend to do this sort of thing in the Eighties.
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It's hard to comment on players you never saw play, but Peter McParland's record speaks for itself.
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It's hard to comment on players you never saw play, but Peter McParland's record speaks for itself.
Well maybe it should shout a bit seeing as he's only got 2 votes.
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Anyone remember David Rudge?
I do. He was one of my favourite players when I was a kid. I don't really know why - he wasn't a regular was he?
I was at the game at Preston North End in either 1969 or 1970 when David Rudge broke his leg.
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I voted for Morley, but I can't believe you left out the left wing maestro Willie Anderson.
Harry Burrows wasn't bad either
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Peter McP. he was a bit special. Quick and brave and was just as good at centre forward.
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Has to be Harry Burrows for me, Tony Morley and Tony Daley were both good but Burrows scored and made them
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It's hard to pick out one player from '80-'82 but for me Tony Morley was the ace in the pack. Just don't ask me about Ron Greenwood's decision to take Peter Barnes to Spain in '82 instead of him when I've had a few. Not unless you like listening to a full on rant where you can't interject because the other person doesn't pause for breath (and possibly spits on you a little bit too). I've also met him a couple of times and he's a great bloke. Tony that is, not Barnes!
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Has to be Harry Burrows for me, Tony Morley and Tony Daley were both good but Burrows scored and made them
Peter McParland was my first Villa hero, so it would have to be him for me.
Great to see Harry Burrows mentioned. He was in a similar mould to McParland - strong, forceful, with an eye for goal and a great shot. I don't think he got the recognition he deserved and was a big loss when he was sold. Never understood why we sold him, we certainly needed him at the time.
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My dad's hero was Peter McParland who said he had never seen a winger as good in the air as him.
Ray Graydon was the first Villa player I ever met & scored quite a few goals for a winger but it has to be Tony Morley for me great dribbler scored some stunning goals for us & some vital ones too like the two away in Berlin & at home against Anderlecht. Also loved his reaction to the dugout when he scored.
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Has to be Harry Burrows for me, Tony Morley and Tony Daley were both good but Burrows scored and made them
Peter McParland was my first Villa hero, so it would have to be him for me.
Great to see Harry Burrows mentioned. He was in a similar mould to McParland - strong, forceful, with an eye for goal and a great shot. I don't think he got the recognition he deserved and was a big loss when he was sold. Never understood why we sold him, we certainly needed him at the time.
He asked for a five quid a week rise.
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Has to be Harry Burrows for me, Tony Morley and Tony Daley were both good but Burrows scored and made them
Peter McParland was my first Villa hero, so it would have to be him for me.
Great to see Harry Burrows mentioned. He was in a similar mould to McParland - strong, forceful, with an eye for goal and a great shot. I don't think he got the recognition he deserved and was a big loss when he was sold. Never understood why we sold him, we certainly needed him at the time.
He asked for a five quid a week rise.
Really? Greedy bastard!
I presume it must have been around the time that the maximum wage was abolished then.
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TONY MORLEY :) He is my favourite attacking player for Aston Villa. If he is 32 and playing today he would be 100 caps England player.
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When I was first getting into football, and I used to peg it around my grandparents' garden with my Villa football, my grandad used to call out 'who do you think you are, Tony Morley?' Says it all for me.
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Peter McParland was my dad's hero, and I went to school with his nephew who looked just like him and was a very good football player too.
Willie Anderson was the first winger hero I saw live, and there have been quite a few since. The one that sticks in my mind however, very surprisingly, was a portly and none too fast chap called Mike Ferguson, who we signed from Blackburn and had played for Accrington Stanley before they went bust. He was the first Villa player I saw who could go past a defender with pure trickery. Shows how bad things were at the time.
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Has to be Harry Burrows for me, Tony Morley and Tony Daley were both good but Burrows scored and made them
Peter McParland was my first Villa hero, so it would have to be him for me.
Great to see Harry Burrows mentioned. He was in a similar mould to McParland - strong, forceful, with an eye for goal and a great shot. I don't think he got the recognition he deserved and was a big loss when he was sold. Never understood why we sold him, we certainly needed him at the time.
He asked for a five quid a week rise.
Really? Greedy bastard!
I presume it must have been around the time that the maximum wage was abolished then.
Just after. His wife wanted a job where she didn't have to get the bus to work and the only one close enough to where they lived was less pay, so Harry asked for five quid a week extra to make up the difference.
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Tony Morley best winger in my generation sure my dad would say Ray Graydon.
Tony Daley was the most exciting even if his end product was not always great. He did score some great goals, one against Luton in 89-90 season stands out when he ran length of the field and score almost from the bye line.
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I actually remember us signing Mike Ferguson. I remember seeing him scoring one of the best goals ever by a player at Villa Park.Trouble was,it was for Blackburn not us.He picked the ball up a fair way from goal and proceeded to beat 4 or 5 Villa defenders before calmly shooting home. I remember most if not all of the crowd giving him a standing ovation. Sadly,i never saw him score anything like that for Villa.
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I actually remember us signing Mike Ferguson. I remember seeing him scoring one of the best goals ever by a player at Villa Park.Trouble was,it was for Blackburn not us.He picked the ball up a fair way from goal and proceeded to beat 4 or 5 Villa defenders before calmly shooting home. I remember most if not all of the crowd giving him a standing ovation. Sadly,i never saw him score anything like that for Villa.
I'd totally forgotten the contribution of Mike Ferguson. The only thing that I can recall now is his stooping gait and that he wasn't very good. I think he was only with us for a short while.
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Has to be Harry Burrows for me, Tony Morley and Tony Daley were both good but Burrows scored and made them
Peter McParland was my first Villa hero, so it would have to be him for me.
Great to see Harry Burrows mentioned. He was in a similar mould to McParland - strong, forceful, with an eye for goal and a great shot. I don't think he got the recognition he deserved and was a big loss when he was sold. Never understood why we sold him, we certainly needed him at the time.
He asked for a five quid a week rise.
Really? Greedy bastard!
I presume it must have been around the time that the maximum wage was abolished then.
Just after. His wife wanted a job where she didn't have to get the bus to work and the only one close enough to where they lived was less pay, so Harry asked for five quid a week extra to make up the difference.
Thanks Dave. That's solved a 47 year old mystery for me.
He should have known better with the local drapers in charge.
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I've already voted for Peter McP but for the teenagers out there, Jimmy MacEwan. He looked about 55 when he joined us but was a tricky sort of player.
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Jimmy MacEwan looked more like 60 to me lol. Dont know if its true but i was once told by a ex player of the time that when Tony Hateley signed for us and started giving it out Jimmy Mac put him in his place as he was the clubs hard man.
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Jimmy MacEwan was plucked from obscurity at Dundee and I recall him saying that he was absolutely amazed that Villa wanted him. He was in his late 30's when he signed for us, but he was a useful player and played for several seasons.
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Morley for me!
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Some great names mentioned. I would have loved to have seen Eric Houghton play just to see some of the free kicks that I have read about that he scored. A villa legend & fantastic club servant
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I've been fortunate enough to have seen all these players mentioned with the exception of Eric Houghton. They all have their places in my memory. Peter McParland was my first real hero along with Gerry Hitchens. I was there when Ferguson scored that magic goal for Blackburn against us and yes, he did receive a deserved ovation fo it. (also saw Bobby Charlton score one similar about 1964/65) I'm pretty sure Jimmy McEwan came from Raith Rovers. Harry Burrows hit the ball as hard as anyone I've seen before or since. Tony Daley, the pace says it all. Walters never reached his full potential as far as I'm concerned either with us or after he left. David Rudge just wasn't good enough imo. Tony Morley don't know why I just loved watching him. I was at Goodison the day he scored THAT goal. I swear to God that ball was still picking up speed when it hit the net, fully deserved goal of the season accolade. Ray Graydon was another I loved watching, never less than 100% from Ray and always looked as though he was enjoying himself something I don't see much of today. Willie Anderson another who when he was good he was very very good but when he wasn't.... That covers most of them and it's been my privelege to watch them, but my standout has to be Peter Mac an all round forward.