Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Villa Memories => Topic started by: Kevin_Yahoo on November 10, 2015, 11:55:51 AM
-
Hello there.
I'm writing an article about Alpay and I want to get fans' memories about him as a player and a man. Some of you may remember I did something similar on Hassan Kachloul a few months back.
Any memories/stories you have about Alpay - the good and the bad - please post them here. Especially good would be any personal memories you have of meeting him/seeing him around - stuff like that.
I'd want to use some of the your quotes for the article, which will appear on the Yahoo Football website next week. So if you don't want your comments to be used then let me know, and they won't be. I will credit Heroes and Villains rather than individual posters.
Cheers,
Kevin
Here's the Kachloul piece from before: https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/blast-past-no-1-hassan-100202773.html
-
Wanker.
(Not you mate)
-
I concur
-
Mums in Four Oak used to get all hot and bothered when he took his children to school.
-
Egotistical fucking prick.
-
Twat nutter.
-
I think he was a ******. You are welcome to use that.
-
He was good for a short spell for us, maybe half a season. He went to the World Cup, had a good tournament and became Billy Big Bollocks. He really seemed to believe the hype that the media were spurting about him and as a result his career seemed to stall.
He is in my all-time detested Villa Players six a side team.
-
Was really pleased when we signed him...he had been outstanding in the Euro Champs. Remember watching him and thinking "Who is this bloke? He's brilliant!" A few weeks later we signed him! Which in my head indicated we were going places.
Unfortunately, can't remember him having a decent game after only a few in that first season...and his attitude became more and more sulky as time went on and it seemed as if he deliberately underperformed. Was glad to see the back of him when he left.
-
I thought he'd died when I saw the title of the thread.
Yep, the good World Cup he had went to his head. He was quite good before that.
-
Great defender for us until he got too big for his boots and went the way of Downing/Delph.
-
The guy was phsycoligically flawed, you could tell that. Some part of his brain not not wired up properly.He was without doubt a talented footballer but his head was not right.
His attitude after the World Cup stank.
Edit sorry I forgot to mention he was a twat :)
-
the only time I have booed at anything Villa was when Alpay scored (against Charlton was it?) when he ran to the crowd with his hand to his ear, what a jump jockey.
Spent most of the time injured only to "recover" in time to play for Turkey, if look up twat in the dictionary, you will find his picture.
-
Had a decent first season, second season him and Mellberg looked good until Alpay got injured after about a dozen games missing the rest of the season. Recovered and went to the World Cup, came back a twat, was rarely picked, got sacked for acting an even bigger twat in the Beckham incident. I'd imagine most of us were delighted he'd gone. Was sacked by his Japanese club for being a twat. Was dropped by Koln for being a twat.
Fair to say, he was a twat.
-
For me never has the phrase hero to villain been more apt. Absolutely loved him in that season with Melberg and then it all fell apart after the World Cup. Then the Beckham thing happened at the height of Beckhamania and that was that, contract terminated by Doug and he pretty much fled the country!
-
Words I thought I'd never use: "Doug was right".
-
Was very good at first, I really grew to like him. Major disappointment when he went hatstand. I was hoping her would turn it around, but the spitting thing did for him.
-
Did remember when he was booted out the club, Ellis saying to the press that he gave him a dressing down on his behaviour and attitude. His mates at the FA hinted that he wasnt welcome in England anymore so word got round that he wasnt to be touched.
-
Cracking defender but one of the early pioneers of the 'let's use Aston Villa as a stepping stone' brigade, which now includes too many to list.
-
Running to the Holte before a game started and kissing his badge. Turned out it meant nothing
Doug Sacking him after a England game.
-
nuts
-
Didn't he manage the rare feat of scoring for us after being barracked by the home fans at Villa Park all-game and giving them/us the ''hush'' celebration ?
-
Didn't he manage the rare feat of scoring for us after being barracked by the home fans at Villa Park all-game and giving them/us the ''hush'' celebration ?
Charlton at home I think. He was booed onto the pitch.
-
Went to China didn't he?
-
For me never has the phrase hero to villain been more apt. Absolutely loved him in that season with Melberg and then it all fell apart after the World Cup. Then the Beckham thing happened at the height of Beckhamania and that was that, contract terminated by Doug and he pretty much fled the country!
That is pretty much my recollection as well. Quite a few supporters had his name on the back of their shirts at one point.
Main bad memory was when SGT 11 picked him to play at right back against Small Heath, and he got the hump and was fucking around adjusting his shorts.
Most hilarious of his many stupid utterances: "I can play for Leeds".
My Turkish brother in law called it when he arrived. "Very good football but brain of pigeon".
-
the only time I have booed at anything Villa was when Alpay scored (against Charlton was it?) when he ran to the crowd with his hand to his ear, what a jump jockey.
Spent most of the time injured only to "recover" in time to play for Turkey, if look up twat in the dictionary, you will find his picture.
I'm with you in his 'celebration' being the only Villa thing I've booed. (Although it was a finger to the lips 'shush' gesture and seemed to last throughout his return from the North Stand penalty area all the way back to the Holte). There'd been a few murmurings in the Holte early in the game when he'd misplaced an easy pass and I guess that was his response to that.
We used to stay behind after the final whistle to let the crowds get away and the big screen repeated his gesture three or four times on some kind of loop for some odd reason. So, I booed again.
-
He was great Well Olaf, went to the world cup and came back someone else.
Was really glad to see the end of him
-
He is a very good defender and he had great partnership with Mellberg, but he doesn't have Mellberg's brain or passion or heart. We all love Mellberg, and Alpay could done the same but he burn his bridges.
-
I thought he was a good player, but certainly not as good as he thought he was when he came back from the World Cup. We were a bloody good club for him to be at. We played at a good level. He had a good partnership with Mellberg. For me though, Olof was a better player and ten times the man Alpay is/was. In truth we struggled for a few years to replace Alpay with a partner as good for the big Viking. It's a shame he turned into such a plonker as he could have partnered Mellberg for a few more years and we may have had a more stable backline in those years between latter Gregory and early O'Leary.
-
He was so memorable that I forgot he was let go because of the Beckham incident and thought it was the spitting at the fans that caused that.
However having to Wiki and also from some on here, it looked like he was the same at each and every club so we weren't given any special treatment.
-
I thought he'd died when I saw the title of the thread.
Yep, the good World Cup he had went to his head. He was quite good before that.
Ha ha, I thought the same ( about the dying thing I mean )
-
Is my recollection correct that he scored a very late own goal to deny us our only home win against Man Yew in the last 19 years? Possibly on the same day Bosko the Balaban ventured out of the dugout for his home debut, fell over, limped off and was rarely seen again?
-
Is my recollection correct that he scored a very late own goal to deny us our only home win against Man Yew in the last 19 years? Possibly on the same day Bosko the Balaban ventured out of the dugout for his home debut, fell over, limped off and was rarely seen again?
Yes you're right mate. 2001-2002. Home debuts for Mellberg, Schemeichel, Kachloul.
-
Tw*t. C*nt. Kn*b. W*nk*r.
-
Agree with all the foregoing. Total ubertwat. Moreover caused me to have heated words with a guy I have stood and sat behind for fifty years most amicably. We disagreed on his degree of arseholeness but agreed he certainly was one.
-
Ah! That Charlton game!
It was the only time I have been in hospitality at a football match,(thanks Carlube) I was with a couple of mates and another carlube customer, a Charlton fan, and his girlfriend.
I told everyone to bet on Alpay for 1st scorer but said it would be for Charlton not us. Then he did his hush bit and has been widely known as an arsehole since.
A legend in his own mind.
-
the only time I have booed at anything Villa was when Alpay scored (against Charlton was it?) when he ran to the crowd with his hand to his ear, what a jump jockey.
Spent most of the time injured only to "recover" in time to play for Turkey, if look up twat in the dictionary, you will find his picture.
It was a finger-to-the-lips shhhhhhhhhhhhh... the wanker.
-
Got enough quotes yet mate?
;-)
-
Well let me be the first one to call him a wan, erh, an arseh, oh, erm, a cun, no, ...kevin, mate, if you didn't know before you do now.
-
Ah! That Charlton game!
It was the only time I have been in hospitality at a football match,(thanks Carlube) I was with a couple of mates and another carlube customer, a Charlton fan, and his girlfriend.
I told everyone to bet on Alpay for 1st scorer but said it would be for Charlton not us. Then he did his hush bit and has been widely known as an arsehole since.
A legend in his own mind.
I like Carlube more than I like Alpay and I don't even know what a Carlube is
-
(http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/39361000/jpg/_39361042_alpay270.jpg)
-
I thought he'd died when I saw the title of the thread.
Yep, the good World Cup he had went to his head. He was quite good before that.
Ha ha, I thought the same ( about the dying thing I mean )
his dead to me, the twat
-
Thinking back, he was unveiled before a home Intertoto match at The Hawthorns alongside Dave Ginola (the Celta Vigo ref-gate match I think).
Alpay replaced big Ugo which was no mean feat in itself, and was an improvement on what was already a pretty good defence.
Later, he started what seemed to be a promising partnership with Mellberg but missed the last half of the season through injury and just about made the World Cup.
He probably played more games in the month of the 2002 World Cup than the whole of that calendar year for Villa.
-
He was the only player I remember who told the fans what song he wanted them to sing - Ole Ole Ole Ole Ole, Alpay, Alpay!
Good player until the world cup then went off the rails.
Nice read about Kachloul by the way :)
-
He was the only player I remember who told the fans what song he wanted them to sing - Ole Ole Ole Ole Ole, Alpay, Alpay!
Good player until the world cup then went off the rails.
Nice read about Kachloul by the way :)
i'd forgot Kachloul had ever played for us
-
Steady enough first season, not just on the pitch but in the head, he used to do a rally cry to the Holte end just before kick off which I assume he did in Turkey.
His second season I have to say him and Mellberg was one of the best defensive partnerships I've seen, pretty much on a par with Southgate and Ugo. They complemented each other fantastically and I wonder how that season would've panned out had he not broke his leg v Leicester in the December.
Anyway got fit for the World cup which he probably shouldn't have done but in fairness Turkey hadn't qualified for ages, fell out with Graham Taylor on coming back (they didn't like each other much), played a few games 02/03 but was pretty much bomb squaded and then popped up the next season when O'leary actually seemed to like him but the damage with the fans had already been done as he did a ssshing celebration after scoring around that time.
And then the rest of the media woke up to his antics when he poked Beckham.
Just your typical hot headed East european player. We had to end his contract and lose him for free in the end which is typical Villa as we could've probably sold him for 10m after the World cup.
Where's my commission? ;)
-
I thought he was a good player, but certainly not as good as he thought he was when he came back from the World Cup. We were a bloody good club for him to be at. We played at a good level. He had a good partnership with Mellberg. For me though, Olof was a better player and ten times the man Alpay is/was. In truth we struggled for a few years to replace Alpay with a partner as good for the big Viking. It's a shame he turned into such a plonker as he could have partnered Mellberg for a few more years and we may have had a more stable backline in those years between latter Gregory and early O'Leary.
We got by that season playing Ronny Johnsen who on the rare occasions he wasn't injured did fine and Dublin as a CB who did less fine (Bolton semi final).
Laursen actually turned up six months later so you could say he was Alpay's replacement although of course we had to wait two years for him to play regularly.
-
We got by that season playing Ronny Johnsen who on the rare occasions he wasn't injured did fine and Dublin as a CB who did less fine (Bolton semi final).
Laursen actually turned up six months later so you could say he was Alpay's replacement although of course we had to wait two years for him to play regularly.
Ronnie Johnsen played 50 games for us in two seasons, which for a squad player who was 35 when he left is a bit more than rare occasions.
-
We got by that season playing Ronny Johnsen who on the rare occasions he wasn't injured did fine and Dublin as a CB who did less fine (Bolton semi final).
Laursen actually turned up six months later so you could say he was Alpay's replacement although of course we had to wait two years for him to play regularly.
Ronnie Johnsen played 50 games for us in two seasons, which for a squad player who was 35 when he left is a bit more than rare occasions.
That surprises me considering we signed him part way through 2002/03. Guess in 03/04 with the Carling cup run we probably played 50 games that year or near enough, it did seem he'd play a few, get injured and then Dublin would have to fill in for a game or two. Actually mentioning that, I remember that SHA game when we were 2-0 up (Hitz scoring a screamer). Think Johnson had to go off injured with 20 minutes left, him and Mellberg had barely given them a kick and of course we collapsed with him off the pitch.
Good defender though, you could see why he was at Man. United for years.
-
We got by that season playing Ronny Johnsen who on the rare occasions he wasn't injured did fine and Dublin as a CB who did less fine (Bolton semi final).
Laursen actually turned up six months later so you could say he was Alpay's replacement although of course we had to wait two years for him to play regularly.
Ronnie Johnsen played 50 games for us in two seasons, which for a squad player who was 35 when he left is a bit more than rare occasions.
That surprises me considering we signed him part way through 2002/03. Guess in 03/04 with the Carling cup run we probably played 50 games that year or near enough, it did seem he'd play a few, get injured and then Dublin would have to fill in for a game or two. Actually mentioning that, I remember that SHA game when we were 2-0 up (Hitz scoring a screamer). Think Johnson had to go off injured with 20 minutes left, him and Mellberg had barely given them a kick and of course we collapsed with him off the pitch.
Good defender though, you could see why he was at Man. United for years.
And the sort of player we forget when we moan about signing injury-prone past-its. He came in and did a good job for us.
-
I always remember when someone scored they used to jump on Alpay for a piggyback ride. A 4-1 vs Derby comes to mind, think Merson might have done this, sure he wasn't the only one. Decent defender, Alpay but turned out to be a gobshite.
-
I seem to recall Alpay doing the idiotic ssshhhh after scoring against Portsmouth at Villa Park in a rare win against Redknapp.
-
I seem to recall Alpay doing the idiotic ssshhhh after scoring against Portsmouth at Villa Park in a rare win against Redknapp.
pretty sure the only goal he scored for us was vs Charlton
-
heres the game. Samuel's goal wasn't too bad.
-
Alpay proves more trouble than he's worth
By Graham Taylor
25 Oct 2003
Patience finally ran out at Aston Villa this week when their troublesome Turk, Alpay Ozalan, commonly known in the dressing room as Alfie, was released from his contract. His spat with David Beckham during the Euro 2004 qualifier in Istanbul was, it seems, the final straw.
As his manager during my 15-month reign at Villa Park, I had become accustomed to having to deal with the differing moods of Alfie the person, but could never get to grips with Alfie the player simply because he was so rarely available for selection.
Before that crucial Turkey v England game earlier this month he saw fit to give an interview with a tabloid newspaper in which he was quoted as saying that I told lies about him and that I was too old.l I cannot do anything about the latter accusation, but rather than take legal action, I am going to try to explain what it really was like managing him and how difficult it is these days for a manager to handle a 'problem player'.
I first saw Alpay play for the Villa in my role as non-executive director, when John Gregory was manager, and must admit to being reasonably impressed at his central-defensive partnership with the Swedish player Oli Mellberg. It was, however, noticeable that on some occasions Mellberg had to rescue Alpay from his poor positional play.
On becoming manager I did a check on the background of those players about whom I felt I needed more information. My Turkish informant advised me that Villa had paid Fenerbahce about £2 million more than was expected for the player. Alpay, he said, was a decent player but would never admit to any mistakes in a match being his fault. Oh, and he was inclined to make a couple of major errors each game. Was that worrying? Not at the time, because Alfie had not played since being injured some three months previously. I thought I would have the time to assess him as a person, which for me is as crucial as to how good a player I may judge him.
In fact, almost as I took up the managerial reigns I was informed that Alfie had booked himself into a clinic in Munich because he was not satisfied with the treatment or diagnosis of his injury. Subsequently, the club's medical staff presented me with Alpay's day-to-day diagnosis and treatment dossier. As I was unable to meet Alpay due to his absence I authorised the physiotherpist Jim Walker to go and spend a week with the player at the clinic to observe what type of treatment he was receiving. At the end of the season, Alfie would claim that no one from the club had shown an interest in him when he was in the clinic and that he had paid £25,000 of his own money in medical fees.
In contract negotiations after the World Cup the club agreed to pay his fees, even though he had gone without their authority. Understandably, though, they would like the invoices for the fees. To my knowledge no such invoices or medical reports have been presented to Aston Villa. There was rumour that the Turkish FA had both paved the way for Alpay to attend the clinic and looked after the expense in their endeavours to have him fit for the World Cup.
Consequently I only saw Alpay on two or three occasions in the latter part of the 2001-02 season. One of those was when he informed the club's press officer that he would be returning to the club for the last home game of the season against Southampton. Please announce that on the club's website, he requested. He duly turned up. He ran the customary end of season lap of honour with the other players, kissing the club crest on his blazer.
He seemed happy and proclaimed himself fit and so, as we had one remaining away game at Chelsea, we agreed that he would report to the training ground on the following Tuesday to prepare for the possibility of him making an appearance, even if only as a substitute. The next time I saw him was in Hong Kong where he was playing for Turkey in a mini-tournament in preparation for the World Cup. Through the Turkish officials I arranged a meeting with him and asked him why he had not reported to the club as agreed.His reply was that he had told Jim Walker he would not be coming, and that I must understand that this World Cup was a of crucial importance to him and that he had not wanted to risk being injured against Chelsea. Jim Walker knew nothing of the so-called conversation.
I watched Turkey play all their World Cup games. I saw Alfie get sent off against Brazil and then listened to the announcement of him being nominated in a best World Cup squad.Turkey were in the World Cup finals for only the second time and had reached the semi-finals. A magnificient achievement and one where football politics at this level meant there had to be a Turkish player in the World team. There were too many good forward players from other countries. Not too many outstanding centre backs, though I would still put Rio Ferdinand and Sol Campbell ahead of Alfie, but England had been knocked out at the quarter-final stage.
Now the problems really started. In the World Cup XI and with Pini Zahavi as his agent, who could really blame Alfie for thinking that the next club was Real Madrid, Juventus, Barcelona, or AC Milan? Forget Aston Villa, even though there were still two years left on his contract. Surprisingly, I did have some sympathy for him. Even though he was 29 at the time and not the most mature person. Who would not be thinking along those lines? Whispers in his ears promising massive financial rewards would indeed be hard to resist.Where did this leave Aston Villa? With a player who was convinced he was getting a move to a bigger and better club and that this would happen before the August transfer window closed.
I have to say that as his manager I was fervently hoping that a club would come in for him as I had witnessed his attitude before and after the World Cup and was not convinced that he was reliable as a person off the pitch or as a player on it. These are decisions that managers have to take and we do not get them right all of the time, but I was not prepared to tolerate Alpay's lack of commitment to the club.
Understandably the Villa chairman, Doug Ellis, would not make public the asking price, but it was being made abundantly clear by Alpay and his representatives that as the transfer market had collapsed Villa should not expect to get back the £5 million-plus that they had paid Fenerbache. Try explaining that to Doug! As the days passed and no club came in for him, it was intimated that Alfie would not be averse to considering improved financial terms in a new contract. So Villa were now in a position of either selling Alpay at a reduced fee or giving him a new contract on better terms. By the time the transfer window had closed there had not been one offer for the player and all my media comments seemed to have revolved around Alpay. This was to continue for pretty well the rest of the season.
I was not prepared to be reliant on Alfie and signed Ronny Johnsen on a free transfer knowing that a fit Ronny and Oli Mellberg would be the best centre-back pairing in the club. The number of meetings and phone calls with Alpay and his representatives - and the latter changed on numerous occasions as the season went on - did little to persuade me that anything but a move for the player was the right thing for everybody.But there had to be a buying club for that to happen. The accusation was that Villa were pricing him out of the market. That was not true. As far as I was aware no club had put in a bid for him and I am sure the chairman would have told me if he had received one.
The situation was dragging everyone down and unfortunately Alfie's training began to turn for the worse. In small-sided games he would play in a wide position, showing little real interest and from being at the front in certain training sessions he began to appear at the back. All the signs of a 'problem player'.
When he was away on international duty it was a standard joke with the Villa coaching staff that I would have more calls from the media in the week because he would be sounding off in the belief that what he said abroad would not come back to England. He still does that.
There is one national journalist who sat next to him on a flight, explained who he was and did an interview with him. Later Alfie denied that he had spoken to him.He would give you the charm offensive and probably then a denial of what he was supposed to have said. Then his story would change two or three times. Hard to follow, believe me. There was no real problem in the Turkey game until Alpay's reaction to David Beckham's penalty miss. Only those involved know what happened in the tunnel at half-time, but would any of that happened if Alpay had not been so silly? I gave him one final chance to ressurect his career with the Villa by playing him in an away game at Charlton, but the reaction by a large section of the Villa supporters told me that even they had enough.
My problem was that I could not convince Ellis to move him on for next to nothing, and yet all the time his actions were eating away at the standards and values I was expecting from the other Villa players, especially the younger ones. We needed Alpay and a couple of other players to leave, but Doug found it impossible to cut his losses. The problem of being a public limited company and not just a football club perhaps?
It is extremely difficult for a club when dealing with a 'problem player' because there is little disciplinary action they can take and what they can do has little effect on the player's circumstances. In Alfie's case he was not prepared to play in the reserve team and to be truthful it would not have been beneficial for the younger players if he had played as his attitude was not right. They deserved better than that.
I have managed hundreds of players throughout my career and it is impossible to get on well with everyone. There will always be problems, but Alfie was a major disappointment to me because he just could not be trusted.
I never knew from one day to another what he was going to say or how he was going to act or indeed whether I would get another message that he was ill and could not report for training. That meant yet another visit by the club doctor.
Alpay is a proud man and, on many occasions, a friendly man and I have not liked what has happened to him. But I feel sorry for Villa and for the chairman. And as is usual it is the supporters who have been let down.
Kissing the badge means nothing. It should not be necessary. Players should show supporters how much they care by how they play and by how they conduct themselves. And if Alfie had come back from the World Cup intent on showing the Villa supporters what a good player he was, then he might just have got the transfer he was after.
Now, in extraordinary circumstances, he has got his move. Is that what it's all been about, Alfie?
-
Sir Graham; the voice of reason.
-
I thought he'd died when I saw the title of the thread.
Yep, the good World Cup he had went to his head. He was quite good before that.
same here Clampy imagine my disappointment when I learned it wasn't true
-
Sir Graham; the voice of reason.
seconded
-
Thanks for that Toronto. What a great explanation of the situation by GT. Would love to read more writings of his second (or first) spell in charge.
-
What a great article that shows why Sir Graham is a legend and why Alfie has been forgotten (until this thread)
-
Many of us on here have had a piss while standing next to Villa players past and present in various bogs of the world. If we found ourselves next to Alpay at a urinal, I think most of us would actively try to piss on him.
-
Many of us on here have had a piss while standing next to Villa players past and present in various bogs of the world. If we found ourselves next to him at a urinal I think most of us would actively try to piss on him.
After pushing him headfirst into said urinal
-
He managed to get Doug to give up however many millions his transfer value was, just to get rid of him.
It's a bloody short list of people who managed to piss Doug off to the point of it costing him 50p not to see them again, let alone several million pounds.
That's how big a twat / c*** / wanker / insulting expletive of your choice he was.
-
1-0 up v Man United at home, last minute corner to United who never looked like scoring, not the best corner in the world and Alpay heads in an own goal. Thanks the curse was not broken, big headed twat.
-
Got enough quotes yet mate?
;-)
Yeah please stop talking about Alpay now lads - you're giving me too much good stuff!
Many thanks for this. Going to write the piece up tonight and will send you the finished article
-
Will it get past the censor?
-
I refuse to stop. The Heroes and Villains insult juggernaught has no brakes. Alpay was, is and ever shall be a malevolent poltroon.
-
Many of us on here have had a piss while standing next to Villa players past and present in various bogs of the world. If we found ourselves next to Alpay at a urinal, I think most of us would actively try to piss on him.
Unless he was on fire
-
My abiding memory was that he was an egotistical cock. A 24 carat prick.
-
I refuse to stop. The Heroes and Villains insult juggernaught has no brakes. Alpay was, is and ever shall be a malevolent poltroon.
Thanks Brian for introducing a new insult to my vocabulary. Whether I'll still remember it when I get up tomorrow is another matter.
-
Alpay's Wiki is quite interesting. It includes a quote attributed Peter Schmeichel.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpay_%C3%96zalan
"What happened after the World Cup, when he was frozen out by Graham Taylor, was sad. There are a lot of politics at Villa, and the way Alpay was portrayed as a money-grabber was nothing like the guy that I know. Taylor is just not keen on players with a bigger profile than himself."
Firstly, Taylor has never come across to be as a guy who has the kind of ego that wouldn't like those with profiles bigger than his own.
Secondly, one of the first things Sir Graham did when he took over from John Gregory was to drop the previously (due to the verbal agreement he had with Gregory) undroppable Schmeichel. I'll let others wonder if there was an axe to grind.
-
Who do I believe, Peter Schmeichel or Sir Graham Taylor? Let me think about that for 0.00000005 seconds.
-
That long!?
-
Most of that time is taken by trying to remember who Schmeichel is
-
In the interests of balance, I once got a free rakir and coffee in a Turkish restaurant in Upper street, North London, because I told the owner I was mates with Alpay ( who I have never met).
-
I still haven't forgiven that fat prick Schmeichel for his performance at Blackburn that season under Taylor. 3-0 and he looked every inch the 20 stone lard bucket he became. I still have nightmares about that Andy Cole lob after he'd bumped into someone the fat fucker.
-
In the interests of balance, I once got a free rakir and coffee in a Turkish restaurant in Upper street, North London, because I told the owner I was mates with Alpay ( who I have never met).
Haha, pre-game against Arsenal I got some extra free bits of baklava from a Turkish shop in Hackney because of chatting about Alpay (during the brief period we liked him). I gave the leftovers to a homeless guy not far from Highbury. So maybe that's another positive, although may have missed the deadline?
It generally was good for bonding with the Turkish shopkeepers of NE London
-
I can't stand Schmeichel. He talks so much shit. I know that's not hard for a pundit but the big handed danish twat is up there with the biggest shit talkers.
-
Most of that time is taken by trying to remember who Schmeichel is
All I can remember is:
Wednesday, 26 December, 2001
Smicer seals Liverpool win (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_prem/1726895.stm)
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/1725000/images/_1726895_hendrie301.jpg)
A delighted Hendrie celebrates his goal Aston Villa 1-2 Liverpool
Liverpool got their Premiership title assault back on track as a determined display earned them three points against Aston Villa.
Jari Litmanen - who missed a first-half penalty - put Liverpool ahead with a freak goal after Villa goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel's clearance bounced conveniently into his path via referee Andy D'Urso.
-
I also seem to recall a game, Leicester at VP I think when the slab of Danish bacon got pushed into the back of the net when we let in a goal from a corner.
-
.
-
.
I'm with you on this one
-
.
I'm with you on this one
Speechless!
-
In the interests of balance, I once got a free rakir and coffee in a Turkish restaurant in Upper street, North London, because I told the owner I was mates with Alpay ( who I have never met).
good work Paulie!
I Should've tried that in Peru to get free coke. "Yeah, me and Nobby are best mates, he's a proper footballer"
-
I guess this was his article
https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/blast-past-no-15-alpay-144758636.html
-
So when can we expect our fee?
-
Others now claim they would actively try to urinate on Alpay given the opportunity.
Best bit. ;D
-
Half decent centre back, meltdown, given away for free. Alpay. Also read: Davies, Curtis. Knight, Zat. Dunne, Richard and Collins, James.
-
but with much better facial bone structure.
-
Others now claim they would actively try to urinate on Alpay given the opportunity.
Best bit. ;D
I said "piss on". :-/
-
A total c**t
A misguided nut job
A disgrace to the shirt
In the Villa Park 'Hall of Shame' along with S.Hodge and S.Delph, a trio of tossers
Is that any use?
-
Hi guys,
I see someone has already posted it anyway, but just to say many thanks for all your comments
https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/blast-past-no-15-alpay-144758636.html
And yeah, had to "tone down" some of the more colourful language!
Cheers,
Kev
-
Now you have with our assistance written your article Kevin I think it is fair to comment that Alpay Ozalan never had legendary status with Villa. He was a good player and in the early days a popular player but was never remotely a legend.
-
Good read Kev, will check out the other player's articles in the next day or two.
-
Is that the same alpay starting a fight in the Turkish parliament?
-
Is that the same alpay starting a fight in the Turkish parliament?
Just saw the same image, build looks like him, just checked and he is a politician.
Amazing.
-
He's an MP for the Erdogans ruling right wing AKP.
He has previous form for brawling in parliament.
In the Parliamentary elections of 24 June 2018, he was elected a member of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey representing Izmir for the AKP. According to his own statement he was more excited the first day in parliament than when playing football before 85,000 people. In 2021, he was involved in a brawl in the Turkish parliament where he was seen fighting against Özgür Özel, a politician of the Republican People's Party (CHP).
During the Claw lock military operation against the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), he demanded the cancellation of a concert of Aynur Dogan in Istanbul, because he deemed her a supporter of the PKK. In August 2024, Özalan attacked and slapped Ahmet Sik, a member of parliament from the Workers' Party of Turkey, in parliament in Ankara during a debate on the imprisoned human rights lawyer Can Atalay. Sik fell, whereupon a brawl broke out involving several people.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpay_%C3%96zalan
-
Horrendous twat. Not because of how he behaved at Villa, because of how he's behaved since. Massive supporter of a tyrant who can't win an argument properly so resorts to violence.
-
Always remember Terry Venables praising him to the hilt when was a pundit during Euro 2000. That match with England completely derailed his career with us.
-
I remember a player who got off to a good start -flattening Dennis Wise in his home debut- who eventually became a liability -always blaming others for his own mistakes.
No wonder he became a politician!
-
got off to a good start -flattening Dennis Wise in his home debut
One of the few players I despise more than Alpay. Odious little twerp.
-
Always remember Terry Venables praising him to the hilt when was a pundit during Euro 2000. That match with England completely derailed his career with us.
We were trying to sell him before.
Signed him when no one had a clue who he was but he was solid first season (got caught out positionally at times) and then the second season him and Mellberg were a brilliant combination for the first 20 games.
Then he picked up an injury, got fit for the World cup and was named in the best 11 and then came back and wasn't interested as he thought he should've been playing for Bayern Munich.
Don't think him and SGT saw eye to eye and he was rarely seen after the 3-0 at the sty when he was at fault for one of the goals.
Still here when O'Leary came back and he surprisingly started him for the season opener at Portsmouth ahead of Mellberg which wasn't popular and we lost. Then in/out, was booed by the fans after scoring v Charlton and then the England game happened a month later and we saw good reason then to terminate his contract.
I remember aswell he used to run to the Holte pre match and thump his chest which I'd never seen a player do before so he was initially a fan favourite before it all went sour.
-
I loved him when he first joined, even got Alpay on the back of a shirt. Everything changed after the WC though.
-
Can never forgive him for that performance at the sty in September 2002 especially the third goal,