Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Heroes Discussion => Topic started by: dave.woodhall on March 15, 2022, 11:44:22 PM
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It's Dave Collett's turn to chip in.
https://heroesandvillains.info/2022/03/15/the-villa-park-misfits-rudy-gestede/
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It's Dave Collett's turn to chip in.
https://heroesandvillains.info/2022/03/15/the-villa-park-misfits-rudy-gestede/
Good article. Rudy Gestede played for Melbourne Victory in the A League last season and still wasn't very good.
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I've been watching Villa since the pre 3rd Division days and without exaggeration can say I've not seen a worse striker in a Villa shirt in all this time. I've certainly not seen a player of his size being so totally inept in the air unless the ball was delivered perfectly for him to attack and facing the opposition goal. Slow and hopeless.
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I was at the Rotherham game and it was a superb day. We hadn't won for so long it felt like we'd discovered gold, I remember a party atmosphere outside Moor St. Anyway, that day Gestede looked truly menacing. I thought him and McCormack were going to score a hateful. On paper it looked good anyway.
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He couldn’t actually run with the ball at his feet, it was hilarious. There was one game where he got the ball in acres of space and it was like watching a baby giraffe trying to dribble with a bin bag.
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Don't remember this:
Apparently, Garde, upon doing a little detective work of his own, found that players who he had been assured by club officials had no desire to join Villa’s relegation fight, were, in fact, quite happy to consider coming to B6. This betrayal of the manager meant he now had to rely on those players who had brought the club to its current mess, including those whose status as professional footballers belonged only on paper.
And is the opposite of what Lambert was apparently doing the year prior (?) - not spending all the money Lerner said was still available. I think we had a January bid for Clint Dempsey turned down and that money wasn't spent at all. I think Krulak or Pelty hinted as much on here.
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Great article Dave.
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I seen to recall Shaun Teale doing commentary or twitter or something at one of our relegation season games and really laying into him for not doing more in the air or being able to hold the ball up.
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Great article Dave.
I seem to recall Gestede started well in our relegation season with a winner at Bournemouth on the first day of the season and another winner in the cup against Small Heath shortly after. I also seem to recall he started reasonably well at Blackburn and Middlesbrough too but he never seemed to follow up on his early promise at any of his clubs apart from Blackburn where he scored 32 goals in 60 games.
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Good article and a truly awful player. Never knew about the Moyes approach, either!
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I believe club reps went to Spain to talk to Moyes but were put off by the strength of his 'solution'.
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He couldn’t actually run with the ball at his feet, it was hilarious. There was one game where he got the ball in acres of space and it was like watching a baby giraffe trying to dribble with a bin bag.
"Rudy Just Head"
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I've been watching Villa since the pre 3rd Division days and without exaggeration can say I've not seen a worse striker in a Villa shirt in all this time. I've certainly not seen a player of his size being so totally inept in the air unless the ball was delivered perfectly for him to attack and facing the opposition goal. Slow and hopeless.
Ive said it a few times on different threads on here, but i completely agree with this, without doubt the worst striker I’ve ever seen at Villa.
Good article.
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Gestede that season was the original “we miss him” when he wasn’t in the team and “God, he’s shit” when he was.
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He couldn’t actually run with the ball at his feet, it was hilarious. There was one game where he got the ball in acres of space and it was like watching a baby giraffe trying to dribble with a bin bag.
That's funnier than all the jokes in the Off Topic Risso. Brilliant.
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He was pretty poor from what I remember as were a lot of them in that team.
Scored against the noses. Probably gave him a bit of kudos.
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Not worse than Jordan Bowery, surely?
They were very different types of purchases (cheap lower league punt vs more expensive 'established' second tier player), but purchase price aside, I wouldn't go with worst ever.
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No way was he the worst ever. Not very good either but if he got himself into a decent position he could be useful with his head. That's where his strength was. We just didn't see enough of it.
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At the time I thought he was a decent signing, he had dominated Liverpool in a cup game the previous season. It became apparent very early on that he was useless. Somehow Pulis took him off our hands.
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Not worse than Jordan Bowery, surely?
They were very different types of purchases (cheap lower league punt vs more expensive 'established' second tier player), but purchase price aside, I wouldn't go with worst ever.
Jordan had one very impressive game against Hull if I recall, which far eclipsed any display by Just Head. That said, Just Head at least scored a few goals. In all honesty it astounds me that he actually scored 10 goals for us. One problem was, he'd come from his best season by far in the Championship, from a club which were pelting crosses relentlessly at him all game, and we never particularly did this. As it becomes all too clear, you can't be that one dimensional in the Premier League.
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I was shocked to discover he scored as many as nine goals for us.
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At the time I thought he was a decent signing, he had dominated Liverpool in a cup game the previous season. It became apparent very early on that he was useless. Somehow Pulis took him off our hands.
That's because he was 9 foot tall.
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I don't think Gestede is the worst striker we've eer had but he is the best example of why highlights aren't much use in determining a players quality. Loads of people on here were pretty excited about him joining given his record the year before but even in the Bournemouth game it was clear that unless the ball was crossed in front of him so he just had to direct a header he was a waste of a shirt. On that basis he's possibly the most one-dimensional player I've ever seen at the club and I find it amazing that he's a millionaire on the back of his playing ability.
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I don't think Gestede is the worst striker we've eer had but he is the best example of why highlights aren't much use in determining a players quality. Loads of people on here were pretty excited about him joining given his record the year before but even in the Bournemouth game it was clear that unless the ball was crossed in front of him so he just had to direct a header he was a waste of a shirt. On that basis he's possibly the most one-dimensional rplayer I've ever seen at the club and I find it amazing that he's a millionaire on the back of his playing ability.
Must confess that I thought that we'd got s bargain in Gestede.Really powerful in the Championship highlights on TV for Blackburn.Similar highlights made Grant at Huddersfield look a good prospect.He also failed in the Premier League.
One dimensional ? Possibly our most important player in the 60s was also one dimensional,Tony Hateley.
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Also, in the Gestede hall of fame
Jordan Bowery
Bosko Balaban
Carlton Cole
Libor Kozak
Ross McCormack
Scott Hogan
Marlon Harewood
Grant Holt
Simon Dawkins
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Helenius was worse.
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Emile Heskey was worse. He was such a running joke it was embarrassing.
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Emile Heskey was worse. He was such a running joke it was embarrassing.
He wasn't the player we needed to sign, that's on the manager that signed him.
But to put a man with the career he had as worse than that lot is ridiculous.
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Also, in the Gestede hall of fame
Jordan Bowery
Bosko Balaban
Carlton Cole
Libor Kozak
Ross McCormack
Scott Hogan
Marlon Harewood
Grant Holt
Simon Dawkins
Agree with the exception of Kozak - I think his injury prevented us from seeing him at his best.
Michael Boulding maybe should make this list as well.
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Dawkins was absolute gash!
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Emile Heskey was worse. He was such a running joke it was embarrassing.
Heskey was an excellent player, not what we needed in that transfer window but he was a proper player
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I started going in 1969 and although I didn’t quite understand the game at the age of 8 I have to say that Gestede was the worst player I ever saw in a Villa shirt. Truly awful
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Emile Heskey was worse. He was such a running joke it was embarrassing.
This is just incorrect
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Loved that debut goal v Bournemouth, honestly thought we had a gem on our hands. Think really that was worst thing that could happen as think everyone bar Sherwood (who was still pushing to sign Adebayor) thought he could just replace Benteke no problem.
I went to the Sunderland home game a few weeks later and realised he couldn't as his hold up and link up play was really poor.
He still chipped in with a few goals in 15/16 (two at Anfield wasn't it?) but probably Amavi's injury meant we had zero creativity from out wide so he became a non factor.
More surprising he wasn't more effective at championship level tbh, can't remember if he played much under Bruce or who we even sold him to.
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Not worse than Jordan Bowery, surely?
They were very different types of purchases (cheap lower league punt vs more expensive 'established' second tier player), but purchase price aside, I wouldn't go with worst ever.
Different expectations. Bowery was just a random punt (and we signed Benteke same summer).
Gestede was laughably hailed as Benteke's replacement after his debut goal.