Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Heroes Discussion => Topic started by: dave.woodhall on August 12, 2024, 10:20:24 PM
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Dave Collett writes another chapter about another chapter.
https://heroesandvillains.info/2024/08/12/the-men-we-couldnt-do-without-david-platt/
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Add a t in Platt in the thread title
The article is very good. It's such a shame we don't celebrate Platt as much as we should. He was a superb player and absolutely vital to our recovery under Sir Graham. One of the great signings in our history. It's a bigger shame that he doesn't view us for what he did for him and he appears to remain bitter about his time here.
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Small point of order, big Cyrille wasn't a free. His contract was up but still we had to pay £50k I think.
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Add a t in Platt in the thread title
The article is very good. It's such a shame we don't celebrate Platt as much as we should. He was a superb player and absolutely vital to our recovery under Sir Graham. One of the great signings in our history. It's a bigger shame that he doesn't view us for what he did for him and he appears to remain bitter about his time here.
I wouldn't say he's bitter it's more like totally dismissive about us. Almost like Aston Villa never happened in his career. Shame but bollocks to him now.
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Add a t in Platt in the thread title
The article is very good. It's such a shame we don't celebrate Platt as much as we should. He was a superb player and absolutely vital to our recovery under Sir Graham. One of the great signings in our history. It's a bigger shame that he doesn't view us for what he did for him and he appears to remain bitter about his time here.
I wouldn't say he's bitter it's more like totally dismissive about us. Almost like Aston Villa never happened in his career. Shame rebut bollocks to him now.
I was going to say the same, it's indifference rather than bitterness, but then you hear that he has nothing to do with football at all now and maybe that's just him, it was his job and that was it.
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Done.
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Platt was a brilliant and Important player for Villa and went for a big profit. I don't care if he didn't speak about Villa glowingly after he left, he wasn't a Villa fan like us but he performed on the pitch which is what I care about.
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Good article. Sorry for being a nerd but his header against Bradford was May Day weekend and not Easter. I think.
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2nd of May
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<Eastie Mode> I saw him in Waitrose in Alderley Edge a few months back. Taller than I remember and was wearing a shirt a size too small for him with a massive slap head.</Eastie Mode>
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I think he thought he was a Villa legend.
For whatever reason supporters didn’t agree. So I remember him being abused by Villa supporters when he was in a box at Highbury and him shaking his head at that reaction. Then when he came to Villa Park he came over to applaud the Holte End but was given the bird.
I think perhaps the manner of his departure and the fact when he came back he went to Arsenal.
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Platt was a brilliant and Important player for Villa and went for a big profit. I don't care if he didn't speak about Villa glowingly after he left, he wasn't a Villa fan like us but he performed on the pitch which is what I care about.
Tend to agree. Rather that than post-career fawning when you were average or shit with us.
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I honestly think we have only had 3 genuine World Class players playing at Villa in my supporting life.
As in could readily win a place in Liverpool late 70s+, Juve mid 80s Milan late 80s/early 90s , ManU & RM late 90s/early 00s and more recently and Barca mid 00s to mid 10s and Germany 1990, Brazil 94 etc...
He was one albeit for the final 2 years at Villa. Platt was patchy at Juve (competed with Andy Moller) though was brilliant for Sampdoria and continued to score goals for England for fun.
Yorke is the other 95-98. No surprise they went for at the time astronomical fees and latter made a great team into a legendary one.
The other one surpassed them both by a distance and was born in Ealing
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What about Sid?
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Platt was a brilliant and Important player for Villa and went for a big profit. I don't care if he didn't speak about Villa glowingly after he left, he wasn't a Villa fan like us but he performed on the pitch which is what I care about.
Tend to agree. Rather that than post-career fawning when you were average or shit with us.
I don't think anyone would argue that he was a top player for us. His 4 goals in a 6-2 win against Everton will live long in the memory. I don't crave plaudits for our club off anyone past or present but it's nice when they say how much they enjoyed their time in B6. However Platt grated many a Villa fans nerves once he went on to Bari and Arsenal when he flatly refused to acknowledge his time at the club. I remember how annoyed people were at the time with his blind spot regarding his time at Villa Park. Iirc SGT played a big part in his development here and I've never heard a word of praise for him either. As I said he was a memorable player but I've no fondness towards the guy whatsoever.
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David Ginola and even Tricky Trevor Francis speak (or spoke) with more affection about the Villa than spoonface.
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He was phenomenal for us and looking at the stats he scored more for Villa than Bari, Sampdoria, Juventus and Arsenal put together. It’s criminal that he’s not seen as being a McGrath-esque legend and with little fondness towards him but that’s down to his indifference and aloofness to us.
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Spoon-faced twat.
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Platt and Sid together were a thing of beauty.
Villa and SGT in particular made him into the player he became. What a great season that was when we came second, at one point I really thought we were going to do it.
For me Cascarino was a terrible buy who disrupted our season.
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One Friday night I went to see Crewe play. I was talking to a steward and he said much the same as us - Platt was friendly enough but once he left there he totally ignored them from then on.
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One Friday night I went to see Crewe play. I was talking to a steward and he said much the same as us - Platt was friendly enough but once he left there he totally ignored them from then on.
The Crewe fans I know say the same. A girl I knew at uni went to the same school as him but a couple of years below and completely debunked my hero-worship in the year after he left Villa.
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Platt was a brilliant and Important player for Villa and went for a big profit. I don't care if he didn't speak about Villa glowingly after he left, he wasn't a Villa fan like us but he performed on the pitch which is what I care about.
Tend to agree. Rather that than post-career fawning when you were average or shit with us.
I don't think anyone would argue that he was a top player for us. His 4 goals in a 6-2 win against Everton will live long in the memory. I don't crave plaudits for our club off anyone past or present but it's nice when they say how much they enjoyed their time in B6. However Platt grated many a Villa fans nerves once he went on to Bari and Arsenal when he flatly refused to acknowledge his time at the club. I remember how annoyed people were at the time with his blind spot regarding his time at Villa Park. Iirc SGT played a big part in his development here and I've never heard a word of praise for him either. As I said he was a memorable player but I've no fondness towards the guy whatsoever.
He only scored two v Everton. Cowans, Platt (2), Olney (2), Nielsen
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Still not forgiven him for the shoot front cover
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I honestly think we have only had 3 genuine World Class players playing at Villa in my supporting life.
As in could readily win a place in Liverpool late 70s+, Juve mid 80s Milan late 80s/early 90s , ManU & RM late 90s/early 00s and more recently and Barca mid 00s to mid 10s and Germany 1990, Brazil 94 etc...
He was one albeit for the final 2 years at Villa. Platt was patchy at Juve (competed with Andy Moller) though was brilliant for Sampdoria and continued to score goals for England for fun.
Yorke is the other 95-98. No surprise they went for at the time astronomical fees and latter made a great team into a legendary one.
The other one surpassed them both by a distance and was born in Ealing
Unfortunately I was a bit too young for platt - I agree on the other two. I also think emi is world class - he is the best in his position in the world and seems to be the missing piece in the Messi era Argentina
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What about Sid?
Yes, I'd add Sid. And amazingly Taylor signed all four of them for a combined sum of less than 1 million quid.
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Anyone remember the game after he left, we played someone in a friendly testamonial and he kicked off the game in his Bari kit before going off the pitch, he was waving with the general demeanour of 'adore me plebs' and all around the bottom right of the Holte was a counter reaction that he wasn't nearly as popular as he thought he was, at least then.
A strange move that, Bari, he had a big reputation and they were shit, always a suspicion of some dirty money changing hands.
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Platt was a brilliant and Important player for Villa and went for a big profit. I don't care if he didn't speak about Villa glowingly after he left, he wasn't a Villa fan like us but he performed on the pitch which is what I care about.
Tend to agree. Rather that than post-career fawning when you were average or shit with us.
I don't think anyone would argue that he was a top player for us. His 4 goals in a 6-2 win against Everton will live long in the memory. I don't crave plaudits for our club off anyone past or present but it's nice when they say how much they enjoyed their time in B6. However Platt grated many a Villa fans nerves once he went on to Bari and Arsenal when he flatly refused to acknowledge his time at the club. I remember how annoyed people were at the time with his blind spot regarding his time at Villa Park. Iirc SGT played a big part in his development here and I've never heard a word of praise for him either. As I said he was a memorable player but I've no fondness towards the guy whatsoever.
He only scored two v Everton. Cowans, Platt (2), Olney (2), Nielsen
Yep. Scored four goals in eighteen minutes (McInally with the other two) in a 6-2 League Cup win against Ipswich the season before which may be where the confusion has arisen. Some bloke called Dalian scored Ipswich's second goal.
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It was Wolves for Paul Birch's testimonial which he kicked off in a Bari kit. Somehow that night I ended up with blood-stained clothes and I still have no idea why because it definitely wasn't mine.
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Was that the game Andy Gray did that horrendous volleyed miss from underneath the crossbar.
The 6-2 win over Ipswich
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Brilliant for us for 2 seasons, but even back then he was never a player I felt affection for.
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Spoon-faced twat.
This and forevermore this. In my living memory - the start of "one or two great seasons and it's off to *insert more sexy club than Villa". It's probably (it's not really) to his credit that he doesn't pretend (Dwight, I'm looking at you) to care.
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Platt was a brilliant and Important player for Villa and went for a big profit. I don't care if he didn't speak about Villa glowingly after he left, he wasn't a Villa fan like us but he performed on the pitch which is what I care about.
Tend to agree. Rather that than post-career fawning when you were average or shit with us.
I don't think anyone would argue that he was a top player for us. His 4 goals in a 6-2 win against Everton will live long in the memory. I don't crave plaudits for our club off anyone past or present but it's nice when they say how much they enjoyed their time in B6. However Platt grated many a Villa fans nerves once he went on to Bari and Arsenal when he flatly refused to acknowledge his time at the club. I remember how annoyed people were at the time with his blind spot regarding his time at Villa Park. Iirc SGT played a big part in his development here and I've never heard a word of praise for him either. As I said he was a memorable player but I've no fondness towards the guy whatsoever.
He only scored two v Everton. Cowans, Platt (2), Olney (2), Nielsen
Yeah when I said "will live long in the memory" I didn't mean mine. Obviously.
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My boyhood hero. I absolutely loved Platty. I was 8 years old when we got promoted back to Division 1 and it was my first season going regularly to games. All I wanted to be when playing football was Platt.
I was fortunate to be at the England semi final when Ollie got the winner against Holland and it brought back memories of Platts goal against Belgium. Being 10 years old and having no affinity to the England national team, I wasnt bothered about the World Cup from an England point of view, but Platt's volley had me screaming like a madman and running around my bedroom.
Don't care what happened after he left as his career was dead to me the moment he went to Italy. I just bloody loved him at the Villa.
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My boyhood hero. I absolutely loved Platty. I was 8 years old when we got promoted back to Division 1 and it was my first season going regularly to games. All I wanted to be when playing football was Platt.
I was fortunate to be at the England semi final when Ollie got the winner against Holland and it brought back memories of Platts goal against Belgium. Being 10 years old and having no affinity to the England national team, I wasnt bothered about the World Cup from an England point of view, but Platt's volley had me screaming like a madman and running around my bedroom.
Don't care what happened after he left as his career was dead to me the moment he went to Italy. I just bloody loved him at the Villa.
You had a TV in your bedroom at 10 yrs of age? Posh tw#t.
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It was 6-2 v Ipswich in the LC when Platt scored 4.
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My boyhood hero. I absolutely loved Platty. I was 8 years old when we got promoted back to Division 1 and it was my first season going regularly to games. All I wanted to be when playing football was Platt.
I was fortunate to be at the England semi final when Ollie got the winner against Holland and it brought back memories of Platts goal against Belgium. Being 10 years old and having no affinity to the England national team, I wasnt bothered about the World Cup from an England point of view, but Platt's volley had me screaming like a madman and running around my bedroom.
Don't care what happened after he left as his career was dead to me the moment he went to Italy. I just bloody loved him at the Villa.
You had a TV in your bedroom at 10 yrs of age? Posh tw#t.
Yes really posh growing up in Witton and Perry Barr. The streets were absolutely paved in gold.
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My boyhood hero. I absolutely loved Platty. I was 8 years old when we got promoted back to Division 1 and it was my first season going regularly to games. All I wanted to be when playing football was Platt.
I was fortunate to be at the England semi final when Ollie got the winner against Holland and it brought back memories of Platts goal against Belgium. Being 10 years old and having no affinity to the England national team, I wasnt bothered about the World Cup from an England point of view, but Platt's volley had me screaming like a madman and running around my bedroom.
Don't care what happened after he left as his career was dead to me the moment he went to Italy. I just bloody loved him at the Villa.
In the cold light of day that goal is better than Gazza v Scotland, Becks's v Greece and Owen v Argies. Even Greece England would have been in play offs.
Last minute, no comeback against a very capable (albeit slightly past their best) Belgium team and an incredible strike avoiding being offside.
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My boyhood hero. I absolutely loved Platty. I was 8 years old when we got promoted back to Division 1 and it was my first season going regularly to games. All I wanted to be when playing football was Platt.
I was fortunate to be at the England semi final when Ollie got the winner against Holland and it brought back memories of Platts goal against Belgium. Being 10 years old and having no affinity to the England national team, I wasnt bothered about the World Cup from an England point of view, but Platt's volley had me screaming like a madman and running around my bedroom.
Don't care what happened after he left as his career was dead to me the moment he went to Italy. I just bloody loved him at the Villa.
In the cold light of day that goal is better than Gazza v Scotland, Becks's v Greece and Owen v Argies. Even Greece England would have been in play offs.
Last minute, no comeback against a very capable (albeit slightly past their best) Belgium team and an incredible strike avoiding being offside.
The technique on that strike was outrageous. Coming over the shoulder and hitting it blind. The timing was impeccable.
My favourite Platt goal though was for us against Arsenal in 89, when he took one touch to outfox the defender* and the second to stab it past the keeper. Brilliant. And what a Christmas week that was!
*Dixon maybe?
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He was the voice of the old Villa Clubcall line, in the days before internet when you had to pay a premium rate phone number for latest club and ticket info (Villa’s number, 0898 12 11 48, is etched in my memory).
“Hello, this is Dervid Platt, thanks for calling Aston Villa Clubcall…..”
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My boyhood hero. I absolutely loved Platty. I was 8 years old when we got promoted back to Division 1 and it was my first season going regularly to games. All I wanted to be when playing football was Platt.
I was fortunate to be at the England semi final when Ollie got the winner against Holland and it brought back memories of Platts goal against Belgium. Being 10 years old and having no affinity to the England national team, I wasnt bothered about the World Cup from an England point of view, but Platt's volley had me screaming like a madman and running around my bedroom.
Don't care what happened after he left as his career was dead to me the moment he went to Italy. I just bloody loved him at the Villa.
In the cold light of day that goal is better than Gazza v Scotland, Becks's v Greece and Owen v Argies. Even Greece England would have been in play offs.
Last minute, no comeback against a very capable (albeit slightly past their best) Belgium team and an incredible strike avoiding being offside.
Would it have been VAR'd off?
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My boyhood hero. I absolutely loved Platty. I was 8 years old when we got promoted back to Division 1 and it was my first season going regularly to games. All I wanted to be when playing football was Platt.
I was fortunate to be at the England semi final when Ollie got the winner against Holland and it brought back memories of Platts goal against Belgium. Being 10 years old and having no affinity to the England national team, I wasnt bothered about the World Cup from an England point of view, but Platt's volley had me screaming like a madman and running around my bedroom.
Don't care what happened after he left as his career was dead to me the moment he went to Italy. I just bloody loved him at the Villa.
In the cold light of day that goal is better than Gazza v Scotland, Becks's v Greece and Owen v Argies. Even Greece England would have been in play offs.
Last minute, no comeback against a very capable (albeit slightly past their best) Belgium team and an incredible strike avoiding being offside.
Would it have been VAR'd off?
Nope - he was onside anyway. Barnes had a legitimate goal ruled out earlier which would have stood. Who knows what trajectory Platt's career would have taken had it.
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I honestly think we have only had 3 genuine World Class players playing at Villa in my supporting life.
As in could readily win a place in Liverpool late 70s+, Juve mid 80s Milan late 80s/early 90s , ManU & RM late 90s/early 00s and more recently and Barca mid 00s to mid 10s and Germany 1990, Brazil 94 etc...
He was one albeit for the final 2 years at Villa. Platt was patchy at Juve (competed with Andy Moller) though was brilliant for Sampdoria and continued to score goals for England for fun.
Yorke is the other 95-98. No surprise they went for at the time astronomical fees and latter made a great team into a legendary one.
The other one surpassed them both by a distance and was born in Ealing
Unfortunately I was a bit too young for platt - I agree on the other two. I also think emi is world class - he is the best in his position in the world and seems to be the missing piece in the Messi era Argentina
Still amazes me that he spent so long at Arsenal and noone there realised just how good he is in all that time.
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Platt is on this week's AVFC podcast. Not listened yet, but be interesting to see what he has to say
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Platt is on this week's AVFC podcast. Not listened yet, but be interesting to see what he has to say
"Who are you?" probably.
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McGrath is the best player to have played for Villa. Majestic.
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I loved David Platt. I hated the way it all ended, but fuck me what a superb footballer. Some seriously outstanding moments and goals for club and of course country. I don’t know why his bullet header vs Bradford always come to mind when I could pick from loads of other goals. Maybe because of the importance of it against them that season. He was Lampard and Gerrard before Lampard and Gerrard.
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I'm not wasting an hour of my life to hear what that chunt has to say. He can do one.
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I do get some of the animosity towards him but he did play for 6 clubs other than us. He may well feel a lot of affection for Crewe still.
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I do get some of the animosity towards him but he did play for 6 clubs other than us. He may well feel a lot of affection for Crewe still.
Although he only seemed to talk fondly of one specific London based club in all his interviews previously and seemed to ignore the ones who got him there at the time.
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I do get some of the animosity towards him but he did play for 6 clubs other than us. He may well feel a lot of affection for Crewe still.
Although he only seemed to talk fondly of one specific London based club in all his interviews previously and seemed to ignore the ones who got him there at the time.
I was going to ask if he'd shown any special love for any of his other teams. He was quite popular in Italy I think. Like I said yesterday, it'd a shame its taken him so long.
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Another front has reopened in the bitter ex crusade! You all sound totally reasonable and it's definitely Platt who has the problem.
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I listened and don’t mind admitting it’s changed my view of him a bit
Comes over a lot better than expected especially about Villa
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I listened and don’t mind admitting it’s changed my view of him a bit
Comes over a lot better than expected especially about Villa
agree fully John
Though I don’t do the jilted ex bit particularly for players or managers unless they do something calculated to cause trouble like O’Neill did
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I never really got the animosity towards him, he came, he was absolutely brilliant from day one and then he left for so much much money we built an entire title chasing team out of it.
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Yeah, come on lads and lassies, we're better than this. And it cuts both ways. For all we know, Matthias Breitkeutz has probably been telling anyone who'll listen how much he loves the Villa for decades now and do any of us give him the time of day? Do we fuck.
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Yeah, come on lads and lassies, we're better than this. And it cuts both ways. For all we know, Matthias Breitkeutz has probably been telling anyone who'll listen how much he loves the Villa for decades now and do any of us give him the time of day? Do we fuck.
I can't remember where but I'm sure I read that Mark Kinsella absolutely treasures the fact he played for Villa to kind of underline your point.
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His young fella was in our academy too, wasn't he ?
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I listened and don’t mind admitting it’s changed my view of him a bit
Comes over a lot better than expected especially about Villa
I agree John, he comes over very well. He said the two clubs special to him are Villa and Sampdoria.
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I honestly think we have only had 3 genuine World Class players playing at Villa in my supporting life.
As in could readily win a place in Liverpool late 70s+, Juve mid 80s Milan late 80s/early 90s , ManU & RM late 90s/early 00s and more recently and Barca mid 00s to mid 10s and Germany 1990, Brazil 94 etc...
He was one albeit for the final 2 years at Villa. Platt was patchy at Juve (competed with Andy Moller) though was brilliant for Sampdoria and continued to score goals for England for fun.
Yorke is the other 95-98. No surprise they went for at the time astronomical fees and latter made a great team into a legendary one.
The other one surpassed them both by a distance and was born in Ealing
I'd say Martínez before Yorke.
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His young fella was in our academy too, wasn't he ?
Kinsella? I don’t think Lewis Kinsella was his lad, think he had a son at Walsall at some point though & his daughter was/is an international gymnast
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McGrath is the best player to have played for Villa. Majestic.
I said that in my original comment - best player was born in Ealing.
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He thought you were talking about me.
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I loved David Platt. I hated the way it all ended, but fuck me what a superb footballer. Some seriously outstanding moments and goals for club and of course country. I don’t know why his bullet header vs Bradford always come to mind when I could pick from loads of other goals. Maybe because of the importance of it against them that season. He was Lampard and Gerrard before Lampard and Gerrard.
He was a far better for England than both of them put together.
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He thought you were talking about me.
McGrath on the other hand was an emigrant from there.
I'd always assumed you were an immigrant to the West London gentrification, well done for holding you ground when the Notting Hill overspill started with that naff movie.
My Big Smoke associates on the West Side could afford no more than Northolt.
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He thought you were talking about me.
McGrath on the other hand was an emigrant from there.
I'd always assumed you were an immigrant to the West London gentrification, well done for holding you ground when the Notting Hill overspill started with that naff movie.
My Big Smoke associates on the West Side could afford no more than Northolt.
I was an immigrant. I was born in Shrewsbury. Left W13 at the first sign of trouble.
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I honestly think we have only had 3 genuine World Class players playing at Villa in my supporting life.
As in could readily win a place in Liverpool late 70s+, Juve mid 80s Milan late 80s/early 90s , ManU & RM late 90s/early 00s and more recently and Barca mid 00s to mid 10s and Germany 1990, Brazil 94 etc...
He was one albeit for the final 2 years at Villa. Platt was patchy at Juve (competed with Andy Moller) though was brilliant for Sampdoria and continued to score goals for England for fun.
Yorke is the other 95-98. No surprise they went for at the time astronomical fees and latter made a great team into a legendary one.
The other one surpassed them both by a distance and was born in Ealing
I'd say Martínez before Yorke.
We had 3 world class players in that (York, McGrath etc) team. Yorke was never quite in that company.
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Yorke was brilliant but I agree I wouldn't have had him as 'world class'. There were some great strikers knocking about back then and if money was no object I'd have taken them over him in a heartbeat.
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I was also a big big fan of Platt, To me one of the best midfielders i seen in a Villa shirt, His first touch was just first class and brilliant in the air.
i do remember playing spurs at home 1991 Gazza was injured we won 3-2 Platty Hat trick, The Holte was singing " We all agree Platty is better than Gascoingne".
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McGrath is the best player to have played for Villa. Majestic.
I said that in my original comment - best player was born in Ealing.
Well there you go. I’ve learnt something new today.
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I honestly think we have only had 3 genuine World Class players playing at Villa in my supporting life.
As in could readily win a place in Liverpool late 70s+, Juve mid 80s Milan late 80s/early 90s , ManU & RM late 90s/early 00s and more recently and Barca mid 00s to mid 10s and Germany 1990, Brazil 94 etc...
He was one albeit for the final 2 years at Villa. Platt was patchy at Juve (competed with Andy Moller) though was brilliant for Sampdoria and continued to score goals for England for fun.
Yorke is the other 95-98. No surprise they went for at the time astronomical fees and latter made a great team into a legendary one.
The other one surpassed them both by a distance and was born in Ealing
I'd say Martínez before Yorke.
We had 3 world class players in that (York, McGrath etc) team. Yorke was never quite in that company.
And Graham Taylor bought all four, for less than 1 million quid
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He may have chosen to not have had much to do with us for the last 35 odd years but he was one of the reasons I became a Villa fan in that post Italia 90 glow. I didn’t see the previous 2 seasons but even in the stodgy Venglos season he scored 19 goals in a team that very much underperformed but like others have said he was World Class imv. Shame he left but getting that much money was too good for Big Ron to turn down and he built a very good team out of it. I haven’t watched it but fair play to him for popping his head over the parapet.
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Great player, but a twat. His only interest was going to Italy, he was even learning Italian while we were struggling under Dr Jo.
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Old Herbert built a stand on the back of flogging him and then named it after himself , gotta love the brass neck of the bloke .
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Great player, but a twat. His only interest was going to Italy, he was even learning Italian while we were struggling under Dr Jo.
Think it's a classic case of a player getting into the England set up and then having their head turned. Pretty clear Italy made such a big impact on him in 1990.
Was quite impressed by the podcast though. Seems to be very reclusive from the game and media today, but spoke quite well of Graham Taylor particularly
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My boyhood hero. I absolutely loved Platty. I was 8 years old when we got promoted back to Division 1 and it was my first season going regularly to games. All I wanted to be when playing football was Platt.
I was fortunate to be at the England semi final when Ollie got the winner against Holland and it brought back memories of Platts goal against Belgium. Being 10 years old and having no affinity to the England national team, I wasnt bothered about the World Cup from an England point of view, but Platt's volley had me screaming like a madman and running around my bedroom.
Don't care what happened after he left as his career was dead to me the moment he went to Italy. I just bloody loved him at the Villa.
In the cold light of day that goal is better than Gazza v Scotland, Becks's v Greece and Owen v Argies. Even Greece England would have been in play offs.
Last minute, no comeback against a very capable (albeit slightly past their best) Belgium team and an incredible strike avoiding being offside.
The technique on that strike was outrageous. Coming over the shoulder and hitting it blind. The timing was impeccable.
My favourite Platt goal though was for us against Arsenal in 89, when he took one touch to outfox the defender* and the second to stab it past the keeper. Brilliant. And what a Christmas week that was!
*Dixon maybe?
Think it was Dixon. Probably the reason he's such an arse when he commentates on us now.
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Great player, but a twat. His only interest was going to Italy, he was even learning Italian while we were struggling under Dr Jo.
I'm struggling to think of a reason why any of that makes him a twat. Learning Italian, really? Fucking hell.
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Great player, but a twat. His only interest was going to Italy, he was even learning Italian while we were struggling under Dr Jo.
Think it's a classic case of a player getting into the England set up and then having their head turned. Pretty clear Italy made such a big impact on him in 1990.
Was quite impressed by the podcast though. Seems to be very reclusive from the game and media today, but spoke quite well of Graham Taylor particularly
SerieA was the best league at the time. The money was way better as was the lifestyle. It was light years ahead of English Top Division after the Heysel ban.
No surprise he, like Liam Brady and Trevor Francis before, was a success there because he learnt the language.
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Great player, but a twat. His only interest was going to Italy, he was even learning Italian while we were struggling under Dr Jo.
Think it's a classic case of a player getting into the England set up and then having their head turned. Pretty clear Italy made such a big impact on him in 1990.
Was quite impressed by the podcast though. Seems to be very reclusive from the game and media today, but spoke quite well of Graham Taylor particularly
It’s an interesting listen. Very very clear he doesn’t speak to anyone and only did this to return a favour to Rambo, and even then after some persistence.
I think that’s fair comment about getting his head turned with England, but he seemed an incredibly honest speaker, doubting himself at every step up, to Man U trial, YTS, Crewe, Villa, only then when making it a highest Intl level stopping doubting himself.
He did specify McInally going to Bayern kind was also a bit of a precedent and that wanting to test yourself, Italy was where all the greatest players were.
There were murmurs of Italian interest after Italia 90, it built up in his head.
I wasn’t following us so closely in those days (fond memories of the Inter game but had a few years of watching Moor Green, Ian Taylor et al ) so didn’t feel his loss like many do, but am a bit aligning with those reappraising, tbh, can I be bothered to remind myself why he’s so hated.
I hear myself kind of justifying moving on, in a way I couldn’t for Grealish, but that’s where the personal alignment comes in, he wasn’t one of us.
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Great player, but a twat. His only interest was going to Italy, he was even learning Italian while we were struggling under Dr Jo.
Think it's a classic case of a player getting into the England set up and then having their head turned. Pretty clear Italy made such a big impact on him in 1990.
Was quite impressed by the podcast though. Seems to be very reclusive from the game and media today, but spoke quite well of Graham Taylor particularly
SerieA was the best league at the time. The money was way better as was the lifestyle. It was light years ahead of English Top Division after the Heysel ban.
No surprise he, like Liam Brady and Trevor Francis before, was a success there because he learnt the language.
Yep. Also interesting to hear him almost embarrassed to recognise how Dr Jo was ahead of his time, it’s almost cliched how much I’ve heard it but it seems spot on.
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Great player, but a twat. His only interest was going to Italy, he was even learning Italian while we were struggling under Dr Jo.
Don't really have any issue with that. Footballers have loads of free time, and they had a lot more then. Learning Italian, or any other language that could be useful in his career, is a far more worthwhile use of time than playing golf and listening to Phil Collins like most footballers of his era.
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Great player, but a twat. His only interest was going to Italy, he was even learning Italian while we were struggling under Dr Jo.
Nah, silly take .
Model pro, never let us down on the pitch .
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He's a twat for more than that but if people are happy our star player and captain spent the season learning another language as he planned on leaving at the end of it then that's their choice. Same as it's mine to think he's a spoon faced twat.
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Learning languages is good. Every footballer should do that, they should be made to do it from youth level.
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Onana can speak about 4 or 5 different languages I think. Don't really have a problem with Platt doing it. Maybe playing in Italy is something he wanted to do and like someone said, we made a lot of money off him.
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When he came back to Arsenal he tried to milk Villa receptions but there was a lot of hostility to him.
I remember him being in a box at the clock end and trying to wave to Villa supporters who then gave him abuse. He was shaking his head back.
Similarly in his first game back at Villa Park he tried to applaud the Holte End and got abuse.
I’ve always figured he went shy after that
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Great player, but a twat. His only interest was going to Italy, he was even learning Italian while we were struggling under Dr Jo.
I'm struggling to think of a reason why any of that makes him a twat. Learning Italian, really? Fucking hell.
Having notions as they say in EIRE.
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He's a twat for more than that but if people are happy our star player and captain spent the season learning another language as he planned on leaving at the end of it then that's their choice. Same as it's mine to think he's a spoon faced twat.
Given some if our fan favourites’ addictions with Merson and McGrath, Collymore’s diagnosed depression, stress and anxiety when with us, Platt’s own propensity to live in the bookies when he was supposed to be in college, and getting the sense of the honest, ‘what to do with my time?’ comments when he first landed in Brum, learning a language seems a remarkably good idea that plenty more could do with following, though, naturally it’ll be seen as prep from a move abroad.
Part of me is tempted to ask what he should have done with his time instead?
Developing the devil’s advocate positions a bit more, especially as his fee was essential for rebuilding, why do we hate (him)?
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Platt was my favourite player of that period. His second against Everton in that 6-2 is one of my favourite Villa goals ever. I replay that goal over and over, wonderful. His goal against Belgium is my favourite England goal. During his time with us he was simply superb. To be honest I’m not that bothered that he doesn’t acknowledge his time with us, he’s not that kind of bloke, just a career footballer. I’m just happy to look back on the great memories he provided
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Platt was a brilliant player for us, no doubt about it. The game against Bradford was one of those day's at Villa Park where the atmosphere was so ferocious, even though the ground was not full, that there was only ever going to be one winner.
I'm not sure he would have made it into our title winning team though, and here's the thing that always boils my piss: Platt was brilliant, but wouldn't have made it into the 80/81 team, yet the England manager at the time, Ron Greenwood, barely looked in our direction.
Went off on a bit of a tangent there. Sorry!
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What came after doesn't bother me.
He was brilliant for us for a time and virtually unplayable on occasions.
I think you have to enjoy the moment with footballers and Platt for us was outstanding.
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He made me cry when I was 11 and he left. I loved him. Have hated him for leaving ever since. Watched the interview though and I’ve softened.
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One of the trendsetters of wearing cycling shorts under his football shorts.
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Who did we buy when he was sold? Not too shabby in the end
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Who did we buy when he was sold? Not too shabby in the end
Cyrille Regis, Dalian Atkinson, Kevin Richardson, Steve Staunton, Paul Mortimer, Shaun Teale and Les Sealy, off the top of my head.
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Who did we buy when he was sold? Not too shabby in the end
Cyrille Regis, Dalian Atkinson, Kevin Richardson, Steve Staunton, Paul Mortimer, Shaun Teale and Les Sealy, off the top of my head.
None of whom could speak a word of Esperanto between them. Great lads.
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I was just shy of 14 when Platt signed and had already had a couple of years of watching a declining shambolic Villa. He was brilliant in the second half of that promotion season. Someone mentioned the goal against Bradford in May 88, there was 36,000 there and other than when we played Liverpool in the 3rd rd of the cup a few months earlier, it was the biggest crowd Od experienced at Villa at that time, electric.
He was in my view, a world class talent and before this current period with Tielemans, Ascencio etc, i would say along with Sid and God, the only world class players Ive seen at Villa Park.
Was gutted when he left and always nice to hear former players praise us, so shame about that, but doesn’t impact on my teenage memories of a really great player.
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I don’t think he could be begrudged going to Seria A. It was where the elite players played back then. It was truly an elite league and it’s understandable that players would want to test themselves against the best of the best. It’s not as though he was Villa through a through. He did well for us, we were great for him and he did reasonably well in Italy.
I never really liked the fact that he seemed to airbrush the Villa out of his history until this interview.
And he’ll never be forgiven for that Shoot magazine April fool’s stunt.
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Always comes across as a bit of a strange guy, don't know why, and I wouldn't say I dislike him. A couple of years older than me and I was lucky enough to see him in his pomp, and I've got to say he was a deadly finisher, better than most of our strikers since, especially in the air.
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As a young kid just really starting to appreciate and understand the game growing up watching McGrath, Cowans and Platt was a joy. I thought Platt was the best player in the world. Of course, I grew up a bit and realized it was McGrath but still, he was pretty good.