Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Heroes Discussion => Topic started by: Drummond on November 17, 2025, 07:56:15 PM
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This is the team compiled by the BBC from all of the nominations they had as the best in the Premier League.
Notwithstanding that's pretty new in the grand scheme of things z there's an awful lot of recency bias going on too.
(https://i.ibb.co/YFMhhG2G/Screenshot-20251117-194818.png) (https://ibb.co/YFMhhG2G)
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Has anyone checked on Smirker?
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Goalie yes and the defence is pretty close for me, but no Sid, madness, so Cowabs for Milner, also a toss up between Mortimer and Barry for me. Morley was my first football hero so he’d edge that over Grealish. Would have Yorke alongside Withe, I only saw Andy Gray play second tome around.
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It's Premier League era.
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Benteke ahead of Watkins for a start.
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Goalie yes and the defence is pretty close for me, but no Sid, madness, so Cowabs for Milner, also a toss up between Mortimer and Barry for me. Morley was my first football hero so he’d edge that over Grealish. Would have Yorke alongside Withe, I only saw Andy Gray play second tome around.
It's PL era players.
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The Benteke we had playing in this team and for Unai would be very interesting.
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Pretty close to what I’d go for if you’re talking post-92 players. Gary Charles at right back though, and Yorke & Benteke up front.
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The Torres we're currently seeing is better than Mellberg imo. But there isn't much to strongly disagree with in that 11 although i'd go pre-injury Charles as well.
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No Chris Herd? Kieran Richardson? How quickly people forget Yacouba Sylla.
*shakes head sadly*
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The Torres we're currently seeing is better than Mellberg imo. But there isn't much to strongly disagree with in that 11 although i'd go pre-injury Charles as well.
Putting Melberg on the left is ridiculous. I'd have Delaney ahead of anybody at right back. Charles is a decent shout at left back as was Wilfred Bouma in those few injury free games he played for us. How can you not have Youri in central midfield, it's more a question of who you take out, Barry or Milner? As for Benteke, was it Brian Green who described him as 'the most complete centre forward' he's seen in claret and blue? He wasn't wrong, Benteke was a beast but scored every type of goal imaginable. As you say, under Unai, my god..
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There's got to be a place for Martin Laursen.
Benteke, his time with us, was the best pound for pound centre forward I've seen.
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My mistake re premier league, didnt read it properly.
Has to also be a shout for Southgate or Eghiou next to God, but agree with the comments on Torres.
Benteke yes, also an argument for Young first time around rather than Grealish. Tielemans a toss up with Barry, Kamara over Milner
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in PL era seems fairly sensible.
I would go for either Delany or Charles at right back. Benteke up front, and maybe Young on left - but that might be a bit churlish.
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Konsa at right-back?
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So, not ‘all time’ at all……..only after football was invented ?
If there is no place in that team for Simon Dawkins, it’s a complete waste of time.
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The Torres we're currently seeing is better than Mellberg imo. But there isn't much to strongly disagree with in that 11 although i'd go pre-injury Charles as well.
Putting Melberg on the left is ridiculous. I'd have Delaney ahead of anybody at right back. Charles is a decent shout at left back as was Wilfred Bouma in those few injury free games he played for us. How can you not have Youri in central midfield, it's more a question of who you take out, Barry or Milner? As for Benteke, was it Brian Green who described him as 'the most complete centre forward' he's seen in claret and blue? He wasn't wrong, Benteke was a beast but scored every type of goal imaginable. As you say, under Unai, my god..
Charles was never a left-back and if I didn't say that about Benteke I certainly believe it.
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Martinez
Barrett
McGrath
Southgate
Staunton
Taylor
McGinn
Milner
A Young
Yorke
Benteke
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Manager Unai.
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Martinez
Delaney
McGrath
Laursen
Staunton
Milner
McGinn
Tielemans
Kamara
Young
Benteke/Yorke
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Has anyone checked on Smirker?
It's a silly inclusion let's be honest.
Yorke and Benteke are unquestionably the top two strikers.
Imagine them together.
My balls are tingling at the thought of it.
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Martinez
Barrett
McGrath
Laursen
Staunton
Daley
Kamara
McGinn
Grealish
Yorke
Benteke
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Bailey and Dougie’s form during that period of around October to March in 23 I’d have them in my side. They were incredible. Dougie was putting in shifts like Sid and Bailey was so exciting.
Emi
Charles McGrath Torres Staunton
Kamara
Bailey Dougie McGinn Grealish
Yorke
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The Benteke we had playing in this team and for Unai would be very interesting.
We'd win the league.
I'm not joking.
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Martinez
Mellberg
McGrath
Laursen
Staunton
Kamara
Barry
McGinn
Grealish
Young
Benteke
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Martinez
Konsa McGrath Laursen
Charles. Young (1st)
Kamara. Barry
Tielemans
Yorke. Benteke
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Bench
Bosnich
Mellberg
Mings
Staunton
Milner
McGinn
Cowans
Watkins
Atkinson
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I guess this exercise is best players in each position rather than best team. I think if it's best team the forward line would be Yorke and Nilis plus either Benteke or Ashley Young. I know Nilis played less than a handful of games for us but he really was an exceptional forward. Yorke was probably the most gifted player I've seen at the Villa. Benteke was awesome in a one-man-army kinda way. Out wide, much as I love Tony Daley, Young was a better footballer.
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I guess this exercise is best players in each position rather than best team. I think if it's best team the forward line would be Yorke and Nilis plus either Benteke or Ashley Young. I know Nilis played less than a handful of games for us but he really was an exceptional forward. Yorke was probably the most gifted player I've seen at the Villa. Benteke was awesome in a one-man-army kinda way. Out wide, much as I love Tony Daley, Young was a better footballer.
I remember when a Villa fan asked Aidy Boothroyd before a game at our place if Ashley would be joining us and what was his best position.
He replied of course he is, and he can play anywhere.
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Martinez
Barrett
McGrath
Southgate
Staunton
Taylor
McGinn
Milner
A Young
Yorke
Benteke
Didn't McGrath and Southgate play in a 3-5-2.
Just puttin it out there!
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Konsa or Southgate in middle with McGrath. Lean towards Southgate. Laursen was better than both at peak but didn't play anywhere enough games as those pair.
Grealish ahead of Young, just as he kept us up practically on his own.
Benteke edges Watkins as also better in a mediocre team.
Not much argument on the rest to be fair. Kamara, Tilemans, Pau and Rogers could all make it over time.
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Emi
K Walker McGrath Southgate Staunton
Barry
Milner Merson McGinn Grealish
Benteke
A mix of guile and strength. If not Walker (a loanee) then it'd be Delaney at RB.
I'd have Collymore, Draper, Carbone, Mellberg, Laursen, Ashley Young, Rogers, Taylor, James, Kamara and Bouma in the squad.
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Martinez
Cash McGrath Laursen Digne
Young Kamara McGinn Grealish
Benteke Angel
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Since I've been following Villa (1996), I'd go;
Martinez
Delaney, Laursen, Mellberg, Wright
McGinn, Barry
Young, Merson, Grealish
Yorke
Subs: Bosnich, Konsa, Digne, Southgate, Milner, Luiz, Taylor, Benteke, Watkins
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Since I've been following Villa (1996), I'd go;
Martinez
Delaney, Laursen, Mellberg, Wright
McGinn, Barry
Young, Merson, Grealish
Yorke
Subs: Bosnich, Konsa, Digne, Southgate, Milner, Luiz, Taylor, Benteke, Watkins
Look how happy you've made him
(https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/ace/standard/624/cpsprodpb/2728/production/_127542001_gettyimages-541814754.jpg)
( ;))
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Did Staunton actually play LB for us much? He was always more of a LCB in the Brian Little formation as Alan Wright went years without missing a game.
Guessing he did regularly in 92/93?
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Martinez
Delaney
Laursen
McGrath
Wright
Kamara
Barry
McGinn
Young
Grealish
Benteke/Watkins (I’m choosing a super-hybrid)
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Staunton was LB in 92/93 & maybe season afterwards too.
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GK Martinez
CB Southgate
CB Laursen
RB Barrett
LB Staunton
DM Kamara
CM Barry
RM Solano
LM A. Young
AM Grealish
CF Benteke
Cheated a bit, putting Grealish in AM, rather than om the left.
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Would you have McGrath on the bench?
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Jeez, forgot McGrath. Was actually considering Mellberg ahead of Laursen. Played a lot more, but Laurseb was a goal threat from corners.
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This pretty much tallies with my time as a Villa fan
GK - Martinez
RB - Delaney
CB - McGrath
CB - Southgate
LB - Digne
DM - Kamara
CM - Cowans
CM - Platt
RAM - Yorke
CF - Benteke
LAM - Grealish
Subs
GK - Bosnich
RB - Cash
CB - Mings, Torres, Konsa
LB - Staunton
M - Barry, Milner, McGinn
F - Young(A), Watkins,
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This pretty much tallies with my time as a Villa fan
GK - Martinez
RB - Delaney
CB - McGrath
CB - Southgate
LB - Digne
DM - Kamara
CM - Cowans
CM - Platt
RAM - Yorke
CF - Benteke
LAM - Grealish
Subs
GK - Bosnich
RB - Cash
CB - Mings, Torres, Konsa
LB - Staunton
M - Barry, Milner, McGinn
F - Young(A), Watkins,
I'd go with this, Platt is right at the point I really started watching though so I'd consider Milner ahead of him purely because I've seen him play for us far more.
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Platt didn't play for us in the Premier League....
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Platt didn't play for us in the Premier League....
... and Cowans' third iteration really didn't capture the man's all-round brilliance.
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Friedel
Barrett
McGrath
Mellberg
Staunton
Richardson
Taylor
Petrov
Daly
Carew
Saunders
Subs
Bosnich
Laursen
Mings
Digne
Kamara
Townsend
McGinn
Atkinson
Watkins
Unlucky to miss out:
Milner
Ugo
Milosevic
Wright
Pre PL Cowans would definitely have been in my team.
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The Torres we're currently seeing is better than Mellberg imo. But there isn't much to strongly disagree with in that 11 although i'd go pre-injury Charles as well.
Melberg would be my RB, perfect to play in Emery's lop sided defense.
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GK Martinez
RB Delaney
LB Staunton
CB McGrath
CB Southgate
RM Milner
CM Barry
CM Townsend (C)
LM Rogers
CF Carew
CF Yorke
Nice balance classic 4-4-2
8 That can defend and 5 that can attack
Subs:
GK Bosnich
RB/CB Barrett
CB Laursen
LB/LW/RW Young
CM Kamara
CM Taylor
LW/AM Grealish
CF Benteke
CF Saunders
Squad:
Spink, Digne, *McGinn, Merson, Watkins.
Platt, Cowans and Daley not really PL era.
*Correction McGinn for Tielemans although if Tielemans plays like last season for a couple more years he'll be straight in the 11.
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Martinez; Delaney, McGrath, Laursen, Digne; Kamara, Petrov, Milner; McGinn, Grealish; Yorke.
Toss-up with Petrov and Barry, but I genuinely thought Petrov was outstanding and criminally underrated by commentators. McGinn's on the 'right' there, but that drifting in interchanging thing he does. And I really, really hate to say it, but it's got to be Yorke considering the difference between his career after leaving us and Benteke's.
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I'd have a different right back, but not sure who.
Ash instead of McGinn
Tekkers instead of Ollie
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I think I’d have to get Konsa in at RB, as we’ve had a lot more really good centre halves than right backs.
Martinez-
Konsa-Ehiogu-McGrath-Staunton
Milner-McGinn-Barry-Grealish
Yorke-Benteke
So not too far from Drummond’s original, for all time before football was invented, I’d get Kenny Swain, Dennis Mortimer and Sid Cowans in ahead of Konsa, McGinn & Barry.
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Wonder if Rogers will be in peoples best XIs in 10 years time.
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Wonder if Rogers will be in peoples best XIs in 10 years time.
It seems a bit recent ish
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Daly
Carew
Saunders
As good as she is, I'm not sure our Rachel warrants a place in the team.
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Surprised how few people have picked Grealish. I class him as the best player I’ve seen in a Villa shirt since McGrath, he really was that good.
Easy to forget now he’s a shadow of the player he was, despite his mini revival at Everton.
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Surprised how few people have picked Grealish. I class him as the best player I’ve seen in a Villa shirt since McGrath, he really was that good.
Easy to forget now he’s a shadow of the player he was, despite his mini revival at Everton.
He was but he left before the team really pushed on to the level where the players start to be classed as club legends which pushes him down a little behind players who were here in the 'better times'. It's probably not fair but he made his choice.
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And yet people pick Benteke over Ollie.
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Benteke was superb in what was, let's face it, a pretty shite team. I'd have him in there, alongside Yorke.
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And yet people pick Benteke over Ollie.
Fair point, it's almost as if people don't have to be 100% rational when doing something largely pointless.
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So was Grealish, that's my point.
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And yet people pick Benteke over Ollie.
Benteke at his best was the best cf we’ve had in 30 years, only Yorke comes close. The drop off we saw from him after he left us was staggering, he combined the best bits of Ollie, Carew and Duran and was better than them all.
For me Grealish has too much competition from any number of players we’ve had in the PL who ultimately offered more end product. In a good team we wouldn’t need to rely on him half as much as we did, so I think we’d have a player closer to the one we saw at C115y. I’d probably have a place for him on the bench in our best team of the PL era, but he wouldn’t start.
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Benteke left and a poor team completely fell apart, had our worst season ever, got relegated and took 5 years to recover. Grealish left and 18months later we were on the brink of a run that's been going for 3 years putting us as the fourth best team in the country and ranked in the top 10 globally. Again, not rational but that makes a massive difference to how they get viewed looking back.
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Grealish is in the top 5 players i've seen for in 50 years. How he left doesn't change that. He was far better than Young.
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All opinions but I think that's mad. He's one of the first on my teamsheet. I actually think there's less competition where he plays.
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Grealish is in the top 5 players i've seen for in 50 years. How he left doesn't change that. He was far better than Young.
Not a chance in Hell, IMO. Only time he matched his productivity was in the latter half of our final season in the second tier.
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You don't see the benefits of 5 at the back, so we know your opinion isn't to be trusted.
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Ignoring Youngs second spell as a full back:
Ashley Young
190 appearances
37 goals
51 assists
so a goal involvement every 2.16 games.
Jack Grealish
213 appearances
32 goals
43 assists
so a goal involvement every 2.84 games.
Obviously is isn't just about stats but that's a pretty significant difference.
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Bit harsh including a very Young Grealish in a side that stank the league out. But even if you do, he was better than Young.
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Bit harsh including a very Young Grealish in a side that stank the league out. But even if you do, he was better than Young.
Bit generous including the 90 odd games he played in the championship as well so...
but again, this is an opinion and they don't have to all be the same and they don't have to be completely rational, if people were saying Tonev over Grealish then yeah, fine but given Young had a better goals and assists output I think it's a bit weird to be arguing about it this much.
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I simply pointed out the Grealish leaving before we were good didn't matter as others were picking Benteke. You're the one dragging up stats and arguing.
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I simply pointed out the Grealish leaving before we were good didn't matter as others were picking Benteke. You're the one dragging up stats and arguing.
and it really isn't worth it, I should've stuck with my earlier post.
And yet people pick Benteke over Ollie.
Fair point, it's almost as if people don't have to be 100% rational when doing something largely pointless.
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Martinez
Wright
McGrath
Laursen
Mellberg
A.Young
McGinn
Barry
Milner
Yorke
Benteke
5-3-2 formation, Wright and Young as the wing backs
We should do a “Best XI by premier league manager”
So Big Ron’s best XI, Sir Brian’s etc
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Grealish was better than Young, but Young still walks into the team imo.
Another where it’s easy to forget how good he was - there was a lengthy spell under O’Neill where he was sensational. Made premier league team of the season 2 years in a row, won premier league player of the month 3 times in a year. PFA young player of the year. He was brilliant for us, though sadly tainted his legacy joining Man Utd.
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We have a lot of viable options in a number of positions, and then there's RB.
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Earl Barrett, by a mile.
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Martinez
Wright
McGrath
Laursen
Mellberg
A.Young
McGinn
Barry
Milner
Yorke
Benteke
5-3-2 formation, Wright and Young as the wing backs
We should do a “Best XI by premier league manager”
So Big Ron’s best XI, Sir Brian’s etc
If you are going with a back three, then this would be it.
McGrath
Laursen
Mellberg
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Bit harsh including a very Young Grealish in a side that stank the league out. But even if you do, he was better than Young.
How old was Young in his time with us?
Edit: signed when he was 21.
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Martinez
Walker
God
Mings
Digne
SJM
Sid
Milner
Grealish
Yorke
Benteke
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Walker; 15 PL appearances for Villa, you sure Perce?
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Martinez
Barrett
God
Torres
Stan
SJM
Barry
Milner
Young
Carew
Yorke
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Walker; 15 PL appearances for Villa, you sure Perce?
I’ve picked him because he was our best RB in the PL era. That’s my criteria, along with how I think the partnerships would work out.
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I think a worst team would be more entertaining to pick. The GK with the pyjamas, Habib Beye, Lescott, Richards, the Djemba twins, Makoun, Balaban, Gestede, Tonev, etc etc.
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I think a worst team would be more entertaining to pick. The GK with the pyjamas, Habib Beye, Lescott, Richards, the Djemba twins, Makoun, Balaban, Gestede, Tonev, etc etc.
It was moved to Villa Memories
https://www.heroesandvillains.info/forumv3/index.php?topic=66308.0
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Walker; 15 PL appearances for Villa, you sure Perce?
I’ve picked him because he was our best RB in the PL era. That’s my criteria, along with how I think the partnerships would work out.
Someone’s been listening to Dan Bardell 😉
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Top 5 players in order in PL era, for me:
1. McGrath - as good as any defender in the world at the time and had some good competition from Italy.
2. Martinez - Voted world no 1 GK twice
3. Yorke - outstanding, one of the best in Europe at the time
4. Southgate - I know he's not popular these days but he was absolute class, could play it out like Torres and defend like John Terry at his best.
5. Bosnich - world class, just not as good as Martinez.
If you go back to when I started going in 88 Platt would squeeze in between Martinez and Yorke, pushing Bozzie out of the 5.
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I think I’d have to get Konsa in at RB, as we’ve had a lot more really good centre halves than right backs.
Martinez-
Konsa-Ehiogu-McGrath-Staunton
Milner-McGinn-Barry-Grealish
Yorke-Benteke
So not too far from Drummond’s original, for all time before football was invented, I’d get Kenny Swain, Dennis Mortimer and Sid Cowans in ahead of Konsa, McGinn & Barry.
This is exactly what I would go for too Drummond. Though very torn on Barrett or Konsa for the RB role.
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Walker; 15 PL appearances for Villa, you sure Perce?
I’ve picked him because he was our best RB in the PL era. That’s my criteria, along with how I think the partnerships would work out.
Someone’s been listening to Dan Bardell 😉
Who’s Dan Bardell?
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Benteke left and a poor team completely fell apart, had our worst season ever, got relegated and took 5 years to recover. Grealish left and 18months later we were on the brink of a run that's been going for 3 years putting us as the fourth best team in the country and ranked in the top 10 globally. Again, not rational but that makes a massive difference to how they get viewed looking back.
Certainly not rational to ignore the time after Grealish that saw two coaches lose their jobs and Emery inheriting a team in complete disarray.
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Earl Barrett, by a mile.
Yet bombed out by Brian Little very early on? Options in both full back positions aren't elite.
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I disagreed with Brian on that occasion. Like I don't like five at the back (though he certainly had success with it for a while).
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I'll go with
Martinez
Cash, Southgate, McGrath, Staunton
McGinn, Townsend, Barry, Grealish
Yorke, Watkins
Kamara probably close to edging out Townsend at this stage but I really rated him for club and country. He was a rock in midfield. Barry is underrated by Villa fans I think, very good player in good, bad and downright ugly Villa teams. That midfield pair wouldn't lose many battles. Selection of Cash and Watkins might set a few off here but I admire their resilience. Grealish had the X factor when we needed it most. Bravest player I've seen in a Villa shirt too.
They were definitely wholehearted defenders but don't think Mellberg or Lauren had anywhere near the class of the two centre backs above. Can't believe I've left out Young and Benteke as others have said carried an incredibly poor team.
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Top 5 players in order in PL era, for me:
1. McGrath - as good as any defender in the world at the time and had some good competition from Italy.
2. Martinez - Voted world no 1 GK twice
3. Yorke - outstanding, one of the best in Europe at the time
4. Southgate - I know he's not popular these days but he was absolute class, could play it out like Torres and defend like John Terry at his best.
5. Bosnich - world class, just not as good as Martinez.
If you go back to when I started going in 88 Platt would squeeze in between Martinez and Yorke, pushing Bozzie out of the 5.
Jack would be top of that list for me. Even just above McGrath.
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Wow. Each to their own but, yeah. Not for me.
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IMO the only way you could try and justify Jack above McGrath is you went purely PL form. Ultimately McGrath was heading down from his peak while Jack was heading up to his. Not a hill i'd die on but it could be a potential thought process.
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McGrath was PFA player of the year in 1993. No other player came close to that level for us. Grealish might have gone close but missed a lot of games with that mystery shin injury.
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The football romantic in me would love to see Paul Merson and Bert Traore in this conversation. Along with Yorke and Sir Brian, probably the only players in over 50 years of watching the Villa who've left me shaking my head at their natural audacious skill. I think most pros have the ability but to use it on the fly is something else.
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The insistence on a certain length of time playing for the club caused me to reflect on the sad fate of Luc Nilis who, as I recall, played only four games for us.
What a player he was and what a player he might have been!!
There's a video interviewing him on TNT Sport (about 30 minutes) that's well worth a watch.
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I watched, Justin talks Villa with Ian Taylor on YouTube earlier, Tayls said Luc Nillis was the most technically gifted player he’d ever seen & had he stayed fit, we would have won the league that season.
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I watched, Justin talks Villa with Ian Taylor on YouTube earlier, Tayls said Luc Nillis was the most technically gifted player he’d ever seen & had he stayed fit, we would have won the league that season.
It is one of those sliding doors moments. I recently watched a short doco on him and Dion said much the same. I didn't realise Nilis fell into gambling addiction after his football career ended. Kinda understandable.
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Also, Ronaldo (real one) said he was his all time favourite, striker partner.
Such a shame what happened next for him.
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Grealish ahead of McGrath?! Are you his dad or something?
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For a start, I am not even sure Grealish is our best player of the past 10 years. I am absolutely certain McGrath was our best player since 1992
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For a start, I am not even sure Grealish is our best player of the past 10 years. I am absolutely certain McGrath was our best player since 1992
I agree. Grealish shone in Villa teams that varied from absolutely terrible up to mediocre in Premier League terms. If he were still playing for us and even had he stayed at his best, with the players we have now he would be third or fourth on the teamsheet.
Don't get me wrong, I loved him when he played for us. I just think we had and still have a tendency to look at him through rose-tinted glasses and think he is better than he actually was as he was the only bright spot in a long, dark period (and even then I'd argue McGinn and Mings were at least as integral to the turnaround). He could be a great player, but he's not nearly the best to play for us in the premier league era, never mind beyond that.
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If he had of stayed and stayed at his best, he would be the first name on the team sheet and we would have a won a trophy in the last 3 years.
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Top 5 players in order in PL era, for me:
1. McGrath - as good as any defender in the world at the time and had some good competition from Italy.
2. Martinez - Voted world no 1 GK twice
3. Yorke - outstanding, one of the best in Europe at the time
4. Southgate - I know he's not popular these days but he was absolute class, could play it out like Torres and defend like John Terry at his best.
5. Bosnich - world class, just not as good as Martinez.
If you go back to when I started going in 88 Platt would squeeze in between Martinez and Yorke, pushing Bozzie out of the 5.
I'd put Yorke ahead of Martinez but Top 3 as is.
Grealish was monumental in keeping us up and his last season cemented him as one of the best attackers in the league. Like Yorke went to the 'best' in the country for stupid money although has less of an effect on them than Yorke did.
Barry next for longevitiy and consistency and due to that edges out Milner and Young.
Southgate was brilliant but not sure he was better than Ugo or Olaf who played longer.
There's a few potential contenders in current crop - Youri, Kamara and Rogers who could trouble Top 5
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If he had of stayed and stayed at his best, he would be the first name on the team sheet and we would have a won a trophy in the last 3 years.
I’d agree with that. I think there’s a bit of revisionism going on here, perhaps over the way it ended. It certainly left a sour taste in my mouth but it doesn’t detract from the fact he was absolutely fantastic for us, 2/3 more seasons and he’d be in the discussions of our greatest ever player imo.
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If he had of stayed and stayed at his best, he would be the first name on the team sheet and we would have a won a trophy in the last 3 years.
I'm not sure about that. Grealish's exit set off a chain of events that lead us to having Unai Emery as our manager and reaching the Champions League. I'm not sure how much of that happens if he stayed. I certainly don't think we'd be in a better position than we are now if he had stayed.
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I just think we had and still have a tendency to look at him through rose-tinted glasses and think he is better than he actually was as he was the only bright spot in a long, dark period
I'd argue the way he left us has led some to underrate what he did for us. Some comments here are way OTT. He was the unbelievable for us. There's a reason he went for £100m. Not many players of ours would have been a mainstay of that Man City team that won the treble.
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At his best he was utterly brilliant.
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I just think we had and still have a tendency to look at him through rose-tinted glasses and think he is better than he actually was as he was the only bright spot in a long, dark period
I'd argue the way he left us has led some to underrate what he did for us. Some comments here are way OTT. He was the unbelievable for us. There's a reason he went for £100m. Not many players of ours would have been a mainstay of that Man City team that won the treble.
Hands up I’m one of the “haterz” about how he left but he was in my team.
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He was brilliant for us, and stood out in an otherwise pretty average side at the time.
We did though, get better as a team after he left.
Ashley Young, the first time, had far more end product.
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At his best he was utterly brilliant.
I just think we had and still have a tendency to look at him through rose-tinted glasses and think he is better than he actually was as he was the only bright spot in a long, dark period
I'd argue the way he left us has led some to underrate what he did for us. Some comments here are way OTT. He was the unbelievable for us. There's a reason he went for £100m. Not many players of ours would have been a mainstay of that Man City team that won the treble.
Mainstay of that Man City team is pushing it - he had a good season, but I don't think he made that big a difference to them to be honest even in the treble year, and aside from that year he was largely anonymous. He went for £100 million because they are C115y and they could - he was a largely marketing signing for them and they didn't want him going elsewhere.
I'd also note that we have beaten them pretty comfortably at Villa Park three years in a row now. Our teams for the last 3 years are so far ahead of any team he played in that even at his best I couldn't honestly name him ahead of Tielemans, Kamara, Rogers or even McGinn in the types of matches we now win regularly.
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At his best he was utterly brilliant.
I just think we had and still have a tendency to look at him through rose-tinted glasses and think he is better than he actually was as he was the only bright spot in a long, dark period
I'd argue the way he left us has led some to underrate what he did for us. Some comments here are way OTT. He was the unbelievable for us. There's a reason he went for £100m. Not many players of ours would have been a mainstay of that Man City team that won the treble.
Mainstay of that Man City team is pushing it - he had a good season, but I don't think he made that big a difference to them to be honest even in the treble year, and aside from that year he was largely anonymous. He went for £100 million because they are C115y and they could - he was a largely marketing signing for them and they didn't want him going elsewhere.
I'd also note that we have beaten them pretty comfortably at Villa Park three years in a row now. Our teams for the last 3 years are so far ahead of any team he played in that even at his best I couldn't honestly name him ahead of Tielemans, Kamara, Rogers or even McGinn in the types of matches we now win regularly.
I wouldn't have current Grealish in ahead of any of them nowadays.
Grealish of 5 years ago I would have had.
We've moved on and in the end after a difficult 18months after he left which was hard to adjust to and having not spend all the money wisely we turned it around.
He had a fine season the year they won the treble but aside from that it was a season either side of Ok and last season of 'Meh'. Started well this season but needs to adapt his game. He also is at an age where he has to stop drinking to prolong his career.
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At his best he was utterly brilliant.
I just think we had and still have a tendency to look at him through rose-tinted glasses and think he is better than he actually was as he was the only bright spot in a long, dark period
I'd argue the way he left us has led some to underrate what he did for us. Some comments here are way OTT. He was the unbelievable for us. There's a reason he went for £100m. Not many players of ours would have been a mainstay of that Man City team that won the treble.
Mainstay of that Man City team is pushing it - he had a good season, but I don't think he made that big a difference to them to be honest even in the treble year, and aside from that year he was largely anonymous. He went for £100 million because they are C115y and they could - he was a largely marketing signing for them and they didn't want him going elsewhere.
I'd also note that we have beaten them pretty comfortably at Villa Park three years in a row now. Our teams for the last 3 years are so far ahead of any team he played in that even at his best I couldn't honestly name him ahead of Tielemans, Kamara, Rogers or even McGinn in the types of matches we now win regularly.
He absolutley was a mainstay in the treble winning season. His appearnces was among the highest in the squad. As for the rest of it, well you don't win a treble carrying passengers. Churlish to suggest he didn't make much impact.