Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Villa Memories => Topic started by: Legion on October 03, 2014, 08:06:36 PM
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(https://scontent-b-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/t31.0-8/10714279_934958579865034_942161238386662586_o.jpg)
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There have been countless wasted talents down the years, but my god that boy had it all. During that spell from September to Christmas he was as good as I've ever seen.
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Coincidentally, I have an mp3 recording of the Danny Baker 606 phone-in on this day. It starts off with James Alexander Gordon reading the scores.
Blackburn beat Norwich 7-1; and QPR beat Spurs 4-1 on the same day.
West Brom are in the the third tier; Blues in the first tier drawing 0-0 with Oxford.
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Dalian had everything. Pace, power, skill, could shoot with either foot, could score with his head. Except it appears the attitude to be one of the best players in the world. Yes kids, he was potentially that good.
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Agree PWS, could have been as good as Ronaldo, he was potentially that good.
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Dalian had everything. Pace, power, skill, could shoot with either foot, could score with his head. Except it appears the attitude to be one of the best players in the world. Yes kids, he was potentially that good.
That was when I was at my most Villa bonkers (I cannot believe it was that long ago). I remember his car was basically a night club with an engine. I seem to recall that it was a Vauxhall of some description. There were no back seats, just speakers. Imagine what he'd have been like if he was born a generation later, when he had REAL money to waste.
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He drove a Golf. Great player.
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Dalian goals 1992-93
Dalian goals 1993-94 Still cant get over his first v QPR, defenders had at least ten yards on him and he still beat them to the ball
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The only game I missed, home or away, league and cup all season! Ratscocks!
Minor consolation came in the form of sharing a trip to the San Siro with the bloke with the brolly. I think he was from the Lye.
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Somewhere in an AD 2000 parallel universe, the millennium was heralded by a strikeforce of Dalian, Stan Collymore and Dwight Yorke, with Lee Hendrie behind them.
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A hell of a good finisher. I was too young at the time to realise he was wasting his talent away and just enjoyed his goals. Simpler times.
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I was there! Not many were that day.
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He always scored against Man United, he always seemed to raise his game against them. I think he scored in three straight home matches against them as well as at Wembley as well obviously. Another classic performance was against Inter at home. He didn't score but their defence looked scared shitless everytime he ran at them. He had a good little spell of goals when Brian Little was appointed boss but i think he got injured and by the time he returned we had Yorke/Saunders/Johnson and occasionally Fash up front. He did well in Turkey.
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Quite possibly the biggest wasted talent in my time when you consider he was as good as finished by the time he was 27/28.
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Better than Collymore. Probably even better than Yorke.. But Stan and Yorkie's overall goalscoring record was better which probably was because Dalian was a lazy sod for a lot of the time. I remember in BFR's book 15 goal Dalian claimed to have had a better season than 34 goal Shearer because Dalian had a trophy to show for it. He had a point i guess but all the same........
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Natural talent wise he probably was better than any forward i've seen for us, if only he'd had the attitude to match. When he should have been at his peak years pretty much no one wanted him. That is how much he wasted that talent.
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Natural talent wise he probably was better than any forward i've seen for us, if only he'd had the attitude to match. When he should have been at his peak years pretty much no one wanted him. That is how much he wasted that talent.
To be fair to him, he always seemed to be enjoying life.
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Yup, could.have been one of the best.
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I remember when we signed him whilst he was playing in Spain and being so excited. Particularly as I remember a brilliant goal he had scored against us a couple of years before for Ipswich (a consolation obviously). How times have changed.
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What is he doing with himself these days?
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What is he doing with himself these days?
Last time I saw him was at some college training thing where, I kid you not, he was lecturing young lads about the need to be dedicated and hard-working.
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Wasn't it Dalian who got done for bouncing cheques?
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What is he doing with himself these days?
Last time I saw him was at some college training thing where, I kid you not, he was lecturing young lads about the need to be dedicated and hard-working.
Well I suppose he must know the regrets of not fulfilling your potential.
He will always be one of the best players I have ever seen. I have great memories of his goals and play. However whenever I pick my best Villa 11 he never makes the cut. He should because he was an amazing talent, but at the time you knew he would disapear during the winter, with that and not pushing on with his career with us is a real shame.
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On his day Dalian was unstoppable and unplayable. Unfortunately it wasn't often enough and not for enough seasons. For two years though it was great to watch him play.
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Remember arguing with a friend in school over who was faster, Dalian or Giggs. Ironically enough, this heated discussion took place on a school playground where we weren't allowed to run.
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What is he doing with himself these days?
Last time I saw him was at some college training thing where, I kid you not, he was lecturing young lads about the need to be dedicated and hard-working.
Have you interviewed him for any of your books? Off-hand I can't think of any. Be interesting to hear his 20 year perspective on things now.
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What is he doing with himself these days?
Last time I saw him was at some college training thing where, I kid you not, he was lecturing young lads about the need to be dedicated and hard-working.
Have you interviewed him for any of your books? Off-hand I can't think of any. Be interesting to hear his 20 year perspective on things now.
I didn't interview him because when I was writing them he was off the radar.
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Are there any future books in the works for release?
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I was there! Not many were that day.
Have you still got the umbrella?
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Are there any future books in the works for release?
Find me a publisher. It's impossible to get anything out unless you're a 'celebrity' or prepared to finance it at least in part yourself.
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(https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1215639635/images.jpg)
This photo says it all really.
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Are there any future books in the works for release?
Find me a publisher. It's impossible to get anything out unless you're a 'celebrity' or prepared to finance it at least in part yourself.
But you are a celebrity.
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Wasn't there a story about him asking Big Ron for a pay raise? Ron told him if he upped his game he'd get a raise. Dalian told him raise first, then he'd up his game.
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He should because he was an amazing talent, but at the time you knew he would disapear during the winter, with that and not pushing on with his career with us is a real shame.
From fading memory, I recall Atkinson never seemed to play for us around the Christmas periods. He was either injured or suspended.
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Coincidentally, I have an mp3 recording of the Danny Baker 606 phone-in on this day. It starts off with James Alexander Gordon reading the scores.
Blackburn beat Norwich 7-1; and QPR beat Spurs 4-1 on the same day.
West Brom are in the the third tier; Blues in the first tier drawing 0-0 with Oxford.
The only time in about eight visits to Selhurst Park I have seen us win. Your 606 story reminds me of listening to Danny Baker in the car on the journey home. His ridiculing of Norwich was hilarious.