Luke Moore

[atomicjam]

Through my job (at the time) I had dealings with one of Lukes relatives, she was very proud of the Moore brothers but with regards to Luke she told me more than once 'he is a naughty boy' (very Monty Python I know). She would not say why he was a very naughty boy but she clearly had some worries about his behaviour off the field.

[Somniloquism]

I remember Everton v WBA a couple of years ago and Moore came off the bench and played a blinder.

I remember seeing the highlights of a match where he was subbed or sent off and he did a gangsta walk off the pitch.

[eamonn]

I remember Everton v WBA a couple of years ago and Moore came off the bench and played a blinder.

Yeah, he came on and hit the woodwork twice I think, showing movement and touch that was at odds with the match itself. Kind of summed up the lack of luck he had during the end of his Villa career when he couldn't buy a goal and when West Brom were in the Prem last time. Plenty of talent but maybe the desire and effort just aren't there.

[brontebilly]

Moore going nowhere, Davis gone to Scotland and Ridgewell  at the Sty. We really had a great election of shite under O' Leary.

Fair play to Ridgewell. I never thought he would be an EPL player especially at left back but he is doing well. I wouldnt criticise MON for that one.

But Steve Davis is still a very tidy footballer and would be a useful squad player for us particularly if we went with three in midfield. Always rated him far higher than Gardner. That is something MON was very poor at - keeping the lads on the fringes happy particularly the home grown ones who wouldnt be as likely to demand a move. Ferguson does that well, he keeps the likes of O'Shea, Brown, Evans, Fletcher happy over the years and played them against the weaker teams or if there were injuries.

Selling Gary Cahill to Bolton and bringing in Curtis Davies was diabolical business. Cahill had finished that season partnering Mellberg but MON didnt rate him for some reason. I guess MON could argue that centre half is a position you cant really rotate and I still wouldnt have Cahill ahead of Dunne or Collins but if he was given all the chances Curtis Davies was given next to Laursen I think he would have nailed down a spot.

moore had loads of talent but a poor work rate and once his goal rate dropped off was always going to struggle. Selling him to West brom for 3.5m was good business from MON.

to be fair our youth coaches have produced a lot of EPL quality players - Myhill, Cahill, Ridgewell, Davis, Gabby, Gardner, Whittingham, Barry (sort of), Hitzleberger

[jay71]

Moore is the same as sidwell couldnt give a toss as long as wages are coming in,has anyone ever heard sidwell or moore moan about not playing first team football for at least the last 4 years?

[Dante Lavelli]

A friend, who knows Luke, believes that Moores ambition is........................to open a clothes shop.
He is not interested in football, has seven figures in the bank and is quite happy.

That's quite sad.... seven figures in the bank for being an unmotivated footballer who is letting his talent go to waste.

I have no idea whether he had the talent or not, but to think he has seven figures (I assume thats digits in his bank account statement)  saved up just makes me realise how mental this game we call football is (and that's nothing personal against Luke). 

[Dante Lavelli]

Slightly on a tangent from the thrust of this thread (Luke Moore) but looking at the average players we've discovered and developed, we've received a HUGE amount of money.

I think - ironically - that our failure to reach the holly grail of the top four and the fact we're not man city puts in a unique position where we can bring youth players through and sell them even if they don't quite make the grade.  Our objective should be to find umpteen more Cahills (I guess an investment of £2m) not sign Collins for £4m on a £30k-week deal.

A few more failures like Cahill, moore (x2), ridgewell, davis, whittingham should set us up nicely.   

Make sense?  Hopefully our next manager has the balls/vision to see it that way rather than just signing players to fill the squad (thereby continuing our current, unsustainable existence).

[ktvillan]

to be fair our youth coaches have produced a lot of EPL quality players - Myhill, Cahill, Ridgewell, Davis, Gabby, Gardner, Whittingham, Barry (sort of), Hitzleberger

Davis has failed to establish himself in the EPL  with us and Fulham so I wouldn't say he is proven EPL quality.  Whittingham is only proven at Championship level.

[Quiet Lion]

When ever I get excited about a young player coming through, I always remember to dampen my expectations.  I really thought Luke was going to be the real deal.

[Lambert and Payne]

He was good under the DOL years but then we improved and a few of the players got caught out and shown up. Wheres his brother at now?

[dicedlam]

When ever I get excited about a young player coming through, I always remember to dampen my expectations. I really thought Luke was going to be the real deal.

I was of the same opinion at the time.

I think the problem with Luke was that he had been identified from a young lad to be some footballing prodogy for the future. Not only for Villa, but also for his country. I remember quite a few respected people in the game at the time raving about the kid.
Some players can handle it like Rooney, yet some burn out quickly, having been overdosed on football from an early age.
I think Luke files under the latter. Shame really.

I can recall the time when he got injured in a game and O'Leary ran on the pitch to see if he was ok! Its was the first and last time I'd ever seen that happen.

Good Luck for the future Luke, in whatever you do.

[brontebilly]

to be fair our youth coaches have produced a lot of EPL quality players - Myhill, Cahill, Ridgewell, Davis, Gabby, Gardner, Whittingham, Barry (sort of), Hitzleberger

Davis has failed to establish himself in the EPL  with us and Fulham so I wouldn't say he is proven EPL quality.  Whittingham is only proven at Championship level.

yes didnt happen for davis under Sanchez at Fulham was surprised Hodgson shipped him off to Rangers. He has thrived under Smith playing in a Uefa Cup final and winning player of the year gongs. Even allowing for the ineptitude of the SPL, I think it is fair to say he would hold his own at a decent level in the EPL, he was the Villa player of the year in 05/06 too dont forget. When we have clowns like Sidwell on 40k a week on our bench it galls me somewhat that MON let the likes of Davis go.

Whittingham also has the ability to step it up to be a regular at EPL level. 20 goals in the Championship last season is serious going. Im surprised no team came in for him this summer. Certainly wasnt good enough for us at the time but I think he would be more than capable of being better than the likes of Luis Boa Morte at West Ham for example.

I guess there will always be young players who will want to move away to be regulars elsewhere. Under MON though I think his lack of squad rotation fed the disquiet in some of these younger players. Cahill and Davis were two that got away too easily imo and could have saved us a lot of money. Some would say Gardner is better than the likes of Sidwell which may be true but I think he is too slow really.

Add recent academy graduates like Clark, Albrighton and Delfouneso into the mix and it is obvious our youth system is working well.

[Pete3206]

Moore must look at Gabby and think 'why didn't I try just a bit harder?'.

He had ability in spades.

[ktvillan]

Cant agree with you on Davis Bronte, I never saw much in him and have not been in the least surprised he didn't make it in the prem.  Gardner was/is much the better player in my view.  Whittingham was too lightweight but looks to have improved.  Luke looked better than all of them but has tossed it all away.

[villasjf]

I just hope that the Fonz doesnt end up like the Moore brothers.