Sir Graham - yet more dignity

[Sexual Ealing]

The clincher for me though is he was one of the wise men the Board approached post MON walkout. And he recommended GH. 

I'd have to say it's a no for me, much as I like the bloke. 

But he didn't 'just' recommend GH. He suggested that no one man ought never be able to control the club in the way that MON* did; he thought GH would be a good guy to oversee a new system where the 1st team coach was empowered and the DF would work with him for the benefit of the club.

The problem was that RL & PF only heard "Houlier" and went from there.

*I'm a MON fan, but have a general problem with the concept revolving autocracy.

[Fergal]

The thing which sets Sir Graham head and shoulders above the so called elder statesmen of contemporary football is the unswerving dignity with which he dealt with all the media ridicule and vilification generated by the very badly advised documentary and the inability to get England success in an era of piss poor players.

He has taken everything and not let it make him bitter or vengeful.   

I have met Sir Graham a couple of times and the man just oozes dignity and class. 
I am ashamed to say I remember reading the Sun and thinking the 'turnip' jibes were funny.   I just wish I had the balls to apologise to him when I had the chance.

[Fergal]

Can I bore you all senseless again with the story of the letter he sent me?

Yes, please do. I don't remember hearing the story.

Can I bore you with the story of meeting him the day we beat Chelski?

[Risso]

Yep, fancy SGT buying a young Peter Crouch, what a dud of a career he ended up having.

I know, what a clown eh? Still, at least his successor was clever enough to mug Southampton for a mind boggling £2m.

Crouch was poor for us.  Not as bad as the likes of UDLC, Allback, Postma, Leonhardsen and Kinsella, but pretty awful nonetheless.  I don't remember many dissenting voices when he was loaned out to Norwich then sold cheaply to Southampton.

Funny, I remember many people thinking both Crouch and Allback should have been given runs in the team. But given the career Crouch has had and the amount of money he later moved for, you have to except that your claim that "players he brought in were all atrocious" is incorrect.
 

Very selective memory there.  Most people at the time were unhappy that Crouch was being played ahead of Angel.  And I couldn't care less what a player has gone on to do, in the context of Aston Villa, Crouch was poor.  I similarly don't care that Heskey once scored 20 goals for Liverpool in a season.  And if you don't think that UDLC was "that bad" then there really is no hope for you.  He could trap a ball further than a lot of players could pass it.  Lovely bloke, shit footballer.

[NeilH]

After he was roundly booed at VP when he made an on-pitch announcement at the end of the season, I was so incensed at the way he was disrespectfully treated that I wrote a letter to the Express and Star which got published.

I cannot begin to tell you how angry I was that day. To hear our own fans boo Sir Graham was a particularly low point for me. I have nothing for the utmost respect for the man and always will do. I loved him for declaring our club a shambles when he arrived to the car crash of Billy McNeill. I loved him even more for getting us straight back up. Words can’t even describe how I felt about him when we were challenging for the title.

I had the pleasure of often meeting him when I was working in my gap year at Texas Homecare in Sutton Coldfield. He knew I was a huge Villa fan and always took the time to chat to me. A genuinely nice guy and I very much doubt that many modern managers or players would be as approachable is Sir Graham.

[Pat McMahon]

Can I bore you all senseless again with the story of the letter he sent me?

Yes, please do. I don't remember hearing the story.

Can I bore you with the story of meeting him the day we beat Chelski?

Please do Fergal - spill the beans.

[LeeB]

Yep, fancy SGT buying a young Peter Crouch, what a dud of a career he ended up having.

I know, what a clown eh? Still, at least his successor was clever enough to mug Southampton for a mind boggling £2m.

Crouch was poor for us.  Not as bad as the likes of UDLC, Allback, Postma, Leonhardsen and Kinsella, but pretty awful nonetheless.  I don't remember many dissenting voices when he was loaned out to Norwich then sold cheaply to Southampton.

Well you weren't listening to me then Risso. He came back from Norwich a different player, and was unfortunate in that it happened to be the same sixth months that JPA found his best form, and we were cost cutting.

And those 5 players cost us a whopping £5.5 million, which was pretty much what we'd got in for Boateng.

[LeeB]

After he was roundly booed at VP when he made an on-pitch announcement at the end of the season, I was so incensed at the way he was disrespectfully treated that I wrote a letter to the Express and Star which got published.

I cannot begin to tell you how angry I was that day. To hear our own fans boo Sir Graham was a particularly low point for me. I have nothing for the utmost respect for the man and always will do. I loved him for declaring our club a shambles when he arrived to the car crash of Billy McNeill. I loved him even more for getting us straight back up. Words can’t even describe how I felt about him when we were challenging for the title.

I had the pleasure of often meeting him when I was working in my gap year at Texas Homecare in Sutton Coldfield. He knew I was a huge Villa fan and always took the time to chat to me. A genuinely nice guy and I very much doubt that many modern managers or players would be as approachable is Sir Graham.

It was the day when a little bit of the romance of being a Villa fan, feeling proud to be part of a collective tribe, died for me.

I stood there, nearly crying, thinking that a great many of my fellow supporters were utter wankers.

A real low point.

[dave.woodhall]

A few months after the Sunderland game I spoke to him. Almost his first question was "How do you think we're doing?" I can't imagine many of our other ex-managers saying 'we' regardless of how they left.

[Risso]

A few months after the Sunderland game I spoke to him. Almost his first question was "How do you think we're doing?" I can't imagine many of our other ex-managers saying 'we' regardless of how they left.

I bet Brian Little and John Gregory would.  David O'Leary and Martin O'Neill I'd say possibly not!

[Mister E]

My only gripe about GT has nothing to do with his times with us: some fo his "expert comments" on TV and radio5L really are naff!
But his credentials as a "football man" are surely not in question? - he'd grace the Boardroom at B6, IMHO.

Oh, and in time Crouch would have come good for Villa; he just needed a little time (which Dolly wasn't prepared to give).

[Zhong Yi]

Yes he did say second stint, but has there ever been a better lot of business done anywhere anytime than McGrath, Platt, Yorke and Sid - all Villa legends and bought for less than 1m quid combined.

cannot argue with that one at all, what a great shout!

as for a board member howabout Paul Merson?

[PeterWithesShin]

Yep, fancy SGT buying a young Peter Crouch, what a dud of a career he ended up having.

I know, what a clown eh? Still, at least his successor was clever enough to mug Southampton for a mind boggling £2m.

Crouch was poor for us.  Not as bad as the likes of UDLC, Allback, Postma, Leonhardsen and Kinsella, but pretty awful nonetheless.  I don't remember many dissenting voices when he was loaned out to Norwich then sold cheaply to Southampton.

Funny, I remember many people thinking both Crouch and Allback should have been given runs in the team. But given the career Crouch has had and the amount of money he later moved for, you have to except that your claim that "players he brought in were all atrocious" is incorrect.
 

Very selective memory there.  Most people at the time were unhappy that Crouch was being played ahead of Angel.  And I couldn't care less what a player has gone on to do, in the context of Aston Villa, Crouch was poor.  I similarly don't care that Heskey once scored 20 goals for Liverpool in a season.  And if you don't think that UDLC was "that bad" then there really is no hope for you.  He could trap a ball further than a lot of players could pass it.  Lovely bloke, shit footballer.

And this would be the JPA who scored 1 league goal in 02/03? As I said, many people I know and spoke to at the time (rather than try and claim to know what 30,000 i've never met were thinking *winky*) wanted to see both Crouch and Allback have a 6-10 game run in the team to see what they could do.
And you may well choose to ignore what he did afterwards as it suits your argument, but the fact he had the ability to do it shows that SGT saw that in him and as such, wasn't an atrocious signing.

As for UDLC, he cost £1M, what were you expecting for that, Roberto Carlos? UDLC was an average player who cost peanuts.

[kippaxvilla2]

I admire the above but wouldn't Sir Graham be a bit of a PR stunt as a Director, I couldn't see him having much sway with the American and YTS Mafia.

[Clampy]

Crouch would have come good if Sir Graham had stayed on. He turned Ormondroyd into an effective player for us.

Maybe in hindsight he should'nt have come back second time round but he deserves respect for doing so.