Players you thought would make it...who didn't

[Aston Villa]

As for players who didn't make it, I'd contest Moustapha Salifou being the 'next Zidane'.

I think the term used was 'the Togolese Zidane'. He may still be the closest thing they have produced to Zidane though so you can't say he didn't live up to his tag.

[Ad@m]

Jlloyd Samuel - when he came through I was convinced he was going to make the England left back spot his own for a decade.  How wrong I was!!

The Moore brothers are the worst example by a country mile though - Luke scoring a hattrick in the FA Youth Cup final where Rooney scored one and Stephan ending up playing for St Neots.  What a terrible waste of talent.

[rutski]

charles n'zogbia, what the feck is he doing???

[Virgil Caine]

I really thought that Steve Froggett would be a Villa legend for many years.

[gervilla]

I really thought that Steve Froggett would be a Villa legend for many years.

You just beat me to it.

[Aston Villa]

Jlloyd Samuel - when he came through I was convinced he was going to make the England left back spot his own for a decade.  How wrong I was!!

Plays in Ayatollah Land now doesn't he?

[FiveKenMcNaughts]

I always thought Stephen Foley (part of the Youth Cup winning team vs Everton) looked a real talent. I know he went to Bournemouth and Yeovil but don't know where he is now.

On the other hand, though Gabby would play no more than 10/15 games for the first team

[Andy_Lochhead_in_the_air]

Oscar Arce. The Sports Argus had a four page picture special of his ball juggling skills. I put those pictures on my bedroom wall.

Jimmy Brown. The Doc said when he made is his debut at 15 he would be captain of Scotland.

[silhillvilla]

Graeme Hogg
Isaiah Osbourne

[dave shelley]

Jimmy Brown. The Doc said when he made is his debut at 15 he would be captain of Scotland.

I was at Bolton (Burnden Park) the night Jimmy Brown made his debut at 15 years old.  Still the youngest Villa debutant I think.  That was the night also that put the idea into my head that Tommy Docherty was losing it, literally.  I'd been wandering around outside before kick off and as I was on my own decided to walk over to the players entrance.  A lad was outside and began talking to me and a couple of other Villa fans.  It turned out it was a youth/reserve team player by the name of Greg Fellows, I don't think he ever played for the first team and was released and ended up being taken on by Manure of all clubs.  He didn't make it there either.  Anyway, he went in and came out with complimentaries which he gave to me and the other lads so we had good seats in the main stand. 

This is where it got strange, as we were sat directly behind Charlie Aitken who, for our younger posters was arguably Villa's best player for years.  He'd been dropped, never heard of before.  Villa lost 2-1 with I thnk Bruce Rioch scoring our goal and Jimmy having a pretty good debut for a 15 year old.

After the game I was again hanging around outside waiting for the coach when Docherty came out.  Well we all surrounded him like flies around shit and he then came out with the little gem that, and I quote, "I can never understand why Charlie Aitken was ever allowed to play so many games for Villa".  Charlie was not only a great, loyal servant to Aston Villa but a damn fine full back too.  It's not surprising that he arguably went on to play his finest football for Villa after Docherty left when Villa's ship finaly began to come in.

Sorry for the long post.

[Ron Manager]

"Lucky" Greg Fellows . I had almost forgotten him, and Tony Betts!  I too thought Jimmy Brown at 15 would be some player.He had confidence,power and the right attitude but for some reason it seemed to slide away.

Remember Stephen Cooke being the star of the 2000 Hong Kong tournament. I really thought he would crack it but he didnt.

[Big Dick Edwards]

I remember seeing a kid called Frank Pimblett make his Villa first team debut in the mid 1970s and I thought he looked a star of the future. I don't think I ever saw him or read about him again!

More recently Stephen Cooke really looked the business whenever I saw him playing for the Reserves. He never got a chance of a run in the first team for some reason.

The best Villa youngster I've ever seen was Luke Moore. I saw him as a 15 year old make first teamers look mugs in training. I really thought he was destined for super-stardom. To be fair, he's still playing in the Premier League so his career hasn't taken a complete nosedive.

[Virgil Caine]

I may need some help here from some of my fellow senior Villans. Around 1968/69 we had a night game against Huddersfield which we won 4-1. My uncle told me at the next game that Emmet Kapengwe was unstoppable and that The Doc had discovered a talent that would save the Villa and we had a new hero. Suffice to say that after a handful of games Kapengwe and his compatriot Mwali (?) faded from the first team and ultimately from Villa Park altogether.

[dave shelley]

That's about right sir.  I was at that match.  We played Cardiff the following Saturday and lost, can't remember the score, but it was the only time in his managerial career at Villa that Docherty picked the same eleven for two games running.  I think the other fellows name was Freddie Mwilla IIRC.

[eric woolban woolban]

Remeber when we all used to rave about Harry Forrester and that he was going to be the next big thing.

Think he is at Bournemouth now.

Just goes to show, how you have to put in the hard work, effort and dedication for your whole career.

I cannot believe professional footballers throw their skills away. The career last twenty years at most. Is it too much to ask?