Radio WM

[Andy_Lochhead_in_the_air]

With 250 goals Bull stands at number 40 in the all time list of league goals scored across all 4 divisions.

http://www.rsssf.com/tablese/engtops-allt.html

[dave.woodhall]

The difference between him and Andy Lochhead is that nobody would say Andy was anything other than a decent centre-forward who gave his all for the Villa towards the end of his career. With the lack of humility that we're becoming accustomed to, they'd have you believe that Stayvie ranked somewhere between Marco van Basten and Gerd Muller in the list of modern goalscorers.     

[TopDeck113]

Oh, come on. We're football fans and we're all allowed some exaggeration when it comes to our heroes.  We're the supporters, after all, who refer to a player of a similar vintage as Bull as 'God'.  However, one would suspect that supporters of other clubs would find that divine epithet quite amusing, especially if, like me, they had witnessed first-hand him being part of a defensive unit the conceded threes, fours and fives.

However, I digress. My point comparing Lochhead and Bull was nothing to do with their relative merits as centre-forwards, but in response to a post that scoring against Darlington or Hartlepool somehow doesn't warrant ongoing adoration. I disagree. I actually think that the player whose goals help turn your club around after years of decline is more than worthy of that adoration, and probably more so than the mercenary big-money signing that pitches up when things are going well.  That's why I made the comparison. And in Bull's case, he was instrumental in turning around a club that was in very real danger of heading not into a few seasons of slumming it in the lower divisions, but into oblivion.  That will play a massive part in how contemporary Wolves fans will view him.

[in exile]

There will be plenty on here of a certain age who will have as one of their all-time Villa heroes a bald, has-been centre-forward who scored most of his 30 goals for the club in Division 3.  It's not who you score against that matters; it's what those goals mean in the context of your club's history.

Don't get me started on the over 50's again, the bunch of bastards

[rob_bridge]

I think I've mentioned this before on here but I remember an interview with him when he talked about not having moved. He said  that the nearest he came was when Coventry bid for him. He was interested but ultimately stayed where he was happy and that 'it's not like it was Liverpool or Villa' that he was turning down. Always liked him since.

Sir Graham gave him a last shot at the Premier League so he spoke to Coventry, whose then-manager BFR said "He's on more than I am".  Stayvie stayed at Wolves and when news of the talks became public Sir Graham was pushed under the bus.

Wasn't there some revisionist bollocks narrative about Bully turning us down in 1989 and Taylor wouldn't pick him for England (as a result) and then tried to move him on at Wolves as he didn't like what had happened. Utter bullshit I remember arguing with a Wolves fan at the time

[SoccerHQ]

I've probably told this story before so will just summarise. Me and a mate (both Villa fans) met Steve Bull in the casino on Broad Street a few years ago and had a good chat with him at the bar. He was a sound bloke and happy to talk (whilst his Mrs was on the casino floor). Anyway I asked him how close he really came to joining Villa - he basically said he was up for it it and in his own words his bag was packed and he was ready to go, but the deal fell through.

When was that, mid 90s? I remember him being linked seriously with Coventry one season but don't remember a serious link to us.

I think he had a touch of a Shearer abour him, genuinely believed he could achieve his ambitions at this boyhood club but they just fell short many times.

Wolves in the 90s kept on losing in the play offs in the first division, think it was 4 times in six seasons so when you're a game or two away from the premier league you just think it will happen next season.

Probably Kane at Spurs has similar thoughts atm.

[cdbearsfan]

I seem to remember that we were forever about to sign Steve Bull.

[SoccerHQ]

I seem to remember that we were forever about to sign Steve Bull.

Wouldn't he have disrupted us like Stan did?

Early 90s was Dalian and Dean Saunders.

Mid 90s Yorkie was our main man and for all his faults Savo combined well as a foil and could also chip in with 10 or so a season. Tommy Johnson and Joachim good squad strikers.

I don't think Steve Bull, as good a lower league striker as he was, the missing link upfront. Likes of Bergkamp or Les Ferdinand were more given they were also proven at the top level and seemingly we went after both around 1995.

[OzVilla]

I seem to remember that we were forever about to sign Steve Bull.

Wouldn't he have disrupted us like Stan did?

Early 90s was Dalian and Dean Saunders.

Mid 90s Yorkie was our main man and for all his faults Savo combined well as a foil and could also chip in with 10 or so a season. Tommy Johnson and Joachim good squad strikers.

It was around 89 to 91 when we were most heavily linked to Bull, under SGT and Dr Jo.  We ended up with Tony Cascarino and later Gary Penrice. Petsonally, I think Bully would have done well at the Villa

[SoccerHQ]

O.k long before my time then supporting us and yes in that period he probably would've.

[Clampy]

I seem to remember that we were forever about to sign Steve Bull.

From memory, GT bidded for both Bull and Andy Mutch.

[Richard E]

Steve Bull is without a shadow of a doubt the worst after dinner speaker I have ever witnessed, even worse than the guy telling hilarious anecdotes about his time as an Air Traffic Controller. The dreadfulness of it was magnified by him being on a double bill with Don Goodman, who is interesting, intelligent and articulate. 

[LeeB]

I seem to remember that we were forever about to sign Steve Bull.

From memory, GT bidded for both Bull and Andy Mutch.

We went for him when we signed Platt but they wanted too much IIRC.

Worked out well for us to be fair.

[dave.woodhall]

Without him Wolves would have been at best hanging around the bottom divisions for the foreseeable, so it's only right that they regard him as their saviour because that's what he was. But I still think he was nothing better than a division two/three goalscorer who for his last couple of seasons was bigger than the club and probably held them back. For example, the hatred they had for Sir Graham was predominantly down to his letting Stayvie talk to Coventry and ultimately led to his being hounded out prematurely. And although I've never met him, I've known enough people who have to form an opinion that he's not the nicest. 

[AV82EC]

Steve Bull is without a shadow of a doubt the worst after dinner speaker I have ever witnessed, even worse than the guy telling hilarious anecdotes about his time as an Air Traffic Controller. The dreadfulness of it was magnified by him being on a double bill with Don Goodman, who is interesting, intelligent and articulate.

You’ve never been regaled by Michael Fish have you? 20 minutes of utter bollocks, which includes making his faulty hurricane forecast into the most boring anecdote ever. Unfortunately I hadn’t had enough drink to heckle at a work do.

Best ever for me were Barry Cryer and quite remarkably Gyles Brandreth!!