David Platt's Villa Dream Team

[Toronto Villa]

Villa fans who only know Platt for his post playing career missed out on watching one of the best players in his position in Europe for a good number of years. He was superb for us and so very influential in the positive direction we were headed as a club at the time. He was Lampard before Lampard and could do just about everything you would ever want to see in an attacking midfielder. Great instincts and awareness and such great timing to get behind defences. My favorite Platt Villa goal was a critical bullet header against Bradford at home. I think it was at the North, cross from the right by Gage powered into the roof of the net. We needed that win, but there are so many others that he scored that you could make an argument for a lot of other great goals. For me  he should always be the best XI Villa side based on my time watching the club along with Sid and McGrath.

[Fred]

I did like David Platt and he along with McGrath and Yorke must rate as three of our best signings.
All by the same manager too.

[Richie]

Villa fans who only know Platt for his post playing career missed out on watching one of the best players in his position in Europe for a good number of years. He was superb for us and so very influential in the positive direction we were headed as a club at the time. He was Lampard before Lampard and could do just about everything you would ever want to see in an attacking midfielder. Great instincts and awareness and such great timing to get behind defences. My favorite Platt Villa goal was a critical bullet header against Bradford at home. I think it was at the North, cross from the right by Gage powered into the roof of the net. We needed that win, but there are so many others that he scored that you could make an argument for a lot of other great goals. For me  he should always be the best XI Villa side based on my time watching the club along with Sid and McGrath.

Totally agree. The other things to remember with Platty was that he was only 21 when he scored that vital winner against Bradford, had been at the club only a couple of months, had been bought for a couple of hundred grand from a lower league team and was only a squad player.

He was the equivalent of a Jordan Bowery signing.

Sir Graham managed to get us Platty and McGrath for peanuts, plus Dwight Yorke for nothing. What a fantastic Manager. 

[Pat McMahon]

When I lived in France I heard a former French national manager (Henri Michel I think) commentating on England v Holland at Wembley (2-2 draw under Graham Taylor).

Platt played, and scored IIRC, and Michel quoted Cantona saying something along the lines of "Platt is an average player, nothing exceptional in terms of pace, skill, strength etc. But he is always in the right place at the right time." Which was exceptional.

[aj2k77]

More England goals than Gerrard, Beckham, Robson, Hurst, Scholes, Keegan, Peters, Gascoigne, Barnes, Sheringham and only a couple short of Lampard and Shearer with less penalties than both. He never really gets a mention as an England player by the mainstream media and their love ins but the guy was a great midfielder and could time a run like no other I've seen in the flesh.

[tomd2103]

More England goals than Gerrard, Beckham, Robson, Hurst, Scholes, Keegan, Peters, Gascoigne, Barnes, Sheringham and only a couple short of Lampard and Shearer with less penalties than both. He never really gets a mention as an England player by the mainstream media and their love ins but the guy was a great midfielder and could time a run like no other I've seen in the flesh.

Especially as he scored one of the most iconic England goals of all time.   

[aj2k77]

More England goals than Gerrard, Beckham, Robson, Hurst, Scholes, Keegan, Peters, Gascoigne, Barnes, Sheringham and only a couple short of Lampard and Shearer with less penalties than both. He never really gets a mention as an England player by the mainstream media and their love ins but the guy was a great midfielder and could time a run like no other I've seen in the flesh.

Especially as he scored one of the most iconic England goals of all time.   

The most abiding memory of that World Cup in the media would be Gazza and his tears, Platt had a better tournament for me and scored goal of the tournament.

[Mister E]

His timing of runs into the box was almost uncanny. My memory of Platt for Villa was an away game at Derby where - I'm sure - he scored two goals; nothing flashy, but just brilliantly timed.
Shame he's a fathead now, really.

[enigma]

he was very good for a time but I wouldn't say he was great. One of England's best players for a period too, but largely forgotten by the press and other fans. I think he was a good player in a very average England era and in the Italian league as it was dipping. He made the most of his talents certainly but not a great.

I wish finishing fourth in the World Cup was average for England but it remains our second best finish in the competition.

Serie A was also by far the best league back in the 90's. They wouldn't be overtaken for another decade or so.

[Tokyo Sexwhale]

he was very good for a time but I wouldn't say he was great. One of England's best players for a period too, but largely forgotten by the press and other fans. I think he was a good player in a very average England era and in the Italian league as it was dipping. He made the most of his talents certainly but not a great.

I wish finishing fourth in the World Cup was average for England but it remains our second best finish in the competition.

Serie A was also by far the best league back in the 90's. They wouldn't be overtaken for another decade or so.

Platt was also in the Euro 96 team that got to the semi-finals, and just missed out on penalties again.

[chrisw1]

He was an absolutely fantastic player for us and England.  Amazing how little credit he gets nowadays.

I've never been as confident of any Villa player scoring a one on one as I was with him.  He was unerring.

[PeterWithe]

He does have a face only a mother could love, and does come across as a bit of a bell-end. But he is was one of the few world class payers we have had in my life time, kept us up single handed in his last season.

Spot on that.

[Flamingo Lane]

Does anyone remember the cup game v Milan, in the days when a goalkeeper could pick up a back pass, when Platt, on the touchline in front of the Trinity Road, defied a crowded goalmouth by striking a superb volley straight into the arms of our keeper?

[Ian.]

As picked up by others the generation of the England team with Platt was pretty damn good?
Italy 90' and Euro '94 was two tournaments which we were very unlucky and at the time gutting to not win either but after the years which have passed it's left find memories.

He was a great, no doubts about it.

[brian green]

My best memory of him was at Molyneux playing for Crewe.   The Villa game had been frozen off so we went to Wolves to see their game.   Platt collected a ball in his own penalty area and ran directly at Wolves.   One after another they tried to hack him down but he skipped through their lunges like a mouse in a threshing machine then finished off with a clinical goal.   When we got him it was an absolute steal.