Dean Saunders home debut - full MOTD highlights

[Chico Hamilton III]

I remember going to see his debut at Leeds the week before. Nil Nil? Sunday game?

1-1. He had a goal disallowed for offside. Parker scored ours, Steve Hodge for them.

Jesus, I though it was just my short term memory that's shot to pieces. Looks like my long term memory is no better...

Slight tangent, but on a Deano theme - does anyone remember the Chapter and Verse video? Haven't seen it for years, and it's probably very much of its time, but it was brilliant

[Chico Hamilton III]

Full Chapter and Verse video here

[garyshawsknee]

One of my favourite ever games I've been to. Drove up in my brothers Astra mark one with a leeky sunroof, had to stop off on the way to buy a bin liner to stop the leak. Great performance, teasing of Walters made the day too.

[Holte L2]

Full Chapter and Verse video here

Going to watch that tonight!

[tomd2103]

Will watch this when I get home tonight.  Apart from the last couple of months, what a season that was.  One of the last seasons of 'proper football' before Sky got a real hold on the game.  I can still name the starting XI for most of that season:

                           Spink

Barrett         McGrath     Teale    Staunton

Houghton    Richardson   Parker     Froggatt

                  Atkinson        Saunders


Of course there were the odd changes here and there.  Thinking back, I don't remember Tony Daley featuring that much that season.  Guess he must have been injured.   

     

Daley did his cruciate very early on in the season.  He was my favourite player at the time so remember that vividly. 

My season ticket was in the Witton Lane Stand that season.  The last year it was the single tier stand.  Used to bloody love sitting there. We had a fantastic group of lads sat with us.
I was only 8 that season, and there was a bloke called H who sat nearby - just around the half way line.  Gave me £1 every home game.He used to shout "I don't like it Willa (with his false teeth) You've gotta move".  Brings a tear to my eye.

I remember H in the Witton Lane, as we used to sit right by him as well.  A real character!

[levico]

Certainly in my top 5 games of all time.

Very sad to see how far we have dropped since then.

[Holte L2]

Will watch this when I get home tonight.  Apart from the last couple of months, what a season that was.  One of the last seasons of 'proper football' before Sky got a real hold on the game.  I can still name the starting XI for most of that season:

                           Spink

Barrett         McGrath     Teale    Staunton

Houghton    Richardson   Parker     Froggatt

                  Atkinson        Saunders


Of course there were the odd changes here and there.  Thinking back, I don't remember Tony Daley featuring that much that season.  Guess he must have been injured.   

     

Daley did his cruciate very early on in the season.  He was my favourite player at the time so remember that vividly. 

My season ticket was in the Witton Lane Stand that season.  The last year it was the single tier stand.  Used to bloody love sitting there. We had a fantastic group of lads sat with us.
I was only 8 that season, and there was a bloke called H who sat nearby - just around the half way line.  Gave me £1 every home game.He used to shout "I don't like it Willa (with his false teeth) You've gotta move".  Brings a tear to my eye.

I remember H in the Witton Lane, as we used to sit right by him as well.  A real character!

Lovely bloke.  We used to sit next to a bloke called Skinner too. Another character.
I think H passed away some time ago though? Wish there was some old photos going around in order to reminisce.

[kiddylion]

Full Chapter and Verse video here

Watching that makes you realise how much the game has changed since Sky took over.
The players all down to earth even paying for there own food in the canteen at the training ground.
Much prefer football back then

[Clark W Griswold]

Garry Parker looks like he really made us tick in midfield.

[Deano's Mullet]

Garry Parker looks like he really made us tick in midfield.

Parker, Houghton and Richardson were a great midfield trio supplemented by either Daley or Froggatt depending on which one was fit. Its a shame for Parker that the following summer we signed Andy Townsend and Parker became a semi-regular from that time on. Townsend did well in the big league cup games of 1993-94 but really didn't find consistent form until Brian Little's first full season. Still baffles me why BFR sold Froggatt and Daley when he signed John Fashanu the same summer who would have thrived on their crosses.

[AV82EC]

Garry Parker looks like he really made us tick in midfield.

Parker, Houghton and Richardson were a great midfield trio supplemented by either Daley or Froggatt depending on which one was fit. Its a shame for Parker that the following summer we signed Andy Townsend and Parker became a semi-regular from that time on. Townsend did well in the big league cup games of 1993-94 but really didn't find consistent form until Brian Little's first full season. Still baffles me why BFR sold Froggatt and Daley when he signed John Fashanu the same summer who would have thrived on their crosses.

Froggatt was never the same after he got "done" in the Dalian goal of the season Wimbledon game. Didn't he have to retire early? Didn't Daley do his ACL around then and had to retire when his contract was up?

[Deano's Mullet]

Garry Parker looks like he really made us tick in midfield.

Parker, Houghton and Richardson were a great midfield trio supplemented by either Daley or Froggatt depending on which one was fit. Its a shame for Parker that the following summer we signed Andy Townsend and Parker became a semi-regular from that time on. Townsend did well in the big league cup games of 1993-94 but really didn't find consistent form until Brian Little's first full season. Still baffles me why BFR sold Froggatt and Daley when he signed John Fashanu the same summer who would have thrived on their crosses.

Froggatt was never the same after he got "done" in the Dalian goal of the season Wimbledon game. Didn't he have to retire early? Didn't Daley do his ACL around then and had to retire when his contract was up?

Froggatt had a few good games in 1993-94, particularly Swindon at home where he played left back as Staunton and Small were both injured, he even scored in that one. Daley featured in the majority of games in his final season. He wasn't consistent though which is maybe why BFR  signed Phil King at left back while pushing  Steve Staunton into  the left of midfield. He also had speedy players like Yorke and Lamptey that he probably thought could do a job on the wing. Staunton was a pretty good left midfielder and had plenty of assists that year.

[tomd2103]

I often have thought back as to why we were never able to really kick on from that second place finish.  I suppose the younger members of the squad at the time (Yorke, Ugo, Bosnich) were not quite the players they would later become at that point, so the strength in depth wasn't really there. 

[Holte L2]

I often have thought back as to why we were never able to really kick on from that second place finish.  I suppose the younger members of the squad at the time (Yorke, Ugo, Bosnich) were not quite the players they would later become at that point, so the strength in depth wasn't really there. 

Big Ron's biggest weakness was his inability to sign younger players.  In hindsight that summer he should have signed Collymore from Southend instead of Guy Wittingham.
And a younger centre midfielder instead of re-signing Cowans to play alongside Townsend and Richardson.

[tomd2103]

Along with the 2000 FA Cup Final, missing out on the league that year remain my biggest disappointments as a Villa fan.  To have won the first Premier League title and the last FA Cup Final to be played at the old Wembley would have been good footnotes in the club's long history.