Never played for Villa

[Brend'Watkins]

I went to see Beinlich and Breitkreutz make their debuts for the reserves and felt both would have a long career with us.

I also thought Breitkreutz would have the better career.

Wrong.

I went to that too. Overseas players were at the time a novelty for us, i think those two might well have been our first German players when German players were starting to be fashionable on the back of Bowie’s Berlin trilogy. I too thought Bueitkrutz was the far superior player and was most disappointed to be proved wrong. He went back to Germany and amounted to nothing special.

 

[ADVILLAFAN]

Close to not playing, but who was the kid we thought was going to be a world beater when he played against them in the League Cup. A big Ron signing?

Helenius was another who had a couple of appearances.

Lamptey?

[KNVillan]

Hector Fullońe Arce - signed alongside his brother Oscar in 1967

[ADVILLAFAN]

Don't think any of the Bellon or Steiber brothers played for us.

That Portuguese GK we signed (Moreira?) Couldn't play for us, as we had too many loans. Did play in a Cup game, think against Yeovil. Was dreadful, but saved a penalty.

[Meanwood Villa]

Bradley played four games, with his only start being when Houllier decided to chicken out of the FA Cup at Man City. Boulding played twice, both in the InterToto Cup. I'm guessing he's the only player whose entire "home" Villa career took place at The Hawthorns. Cummings was on trial but never signed as we couldn't get a work permit.

Boulding played, and scored, at Villa Park in the Intertoto.

[Meanwood Villa]

I couldn't remember Ghrayib making an appearance for us but he did according to Wiki.

[ADVILLAFAN]

Think the Spanish Crespo played once for us.

[Chris Smith]

Ivo Stas

[Somniloquism]

I couldn't remember Ghrayib making an appearance for us but he did according to Wiki.

I was surprised how little he played. I thought he had played a few more.

[The Man With A Stick]

I went to see Beinlich and Breitkreutz make their debuts for the reserves and felt both would have a long career with us.

I also thought Breitkreutz would have the better career.

Wrong.

Remember watching them against Liverpool reserves, not sure if that was their debuts but we put 7 past them and they were both outstanding.

[dave.woodhall]

What part of the word 'never' is so difficult?

[MorrisNielson]

Lee Turnbull was signed as part of the Kevin Poole transfer in the summer of 87 from Boro. Made the bench once before a 17k move to Doncaster in November 87.
Only on loan but Tiago Ilori springs to mind. Unable to dispossess Micah Richards at centre-back (insert your own joke here). Sent back to Liverpool in January 2016.
We had a few goalies on loan from SHA when we were low on numbers; Jim Herriott (1970) & Martin Thomas (1993). Also on a similar theme, Paul Crichton from WBA (1997).
We had Marcus Hahnemann on the books at one stage for a short time back in late 1990s. He had no hair then either. We ended up with Enckelman instead.

Now for a few from the past that not many would have heard of:
Haydn Price – played for Wales in 1907 despite struggling to get into our second eleven.
Harry Lamb & Bill Tunstall – both played over 100 central league reserve games without making the first eleven. Lamb was signed from Stourbridge and was unable to oust the Moss brothers from centre-half, ended up at Scunthorpe. Unsurprisingly, Tunstall never got a look in at inside-forward with Billy Walker in the way. Signed from Precost Cables in 1928, sold to Bournemouth in 1933.
Sir Gilbert Garnsey K.B.E. He wasn’t a Knight of the Realm when he played for us in 1903-04. That came later. A native of Somerset, moved to work in accountancy for a Walsall firm. Played as a forward for us as an amateur, also represented Birmingham & District in the annual ‘junior international’. Became partner for PwC and was involved in some of the most notable cases in 1920s like the collapse of Wolseley Motors and the Clarence Hatry trial.

[Meanwood Villa]

Great facts Morris. Perhaps unsurprisingly they are all new names to me apart from Ilori and Hahnemann.

[Holte L2]

Balaban started a League Cup defeat at home against Wednesday. Sure I'd have been at the game but I remember nothing of it, let alone his performance. Also eight sub appearances.

I do have the miss-fortune of remembering it. He was utterly crap.  When you look at his career elsewhere it makes me wonder if he was another foreign player we didn't support properly, like JPA.   Or he wasn't up to the Premier League.

[Somniloquism]

Wasn't there a player Atkinson bought who then sold him in the same transfer period?