A Bunch Of Fives… Heroes Of Aston Villa

BodyButter provides his bunch of fives… Villa heroes

1. Paul McGrath – If someone described to me watching Paul McGrath defend, I wouldn’t believe them. Like some alien race from a sci-fi film, he knew where the ball was but he also knew where it was going to be so when it came in, he was there waiting for it. Watching a fella with bandy knees out-foxing the best strikers in the world was unbelievable. Throw in his personal issues and the humility of a saint and that’s Paul McGrath.

2. Gareth Barry – if you imagine Rolls Royce made a football player, that’s Gareth Barry. No fuss, no theatrics, does everything. He wasn’t fast but he could glide across the pitch at a fair pace. He has the left foot of a wizard and a tackle to match. Scored goals, defended, attacked, unselfish, no nonsense and was sublimely consistent.

3. Ashley Young (pre-England cap) – take a bottle of soda and shake it up, unscrew the cap and that was Ashley Young. He was everywhere, all the time. He sprinted for 90 minutes, always showing for the ball and chasing down defenders, goal keepers and lost dogs (I might have made up one of those). He scored goals, made goals, slept goals and ate goals. Unstoppable, uncontainable, unbelievable.



4. Ian Taylor – the thing about Taylor is that all anyone ever talks about is that he was a fan who got to play on the pitch. It’s true and it’s remarkable but it disguises how good he was. One of the last of the real box-to-box midfielders. He had an engine like a diesel train and covered every blade of grass in every game. The fact that he was one of us is just icing.

5. John Carew – we haven’t had enough top strikers at Villa Park in recent times but we definitely had one in John Carew. If you were building a striker, you’d make John Carew. He was a huge guy with the feet of an angel. He was bigger than me and you, he was gonna score one or two, John Carew, Carew.

And more in our bunch of fives forum thread

AVFC Fan Gives His Bunch Of Fives – Villa Heroes
A Bunch Of Aston Villa Fives – I Wish I’d Been…
A Bunch Of Fives: Heroes Of Aston Villa
Aston Villa Cult Heroes. A Fine Bunch Of Fives
I Could Never See What The Fuss Was About – Bunch Of 5’s