| day by day can now be found on-line here great scapegoats of our time:
Dalian Atkinson
Being the gentleman he was and still is, Graham Taylor
replied to a letter circa 1989 advising on how his newly-promoted team could be
strengthened. The letter mentioned one Dalian Atkinson, a promising striker with Ipswich
Town. It would be interesting to learn why GT didn't fancy making a bid. A few years on
and BFR had no hesitation in bringing in the player he had previously brought for
Sheffield Wednesday .
It didn't start well. A debut goal at Hillsborough of all
places was just about spot on but then Dalian was absent with injury, an increasingly
frequent state of affairs in his first season. This was made even more frustrating by
Villa's inability to hit the net with any regularity. The 'Sicknote' jibe wasn't long in
surfacing, hardly fair as few players enjoy being out of the action for any length of
time.
Things then got spectacularly better. Atkinson hit three in
the first games of 1992-3 and struck up a goal-drenched partnership with new arrival Dean
Saunders. Suddenly, Villa's front line was on fire, Parker and Houghton probing with
Froggatt's accurate crosses doing a lot of damage. Atkinson had pace, strength and a
violent right foot finish. The run and chip against Wimbledon showed he had subtlety too
and must have won Goal of the Season by some margin. It wasn't the only one
By now Alan Hansen reckoned that Atkinson could achieve
whatever he wanted in the game. The world was at his feet. Which is when it all went
wrong. A minor injury kept him out of the next match - and for the next three months.
Eventually an operation sorted the problem and Atkinson returned for the championship
run-in, only to miss a series of gilt edged chances as Villa's challenge faded .
1993-4 began with more goals but then both form and goals
disappeared. Ron had to take some of the
blame for this, Dalian always seemed to be in the team if
he was fit regardless of his form while Whittingham, Yorke and Beinlich rotted away in the
reserves or waited on the bench. Atkinson didn't exactly make it easy to love him when he
claimed we didn't appreciate him and he might not sign a new deal with the club. Timely
and unforgettable League Cup goals poured oil on these troubled waters. No-one could knock
his contribution at Wembley but it wasn't quite so evident elsewhere. League form
nosedived and while performance improved at the start of the next season, results didn't
and Big Ron was gone.
Dalian made a good start under Brian with a goal against -
who else? - Wednesday and smashed a bullet in a League Cup defeat against Gareth
Southgate-inspired Palace. However in the same game he picked up another bad injury and
was out for another few months .
The end was near. His last game was on Easter Monday
against a mediocre Arsenal team (God, I enjoyed writing that). Villa were abysmal, losing
4-0 while Atkinson unforgivably strolled around the pitch. Brian had seen enough. He never
picked the player for Villa again, even banning him from training with the first-team
squad, presumably because of his malign influence at Bodymoor Heath His transfer to
Fenerbache brought Villa a loss on the deal but he wasn't missed. Far from it .
Dalian Atkinson is probably still dragging his bones round
a football field, trying to impress someone into signing him. There aren't many takers
now. What a sad end for a player who could have got into any team in the world. What a
waste.
Dave Collett. |
