REJECTS RETURN

The way we treat former players who return to play at Villa Park seems to be a random process. Some get abused for no reason, others get away lightly when they should be burned in effigy. In the future we'll be welcoming a number of our old boys, both players and officials, and I reckon they'll be treated something like this.

Martin Keown (Arsenal).
Left under a bit of a cloud in '89, when it was obvious for months he was off to the highest bidder, Playing for such a poor Everton side helped tone down the abuse, but nobody likes an Arsenal player, do they? **

Gordon Cowans (Derby County).
Bit of a low key response whenhe came back with Blackburn, but his third spell at Villa Park reminded us of the real Sid. Sure to be welcomed. ****

David Platt (Sampdoria).
Still highly thought of, but if the rumours of him moving back to Old Trafford are correct he might get a more hostile reception than such a great Villa player deserves.

Mark Walters (Liverpool).
Mainly for his press comments when he left, although later moving to Liverpool helped bump up the abuseometer. ** if he's stiil a Redscouse when we see him next, Other-wise * * 1/2.

Neil Cox (Middlesbrough).
Popular as a player, and probably the summer departure supporters most wanted to keep at the club. We've always had more affection for workers than skilful players, so ****

Tony Daley (Wolves).
He always split supporters'opinions when he played for us. Playing against us, he'll cause just as many arguments. * from half the crowd **** from the others.

Steve Frogatt (Wolves).
Difficult to say. Popular when he was here, and he's certainly been missed, but his departure was a bit messy and he's opened his mouth to the papers. ***

Graham Taylor (Wolves).
On his time here worthy of a hero's welcome. Unfortunately, football supporters have a nasty habit of kicking a man when he's down so Graham might get a bit of stick from some quarters, particularly our younger fans. **** from people who remember the mess he herited, and how he improved it

Adrian Heath (Burnley).
Nobody ever noticed him when he was playing for us. If we ever meet up with him again I doubt he'll be worth remembering . ***

Tony Cascarino (Marseilles).
I don't suppose we'll bump into the Italian Stallion (sic) in the future, but, if we do I dare say he'll get a reminder of his less-than-illustrious past. **

Les Sealey (Luton).
Inexplicably popular with those supporters who prefer a keeper to perform like an Italian opera diva rather than making the odd token attempt to save the ball. Most people, though, would give him the slagging he deserves. **

Dariusz Kubicki (Sunderland).
Did the job we required of him, worked hard and never let us down

Graham Turner (A club who couldn't get a proper manager).
You could be generous and say he did his best at a difficult time. Then you could remember that his best was nowhere near good enough and he should have fallen on his sword long before he did. *

Ian Ormondroyd (Leicester).
There are those who will no doubt boo our former record signing throughout any game he might play against us. To these I say that he may have bad the appearance, and often the ability, of an epileptic giraffe, but did he ever give less than 100% And I reckon that most people will appreciate the fact. ***

Cyrille Regis (Wycombe).
Always popular at the Villa and if he ever returns I've no doubt that he'll be just as well received. * * * *

Paul Rideout (Everton).
Been back to Villa Park a few times and received surprisingly little abuse Then again, considering the direction his once-promising career took, booing Rideout would be like kicking a puppy. ***

Robert Hopkins (Solihull Borough Reserves).
No comment. This is a family publication