He was definitely 'good' in those first two seasons, but he and Jimmy were both criticised for being slow/lazy sometimes. I'm getting mixed up slightly though cos I thought he was here 4 years and just checked and it was only 3.
I would say the UEFA final season was his best. The season before he took a month to settle, then he was injured for a large part of it, then came back at the end but wasn't 100%
7 league goals? I wouldn't agree personally. He was in and out of the side (as all 3 were) and he was integral in the UEFA campaign, but we were never totally dependent on him. In his final season he literally carried the team and stopped us becoming relegation fodder almost single-handedly (prolonged the inevitable) and it was clear the rest of the team was declining.
Not disagreeing, I just think he was even better in his final season.
People laugh because they underestimate the respect and influence Robbo had in world football. There really is no-one in the modern game to compare. His appointment by Gibson was an absolute masterstroke. Due in no small part to Lennie Lawrence's honesty and humbleness.
He was in and out the side because of the large number of games, not because he was playing badly.
spot on sheriff, he was unplayable for much of that season, but after an injury hit previous season and a lot travelling, he was in and out of the team to keep him fit
Rav and Juninho came because we were paying a lot and they knew who Robbo was. They wouldn't have come if it was just down to Robbo, or if we were just spending big, it was a combination of both.
Yeah, I remember the same! Time has definitely been kind to Viduka in particular with the 100% consensus now that he was a genius. He used to get stick. Remember that row he had in the car park after the Villa 0-4 when a guy shouted “I pay your wages Viduka” to which big Mark replied, you must be f****** rich, then.
Very true.Yeah, I remember the same! Time has definitely been kind to Viduka in particular with the 100% consensus now that he was a genius. He used to get stick. Remember that row he had in the car park after the Villa 0-4 when a guy shouted “I pay your wages Viduka” to which big Mark replied, you must be f****** rich, then.
I mentioned that he used to get pelters on here about a year ago and I got pelters for it
I guess when you’ve had 15 years dining on Bart Ogbeche lard sandwiches you realise how nice the oysters were when you could afford them
Great question. £50-£75m for a 24 year old version of either in today’s money?
Of course the money was important but wouldn't have been enough without the new stadium and Robbo. Juninho was the catalyst and he came mainly because of Robbo.
I think the Robbo influence is a bit overstated. If we’d signed Romario, why would he have rather played for Robbo than, say, Johan Cruyff or Alex Ferguson or whoever?
Fair enough. Maybe the truth is somewhere in the middle. But I still think players like Romario would have had offers to play for other big names they had huge respect for. It wasn’t like Robbo was literally the biggest name in world football.
Viduka by a mile.On their day Viduka and Boksic were virtually unplayable, but for us I thought Viduka turned up pretty much every game and offered more all round for the team in terms of hold up play, lay offs and goal threat. We had both when they were still pretty much at their peak, same with Rav and Yak. Jimmy was further past his peak I thought, still great and he was influential mentally. We tend to forget about Yak, but wasn't he player of the year? I'm not sure any of the others were, which seems crazy.
My order would be
1. Viduka
2. Boksic
3. JFH
4. Rav
5. Yak
6. Ricard
Although I have the softest spot for Ricard as he won me a bet with my mate that he'd score 15 goals that season.