Submitted by: Villa Gorilla
Gabby as we all know is Villa born and bred, and when it comes to club loyalty you cannot ask for more. So if Gabby decided to hang up his boots tomorrow would he be remembered as we remember McGrath, Withe and Saunders today? I like to think so!
Gabby was seven when he joined Villa’s academy, and nineteen years later he’s still pulling on the claret and blue shirt something that is very rare in modern football. Not only that but with the exception of a few seasons he has been a permanent fixture in Villa’s front line for the past seven years.
I, like many people couldn’t understand why Gabby wasn’t in the England squad for the upcoming World Cup Qualifiers. A fast, in-form and threatening forward capable of sprinting through the opposition defence with ease (yes I am a fan of the guy!). Maybe I’m being ever so slightly biased but I think he is certainly a better candidate than Welbeck for a start.
I know he hasn’t won anything with us over the past few years but he has been with the club through ups and downs which just shows his devotion and passion towards the club. He is nearing his 250th league appearance for Villa and form those games he has scored his fair share of goals too.
As stated in the first paragraph, he hasn’t always been at his best but with the work he put in last season and in the start of this one, shows he is capable of being a consistently useful player. Will he be a legend like McGrath or just a player we remember for being loyal? What do you think?
really impressed with gabby this season so far and last, I believe he really likes playing under lambert and his experience for his age is incredible he’s seen highs and lows at villa, been in form, out of form and in and out of favour.
I haven’t seen him play this well since he first burst on the scene killing it with Ashley young and im looking forward to seeing him the rest of the season.
wether he can be uttered in the same breath as the afore mentioned players, no doubt he deserves it just for his commitment to the cause, maybe one day for sure if he can get his hands on a trophy for us.
he should be making the England squad, he’s just the type of player we need when the inevitable 0-0 draws against teams like Moldova start rolling in but the England set up exasperates me at the best of times, he’s wearing the wrong colours for and England call up. in truth im majorly concerned that we wont be going to brazil next year.
I often refer to Gabby as ‘Mr. Villa’. Yes, he will be remembered along side McGrath, Spink and Withe – by me, at least.
We all know Gabby’s ability problem is England’s scouts don’t, you just have to take note on comentaters when Villa are televised, they have lots of good points and say a call up should be on the cards for him. Hodgson is a lucky man to have been given the England job, midland clubs have always had second pick in getting the prime call. I will always watch the game but interest has gone for me, if well win,well OK if they lose don’t mean a thing to me.
I’m in exactly the same place Bill struggle to show the remotest bit of interest, if its on the box I’ll watch it but I don’t exactly go out my way and to be honest pretty much the same with most football. MOTD, Sky super bollox, (would rather watch the football league show) if I aint Villa then I’m not particularly not fussed.
Funny u Shoukd say that BWS iv actually started watching football league show a lot more than motd which I sky plus so I can avoid all the sky 4 brown nosing and avoid meaningless sky four games.
So you have a Sky box then?
Quest I ways wondering about that,Oohah did you not say that you would not pay for sky? Or am I wrong.
Bbc1 freeview is the football league show
No but Momma’s got a squeeze box.
It’s on bbc1 don’t need a sky box!
You need a sky box to sky+ programmes though don’t you bullshitter
Not necessarily if u know what I mean!
I just can’t bear watch them (Man U and the likes)it’s all just over hyped bullshit, whereas I find the FLS just a bit more impartial and concentrates on football and not football teams, if you get what I mean.
Yep I do it’s more football in the good days before the sky bullshit
Ha ha you have been found out you bullshitter
We win.
I have a big fat number 11 on the back of my shirt. I’d love to see him in an England shirt but as someone pointed out before, we need him uninjured and concentrating on the Villa! And yes, he’s already a Villa legend.
I keep reading he’s not English class, but then again English class shouldn’t be that high of a standard since very few are better than him for England. Sturridge, Walcott I’d understand, Rooney yes… But then that’s about it for wingers/forwards. He should easily be called up ahead of the likes of Sterling, while yes he’s young, he’s not nearly good enough for England and Gabby could go to the next 2 world cups so age shouldn’t be a problem.
As good a player as Rooney is you can count on one hand the amount of times he has done it for England. Of course media will make some bullshit excuse up for him as he’s a utd player. If he was playing for us he would have been dropped years ago as would Gerrard and Lampard and the rest of the so called golden generation that have won us fuck all
That’s the thing though is a lot of players aren’t class compared to Rooney, Gerrard and Lampard, despite how talented they are, they’ve failed. But overall the class isn’t there all over the pitch and especially on the wings and in midfield after Gerrard, Lampard and Carrick. The likes of Sterling and Cleverly are extremely poor players compared to others and yet as you rightfully claimed, they’re called up for being sky 4 and hoping they come good. Just because Cleverly actually plays for United, doesn’t make him good. Much like their two fullbacks.
Agree if u put gabby in utds reserves he would be playing fri no doubt about it. Remember Alan smith when at Leeds couldn’t really get into squad joined utd played one game and called up says it all. No wonder we win fuck all
For me Gabby should be remembered the same way as McGrath, Saunders and the like, his commitment to Villa has been tremendous, does everyone remember when Arsenal were sniffing, he told them to do one, not many players would do that.
As for the England call, that’s just a joke, and I happen to agree we will not be going to Brazil, I feel there are far better committed players in the Championship league than Premier that deserve to ware the three lions, it’s a total farce, another manager selecting none playing players, which he said himself would never happen.
Puppets that’s what we have with England managers, if a string breaks (Disagree with FA) your gone.
Agree vtid though I think we will easily qualify but will go out in the quarters on pens yawn
Last time he was called up he was injured, so it has happened. It just needs to happen again, repeatedly. Why, for example, did it take so long to call up Lambert? He’s a prolific goal scorer, no matter what league he’s in.
Gabby is Erdington Villa before he joined AVFC.He was a supporter before a player.So he is one of us.To spend your playing career at one club the club you support is an honour for Gabby.He lives and breathes AVFC so therefore is a Legend in his own right.Lets hope he pushes on this season and finds 10 PL goals in his locker.Goodluck to Gabby one of us…UTV
A Legend indeed, Villa through and through man and boy.
Will we ever see his likes again at Villa Park in an age were loyalty is a lost virtue? I very much doubt it.
Spot on pal UTV
No doubt Gabby is a Villa icon, hope Villa will always look after that type of player.I have known in the past them turn backs on ex players, Garry Shore springs to mind.
Gary shaw had the corner flag restaurant in AVFC.
Did he are you sure on that? Him and Denis Mortimer had hard tims at Villa ,Gary Shore worked for a local Brewery.
The corner flag restaurant at AVFC as I understood it when I was a chef at the villa for a year and a half was something to do with Gary Shaw…UTV
You got me there, I knew Garry he played for Emeralds boys wilh my nephew, and as I think you know was chief steward at the ground in them days, but that’s not saying I’m right, he may have held the responsible of being corporate quest, because he was a rep for brewery for a while, strange one that.
Lol – Love the background Guest but your a wrong ‘un mate.
Don’t know what your’e talking about mate 😉
I know this on a Spuds site but what a blast from the past. http://www.tottenhamblog.com/2013/09/05/memories-of-spurs-aston-villa-and-the-league-cup/?
Yes Bill what a day, 4 of us from our club went ended up in dirty dicks with 6 Tott lads, we played them off the park and lost.
Those were the days
I love gabby to bits, not the most technical player ever but incredibly athletic and i feel probably would hav been a better player had MON and mccleish not got a hold of him, but loyalty goes both ways, you can’t fault gabbys loyalty but fans will be on his back again if he loses a bit of form, it really annoys me how fans talk about loyalty from a player but then as soon as he loses a bit of form he is shit and should never wear a villa shirt again, im sure players see this too and that’s why they really don’t give a Fuck about fans or the club.
None of the Villa supporters I know have ever said that about Gabby mate.Seems pretty shallow as hes an Erdington born Villa fan…
Some people here (can’t remember who, not pointing fingers anyway) were talking about dropping Gabby when he had a bad patch a couple of seasons ago under McLeish.
Foxy name a single player who had a good season under the ‘M’ word. Add to that being a forward must have been a nightmare playing under his tenure, 11 behind the ball, park the bus up and get a nose bleed if you go further up the pitch than the halfway line. Ronaldo would have struggled mate.
BWS, I was replying to JD, not passing comment, not criticising anyone, not pointing fingers, not anything. Like I said, my shirt has Gabby’s name on the back.
Defence was ok under him and bent did well
Never thought for a minute you were Foxy, I was just putting forward a possible explanation for Gabby’s loss of form during the dark days of the M season.
He was injured for a chunk of it and he really didn’t like playing McLeish’s style, if you can call it that. Neither the players nor the fans wanted to be there!
So true a lot of fans (myself included reluctantly) thought he would be better of somewhere else as it looked like he needed a new challenge. But fair play this year he has really turned if around and I’m really pleased he has as gabby is one of us and that us so rare in football. Though If he suffers loss of form this year we cannot get on his back again (me included) we can’t have it both ways.
Oohah I’m with you on that, I was a person at one stage said things about him and his form, I even spoke to his friend and said thought he was losing it and should move on, i dont know if it would have been said to him but I felt better. What a prat I feel now, he’s Mr Aston Villa to me now love him for doing things for the club.
Agree bill
Ps never forget that goal line clearance of agent ridgewell then popping up the other end to get last min winner v the scum and running into the villa fans. Should be a legend just for that alone.
Got to admit a little while back i wanted Gabby out.. thought he had become stale..
But fairplay to him.. he has improved a lot under PL and is a valuable memeber of the squad..
As for England.. not sure if he is England class but nor are most of them..
Also after TEN PLUS years of fcuking Gerrard and Lampard failing together we are still seeing the same combo in midfield.. says it all really and the state we are in..
Hear hear on that…..
Of course Gabby is a legend. He deserves the recognition. Legends should be recognised whilst they are still at the Villa. Not only after they leave or retire. Gabby has given everything to Villa for years. PL has removed those without the ability or attitude, and Gabby is still here. What more does it take to be a legend? In 5 years we’ll be talking about Gabby like we do about Ian Taylor.