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Features > Andy Gray - 365 Columnist
Last Updated: Monday 17 April 2000 20:33
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'Congratulations, Stan - But You've Still Got It All To Prove'
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WELL DONE to Stan Collymore on his hat-trick for Leicester City in Sunday's 5-2 defeat of Sunderland. He should enjoy it. But he should also know that it doesn't prove anything just yet.
Right now, Stan is the darling of the Foxes fans. Good for him, but he's been here before. When he first joined Liverpool, he was the idol of the Kop. It was the same at Aston Villa, where fans even called for John Gregory's head when he refused to find a place for Stan on the team sheet. Things turned sour very quickly after that, as they have a habit of doing when Stan's around. So he's got a long way to go yet and an awful lot of work to do before he gets near fulfilling even a tenth of his massive potential.
Martin O'Neill knows that. He was very philosophical when chatting after City's win, admitting that although it was a promising beginning, we'd all have to wait and see how Collymore worked out for Leicester. The phrase "one swallow doesn't make a summer" can't have been far from his mind - and neither can the fact that only that morning, the other side of Stan's character had once again plastered his face all over the morning papers.
I wasn't surprised that Martin played Stan after those newspaper stories - in fact, they probably made him more determined to give Collymore a run-out. It would have taken something pretty massive to change his mind because Stan is not fully match fit and desperately needs games to get into the best possible physical shape. His mental state is another matter, and one Stan needs to sort out for himself. I sincerely hope he manages to do it, because the fact that he has got nothing to show for his career except money is a shocking waste of a magnificent natural talent.
Many people seem to think that Leicester will suit him. It's a low-key club, they say, with fewer expectations than Liverpool or Villa and therefore there will be less pressure on him. I couldn't disagree more.
In Leicester, with all respect to them, Stan will be a big fish in a small pond. Like it or not, he is now the main man at the club, the one everyone is looking to and looking at. He couldn't cope with life at Villa or Liverpool, where he was surrounded by high-profile superstars, and you have to wonder how he's going to cope at Filbert Street.
The other striker in the news is John Hartson, who'll no doubt be hugely disappointed at the breakdown of what he called his "dream move" to Tottenham. Though it took many by surprise, I've got to say that the deal made perfect sense to me. It's no secret that George Graham has been looking all over the world for a suitable striker to partner Steffen Iversen up front and, having largely drawn a blank, it's natural that he should plump for someone he already knows - in this case, a striker he signed for Arsenal shortly before the scandal which drove him out of the game.
The deal made financial sense to Wimbledon's new owners, too, having just shelled out to pay for Sam Hammam's shares. I don't think Dons fans should worry too much about what it means for the future of their club, although the alarm bells will start to go off if the likes of Carl Cort and Jason Euell follow Hartson out of the club.
Although Spurs have blamed a problem with Hartson's cartilage for his failed medical, there will inevitably be those who say the Welshman generally looks out of shape at the best of times. I think the problem is that, like any player who gets injured, John tends to carry a bit of weight when he's not playing regularly. You can't blame him for his body shape, although only John himself knows whether he's refuelling his body in the right way.
What you can say for definite, however, is that before his latest injury he was playing superbly for Wimbledon and knocking the goals in at a higher rate than he's probably ever managed before. A Hartson like that would have been a definite asset to Spurs - and now they must go back to the drawing board.
HAVE YOUR SAY...
Do you agree that Stan Collymore still has everything to prove even after his excellent hat-trick for Leicester on Sunday? Will the pressure of being a big fish in a small pond at Filbert Street prove too much for him? And would John Hartson have been an asset to Spurs - or are they better off without him? Send your views to |
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