Give It Up Stanley Victor Collymore!

We reported comments from Stan Collymore last week: The Most Stupid Link Ever? and to be honest I thought this was just a throwaway comment by Simon Kennedy that the press picked up on.

Apparently not, as there is more today in The Mirror!

His agent says the 35-year-old is keen to make a comeback and is still Premiership class. Oh, if only he was 30 and hadn't slagged off the Villa fans, he'd have been a great punt. I did say punt.

Kennedy told The Daily Mirror: 'The time Stan spent at Villa was a massive disappointment to him. He would love the chance to go back and set the record straight. Gareth Barry is still one of his closest friends, they are in regular contact, and Stan even has the word 'claret' as part of his e-mail address.'

'He has a lot of sympathy with the club he supported as a boy. There are a group of clubs Stan would be prepared to come and train with for a couple of weeks. Villa are definitely one of those clubs and he would jump at the opportunity if it were to arise.'

To be fair, I have much sympathy with his spell at Villa, as his agent says, 'During his time at Villa, he was in the worst mental state of his career. Only when he worked with Martin O'Neill at Leicester did things pick up, but when Martin left the problem started again.'

John Gregory has since admitted that he could have treated Stan's situation better, he did tend to get lambasted due to his depression BUT to try to make a comeback at the age of 35 at the top level is just not on. I'm sure I wasn't alone in thinking one day he would live to regret his decision to retire so young, looks like the chickens are now coming home to roost, he wasted what was a tremendous talent. Stan should have been an automatic selection for England and a Villa legend. Maybe in a parallel universe he is!

I met Stan at a 5 Live phone in once. I must say he was a charming chap who very obviously held Villa in great affection, which made is throwaway comments about Villa fans so much more mystifying a year or so later.

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