Brian Little reveals he tried to sign a Manchester United legend instead of Stan Collymore during his time as Aston Villa manager.
Brian Little was a manager for Aston Villa who came in and changed everything. Villa were serial strugglers in the 90s, but Little ensured he steadied the ship – and then some.
By 1996, they were one of the best teams in the country again. Little led his side to the League Cup and guided Villa to fourth in the Premier League that same season, securing UEFA Cup qualification.
On the way, he had tremendous players to help him do so, but one that could have been an all-time Villa great did in fact slip through the cracks.
Brian Little tried to sign Andy Cole for Aston Villa
Speaking on Aston Villa’s official podcast, the former manager said that before his pursuit of Stan Collymore, Little in fact tried to sign Andy Cole.
“So, I tried to sign Andy Cole. Here’s the true story,” Little begins.
“Paul Stretford used to say to me, “Brian, look, you ain’t having him. He’s going to Man United. You’re not getting him
”I said, “Well, just try. Just see if he’ll come and talk to us. Come on. It just went on and on and on.”
Little then quickly alluded to the fact that nothing materialised with Cole, so they opted for Collymore instead.
He continued: “And it was the season where Stan [Collymore] and the little left-footer for Liverpool – Robbie Fowler – had been incredible. And I went, “He’s a good player.”
A good enough player for Little to bite the bullet and sign for £7 million. A transfer that, in May 1997, broke the club’s transfer record at the time.
Andy Cole’s Premier League stats
What a coup it would’ve been. Cole was one of the most prolific forwards in Premier League history – and that’s shown from his quite ludicrous stats.
| Stat | Total |
|---|---|
| Appearances | 414 |
| Goals | 187 |
| Assists | 73 |
Collymore, as Little alluded to, was, of course, signed instead, and all things considered, performed well.
However, it always will be a case of ‘what could’ve been’ for Aston Villa and the serial Manchester United goal-getter.
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