Stan Collymore

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This article is about the English footballer. For the musician, see Stan Cullimore.

Stan Collymore
Collymore in 2018
Personal information
Full name Stanley Victor Collymore
Date of birth (1971-01-22) 22 January 1971 (age 53)
Place of birth Tittensor, Staffordshire, England
Position(s)
Striker
Youth career
1987–1988 Walsall
1988–1989 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1989–1990 Stafford Rangers 35 (11)
1990–1992 Crystal Palace 20 (1)
1992–1993 Southend United 30 (15)
1993–1995 Nottingham Forest 65 (41)
1995–1997 Liverpool 64 (28)
1997–2000 Aston Villa 46 (7)
1999 → Fulham (loan) 6 (0)
2000 Leicester City 11 (5)
2000–2001 Bradford City 7 (2)
2001 Real Oviedo 3 (0)
Total 287 (110)
International career
1995–1997 England 3 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Stanley Victor Collymore (born 22 January 1971) is an English

Nottingham Forest and later Liverpool, who he joined from the former for an English transfer record of £8.5 million in 1995. He is currently senior football strategist at Southend United
.

After his release from

Aston Villa in 1997, where his form dipped and he struggled to break into the first team. After two unsuccessful years with Villa, he joined Leicester City in 2000 where he saw a brief career resurgence under Martin O'Neill, but struggled under his successor Peter Taylor and was sold to Bradford City in October 2000, but would leave the club after just 10 weeks due to his high wage bill. He then joined Real Oviedo of the Primera Liga
, where he finished his career in March 2001 after just five weeks with the club.

While a talented and prolific goalscorer, Collymore's career was often marred by controversy, including his public struggles with mental health, outbursts on the pitch and arguments with coaches and teammates.[1][2] During 2021, he became involved with the management of former club Southend United.

Club career

Early career

Collymore was born at Groundslow Hospital,

Conference team, Stafford Rangers
.

Crystal Palace (1991–92)

While playing for Stafford Rangers, Collymore was spotted by a scout from

First Division side Crystal Palace and signed with the club on 4 January 1991, when he was 19 years old. He made his first team debut for Palace on 23 April, coming on as a 76th minute substitute in a match against Liverpool. Collymore would remain with Palace for nearly two years, but struggled to find a place in the first team ahead of the prolific goalscoring partnership of Mark Bright and Ian Wright
, and left the club in November 1992.

Southend United (1992–93)

Collymore joined

Peterborough.[5] Collymore would score 15 goals in 30 league appearances that season, with his goalscoring record and form helping Southend to claw their way out of the bottom three and finish the season in 18th, after being tipped by many to be relegated at the start of the season.[6] Collymore later said "I count helping to keep Southend in the First Division in my season there as one of my finest achievements."[7]

Nottingham Forest (1993–1995)

First Division (1993–94)

Collymore's work at Southend attracted attention from a number of different teams, including boyhood club

Premiership and newly relegated Nottingham Forest. Frank Clark eventually signed him to the latter on 5 July 1993 for an initial fee of £2.25 million.[8][9][5] Collymore's prolific goalscoring form continued with Forest, as he scored 19 goals in 28 games and led the attack as Forest became a fixture in the top of the table and looked to win automatic promotion back to the Premiership. This was realised on 30 April 1994, when a last minute winner from Collymore saw Forest beat Peterborough United 3–2, securing a second place finish and automatic promotion to English football's top flight.[10]

Premiership (1994–95)

He made his first appearance for Forest in the Premiership on 22 August 1994, scoring a 26th minute equaliser in a 1–1 draw against

Manchester United, who were looking to replace ageing striker Mark Hughes with a younger talent. Collymore spent almost the entirety of late 1994 linked with a move to Old Trafford, with himself and Newcastle United's Andy Cole named as Sir Alex Ferguson‘s most wanted targets. Eventually, Cole was signed by United for an English transfer record deal worth £7 million, while Collymore stayed at Forest for the remainder of the season; by the end of the campaign, however, he had received offers from Liverpool, Everton and Newcastle, with all three battling to earn his signature in the summer of 1995.[13][14][5]

Liverpool (1995–1997)

1995–96

1996 FA Cup Final, played against Manchester United on 11 May 1996. Though he started the game, Collymore failed to get on the scoresheet and was subbed off in the 74th minute for Ian Rush, in what went on to be Rush's final appearance for the club. Collymore watched from the sidelines as Eric Cantona
fired home the winning goal with five minutes left on the clock, consigning Liverpool to another year with no major silverware. It would be the closest that Collymore would come to winning a major trophy in his playing career.

1996–97

Expectations were high for Liverpool and the Collymore/Fowler partnership the following season after the promise they had showed in the previous campaign. Roy Evans' exciting young squad led the league for much of the first half of the season, but a series of poor performances in early 1997 saw them fall behind winners

Manchester United and eventually finish 4th.[16] Collymore was again a regular fixture in the attack and was a consistent goalscorer and creator, but became the subject of increasing media scrutiny throughout the season, as tabloids accused him and most of his teammates of being unprofessional, with the squad being dubbed the "Spice Boys" by newspapers in 1997.[5][17] He eventually fell out of favour with Evans, and was gradually replaced with the up-and-coming Michael Owen towards the end of the season. As his starts for Liverpool became more sporadic, rumours of his departure from Anfield
began to circulate prior to the summer.

Aston Villa (1997–2000)

1997–98

Rumours of his exit from Liverpool were confirmed on 16 May 1997 when Collymore was signed by boyhood club

Paris bar, which he later apologised for.[23][24][25][26]

1998–99

The 1998–99 season saw Collymore score just once in 19 appearances, as his issues off the field came to a head. In a match against

clinical depression, stress and anxiety in January 1999. Following this, he announced he would seek counselling and checked himself into the Priory Group Hospital in Roehampton, where he stayed for several weeks. He returned to the Villa side later in the season, but after a 3–0 loss to Chelsea on 21 March 1999, manager John Gregory dropped him from the first team for the rest of the season. This would go on to be his last appearance for Aston Villa.[28][29]

Fulham (1999)

Collymore (left) playing for Fulham in 1999

After a summer move to Greek side Panathinaikos failed to materialise, Collymore was sent out on a three month loan to Fulham at the start of the 1999–2000 season, with an option for the club to sign him for £1 million at the end. While he failed to make a major impact and was not signed, he did score the winner in a 2–1 League Cup win over West Bromwich Albion on 12 October 1999.[30][18]

Leicester (2000)

1999–2000

Collymore and Aston Villa mutually agreed to separate after he returned from his loan spell at Fulham, and he spent the rest of 1999 training with the youth team and looking for a new club.

Derby County on 2 April after just 17 minutes, having audibly screamed and collapsed in the middle of the pitch. Scans later revealed he had suffered a broken left leg after an awkward landing, and he missed the rest of the season.[36]

2000–01

Having fully recovered, Collymore remained with Leicester through the summer transfer window and was thought to be the club's new first choice striker after

FA on 28 November.[40][38][41] Two days after the incident with Gascoigne, Collymore submitted a transfer request to Leicester.[42] He would later retract this request, but manager Peter Taylor still placed him on the transfer list, citing Collymore's poor fitness, lack of commitment and attitude problems.[43][44] Having fallen out of favour with another manager, and demoted to the reserve squad, where he was involved in a half time altercation with teammate Trevor Benjamin,[45][46] Collymore and Leicester would eventually agree to part ways, and he was allowed to leave on a free transfer in October 2000.[12][43]

Bradford City (2000–2001)

Collymore was immediately signed by longtime admirers

VFB Stuttgart and Celtic both made offers for Collymore, but he would eventually choose to sign with Spanish outfit Real Oviedo after just 8 games and 10 weeks with Bradford.[55][56][57][58]

Real Oviedo (2001)

Collymore signed an 18 month contract with

Celta Vigo on 3 March, before announcing his retirement on 7 March 2001 at the age of 30, just five weeks after he had joined Oviedo; he did not tell the club of his plans beforehand and they only found out through the Spanish tabloids. A statement issued through his spokesman said, "Stan Collymore has decided, after discussions with his family and close friends, to give up playing professional football. He has just turned 30 and believes that the time is right to explore other career opportunities which are available to him."[61] He was offered a chance to return to Southend United[62] and was also approached by Boston United and Wolverhampton Wanderers,[63] but never made a return to football, however, he applied but was turned down for the manager's position at Bradford City following the dismissal of Jim Jefferies in December 2001.[64] Before the end of the year, Oviedo had begun court proceedings against Collymore for breach of his contract, unsuccessfully suing him for £7 million.[65][66]

International career

After an impressive debut season in the Premier League, Collymore was called up to Terry Venables' England squad for the Umbro Cup in June 1995. He made his début at Wembley Stadium against Japan, partnering Alan Shearer in a 2–1 win.[67] He won his second cap as a 90th minute substitute against Brazil.[68]

Collymore made his third and final appearance for England as a substitute in a 4–0 win over Moldova during qualification for the 1998 FIFA World Cup.[68]

Post-playing career

Collymore contributed to his biography Stan: Tackling my demons with Oliver Holt.[69] In 2005, he played the character Kevin Franks in the film Basic Instinct 2 alongside Sharon Stone.[70]

On 20 October 2008, Collymore won more than £1.5 million in damages from his financial advisers, for the poor investment advice he had been given since retiring from professional football in 2001. The judge ruled that Collymore had been given advice that was in breach of statutory obligations.[71]

Collymore worked as a football pundit and presenter on the

Raith Rovers.[73] He writes a column for caughtoffside.com
.

Return to football with Southend United

In April 2021, Collymore wrote to Southend United chairman Ron Martin offering to buy the club from him,[74] and held talks concerning the potential appointment of a Collymore associate as the club's CEO;[75] in May, Tom Lawrence was appointed.[76]

In October, Collymore, Martin, Lawrence and director Gary Lockett formed a panel to appoint a new club manager following the sacking of Phil Brown.[77] Collymore offered further free support, as the club was described as "a mess" by the BBC,[78] and Lawrence started negotiations with Collymore about a formal role with the club.[79] Collymore was announced as the club's senior football strategist on 4 November 2021.[80]

Personal life

Collymore has talked openly about his mental health issues. He began to seek counselling after he was diagnosed with

Aston Villa. He also stated in his autobiography that he has been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder.[81] Since retiring, he has continued to struggle with depression, and uses his Twitter account to raise awareness of the condition.[82][2]

He is a supporter of

Republic, a campaign group that campaigns for an elected UK head of state.[83][failed verification] He supported the Labour Party before leaving them for the Scottish National Party in December 2015 after a notable minority of Labour MPs supported airstrikes in Syria.[84]

Incidents

In early 1998, Collymore was accused of assault by the mother of his child, Michelle Green; she alleged he had punched her in the face and caused injury after an argument regarding their son on 22 December 1997. Collymore denied the accusations, and was found not guilty and cleared of any charges at a court hearing on 28 April 1998.

Paris bar on 9 June 1998. He later apologised for the incident.[23][24][25][26]

Collymore made front page news in February 2000 while playing for

Bradford City, Collymore suffered a broken nose after he was assaulted by two men in a Birmingham nightclub. He was subsequently cautioned by manager Jim Jefferies.[12][86]

In 2004, Collymore was accused of taking part in dogging at Cannock Chase by an undercover News of the World reporter. He lost his job at BBC Radio 5 Live over the incident.[87]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[88]
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Nottingham Forest 1993–94 First Division 0 0 4 5 – –
1994–95 Premier League 37 22 2 1 4 2 – – 43 25
Total 2 1 8 7 0 0 0 0
Liverpool 1995–96 Premier League 31 14 7 5 4 0 2 0 – 44 19
1996–97 Premier League 30 12 2 2 0 0 5 2 – 37 16
Total 61 26 9 7 4 0 7 2 0 0 81 35
Aston Villa 1997–98 Premier League 25 6 4 1 1 0 7 1 – 37 8
1998–99 Premier League 20 1 1 2 0 0 3 4 – 24 7
Total 45 7 5 3 1 0 10 5 0 0 61 15
Fulham (loan) 1999–2000
Championship
 6 0 0 0 3 1 – – 9 1
Leicester City 1999–2000 Premier League 6 4 0 0 0 0 – – 6 4
2000–01 Premier League 5 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 – 6 1
Total 11 5 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 12 5
Bradford City 2000–01 Premier League 7 2 0 0 1 0 – – 8 2
Real Oviedo 1999–2000 Primera División 3 0 0 0 – – – 3 0
  1. ^ Includes FA Cup
  2. FA League Cup

Honours

Individual

References

  1. ^ Clayton, James (26 November 2011). "Stan Collymore tweets about his battle with depression" – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  2. ^ a b Lucy Sherriff (26 November 2011). "Stan Collymore, Former Aston Villa Striker, Documents His Depression Over Twitter". Huffington Post.
  3. ^ "Stan Collymore". liverpoolfc.tv. Archived from the original on 20 January 2010. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
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  5. ^ a b c d e f "Stan Collymore: One of English Football's Great Underachievers". 9 April 2020.
  6. ^ "Stan Collymore | Football Stats | No Club | Season 1995/1996 | 1989-2001 | Soccer Base". www.soccerbase.com.
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  8. ^ "Southend United made club record £4.6million when Stan Collymore left to join Nottingham Forest". Echo.
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External links

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