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Stanley Victor Collymore (born January 22 1971 in Stone , Staffordshire ) was a talented but controversial English 1990 s footballer, who has become as well known for his off-field activities. EARLY CAREER A talented Centre Forward , Collymore started his career as an apprentice footballer with Walsall F.C. , and also Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. , before being released and signing for then GM Vauxhall Conference team, Stafford Rangers F.C. , where again he took the notice of several football league clubs by showing an eye for spectacular goals before being given his chance as a full-time Professional with Crystal Palace at the age of 19, in late 1990. PROFESSIONAL CAREER After learning his trade as understudy to the prolific Crystal Palace partnership of Mark Bright and Ian Wright , Collymore dropped down a division to Southend United and there scored 18 goals in 31 games to help keep the club in the then First Division when the odds of relegation seemed certain. Such were the quality of his goals, usually spectacular solo efforts, Nottingham Forest bought the striker for a club record fee that reached 3 million pounds, having only been bought by Southend United also for a club record fee of one hundred and fifty thousand pounds 6 months earlier. Collymore's goalscoring record with Forest was phenomenal, 50 goals in 71 games, and after being the main catalyst for helping Forest to immediate promotion back to the premiership in 1993, cemented his reputation as one of the brightest young talents in world football by finishing his first season in the top flight with 25 goals, and astonishingly helping a team that had been relegated only 24 months earlier to finish third in the premiership in his first season. That prompted Liverpool to come in for him with a British transfer record bid of 8.5 million pounds at the end of the 1994-95 season. Collymore scored a spectacular goal on his Liverpool debut and began a fruitful, enigmatic and controversial two year spell with the club. Highs included scoring at a ratio of a goal every other game and creating many goals in a superb partnership with Robbie Fowler ,who were regarded as the best strike partnership in Europe to winning caps for England . Also, memorably scoring two goals, including the winner against Newcastle United at Anfield which is widely regarded as the greatest game in the history of the English Premiership. Indeed, it was voted by viewers of Sky Sports as the greatest sporting moment in the channel's first ten years. Lows saw Collymore fined after refusing to play for the reserves, refusing to move closer to Merseyside from his home town of Cannock , publicly criticising manager Roy Evans and his tactics, and playing badly in the 1996 FA Cup final against Manchester United during which Collymore was substituted and Liverpool lost 1-0. Collymore was also labelled along with his colleagues at the time like Jamie Redknapp , David James and Steve McManaman for being 'Spice Boys' - a derogatory term used to signify the players as underachieving Lad Culture playboys in the game. He also helped Liverpool to third place in the Premiership, Liverpool F.C.'s highest position since winning the Championship in 1990. Undoubtedly a great footballer on his day, Collymore set himself up for a head on collision with his club that made a transfer inevitable and compounded with the emergence of Michael Owen through Liverpool's ranks, the striker was sold to Aston Villa in 1997 for 7 million pounds, again, a club record. Collymore's time at Villa was eventful off the pitch, with his long-term treatment for Depression earning him harsh criticism in the British Tabloid Press and the ridicule of manager John Gregory , but widespread public support for confronting an illness that affects so many people. In the three years that he spent at the club, Collymore scored only 15 goals, having been frozen out of the squad for over a year of Gregory's reign as manager, and receiving regular treatment for clinical depression. Highs though included being only the third Aston Villa player in history to score a Hat-trick {3 goals in one game}, in European competition, the other two being his boyhood idols Gary Shaw and Peter Withe . cover featuring the "I Lied" Collymore story]] COLLYMORE IN THE NEWS Collymore admitted to punching girlfriend and popular television presenter Ulrika Jonsson during an argument in Paris in 1998 . Jonsson herself was photographed allegedly with bruises on show. However, Collymore suggests in his biography "''Tackling My Demons''" that the bruises that occurred on Jonsson's face were in fact a reflection of rain drops from a photographer's lens. After this incident and Gregory's refusal to play him, he moved from the West Midlands to the East Midlands , with Leicester City in 2000 . He was initially successful, having scored a spectacular hat-trick on his home debut, although within days was embroiled in an incident involving a Fire Extinguisher during some hi-jinks on a club break abroad. After a widely regarded successful but short spell at the club, misfortune struck when he broke his leg in a premiership game at local rivals Derby County F.C. which ended his season. After Martin O'Neil left the club for Glasgow Celtic , Collymore was unsettled and agreed a short term move to Bradford City . Again he showed on his debut the truly spectacular, a fantastic over head kick against local rivals Leeds United . Collymore then moved to La Liga club Real Oviedo , where a lack of form combined with difficulties adapting saw Collymore leave Real Oviedo to retire from football at the young footballing age of 30 shortly after signing for them - incurring the wrath of the club who then began legal action against him. In 2004 , Collymore was duped by the Sun newspaper into signing a confession declaring that he was "a lying scumbag", that he "threw the first punch" in a fracas with six Bath Rugby Union players at a nightclub in Dublin the previous weekend, and apologising to readers for "wasting all that football talent throughout my unfulfilled career". Collymore later complained to the Press Complaints Commission in a case which he subsequently won. {Link without Title} POST-FOOTBALL CAREER After he finished playing, Collymore took up a role as an accomplished summariser for BBC Radio 5 Live and showed insight and much promise, proving his long-time assertion that he was far more intelligent and articulate than the majority of footballers, but was then relieved of his duties after publicly admitting that he took part in open-air sexual activity known as '' Dogging ''. Collymore made the point after being relieved of his BBC duties that he was the subject of double standards at the BBC as the Corporation have employed and continue to employ people that have serious criminal convictions, which were far more serious than having consensual sexual activity. The aforementioned Autobiography , "''Tackling My Demons''", was released in 2004 to critical acclaim for its portrayal of the modern footballer, together with its honesty. In 2005 he took a film role alongside Sharon Stone , in the second Basic Instinct movie, Basic Instinct 2 , which has seen Collymore again hit the headlines as his character in the movie, Kevin Franks, and Catherine Tramell (Stone), have sex in a car in the opening scenes. Collymore is seen and heard regularly on television and radio in the UK, and owns Maverick Spirit Productions, a UK Television Production Company. EXTERNAL LINKS |
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