Dalian Atkinson - An early PL star

By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88

In its very first season, the Premier League produced some household names which would continue to dominate the headlines in its early inception. Eric Cantona was the integral part of the new reign that would sweep English football with Manchester United. Alan Shearer became the goalscoring ace that almost had the Golden Boot exclusively in his possession. And Teddy Sheringham became the first player to score the first of thousands of goals shown live on Sky Sports.

Another early PL star who had his moments in that first season was Dalian Atkinson. He was part of the double act in attack that nearly spearheaded Aston Villa to the ultimate prize in 1992/1993. His star was bright and whilst his career didn’t quite hit the heights afterwards, Atkinson produced many memorable moments for Villa supporters.

His death on Monday aged just 48 was a massive shock to the game. Atkinson was tasered by police outside his father’s home in Telford after they received calls about a man acting strangely in the area. Atkinson suffered a cardiac arrest on his way to hospital and was pronounced dead shortly afterwards.

Early promise

Atkinson first came to prominence in his teenage years in East Anglia with Ipswich Town. It was Bobby Ferguson who would give him his debut in 1985, with Atkinson initially starting out as a midfielder.

However, the Tractor Boys’ staff could quickly see his searing pace which could trouble defenders. Dalian was converted successfully into an attacker and it was John Duncan who would reap the benefits in his finest performance as an Ipswich player. In April 1988, he tore Middlesbrough apart at Portman Road. A defence that contained future Ipswich skipper Tony Mowbray and serial title winner Gary Pallister were destroyed. Atkinson left with the match ball and his first career hat-trick. He looked destined for strong things and was only 20.

Ron Atkinson took him to Sheffield Wednesday in 1989, paying Ipswich £450,000 for his services. He developed an excellent partnership with David Hirst and both scored goals. Dalian registered 10 times in the league and started every single game for the Owls. Sadly, relegation at the end of 1989/1990 season followed and it meant his stay in Yorkshire was always going to be brief.

Dalian moved to La Liga for a single season as Real Sociedad bought him from Sheffield Wednesday for £1.7m. Sociedad fans quickly took to their new hitman and he played alongside Republic of Ireland internationals in Kevin Richardson and John Aldridge. The fans actually nicknamed him ‘El Txipiron’ which is translated in English as ‘The squid.’ There were victories against Barcelona and Real Madrid but the team struggled for consistency. Although he scored 12 times, a reunion with Ron Atkinson beckoned at Aston Villa.

So near, yet so far

Sociedad nearly recouped the money they paid out for Atkinson when Aston Villa made their interest official in July 1991 and Dalian moved to the West Midlands in a £1.6m deal. He made a dream debut, scoring ironically against his most recent English employers in Sheffield Wednesday.

Dalian’s best days were to come in the next two campaigns. In 1992/1993, he started the new season in blistering form. With seven minutes remaining on the opening day of the Premier League, Cyrille Regis squared the ball for Atkinson to net against his former club Ipswich at Portman Road.

Having grabbed the club’s first Premier League goal, Atkinson went on to score the club’s first PL strike at Villa Park four days later, firing his team ahead against defending champions Leeds United. He scored all of the club’s first three goals in the new football era – also finding the target at home to Southampton. Frustratingly for his namesake manager, Villa drew all of their opening three matches.

The reaction was to find a natural partner for Dalian and Dean Saunders was the man. Signed in September 1992 from Liverpool FC, Saunders and Atkinson established a telepathic understanding which nearly took the club to the brink of title glory. His greatest individual moment arrived in October 1992.

Dalian celebrates his Goal of the Season effort in October 1992 vs. Wimbledon

Away at Selhurst Park against Wimbledon, Atkinson (pictured) was helping out with defensive duties when he trapped the ball in the Villa half, then went on a mazy run, beating three Wimbledon players in the process. He then paused to assess his options and floated a delicious chip over the goalkeeper to score a quite sublime goal. This individual effort not only helped his club to a thrilling 3-2 victory, but it was rightly selected as the winner of Goal of the Season by BBC Match of the Day viewers. Atkinson scored 11 times in the Premier League but injury meant his impact in the second half of the campaign was severely restricted.

The goals dried up and late season defeats to Blackburn Rovers and Oldham Athletic ultimately meant Aston Villa’s title challenge died on the penultimate weekend of the campaign. Manchester United ended up winning the first Premier League by 10 points. Silverware would come the following season though for Dalian and the Villa supporters.

Wembley glory

Inconsistency meant Aston Villa never launched a serious title tilt in 1993/1994 as they dropped into mid-table. A 10^th-place finish was not what anyone expected after the highs of the previous campaign. Dalian scored eight times in the Premiership, including an opening day brace over QPR but his and the club’s silver lining came in the Coca-Cola Cup (League Cup).

Atkinson’s League Cup record was stunning during his four years with Villa. He scored 11 goals in 15 games in the competition and six of these came in the club’s successful 1994 run. They included the winner in Round 4 at Arsenal and goals in both legs of the tense semi-final against Tranmere Rovers which Villa prevailed on penalties.

Atkinson opens the scoring in the 1994 League Cup final

In the final, they’d face Manchester United – who were looking to become the first team in English football history to win all three domestic trophies on offer. They were to be denied on a memorable afternoon for everyone associated with Aston Villa. It was Atkinson (pictured) who broke the deadlock at Wembley, scoring in the 25^th minute. Strike partner Saunders added two more in the second half. The game ended 3-1 to Villa and ended Alex Ferguson’s hopes of that clean sweep of domestic prizes. It was Villa’s first major prize since the 1982 European Cup and Dalian had played a crucial part throughout the campaign. Sadly, this was the peak of his career.

John Fashanu arrived for the start of the 1994/1995 campaign and it meant Dalian was relegated to a bench position in the early exchanges of the campaign. He scored for the third successive season at home to Manchester United but Villa’s position in the table was precarious in November 1994.

Ron Atkinson was sacked after the team threw away a 3-1 lead to lose 4-3 at Wimbledon. Former Villa favourite Brian Little took over and Dalian did make a quick impact to the change in management. He opened the scoring in his first game in charge in a Sky live match at home to Sheffield Wednesday and found the target again days later in a 4-1 League Cup defeat to Crystal Palace. It wasn’t known at the time but these were to be Dalian’s final goals wearing the Aston Villa jersey.

The team went eight successive games without scoring towards the backend of the campaign and only survived in the top-flight by a paltry three points. Little cleared the team out and got rid of all of his forwards except Dwight Yorke. Atkinson and Saunders were both sold to Turkey with Dalian moving to Fenerbahce.

A sad end

Dalian Atkinson’s career never quite took off after his successful days at Aston Villa. He failed to settle in Turkey and played just 21 times across two seasons with Fenerbahce. It did make his return of 10 goals quite impressive but he had loan spells amidst that time with Metz and Manchester City.

Back in English football briefly, he netted in City’s home victories over Stoke City and Grimsby Town but didn’t stay at Maine Road and Fenerbahce ditched him shortly afterwards. He would finish his career in Asian football, retiring in 2001 after a spell with South Korean outfit Daejeon Citizen.

Despite his excellent Villa form, Dalian never received full international recognition from England. He did represent the England B side in March 1990 and scored in a 4-1 friendly loss against the Republic of Ireland. However, he was not considered at any stage by England managers Sir Bobby Robson and Graham Taylor.

After football, Atkinson did struggle with depression and was undergoing treatment on his kidneys. His death this week is a tragedy for his family and those who knew him so well. Many former colleagues have spoken this week, using words such as ‘livewire’ ‘great ability’ and ‘well-liked.’ He was a bubbly character in his football career and his passing at the age of just 48 is a tragic and sad end to a career that experienced plenty of promise and moments Aston Villa supporters especially will never forget.