Aston Villa have been impotent in front of goal in recent weeks as they struggle to replace the Championship goals of the injured Jonathan Kodjia and how Villans manager Steve Bruce must wish that he could call upon the services of a former club legend.
It is seventeen years to the day - 22nd December 2000 - that Aston Villa broke their then transfer record to sign Juan Pablo Angel from River Plate for £9.5m. The Colombian forward arrived with quite a reputation for his goalscoring exploits in South America, where his goals for Atletico Nacional in his homeland earned him a move to River Plate as a replacement for the legendary Hernan Crespo.
Angel was an instant hit with fans of River Plate in Argentina and his form convinced Villa chairman, Doug Ellis, to sign a cheque that would eclipse the club record £7m he had paid for Stan Collymore three years previously. Angel's move to the Midlands almost didn't go through as FIFA intervened over potential irregularities before Angel was finally able to join up with his new teammates at Villa Park on 12th January 2001.
Gregory heralded the arrival of Angel by comparing the long-haired forward to Gary Lineker. "He'll go to volley it and it will go half-way down his shin and bobble into the opposite corner of the net," eulogised Gregory in his own unique way. "They're Lineker-type goals, that's what I call them, but they are priceless goals and we need someone scoring 20 goals a season."
Angel looked anything but a 20-goal-a-season striker as he struggled settle and to live up to the hype early on, with family difficulties contributing to an underwhelming return of one goal in eleven appearances during the latter stages of the 2000/01 season.
With a full pre-season under his belt, the forward began to show signs of having what it takes to succeed in the Premier League in 2001/02 as he was strong in the air, held the ball up well and committed as he knocked in 16 goals in 34 appearances. Injuries limited Angel to a paltry three goals in 19 outings the following season. The jury was still out.
The Colombian would silence the doubters during a 2003/04 campaign that ensured he became a fans' favourite with the Holte End as he banged in 23 goals to guide Villa to sixth place in the Premier League, narrowly missing out on a UEFA Cup place to Newcastle on goal difference.
It was in the quarter-finals of the League Cup that Angel would write himself into Aston Villa folklore as the bandana-clad forward wriggled past a couple of Chelsea defenders before unleashing a 25-yard strike beyond Neil Sullivan to set the Villans on their way to a shock 2-1 win over the Blues.
However, Villa's cup run would come to an end in the next round as they were undone by a Jay Jay Okocha-inspired Bolton Wanderers during a 5-4 aggregate defeat in the semi-finals and that was as close as Angel would come to winning a piece of silverware - an Intertoto Cup success apart.
Villa warded off rumoured interest from Arsenal and Liverpool by tying Angel down to a new four-year contract the following summer but he would never hit the same heights, scoring a total of nineteen goals in the next three seasons before joining New York Red Bulls in 2007.
Angel would leave Villa with an impressive return of 62 goals from 205 appearances and how Steve Bruce must wish he could call upon a forward of that calibre, preferably the 2003/04 edition of Angel.
Aston Villa play Sheffield United in the Championship on Saturday 23rd December (Kick-Off 5.30pm) - Follow the action via our live match centre.
