US_Owl Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Welcome one and all to the much anticipated second edition of "A Career In Pictures" After the critical acclaim of our great warrior Drissa Diallo, today's spotlight falls upon another central defender whose style and grace made grown men weep upon the terraces, a captain of doubtless courage and endless endeavour, ladies and gentlemen, I give you Mr Ashley Westwood. Ashleys career began in 1994 with Midlands team Manchester United, where his youthful exuberance and evident talent led to him making zero appearances. The United fans went mental when he was sold to high-flyers and promotion rivals Crewe Alexandra, Eric Cantona described Westwood's sale as "A F*cking disgrace." On signing for Crewe, Westwood took the number 29 shirt, as that was how many lovers he had taken in the previous week. He went on to league and cup glory with Crewe, winning several games and losing just as many. Glory soon followed. After a spell on loan with Benfica (Where Ash saw himself paired upfront for a while with future teamate Lloyd Owusu) Westwood was snapped up by Sleeping Giants� Sheffield Wednesday. His lumpen gait and confused feet were no obstacle to his achievements at the club, scoring several wonderful own-goals, whilst generally being out of position and slothful. Westwood's influence upon the club was great, attracting several other excellent players to the club, like Phil King, Barry Horne and Joao Pinto. Westwood and Pinto shared a flat for a while above a popular bookmakers, where they would dress in old Eusebio shirts, play Subbuteo and eat cheese and onion toasties. An England callup was the obvious next step for Westwood, here he is making the first of 19 appearances for the London-based club, a 2-0 demolition of Grenada. Fellow Wednesday team-mates Michael Reddy and Derek Geary with the goals that day. Westwood's only International goal came in a friendly against Guinea-Bissau, a 19 yard shinroller that looped over Sheffield Wednesday teammate and Guinea-Bissau goalkeeper Leigh Bromby . But Westwood was a creature destined for bigger things- Hillsborough could not temper his burning flame for ever. A summer move to Italian giants Roma saw him finally reach his potential, going on to play over 100 games for the Milan-based club, and pipping Abel Balbo to the Fan's Player of the Year Award in 2002. His defensive partnership with Brazilian Aldair was described by Italian legend Danny Dichio as "Like watching two elegant gorilla-men killing lots of other lesser men, with a football involved" Upon receiving his Italian citizenship, Westwood married the fittest Italian model-lady ever, and Roma's fans awarded him ownership of Vatican City, a property dispute that still rumbles on to this day. But time and tide waits for no man, even a man as gifted as Ashley. A tearful farewell to the Azzuri saw Ash return to Crewe, seemingly reborn as a central midfielder. His time in Italy has seen an improvement to his technical skills, and Westwood currently combines games for Crewe with a role as player/manager at Northampton. Will he ever return to Hilssborough? who knows. Will we ever see a defender of his calibre again in the blue and white stripes? No. Will there ever be a better defender? Well, can 2 men make a baby? An Ashley Westwood/Drissa Diallo crossbreed is possible I suppose, but not in our lifetime. Brave ex-Sheffield Wednesday warrior, we salute you! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonofbert2 Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRADDAZ Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Excellent read. Do you happen to have any quotes from pro's, ex pro's, greats of the game & managers about the great man? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonofbert2 Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 "His defensive partnership with Brazilian Aldair was described by Italian legend Danny Dichio as "Like watching two elegant gorilla-men killing lots of other lesser men, with a football involved" Upon receiving his Italian citizenship, Westwood married the fittest Italian model-lady ever, and Roma's fans awarded him ownership of Vatican City, a property dispute that still rumbles on to this day." I really can't stop laughing at this bit........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FreshOwl Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Welcome one and all to the much anticipated second edition of "A Career In Pictures" After the critical acclaim of our great warrior Drissa Diallo, today's spotlight falls upon another central defender whose style and grace made grown men weep upon the terraces, a captain of doubtless courage and endless endeavour, ladies and gentlemen, I give you Mr Ashley Westwood. Ashleys career began in 1994 with Midlands team Manchester United, where his youthful exuberance and evident talent led to him making zero appearances. The United fans went mental when he was sold to high-flyers and promotion rivals Crewe Alexandra, Eric Cantona described Westwood's sale as "A F*cking disgrace." On signing for Crewe, Westwood took the number 29 shirt, as that was how many lovers he had taken in the previous week. He went on to league and cup glory with Crewe, winning several games and losing just as many. Glory soon followed. After a spell on loan with Benfica (Where Ash saw himself paired upfront for a while with future teamate Lloyd Owusu) Westwood was snapped up by Sleeping Giants™ Sheffield Wednesday. His lumpen gait and confused feet were no obstacle to his achievements at the club, scoring several wonderful own-goals, whilst generally being out of position and slothful. Westwood's influence upon the club was great, attracting several other excellent players to the club, like Phil King, Barry Horne and Joao Pinto. Westwood and Pinto shared a flat for a while above a popular bookmakers, where they would dress in old Eusebio shirts, play Subbuteo and eat cheese and onion toasties. An England callup was the obvious next step for Westwood, here he is making the first of 19 appearances for the London-based club, a 2-0 demolition of Grenada. Fellow Wednesday team-mates Michael Reddy and Derek Geary with the goals that day. Westwood's only International goal came in a friendly against Guinea-Bissau, a 19 yard shinroller that looped over Sheffield Wednesday teammate and Guinea-Bissau goalkeeper Leigh Bromby . But Westwood was a creature destined for bigger things- Hillsborough could not temper his burning flame for ever. A summer move to Italian giants Roma saw him finally reach his potential, going on to play over 100 games for the Milan-based club, and pipping Abel Balbo to the Fan's Player of the Year Award in 2002. His defensive partnership with Brazilian Aldair was described by Italian legend Danny Dichio as "Like watching two elegant gorilla-men killing lots of other lesser men, with a football involved" Upon receiving his Italian citizenship, Westwood married the fittest Italian model-lady ever, and Roma's fans awarded him ownership of Vatican City, a property dispute that still rumbles on to this day. But time and tide waits for no man, even a man as gifted as Ashley. A tearful farewell to the Azzuri saw Ash return to Crewe, seemingly reborn as a central midfielder. His time in Italy has seen an improvement to his technical skills, and Westwood currently combines games for Crewe with a role as player/manager at Northampton. Will he ever return to Hilssborough? who knows. Will we ever see a defender of his calibre again in the blue and white stripes? No. Will there ever be a better defender? Well, can 2 men make a baby? An Ashley Westwood/Drissa Diallo crossbreed is possible I suppose, but not in our lifetime. Brave ex-Sheffield Wednesday warrior, we salute you! :laugh: even that first bit had me in stitches Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SouthLeedsOwl Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Like it US Owl, quality read which has brightened up my working day!! Although i seem to remember asking if Jon Beswetherwick was next on your list of career in pictures? We can only hope. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
US_Owl Posted March 8, 2012 Author Share Posted March 8, 2012 Like it US Owl, quality read which has brightened up my working day!! Although i seem to remember asking if Jon Beswetherwick was next on your list of career in pictures? We can only hope. I'm putting my journalistic talent/contacts to this task next, fear not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
US_Owl Posted March 8, 2012 Author Share Posted March 8, 2012 Excellent read. Do you happen to have any quotes from pro's, ex pro's, greats of the game & managers about the great man? This is a great idea. I'll use my contacts to get a few more quotes for the next installment! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobtheowl Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 A glittering career if ever there was one. His grand kids are in for a right treat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctpgrant Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 He is currently doing miracles at Kettering as caretaker manager, more than he ever did as a player Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
De Bilde Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 (edited) Brilliant, roll on the next installment Edited March 8, 2012 by De Bilde Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malek Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 As funny as this thread is, still I would love to see Crewe's current Ashley Westwood here - really good ande versatile player. Btw. What is wrong with Crewe, 3 different players named Ashley Westwood turned out for them :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
US_Owl Posted March 8, 2012 Author Share Posted March 8, 2012 As funny as this thread is, still I would love to see Crewe's current Ashley Westwood here - really good ande versatile player. Btw. What is wrong with Crewe, 3 different players named Ashley Westwood turned out for them :) I think you are somewhat confused, those 3 different Ashley Westwoods are all our ex-England International. His Italian wife and links with the Papacy keep him young and limber. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluesteel Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 My boss at work was mates with that era of the Man U youth team including some of the ones that made it. Ashley Westwood used to give them his matchday players pass to use to get in free at Old Trafford. When I told him that his knees used to shake in front of the Kop when we screamed for him to clear the ball "GET IT OUT" he just commented that he had a habit of losing his bottle! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longreach Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 As funny as this thread is, still I would love to see Crewe's current Ashley Westwood here - really good ande versatile player. Btw. What is wrong with Crewe, 3 different players named Ashley Westwood turned out for them :) All doppelgangers...............bit like "I was Montys double" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eaton_Swfc Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 (edited) Your off your boobies mate, this bit made me laugh ; "Westwood and Pinto shared a flat for a while above a popular bookmakers, where they would dress in old Eusebio shirts, play Subbuteo and eat cheese and onion toasties". !!!! Who's getting the US_Owl treatment in the next installment ? Edited March 8, 2012 by Eaton_Swfc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
@owlstalk Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 US Owl is my current favourite Owlstalker... ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT Owlstalk Shop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TbagMcgraw Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 I love these! Can't wait for the Kim Olsen version Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluesteel Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 His Scott Oakes mask story was my favourite... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whatdial Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 True story - when I left uni I worked in Chorley and word got out that I was a Wednesday fan. I was asked by this bloke if i knew Ashley Westwood, to which i replied - yes he is "sh*t" - (obviously this was before his glory days as stated in the career profile above). It turned out this guy was his Dad and needless to say he wasnt happy with my opinion of the greatest centre back we have ever had at our club! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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