We accept that it’s probably not the main topic of discussion in the wake of Arsenal’s win over Everton on Saturday evening, but the Gunners finished with the same 3-2-6-5 defence as in the recent win over Tottenham Hotspur.
The article finished with the question as to whether it was better to wear a low number that was not a perfect fit for the position or to have a number not in the 1-11 bracket. It’s one that Alan Wright answered during his time at Aston Villa.
The current Manchester United interim assistant manager joined Villa in February 1995 from eventual champions Blackburn Rovers – his five league appearances in his final season at Ewood Park would nowadays be enough for a medal but, back then, ten games was the threshold.
At Rovers, Wright had been allocated number 3 upon the inception of squad numbers even though Graeme Le Saux (who was given 6) had usurped him as first-choice left-back; Steve Staunton was Villa’s number 3 but 2 had been recently vacated by Earl Barrett – who had joined Everton, initially wearing 4 – and Wright took that.
Despite the fact that he featured heavily in a left wing-back role, Wright would move upwards in the summer of 1995, shifting to number 14 as Gary Charles, first-choice on the opposite flank, dropped from 22 to 2.
Wright wore 14 in 37 games for Villa in 1995-96 – and number 3 in one, as they went 1-11 for the Coca-Cola Cup final win over Leeds United. Staunton, who featured on the left of the three-man central defence for much of the campaign, missed that match with Ugo Ehiogu, usually number 16, wearing 6; had Staunton played, we wonder if Wright might donned a Brazil-style 6 on the left.
In 1998, Staunton returned to Liverpool and Wright returned to the 1-11 bracket – the 14-3 move representing the date of publication of this article.
He stayed at Villa for five more years and, after that, wore 22, 3 and 25 in consecutive seasons for Sheffield United.
There was a brief stint wearing 4 at Derby County but he didn’t stay long enough for us to see if a move outside 1-11 was more preferable. Later, he switched from 22 to 3 at Cheltenham Town and finished out his career as Fleetwood Town’s number 3.
